Goldorak

I suggest you edit your post to say it is the Novotel. Thanks

starflyergold

Welcome to FT and the Accor forum ^

LeClubVirgin

- Name of the hotel:

Bandara International Hotel (Managed by Accor)

- What is your ALL status?

Platinum
-
Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?

yes

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?

Deluxe Room booked, received Junior Suite which is 2 categories up

- How are the rooms?

Comfy bed, dated rooms though and furniture in the living room is looking tired

- What was good and what was bad?

Good:

upgrade without asking and informed at checkout

Bad:

as above rooms a little tired now.
Staff still getting used to new IT system since all came in, surprise surprise so took a little longer than expected at checkin.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?

No lounge

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?

Welcome drink offered, good selection and platinum get cocktails also, some free water in the room - 6 bottles! Also welcome chocolates and little note with the obligatory apple.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?

Very reasonable prices (£60 ish for a night) Yes I would return

MFor.ID

- Name of the hotel:

Sofitel Singapore City Center

- What is your ALL status?

Lowly Silver
-
Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?

yes

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?

Booked prestige suites,no upgrade

- How are the rooms?

Beautiful, comfortable bed, spacious living room and bathroom. Loved the Hermes amenities.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good:

Staff prepared some decorations for our daughter birthday and give a cheese cake along with some fruits. Check-in at the club millesime for welcome drink and some snack. Very friendly hotel staff from the doorman to the lounge staff and my daughter loved the kindness (they give them cute plush).

Bad:

The room scent is not as we would've liked. Maybe give some relaxing fragrance to remove the previous guest odor.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?

Yes, lounge was lovely with some decent snacks. We brought our kid to the lounge the first time (at 6 pm) and it looks like out of place because everyone else were enjoying some drinks. Otherwise, it is a good place to relax.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?

We got welcome drink for 2 persons but didn't use it even though they offered non-alcoholic beverages. Other perks such as daily laundry credit for $20 we used them everyday.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?

Very valuable as we booked it during sales and applied some points. Would love to return if the price is right.

1nfrequent

- Name of the hotel: Novotel Tower Bridge

- What is your ALL status? Gold

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes - I'd had a poor stay there last year and been avoiding it since, but this stay did make up for it.

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked a standard room with queen bed. Received an Executive Room with queen bed

- How are the rooms? It was a good size room with plenty of space. I'm not a fan of the way they position the sink so it's open to the room as it means you have to twist your head to see into the mirror. But the shower was very good (water pressure excellent) and the bed was comfortable. Plus it has a really good view of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good: Upgrade and drinks voucher were waiting for me in my welcome pack without having to chase for it. Reception staff were also much more polite than on my previous stay (not exactly warm and welcoming but the civility was a big step up). I used the drinks voucher for a bottle of craft beer, which was really very good - bar staff had recommended it and I found them friendly and knowledgeable.

Bad: Nothing really although I do think the reception staff could be friendlier.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? N/A

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? Welcome drink voucher and free mineral water as part of the room. No other amenities offered.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? I'd been avoiding the hotel since a previous poor stay last year (moved my business to the Doubletree and Indigo, which are both nearby) and only went this time because a client wanted a number of us in the same place. This stay was a lot better and the price for the stay was reasonable. I wouldn't have an issue with staying here again in future and it's no longer on my avoid list but I can't say that it's back in preferential spot because I've had better stays at its rivals.

1F

testman

Name of the hotel: ibis Singapore Novena

What is your Le Club status? Gold

Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? happy

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a Standard room with a queen bed and I think we got the same, but not 100% sure
(Accor website says Deluxe rooms have a Nespresso coffee maker, free minibar and an iron -- we got an iron, but the minibar was empty and there was no Nespresso machine)

How are the rooms?
Mostly standard ibis room, but with a minibar and an iron. Standard room size (aka smallish), but with a real chair and a small desk.
The bathroom has a shower.

What was good and what was bad?

