Fairmont Grand Del Mar San Diego
Feb 4, 2018, 10:18 pm
#76
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: SAN
Programs: AS 100K, DL MM, AA PLT
Posts: 2,934
Ah, so it seems the property has changed their upgrade class from the Prado to the Toscana--not only did I miss that, but the agent who made my original reservation also missed that. I was super psyched to see the Prado suite open up for my dates, but when I called FPC to upgrade tonight, I was given the bad news. Frustrating that you can't be upgraded to a lower class room....
Ah well, I guess I'll just have to content myself with the Eagles win for tonight.
Ah well, I guess I'll just have to content myself with the Eagles win for tonight.
Feb 4, 2018, 10:23 pm
#77
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2009
Location: FRA / YEG
Programs: AC Super Elite, Radisson Platinum, Accor Platinum
Posts: 11,874
Ah, so it seems the property has changed their upgrade class from the Prado to the Toscana--not only did I miss that, but the agent who made my original reservation also missed that. I was super psyched to see the Prado suite open up for my dates, but when I called FPC to upgrade tonight, I was given the bad news. Frustrating that you can't be upgraded to a lower class room....
Either way, I would recommend reaching out to the hotel directly - upgrading to a less expensive room/suite than the "designated suite category" usually is no problem.
Feb 6, 2018, 7:16 pm
#78
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: SAN
Programs: AS 100K, DL MM, AA PLT
Posts: 2,934
So, ended well, but surprisingly involved. (Nothing, however, compares to the Kea Lani in terms of hoops one needs to jump through to get a suite upgrade confirmed.)
Jun 16, 2018, 8:39 pm
#80
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: SFO/LAX/SAN/LAS/DFW/JFK/LGA/EWR/MIA
Posts: 1,073
Sep 23, 2018, 3:49 pm
#81
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Poor concierge interaction
We are planning to dine with our mothers at Addison at the Grand del Mar on Thanksgiving. We had considered staying there for the night or even a few nights, but our latest interaction today gives us pause.
I had called many weeks ago asking what the Thanksgiving menu might be. I left my number and email and was told someone would get back to me. Then nothing. To be safe, I booked using OpenTable a dinner reservation for us.
Today, I called to follow up. The concierge was most unhelpful and kept putting me on hold to try and investigate. I politely indicated I didn't want to hold any more and indicated I would leave my phone and email so someone could follow up again when they had information. The concierge continued to insist that I hold. I finally told her that she was being rude and not providing anything close to 5 star luxury service in disregarding my request to not have to hold. I asked to transfer to a manager to discuss the matter.
I was transferred to another member of the concierge team. It felt like the first concierge knew she'd screwed up and didn't want to transfer me to a manager. I was now pretty annoyed. Something that should have taken a few minutes was now running on 20 minutes for no good reason. This qualifies as incompetence at a luxury hotel.
The latest concierge then apologized profusely and finally took my information to get a manager to get back to me and for the restaurant to forward the menu.
Very unimpressive service by the concierge team. It's been a few hours and I'm still waiting to hear from the manager. That isn't so impressive either.
Now debating whether we should bother with the dinner. Luxury this hasn't been. Not at all worthy of 5 stars.
I had called many weeks ago asking what the Thanksgiving menu might be. I left my number and email and was told someone would get back to me. Then nothing. To be safe, I booked using OpenTable a dinner reservation for us.
Today, I called to follow up. The concierge was most unhelpful and kept putting me on hold to try and investigate. I politely indicated I didn't want to hold any more and indicated I would leave my phone and email so someone could follow up again when they had information. The concierge continued to insist that I hold. I finally told her that she was being rude and not providing anything close to 5 star luxury service in disregarding my request to not have to hold. I asked to transfer to a manager to discuss the matter.
I was transferred to another member of the concierge team. It felt like the first concierge knew she'd screwed up and didn't want to transfer me to a manager. I was now pretty annoyed. Something that should have taken a few minutes was now running on 20 minutes for no good reason. This qualifies as incompetence at a luxury hotel.
