delanotre

- Name of the hotel: Grand Mercure Beijing Central
- What is your Le Club status? Gold

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes, with some soundproofing problems

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked junior suite, no upgrade
- How are the rooms? large, around 50 square meters
- What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Classical hotel, large lounge, swimming pool, fast LAN connection in the room
5' from 2 subway station Xidan and Xuanwumen
Bad:
poor Wi-Fi connection in the lounge.
poor soundproofing when other clients that close their doors around you, at the 9th executive floor


- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?
Yes, large lounge at 10th floor, happy hours access from pm 5:30 to 7:30
China and Occidental Breakfast from am 6:30 to 9:30


- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
2 welcome drink vouchers for the 1st floor bar but very poor choice ( no beer or Evian ...)
Free access to the pool at B3 floor


- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? A good hotel if they make soundproofing for room doors.
Service people very kind.

The lounge

cowism

- Name of the hotel: Pullman Bunker Bay Resort

- What is your Le Club status? Platinum

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

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked 3BR villa and received that because that was the largest room

- How are the rooms? Very spacious with fully equipped kitchenette - inclusive of oven, dishwasher. Lots of space around. Only downside is the noisy air-con and very very cold bathroom as I stayed in winter.

- What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Generally good Hardware
Good Restaurant
Peaceful as it is surrounded by a national park
Direct access to the beach - perfect for summer months

Bad:
Poor service. Nobody helped us with our bags. There could be times where there is no staff at the front office. Staff didn't look too happy working there, including Director of Rooms. He gave the worst service throughout the stay. LCAH benefits were not explained.
WiFi kept dropping
Breakfast was the same everyday (for 3 days straight)
30 mins drive to the hotel.

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

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? 4X welcome drinks were offered for all guests staying. Welcome amenity of water, chocolates and wine was ready in the room.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? Maybe. At AUD 300 a night, i think it was worthwhile for a 3BR villa.

vidrineb

- Name of the hotel: Sofitel London Heathrow

- What is your Le Club 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 standard room, upgraded to deluxe room.

- How are the rooms? Rooms were quite standard, nothing spectacular. There was some damage to the lamp shades that could have been easily fixed but wasn't and it brought down the whole feel of luxury in the room.

- What was good and what was bad?
Good:
The hors d'oeuvresin the lounge were pretty good and they had a nice selection of beers in the evening.
I did really like the ESPA London toiletries.

Bad:
Service was pretty terrible.There was hardly any platinum recognition aside from the room upgrade and I was lied to at check-in.
I arrived at reception to a massive queue of people waiting to check in. I noticed the priority Le Club Accor member check-in desk to the side with no one attending it. I decided to chance my luck and walk up to the counter there to see if anyone would approach me. To my surprise someone immediately approached me and asked if I could be helped. I asked if I could check-in and I was pointed to the back of the queue for the main desk. I informed the staff member I was platinum and asked if the lounge was available to check me in. I was told there was no lounge in this hotel (a lie) and again pointed to the back of the queue before the staff member disappeared. So I waited patiently, once it was my turn I was thanked for my loyalty (surprisingly) but not offered any drinks voucher or welcome drink though I was given my one category room upgrade.
In the morning when I went to breakfast I was told that I didn't have breakfast included in my room rate (which was untrue, I always book a breakfast rate). I attended breakfast anyway, expecting to have to fight with the front desk at checkout but luckily they verified it was in the system and took the extra charge off.
When I checked out I voiced my concerns after I was asked how my stay was. The front desk staff profusely apologized and promised me that he would have guest relations contact me immediately. Not surprisingly I have not heard anything as of a week later, I was also never given my invoice that I asked for.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge? Yes, after finding it myself.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? No welcome drink offered, no welcome amenity, absolutely nothing, not even a turn-down service.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? I very much doubt I would stay here again.

ContinentalVoyager7

- Name of the hotel:
Swissotel Merchant Court (Two stays)

- What is your Le Club status?
Platinum

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
First stay was pretty good. The second stay was generally fine except for some hiccups here and there.

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
(1st Stay) Booked Premier room and got upgraded to Swiss Executive Room
(2nd Stay) Booked Premier room and got upgraded to Swiss Advantage Room

- How are the rooms?
Rooms were generally good however the lack of a sofa or armchair made me request for a better room during my second stay. They managed to give me a room with an armchair however a lower category room. Coffee and Tea were Nespresso and TWG. Bath amenities were in-house brand Purovel. Rooms were recently refurbished about 1-2 years ago. So it still looks good for a 21 year old hotel.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good:
1. Location was excellent, above Clarke Quay MRT station and opposite Clarke Quay, where nightlife is good.
2. Resort style pool in the middle of the City
3. Granted late check out at 5pm and 4pm respectively.
4. Birthday celebration at the Hotel was Unique. They would slip you a letter saying they need to deliver something to the room while you were present in the room. Then deliver the cake with 2 staff and sing you "Happy Birthday" at the doorway of your room. Some might find it intrusive but I found it unique.


