Jasper2009

That doesnīt sound too impressive. I have an upcoming stay in a Grand Pallisade suite which is the only suite with two beds available, and I hope the suite isnīt that terrible. I donīt mind traditional decor á la Royal York, Empress etc., but if everythings more or less in bad condition that wouldnīt be too impressive for a Fairmont.

Ancien Maestro

I should have done this prior.. but with 4 Fairmont hotels visited on the trip, I thought they would be prepared for our arrival..

Phone the front desk manager on duty, and clarify the suite you are receiving if it is becoming a factor in your mind..

You probably won't be getting a suite in the tower by the sounds of it.. but Grand Pallisade Suite is different from what we received..

Jasper2009

All the Pallisade suites are in the historic building afaik, the tower suites only have 1 king bed. The Grand Pallisade Suite is somewhat bigger (and has two beds), but doesnīt have any view as Iīve been told. (which I donīt mind too much, itīs just the condition of the Pallisade suites which doesnīt sound too impressive)

Ancien Maestro

For us, it was a roof over our heads.. and I was quite fine with it, even though my wife had the heebie jeebies about the hotel some reason.. she did not like the room.. but I'm a man.. what do I know? Tell you the truth, we went to Disneyland 8 times on our trip.. at Miramar was our last 4 visists.. and we didn't use the hotel much at all, but wake up, get valet bring the vehicle up front.. and off we went to the #10, I5.. Disney Way..

It's only one experience that is thrown out here.. I checked on www.tripadvisor.com and the hotel is rates #2 out of 33 hotels in Santa Monica.. I'm pretty impressed with it, and hopefully the suite you receive will be up to snuff.. let us know..

Jasper2009

I usually have a brief look at TA for the photos, but apart from that I find it pretty useless when it comes to upscale/luxury hotels. Anything remotely better than a Holiday Inn is "FANTASTIC, AMAZING, BEST HOTEL IN THE WORLD" for most users.

So far dealing with the hotel has been very pleasant, so Iīm trying to be optimistic. The reviews about the Royal York also werenīt too impressive here, but I had a great stay there in a very impressive suite this year, so letīs see. Iīll surely post a few notes once I return (though Iīll be going in fall, so youīll have to be patient )

Ancien Maestro

Sounds like if you like the York, then Miramar is no problem..

As for trip advisor.. alot of those patrons pay the retail bucks to stay in a non-upgraded room.. There are alot of negative reviews especially for the many Fairmonts that I've seen.. alot have to do with price paid, and the service/value received..

The ratings might not be useful.. but the raw experiences, and reading through them are very informative..

But, I agree. its a balancing act.. and really, at the end of the day, all that matters is that you like it, and if you're treated well..

politico_pk

Jasper - we seem to be mirroring each other's travel this year

Sorry I didn't respond to this thread earlier...I missed it for some reason. My wife and I stayed at the Miramar earlier this year on our honeymoon. I used a suite upgrade, but was in a tower suite, and I found it fantastic. A nice sized "living room", and the bedroom was fine. We overlooked the spa/pool area. The treatment was excellent - I had emailed the concierge to mention our honeymoon in advance, and there was sparkling wine and chocolate covered strawberries on arrival (n/c).

Hotel location was great. We walked to (and along) the beach ane the pier, as well as to the shopping district. Driving to Hollywood, etc., was very manageable from the hotel also.

We used the spa, and it was...fine. Nice enough, but the bar had been set very high earlier in the trip with the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa, which was amazing, so the Miramar spa wasn't quite the same.

I think the absolute highlight for us was Fig, the main restaurant. We've agreed we would go back to Santa Monica just for Fig. We had dinner there twice, once at a table, and once sitting at the bar for a different feel, and brunch once. For dinners we did chacuterie plates, which were fantastic (with, unsurprisingly, great wine to match). The brunch was unlike anything I'd seen, and apparently they're quite well known for it. I ordered "Kegs and Eggs", where you choose an egg dish and it comes with a bottomless pint of beer (come on, it was 11 am ). My wife had the "bacon waffle", which had strips of bacon baked into the waffle, topped with maple syrup with crumbled bacon in it, and bacon ice cream. Perhaps not everybody's cup of tea (or pint of beer), but we really enjoyed the creativity of the brunch and the flair of the service.