Good:
The rooms are still in good shape. Quite comfortable bed and pillows. A good place for people who want to spend a few days sightseeing and don't have too much luggage. Great air-conditining. Nothing major to complain about.
You can get cool filtered water from a machine in the corridor.
There is a free shuttle bus between the hotel and Novena MRT - you can use it to get to Novena in the morning. It's not very well advertised - on two mornings we were given a private transfer (cf. "bad" below)
There's a food centre and a big supermarket right in front of the hotel. You can get a main dish for 6-10 SGD.

Bad:
One day we got to the hotel around 3.30 p.m. but the room hasn't been cleaned yet. We asked if it could be cleaned, but it still took additional 45 minutes. No siesta that day.
The distance from the nearest MRT station (Novena) to the hotel is relatively short, but there's a hill between them, so you have to walk up and down the hill in both directions -- it's more difficult than it sounds even in January.
The timetable for the shuttle bus could be improved. You can catch it at 11.30 a.m. and then only at 13.30 p.m. To catch it from Novena to the hotel, you need to phone the reception in advance.

Good OR bad:
Breakfast buffet is mostly Asian, which means a lot of hot dishes for breakfast (incl. chicken breast and fish). Scrambled eggs and beans are served every other day. Only diced cheese is served (salad section). It might be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you're use to.
Quality could be better.

Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? N/A

What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Welcome drinks coupon given at check-in. The restaurant has a special menu of drink you can choose from, e.g. tea, coffee, soft drinks, house wine (red, white), 2 or 3 beers, 2 mocktails.
A welcome gift in the room (fruit, extra cosmetics, cookies).
At check-in, the receptionist ask if we needed late check-out. We asked for late check out till 14h and we got it.

Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
I reserved during a special sale at around 100 SGD per day, including all taxes AND breakfast for 2 people every day and paid part of the stay with points. I was quite happy with the rate.

testman

Name of the hotel: ibis Kuala Lumpur City Centre

What is your Le Club status? Gold

Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? happy with the room; disliked everything else

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked the cheapest standard twin room; got an "upgrade" -- the same standard twin room on a higher floor
If I understand it correctly, rooms on higher floors are sold as a separate category. There are also deluxe rooms available, which are bigger than standard rooms.

How are the rooms?
Standard rooms are much bigger than most ibis rooms in Europe, so you get much more space. There's a minibar and an iron. The bathroom is better too - you get a decent shower.
I can't complain about anything in the room - they're really comfortable.

What was good and what was bad?

Good:
* size of the room
* rooms still in good condition
* nice views (there's a new skyscraper being built right next to the ibis, so some rooms will probably have no views soon)

Bad:
* Even though the hotel is not far from Petronas Towers and Suria KLCC, its location is really bad. There's absolutely nothing around. Some new buildings are being built at the moment and there are some shabby buildings on the other side. You could walk to Petronas Towers, but it's a risky business. The pavement is very narrow or non-existent. The hotel employs a group of young men whose task is to stop the traffic if guests want to cross the street in front of the hotel. There are more exciting neighbourhoods in KL to stay in.
* A leaflet in my room claims that this is the biggest ibis hotel in the world. It is certainly possible. As a result, housekeeping takes ages. Our room was not ready when we got back to the hotel (around 3-4 p.m.) on both days.
* Breakfast buffet was just unacceptable. There is quite a wide range of dishes available, e.g. you can have congee, rice noodles or chickpeas etc. There are very few European/Western options. Still, the main problem is that most of the dishes are cold. You can eat a chicken/beef sausage cold. Scrambles eggs - runny and cold. Baked beans - cold and very sweet. Corn on the cob - cold. Curry chicken - cold. Absolutely crazy.
* The hotel offers a free shuttle bus. It's absolutely useless, as you can catch it 4 (!) times a day and places are limited.
* Also the welcome drink was below my expectations (cf. below).

Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? N/A

What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
* upgraded to a higher floor as mentioned above
* I didn't get my welcome drink at check-in. I asked for it a bit later and I got a coupon that could get me their special ... hibiscus tea. No, thank you. I was hoping to buy one of those overpriced alcohol-free beers that they sell in the sports bar on the top floor.
* no extra perks offered

Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
If I return to Kuala Lumpur, I'll definitely choose a different hotel. I like to eat my breakfast warm.
We paid around 47 EUR per night with breakfast (reservation made during a sale). I'm quite sure it is possible to find a budget hotel in a different part of the city.