Bad:
1. Had a bad encounter at Blue Potato, the poolside restaurant by which the Manager refused to serve me bread at the start of the meal because I did not order a main course. What did I order, 2 Beef burgers. I wanted to roll my eyes at him when he told me Beef Burgers aren't main course. I went directly to FO to complain after my meal and the Duty Manager handled it. Quite ridiculous IMO to consider a beef burger not a main course dish.
2. The croissants at thew Hotel was downright a betrayal to the French heritage of Accor It was inedible and one of the worst I have ever tasted. I did give feedback about this.


- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?
Yes, Lounge was above average. Service was tip top. Food selection at the lounge during Evening cocktails was average and evening cocktails drink selection was good. There was no Afternoon Tea session.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Received 2 welcome drink voucher on both stays without asking. Abit funny to be honest as they were very strict on the drinks. House Wine, Beer, Juices, Soft drinks, Coffee and Tea. When I ask if I could have a mocktail instead, they said no even though their costing would be lower than serving wine or beer.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
Yes, I got this Hotel as a damm good rate tbh... I booked the day during the transaction of FRHI into Accor. Saw some very good rates which were almost $90 below normal rate so I booked it. Never saw those rates again

exactlyaron

Name of the hotel:

Novotel Glasgow

What is your Le Club status?

Gold

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

Very pleased. Service was fine given the time period we were there. Room was clean and tidy and so were the dining areas.

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

5 nights - Superior Room - upgraded to Executive Room.

Differences are - Nespresso machine, iPod dock, extra bathroom amenities.


How are the rooms?

Decent size, good selection of pillows and additional ones were in the wardrobe. Separate toilet to bathroom which is always useful.

What was good and what was bad?

Good:

It was all good. Clean, friendly, good location. Breakfast selection was surprisingly good as well. My partner was very please with the pancake maker!

Bad:

Nothing comes to mind.

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

N/A


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

2 x drink voucher. Welcome chocolate and 2 flavored lemonades.


Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?

Bargain! We went to Glasgow for the European Championships, I booked tickets for it the day they were released, 14th June. So knew we'd have to sort out a hotel asap. We went to Glasgow for Common Wealth Games in 2014 and ended up staying in Irvine because we didn't buy tickets until a while after they were released hotel prices in Glasgow were ridiculous.

So I emailed to book as it was well over a year until the actual stay would happen so couldn't do it online - 5 nights @ Ł76.50 per night inc breakfast.

December / January time the prices started going up significantly and by April it was Ł1200 for 5 nights!!

So yeah amazing value for money and due to the location I'd definitely stay again.

savonarola

- Name of the hotel: Ibis Joăo Pessoa

- What is your Le Club status? Gold

- 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? Does being in the highest numbered room count as an upgrade? It is an Ibis, so standard rooms only. During online check-in, I asked for a higher floor and ocean view. I got the highest floor (4th, it's a small hotel) and a lateral view (no front windows on this floor).

- How are the rooms? Not much different from other Ibis. Good shower and bed. Small bath towels and no hand towel provided. No safe. Power outlets a bit far from bed. TV with many international chains, functional Netflix and Amazon Prime apps, and an outdated AV panel nearby. Wi-fi a bit on the slow side.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good: polite and helpful staff, beach gear (towels, folding chairs, beach umbrellas) provided.

Bad: although it is located on the beachfront, it is a bit far from more lively parts of the beach where most restaurants and bars are.

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

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? Welcome drinks for two (water, soda, canned juices and canned beer only).

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? Yes and yes.

ContinentalVoyager7

- Name of the hotel:
Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua

- What is your Le Club status?
Platinum

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Generally very happy. Would love to come back.

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked Luxury Room and got Luxury Room Pool Access.

- How are the rooms?
Rooms were generally nice. It was recently refurbished a few months ago as they redid the flooring and cleaned up the walls, toilet and etc. I love the fact that the rooms is so big. There is a large bed with a large Sofa. I particularly like the work desk as it is big enough to have a 2 person dinner meal at the table comfortably. Bathrooms were nice and bathtub was HUGE. Only sore part was the Sofitel Branded amenities, however a quick call to Housekeeping got them changed to Lanvin.

- What was good and what was bad?

Good:
1. Rooms were big-ish and comfortable.
2. The pool in my opinion is the best I have encountered. I just love the greenery surrounding the pool and the pool design. Especially the Jacuzzi.
3. Granted late check out to 5pm but needed to leave at 3pm
4. Food and Beverage at the resort was pretty good. But of course at a pretty good price.
5. Breakfast Buffet was very good.