Hope you enjoy...I'm envious of your visit!

Jasper2009

Indeed, seems like weīre visiting the same properties, maybe we should leave secret messages in the various hotels.

Good to hear you had a good time there. The brunch buffet sounds... letīs say interesting. Will definitely have dinner at Fig once, could you give me a rough idea of the cuisine? The website doesnīt provide a lot of info nor a menu.

Btw, how far is the beach? The website mentions a shuttle bus to the beach club, is it for those who dislike walking more than 50m or is the beach really that far away?

politico_pk

By the time we were there, the "beach club" was closed for the season, much to our disappointment, so we walked to the beach for a stroll along the water. I'd say it was about a 10 minute walk. It's not quite a direct route, either...you need to walk down to the highway, then through a pedestrian overpass, then across another road, and you're there. IIRC, I checked it out with google street view before we went and it gave a pretty accurate depiction.

As for the cuisine at Fig, as I said there was a special charcuterie menu...and beyond that, I have to be honest and say I don't recall. It was about a year ago. I recall a good soup, and excellent fries. It's not particularly unusual cuisine, but what they do, they do quite well. Sorry that's not terribly helpful!

Ancien Maestro

The beach is down the hill.. Just one block drive parallel to the street which the hotel fronts overlooking the beach view..

I would estimate the beach to be a half block from the hotel.. but a block drive down the hill on a street parallel to the street in front of the hotel northwards..

qbrain

The Miramar was my first ever Fairmont stay last November. I booked the cheapest Friends and Family rate I could find and based on that crappy room with a view of a side street, I switched the majority of my stays from Hyatt to Fairmont as a leisure traveler. I just like the feel of Fairmont hotels.

IMHO, the Miramar is nice. If you have stayed in several hotels in Santa Monica, it is definitely a nice hotel for the area. I have not been in a Santa Monica hotel room that wowed me in space or decor. I have been in better hotel bathrooms, but again, Santa Monica hotels don't set the bar too high.

As for the view... I appreciate that the ocean is out there to maintain the wonderful temperatures found in LA, but it is quite possibly the most boring beach view I have seen. My wife loves views, a view is not requested when we travel to LA and I have only booked a ocean view room in Santa Monica once.

My wife's sister lives in Santa Monica, so my experience in LA is strictly limited to SM.

Jasper2009

I just came back from my stay at the Fairmont Miramar and as promised, here are a few notes:

1) hotel facilities:

Overall I really liked the hotel, very nice entrance area, impressive lobby area, grounds seemed to be kept in a good condition. Overall a Fairmont with character, somewhat reminded me of the Fairmont SFO which is one of my favourite Fairmont hotels in the US. The suite I stayed in was pretty nice (bedroom; living room with sofa, airmchair, desk and wet bar; "old-style" bathroom with tub/shower combo) and was definitely kept in good shape.

The hotel also has a private beach club (it was 26°C / 78°F when I was there), unfortunately the beach had shut down already in September and only seems to be open for about four months/year which I found a somewhat disappointing, anyway there are plenty of nice beaches near the hotel.

2) location:

The location of the hotel is excellent. You can see the ocean and the pier from the top floors of the hotel and the major attractions (beach, pier, 3rd street) are all 5-10min away on foot. Santa Monica also is one of the nicer places to be in LA, though getting around to other places (Hollywood, Beverly Hills) isnīt particularly convenient if you donīt have a car.

3) Platinum welcome amenity:

The welcome amenity consisted of bread and cheese, two small bottles of water, three strawberries and one pastry. As I booked through a Virtuoso travel agent, Iīm not sure what was the Plat amenity and what was the Virtuoso amenity, anyways the welcome gift was decent, but nothing to get overly excited about.