Stacycrow

Name of the hotel: Mercure Sunshine Coast Kawana Waters

What is your ALL status? Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? No

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked a 1 King Bed Superior King Room, received the same and was advised at reception that I had been upgraded. Questioned this later after seeing the room and was advised that Red Hot Room Accor Plus bookings are not eligible for upgrades. Asked to speak to manager who was not available at check-in and check-out.

How are the rooms? Unfortunately, not good. In the room was a Beat Western Plus guide to the hotel, Apparently the Hotel had recently transitioned to Mercure from Best Western and retained their staff who had not been trained in Accor benefits. The Superior room is very small and run down/tired looking. The shower had no water pressure plus a water saving device made lathering up with soap impossible. The A/C leaked condensate onto the TV which was reported however nothing done.

What was good and what was bad?

Good: Breakfast was good, however not many options.

Bad: The hotel location is terrible right next to Sunshine Coast University Hospital and about 20-minute drive to Caloundra Beach. No restaurants nearby. The general condition of the hotel with Best Western marketing material on menus and in lifts and room. Very poor loyalty treatment.

Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? No lounge

What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? Had to ask twice. No welcome amenity.

Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? Would never return. Accor encourages/promotes Red Hot Rooms/Private Sales but do not honour benefits at this hotel.

wkndtraveler

Terrible.

The rate type doesn’t matter, ALL members should alway get the benefits unless booking is made through third party site.

Did you ask why they first said you got an upgrade if the upgrade was against their own rules?

Stacycrow

Did you ask why they first said you got an upgrade if the upgrade was against their own rules?

Yes - the reception person didn’t tell me the truth and tried to cover it up because I asked if I was upgraded. Further, they did not know what they were doing ex Best Western staff apparently.

Goldorak

Name of the hotel:: Mercure hotel Frankfurt Airport. To be accurate, as there are several Mercure hotels at FRA, it is the one located Am Weiher 20 in Kelsterbach.

- What is your Le Club status? Diamond

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? : nothing really bad, but just…bof

I knew that they had a shuttle from/to FRA, as it is mentioned on the hotel webpages, but there is no details about it (I don’t understand why hotels do not post more details about that kind of services : where to find it, frequency, etc). So a few hours before checking-in, I sent an email at the hotel enquiring about details for the shuttle. I never received any response. Disembarking in terminal 2, I then called the hotel. They said the shuttle is only serving terminal 1 and that the next one in T1 was in 15 min and that I will not make it from T2 on-time and the next one is in 1 hr. Great…So I finally took a cab.

The hotel is the kind of old Mercure that is not super appealing. Check-in was quick and I was given the drink voucher (which I didn’t use because no time).

The shuttle is shared with a nearby Ibis and a Moxy. It doesn’t run super frequently. It is free from the airport but cost 3 EUR to the airport. At least they gave me the ticket for free (Diamond benefit ?).

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive ? : I booked a standard room with queen bed & sofa and I received standard room with queen bed. So this is technically a downgrade. Frankly, I could not care less as I arrived in room at 22:30 and was intending to leave at 8 am, so I didn’t ask for anything and I know the hotel was fully booked. But still…At least they put the “Privilège items” (bathrobe & slippers). There was also an espresso machine.

- How are the rooms?: standard European size. I had the feeling that this hotel was an ex-Novotel as there were many typical Novotel stuff : old crappy white painting with reliefs, bathroom was also the typical Novotel one.

The heating is done through the AC system. It was so noisy that I had to switch it off. There is a curfew at night in FRA, and I can tell you that soundproofing was very poor. Indeed, from 6 am, plane noise was making it impossible to sleep.

