Originally Posted by kayess
(Post 11226950)
Did you try the Crowne Plaza while you were in Amsterdam? From what you say the CP sounds to be better value than the HI, at least for reward points.
I'm working in Amsterdam and at that time I had to stay in hotels while the construction of my house was finishing up, so I was trying out different hotels.
Originally Posted by stimpy
(Post 11227162)
Which HI? De Boelelaan? I have gotten good Platinum treatment there. On cheaper rates too. Maybe you had a bad desk agent?
It is right next to a major freeway, so you should ask for a room on the other side if the noise bothers you. |
IC Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Reward stay + paid upgrade to sapphire overwater bungalow. Got a complimentary diamond overwater bungalow. How are the rooms? Spacious bungalow with separate bedroom, walk-in closet and bathroom. Living room glass bottom table. How is the exec. lounge? N/A What was good and what was bad? Good: Nicely decorated room, nice welcome with welcome cocktail and a picture taken which we received upon check-out. Pretty quiet. Every morning swimming from the bungalow to the beach for breakfast was fun. Bad: Boat from and to the airport was pretty lame comparing to the St. Regis' one ;) A lot of honeymooners. Bora Bora looks better from the air than from the ground. Main island is boring except during heiva. Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Not too bad comparing to other properties on Bora Bora, but probably will be staying at the St Regis or Four Seasons next time. |
Crowne Plaza Paris Champs Elysees
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Royal Ambassador Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Not overjoyed - found the hotel too small, no area to "relax". The room was to small to spend too much time in and the sofas downstairs were in the lobby so you had gusts of cold air every time the door opened. Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked a Points break room and got a box. How are the rooms? Tres modern. Tres small. I described it elsewhere on FT as a designer IBIS room. I guess you either go for the Philippe Starck look or you don't. Bathroom has two sliding doors that connect to the bedroom. Did have a deep bath but a useless showerhead. Hermes products. Working Table (with a wooden chair which didn't fit in with the modern style). Free Wireless Internet access Two wardrobes which could have come from Ikea How is the exec. lounge? N/a What was good and what was bad? Good: Location Free Internet Staff were very professional. Bad: Very small room No PC recognition - even when I explained that I was frequent guest to CP's. I don't think they are really interested in PC (to the extent that the receptionist said that they wanted to remove Crowne Plaza from the name of the hotel but weren't allowed to) Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? 5k points can't complain - otherwise €300 per night - you'd be mad. |
HIX New York City Madison Square Garden
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked King Standard. Upgraded to King with Whirlpool, apparently the top-of-line (but just $20-30 more expensive than Standard). How are the rooms? Fairly cramped, though the bathroom with jacuzzi tub opens onto the living area via a sliding door, providing an impression of spaciousness. The whirlpool is just a large tub with jets. One easy chair, no sofa. Air shaft view, but quiet (no street noise). How is the exec. lounge? N/A What was good and what was bad? Good: Location, just 2 blocks from Penn Station. Upgrade. Friendly staff providing restaurant recommendations. Bad: - No evening food available at the hotel. Outside temperature 15 degrees F (minus 10 C). - Free internet had no available bandwidth when I arrived. A call to the provider caused them to ration service to a few hogs, and internet then functioned pretty well. - In-room coffeemaker non-functional. Required an early-morning trip downstairs for coffee. Requested and received 1K PC points (plus another 1K offered for waiting on hold for the manager later that day). Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Paid only $120 on a Thursday night, so excellent value for Manhattan. Would have used 25K points if much higher than that. |
Originally Posted by Explore
(Post 11231279)
Bad: - No evening food available at the hotel. Outside temperature 15 degrees F (minus 10 C). |
Originally Posted by Explore
(Post 11231279)
- No evening food available at the hotel. Outside temperature 15 degrees F (minus 10 C).