4) internet access:

The hotel offers both wireless and wired internet access and has introduced two-tiered internet access with the slow connection being complimentary for FPC members and the faster connection costing $10/night ($16/night for non-FPC members IIRC). Unfortunately the slow connection is deadly slow and it took ages for websites to lead, doing anything else but checking e-mails took forever.

5) dining:

I had breakfast at the Fig restaurant each morning which was excellent. The "steak and eggs" dish probably was one of the best breakfasts Iīve had in a long while. Service was excellent each morning and the restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere. Canīt comment on lunch/dinner, but the menus certainly looked interesting.

6) service:

Without going into too much detail, I must say the service was the least impressive service Iīve experienced so far this year at any Fairmont hotel. I had confirmed a particular suite for a special occasion through the GM, and the suite wasnīt available when I arrived. The front desk claimed they knew nothing about the arrangement and were unable/unwilling to provide any other suitable suite. Overall pretty unimpressed.

7) conclusion:

Overall a very nice hotel with great facilities, good dining options and a great location. Unfortunately I seem to have been unlucky with regards to the service during my stay which was the most unimpressive service Iīve received during my 40+ nights. Iīve received an apology for the inconvenience, and Iīm sure the service standards usually are better than what I experiences, Iīm unlikely to go out of my way to return anytime soon.

Ancien Maestro

Jasper2009.. Do you equate service to the front desk unwilling to accomodate you in a different suite?

Overall, my service experience at the hotel was excellent.. but the room designation was the same problem..

However, I've noticed that Fairmont this year has been heavy handed with upgrades at check-in accross the board with Platinum members (here on FT, and whom I personally know), except a few hotels which I've frequented over the years.. and I believe that is by Fairmont corporate policy.. and speaking with FPC concierge..

Jasper2009

The upgrade policy very much depends on the individual hotel and Iīve been pretty happy so far this year.

What basically happened in this case:

1. I had confirmed a particular suite with two beds months in advance through the GM (who was very friendly/responsive) for a special occasion
2. I confirmed the suite with the res. department a week before arrival to make sure everything was in order
3. When I arrived the suite was not available and the front desk claimed they knew nothing about the arrangement and were unable/unwilling to provide any other suite/room combo, all they could do is send up a rollaway bed
4. It took three enquiries and over 4h for the roll-away bed to arrive (around mignight), and the bed wasnīt particularly comfortable
5. I did receive an apology after my stay, but compared with other hotels Iīve stayed at that went above and beyond to fix issues they created the handling of this issue wasnīt too impressive

I didnīt expect any additional upgrades upon arrival (though I probably could have asked for the one-category Virtuoso upgrade), I just wasnīt impressed by how the hotel didnīt seem too interested in fixing an issue they created.

Just to put things into perspective: Another hotel I recently stayed at gave me a smoking room instead of a non-smoking room, when I complained at the front desk I was told they didnīt have any other room, but proactively offered a full refund based on their "100% satisfaction guarantee". Did I expect that kind of compensation? No. Was the way the hotel handled the error far more impressive than the way the Fairmont handled the issue? You betcha.

Ancien Maestro

Third party website upgrades are hit and miss.. especially after guaranteed upgrade at reservation..

If you had a printout of your reservation with bedding configuration, that would have acted as a document.. Fairmonts are usually pretty good at the bedding configuration, and the times which it has become an issue (never for us as we always take a king), the hotel calls us up and asks us if its ok to change it.. which is always a definite yes..

Hotel Miramar, seems to be an odd Fairmont.. catering to the regulars that have frequented over the years.. as for FPC elites, they don't seem too interested in winning back business.. Hotel Miramar is also odd as they don't have the under 5 kids eat free, whereas all other Fairmonts we visit has this promo..

An odd duckling.. a good experience.. my wife didn't like the hotel at all.. maybe she'll change her mind one day, and we'll go back..