- What was good and what was bad?
Good: :

• close to airport (but it takes about 15 min),

Bad:

• shuttle to only one terminal, cost 3 EUR to go to terminal
• kind of room downgrade
• outdated style
• poor soundproofing
• ridiculous welcome gift (see below)
• no real status recognition
• Dinner room service trays that were in the corridor when I arrived and were still there the following morning

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?: no lounge

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks :

The super welcome gift, costing 0.5 EUR (price seen in a nearby gas station), was a pack of kit-kat. I posted the picture here :

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32065897-post65.html

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?likely not.

fransknorge

This is indeed an ex-Novotel. I tried all the Accor hotels around FRA and all are bad or really bof, like the Mercure which actually is the best of the lot. My recommendations for FRA is to forego Accor despite the benefits and book one of the Hilton (HGI, Hilton or Hampton). Their convenience outweight the loyalty benefit IMHO. If really you want Accor then the Mercure Hauptbahnof in Frankfurt is your best bet. As it is close the S-Station Hauptbahnof it is nearly as convenient as the shuttle/taxi to the FRA hotel.

testman

- Name of the hotel: ibis Styles Singapore on Macpherson

- What is your ALL status? Gold

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
on arrival: very unhappy
on departure: a bit less unhappy, but still not very happy

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a Standard Room with a queen bed
Upgraded to a Apartment with a queen bed and a sofa bed

- How are the rooms?
Exactly what you can see at Accor's website. Very big room with a big bed, a double sofa bed, a large coffee table, a small desk and a chair
There's a small fridge and even a microwave oven.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good:
* Room upgrade given at check in for free. Room offered was very big.
* There are a few bus stops around the hotel. You can catch a bus to the centre easily.
* There's a free shuttle bus. You can only get it a few times per day, but its itinerary is surprisingly long. Not only does it take you to the nearest MRT station, but also to Chinatown or Orchard Road. We used it to get to Mattar MRT on our way to the airport (it was private tranfer for 2 passengers).
* Late check out till 2.30 p.m. possible. (But it was really difficult to have it confirmed on the first day when the reception was manned by a group of trainees (?). It was much better on our departure. More experiences staff was present, with better English skills.)

Bad:
* Location: The closest MRT station is Mattar, not Macpherson, so the name may be misleading. Not the most exciting part of Singapore.
* Location (2): This ibis is part of a shopping mall (Macpherson Mall), which is mostly empty. Like a ghost town. There's a tiny cafe with 3 hot dishes open till 6 p.m., some kind of a sports bar and a small FairPrice supermarket + some offices, a surgery etc. You can see that there were more small restaurants etc, but most of them remain closed now (including a cafe that's supossedly part of this ibis hotel)
* Chaotic check-in: The hotel lobby is at the back of the shopping mall and it's difficult to find it if you're not driving. The lobby is very small, but there were at least 4 people at the reception desk. Most of them didn't know what they were doing or couldn't express it in English. At one point, I was asked to sit down in the lobby and wait, but it was not clear what I was waiting for (was I too early? were they looking for a room that was ready?).
* A room for voyeurists: I could look into about a dozen other rooms (and they could look into my room). Floor-to-ceiling windows are not always a good idea.
* Too many cupboards and shelves. Probably more than I have at home. Absolutely crazy. But just tiny bedside tables.
* Bathroom has black plastic walls. It's very small (you can sit on the toilet and brush your teeth) and very dark. To make things interesting, one of the bathroom walls can be moved, so you get a complete view of the toilet area from most parts of the room. (Mercure Bratislava also uses a semi-open bathroom, but the toilet area has a proper door; the sink and the shower are in the semi-open part. Also, the bathroom is BEHIND the bed, so not really visible if you're in bed.)
* Brekfast buffet: limited range of options (much more limited than ibis Singapore Novena) and again cold eggs. It was very warm outdoors (by the pool) and surprisingly hot inside (air-conditioning not working well). I didn't find any tea.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? n/a

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Vouchers for 2 pax given at check in (good for tea, coffee, water, soda, beer)
No other perks

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
I won't return. Ibis Singapore Novena offers smaller rooms, but the rates are usually cheaper there. Also, ibis Novena is set in a nicer neighbourhood.

Goldorak

ha ha. I was sure of that. Funny how we can recognize some signatures of the brands

hotel_user

Sounds like a horrible hotel.

It was probably cheaper to convert to a Mercure than to upgrade to the new Novotel standard.