Bad:
1. Resort can feel slightly crowded at times if running full occupancy, but not to worry as they have enough sunbeds around the pool. You only feel the organised chaos at breakfast.
2. At one point, the whole resort ran out of coconuts but it was refilled quickly after highlighting to a manager.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?
Yes, Lounge was pretty nice. The decoration at the Lounge wasn't my taste to be honest. It felt a tad too darkish theme as they use dark wood. As this is a resort, I would much prefer a lighter vibe. Food and Beverage at the Lounge was excellent. There was Afternoon Tea and Evening Cocktails. Afternoon Tea consisted of a 3 tier Platter consisting of Scones, Sandwiches and Local Kuehs. Evening Cocktails drink selection was above average and food was generally good. Breakfast at the Lounge was also generally fine.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Received 2 welcome drink voucher on both stays without asking. Welcome amenity was too small in my opinion. We were invited to AccorHotels LeClub Day Cocktails session. Additionally, I was lucky to win a complimentary Buffet Dinner for two at Kwee Zeen during the Lucky Draw for the LeClub day.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
I'll be honest, the resort is priced slightly on the high side, but I feel this is one resort I want to come back to. So I am definitely planning to come back soon as there is just something I love about this resort. (Full Review to come soon)

starflyergold

- Name of the hotel: Swissotel Amsterdam

- What is your Le Club status? Plat

- 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?
Junior Suite Balcony, no upgrade offered.

- How are the rooms?
Small, underdressed (as my travel companion said: IKEA chic, no luxury.)

- What was good and what was bad?
Good: Location, reasonable breakfast rate (€17.50)

Bad: Lots of things, no proper welcome, drinks voucher was not ready, having to fill in again all the forms

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

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks? Voucher materialised eventually with limited range. Welcome gift was a cheese platter which was nice indeed (and a an airline sized bottle of red wine).

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return? Absolutely not. Le Club experience was poor. Rate was through the roof (could have stayed at the Sofitel for that price).

hessinger

I don't write good experiences and most of them are pretty good, but I had an awful one yesterday in Sydney.

- Name of the hotel:
Pullman Sydney Airport

- What is your Le Club 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?
No upgrade, the assistant manager refused to my status as I had booked through booking.com last minute. She told me it was normal for Accor hotels not to recognise status unless you book through their website. Never have I encountered that before.

- How are the rooms?
Underwhelming. Reviews hyped it to being on par with the Asian hotels. The near by Meriton is much nicer. The one thing that irked me was that the room didn't even offer any sort privacy for the toilet other than a thin sliding door that didn't close all the way and didn't go from floor to ceiling. Might as well have put up a curtain.

- What was good and what was bad?
The entire experience with the staff at this hotel was pretty sad. I literally got chewed out by the assistant manager upon checking and handing her my platinum card as to why I would book through a third party. In the end she handed me a voucher and said this is only because I feel like giving you something for not knowing. Other than that, no recognition at all and other staff had followed sort of behaviour as well.

The restaurant food was also quite underwhelming. Burnt Steaks, globs of hair in the salad, and bread that would break your teeth.

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

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
No recognition, only a drink voucher as a "gift" that I apparently wasn't deserving of.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
No

1flyer

When you book via OTA as opposed to booking direct, the hotel has to pay substantially higher fees. The difference in fees can be as high as 20 percent of the room rate.

Hotels pay status benefits out of their own pocket. When you book direct, it's financially viable for the hotel to provide status benefits (as the hotel pays a low commission to the chain as opposed to paying a huge commission to an OTA). When you book via OTA, that's not a given.

Hence, it makes perfect sense that program rules stipulate that, in order to collect points and enjoy status benefits, you must book direct.

The hotel is following programme rules here. I don't find it reasonable to criticize the hotel for that.

starflyergold

Those are the rules of the programme. OTA bookings give you no perks, no points. The hotel was entirely correct.

andimilk

It's understandably frustrating but the rules are pretty clear on this one (the Le Club T&Cs literally mention booking.com by name as not being eligible) and are the same across most of the major Hotel groups. There is nothing to stop you booking last minute on the Accor website or App next time. It is also usually 5-10% cheaper than booking.com depending on hotel.

ContinentalVoyager7

- Name of the hotel:
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour

- What is your Le Club status?
Platinum

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
It was a slight let down except for the Club access and service

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Upgraded to a better view room.

- How are the rooms?
Underwhelming and no WOW factor other than the view. Rooms are slightly small but furnished well. No Bathtub for lower category rooms.