The latest concierge then apologized profusely and finally took my information to get a manager to get back to me and for the restaurant to forward the menu.
Very unimpressive service by the concierge team. It's been a few hours and I'm still waiting to hear from the manager. That isn't so impressive either.
Now debating whether we should bother with the dinner. Luxury this hasn't been. Not at all worthy of 5 stars.
Last edited by bhrubin; Sep 24, 2018 at 5:21 pm
Sep 24, 2018, 5:55 pm
#82
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Wow. This hotel seems to be an example of complete management incompetence and unavailability—and every staff member with whom I’ve communicated appears to be tone deaf. It took 3 calls and almost an hour total of holds before I finally got a callback now from a manager.
Apr 29, 2019, 2:27 pm
#83
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Western US
Programs: Costco Executive Member, Amazon Optimus Prime
Posts: 1,251
We had a nice long weekend stay here, prompted by the thread here.
The SO and I thought every aspect of the hotel was fantastic, truly 5 star service and amenities in every way.
We mostly lounged around on site, hitting up the excellent gym, and the soothing pools/hot tub, reading books and enjoying the peace and quiet of time without kids/pets.
It seems like a prior poster had issues with the concierge; our experience was the polar opposite.
It was like the concierge read our minds - setting up with a well timed table at Jakes with a ride there & back.
We tried two of on site dining options.
Amaya was good - albeit slow.
The Clubhouse Grill was also good, and uncrowded.
We ventured into Del Mar to try Jakes and a Peruvian place - The Secret Bar.
Both of those are recommended too.
Thanks to all the prior commentators for their insights.
We rarely stay at these kinds of resorts, but this was actually worth the money.
The SO and I thought every aspect of the hotel was fantastic, truly 5 star service and amenities in every way.
We mostly lounged around on site, hitting up the excellent gym, and the soothing pools/hot tub, reading books and enjoying the peace and quiet of time without kids/pets.
It seems like a prior poster had issues with the concierge; our experience was the polar opposite.
It was like the concierge read our minds - setting up with a well timed table at Jakes with a ride there & back.
We tried two of on site dining options.
Amaya was good - albeit slow.
The Clubhouse Grill was also good, and uncrowded.
We ventured into Del Mar to try Jakes and a Peruvian place - The Secret Bar.
Both of those are recommended too.
Thanks to all the prior commentators for their insights.
We rarely stay at these kinds of resorts, but this was actually worth the money.
Jan 4, 2022, 3:21 pm
#84
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: AC SE100K MM, Accor Plat
Posts: 218
Just an update on SNUs and this property. I was also under the impression they were probably only for a certain category or lowest type (Prado) but when I called in yesterday I was given the option to use for the Prado, Toscana, and Palazzo if they had availability and was quoted different prices with reasonable differences between them. I called the main reservation line, and when asked about SNU availability was transferred (agent that took the call said they were in the Moncton call centre, actually this happened the last time I was asking another property about SNU and I had to be transferred). It also appeared there was just one rate I could use with the SNUs, vs years ago combining the Fairmont certs with a AAA or something IIRC.
Jan 4, 2022, 4:07 pm
#85
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: Accor ALL Diamond, AC Aeroplan 25K, Nexus/GE
Posts: 2,729
Just an update on SNUs and this property. I was also under the impression they were probably only for a certain category or lowest type (Prado) but when I called in yesterday I was given the option to use for the Prado, Toscana, and Palazzo if they had availability and was quoted different prices with reasonable differences between them. I called the main reservation line, and when asked about SNU availability was transferred (agent that took the call said they were in the Moncton call centre, actually this happened the last time I was asking another property about SNU and I had to be transferred). It also appeared there was just one rate I could use with the SNUs, vs years ago combining the Fairmont certs with a AAA or something IIRC.
I've also found at other properties, you are not limited to a single suite option. You will have a range of options, where better suites cost more than others. If you dig into it, you will probably discover that Suite type 1 maps to the price of a particular base room, and the next suite up, maps to the current price of the next best room, and so on.