- What was good and what was bad?
The only good experience I got was at Service at Club Millesime, they were fantastic and the ambiance at the Club was amazing. However the rest of the Hotel was questionable. Welcome amenity not delivered, restaurant food was a let down and service at the restaurant was totally unacceptable for a Sofitel. The only saving grace was the service at the Club and the helpful concierge. Other than that, I am totally disappointing. (more to come when I have the time to do a full review.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?
Fantastic, the saving grace of my stay. View from the Lounge was nice and food offering is good. Personally, this is the first time I feel that the food served at the Club is better than the buffet downstairs at the main restaurant.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Only welcome drink voucher. Welcome amenity never came even though I kept on reminding them.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
No, I will not come back. I paid $300+ a night and it was not a good experience at all. The only good thing I got was the Club, other than that, I am totally disappointed. They have to buck up the service as they are just selling the views from their rooms.

Maelstrom

- Name of the hotel:
Grand Mercure Jinan Sunshine

- What is your Le Club status?
Gold

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

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a Superior Room, received upgrade to Junior Suite. Had issues with construction noise from a higher floor, so we asked for a room move and received an (unexpected) upgrade to their Executive Suite

- How are the rooms?
Quite good and roomy. The beds are very comfortable with both feather and memory foam pillows. The hotel is celebrating its 7-year anniversary, and I think that the rooms have not yet been refurbished, as they are starting to show their age.
The Junior Suite has a TV in the middle of the room that actually swivels, so you can watch it from either the sofa or the bed, which is cool. As a result, it had easy access to the HDMI and USB ports. In the Executive Suite, the TVs are fixed to the wall, and inside a little cubby so it is impossible to access these ports, which was disappointing.

- What was good and what was bad?
The staff are fantastic. The burger and club sandwich for room service were very good, and a decent price. The rooms are well appointed, even if they are starting to show their age.

Soundproofing of the rooms leaves a bit to be desired, especially from the hallway. You can hear anything and everything from inside the room. The shower got a bit smelly after every use, which was odd. The a-la-carte dinner food in the Oasis restaurant was OK, but nothing to write home about.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?
N/A, due to gold level membership. However, I did see a sign in the Oasis Restaurant stating that the Executive Floor was closed and that the happy hour would be served in the Oasis bar area.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
Welcome drink vouchers given, after a reminder at check-in - only valid for soft drink, juice, tea or coffee. Welcome amenity was a small fruit plate with three piece of fruit. Received upgrade at check-in. Late-checkout of 2pm granted (we wanted 3pm, but the guest service agent said it would be a "half day fee", and when we said we were gold members, we were told this fee would stand if we wanted to stay until 3pm).

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
Decent value, though the hotel is not exactly in a central location. We paid about CNY 2200 (~AUD 440) for 5-nights, which was quite good value. We only stayed here because the Sofitel was about CNY 1200 more expensive for the 5-nights. I would return, though I would always consider the Sofitel first.

Maelstrom

- Name of the hotel:
Mercure Nanjing Olympic Centre

- What is your Le Club status?
Platinum

- Were you (or for multi-stayers were you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Not really.

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked an Executive Room. No upgrade received, however I believe the hotel was very close to fully booked, as it was the start of the Chinese Golden Week national holiday.

- How are the rooms?
The hotel is brand new (3 weeks old). The rooms are very large, and quite well appointed. However, there is a chronic lack of storage space, with no drawers in the room, except those under the TV unit. The bedside tables are just that - tables. The open wardrobe also has no drawers. Each side of the bed has a power point and also USB charging ports (as does the desk). The TV swiveled, so you could watch it from either the table or the sofa, and has USB and HDMI ports.

- What was good and what was bad?
Loyalty status recognition was non-existent. No room upgrade (probably due to a full hotel), no drink vouchers (when we asked about this at check-in, we were told to "check the room" - there were no vouchers in the room). Payment was taken upon check-in, rather than a preauthorisation. The room did not have a room directory, so there was no access to information about hotel facilities. There was only one 600ml bottle of water placed in the room, for two people to share.

- Did you get club lounge access? How was the lounge?
Not sure. The lounge on the ground floor was closed at breakfast time, and we were advised to go to the restaurant for breakfast.

- What about welcome drinks, welcome amenities or any other special perks?
No drink vouchers (when we asked about this at check-in, we were told to "check the room" - there were no vouchers in the room). No welcome amenity in the room.

- Value for $ or Vouchers? Would you return?
We actually left the hotel after one-night (cancelled the second night), and extended our stay at the nearby Fairmont by one night. The rooms are well priced, however I do not think I would return, unless changes were made to the loyalty recognition. The hotel is a shared Huazhu/Accor hotel, so perhaps the staff are unaware of Accor loyalty benefits? I would definitely pay a small premium to stay at the other Accor properties in Nanjing, all of which have excellent reviews.