I know, that's hard. Winter time I know, that's even harder. No points :D:D |
HIX Düsseldorf-North
- What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador - Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes. Typical HIX of Europe. - Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked DBL+sofabed. Got the same on top floor in quiet corner. - How are the rooms? Really small, I would say. When sofabed is extended then there was almost no room for a suitcase. Good thing however is that that room could have been connected to other one. No free internet inside the room, but free wifi in the lobby. - How is the exec. lounge? N/A - What was good and what was bad? Pros: very good breakfast, covered basic needs, free wireless in the lobby Cons: location at the edge of the town (but you could take tram not far away from the hotel), no free internet in the rooms, long check-in, no special Platinum recongnition whatsoever - Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Per night price for 27,50EUR incl. breakfast using 2-4-1 I think is very good. And thus would return. |
Originally Posted by Orbiter
(Post 11229058)
No, I took the Sofitel The Grand around the CP's location. The Grand has a better location and is a nicer hotel than the CP.
I'm working in Amsterdam and at that time I had to stay in hotels while the construction of my house was finishing up, so I was trying out different hotels. Enjoy AMS and try to get ouf of Centrum to really enjoy it. ;) |
HI Glasgow Theatreland
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador - Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes with caveat detailed below - Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked cheapest on advanced rate about 50 pounds. Upgraded to executive room. - How are the rooms? Not bad. Sofa in room as well. - How is the exec. lounge? N/A - What was good and what was bad? Pros: each PC level gets a hotel voucher, as plat got all the vouchers incl plat voucher which was a free movie. Hotel is v central and good value for the price. Train station is out and left and out and to the right around the corner is a multiplex cinema and pretty good Thai restaurant. Cons: got my regular newspaper as requested in the morning and on check out was told I had to pay for it as it was not the 'standard' free paper they give. Was not told there was an extra charge for that when i checked in. Have sent emails to PC customer services and hotel GM. No reply from hotel. PC cust service was excellent. Also, usual two receptinists on the phone at check out for about 5 minutes while I was standing right in front of them waiting. - Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? on the balance for location and price, yes |
Originally Posted by rupert_s
(Post 11230334)
Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? 5k points can't complain - otherwise €300 per night - you'd be mad. I was really interested in trying this Hotel but couldn't find any availability for any type of rewards stay. Maybe it was the stupidly high rates & lack of Reward stay availability that made me even more curious. I'm sure my points would be better spent at the IC Paris or even a 15K HI in Paris. So I'll probably not bother now! Unless......... It appears again on the PB list which - Let's face in probably isn't going to happen. |
Originally Posted by stimpy
(Post 11235429)
The Sofitel Grand is on the other side of the city and a really, really nice hotel. The Sofitel near the CP is just an ordinary Sofitel. But still a nice hotel and better in many ways than the CP.
Enjoy AMS and try to get ouf of Centrum to really enjoy it. ;) The Sofitel you're referring to is an MGallery now. Parking at The Grand is a lot more convenient than around CP/MGallery's location. Not sure which one I like better The Grand or IC Amstel. To enjoy AMS is to get out of it as far as possible :D |
Holiday Inn San Jose (ex-Hyatt, near SJC Airport)
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes, very much indeed. Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked King Executive at cheapest A/P rate, received one of just a few full suites, with large living area and spacious pool-view balcony shaded by a distinguished tree (I think I lucked out here). How are the rooms? The hotel dates back to the 1960s. But it's a great Mediterranean design. Two stories with no elevators. The suite was on the top floor. Very spacious, large living area with couches, table, desks. Big high bed, nicely done up. Small balcony off bedroom, and huge balcony off living room, featuring a heavy iron dining table, shaded by a mature tree and overlooking the biggest and deepest hotel swimming pool in San Jose. Two full bathrooms. For standard/executive rooms, you need to request at least a pool view for the desired ambiance, since many rooms face a parking lot. I think all second-story rooms have balconies. How is the exec. lounge? N/A What was good and what was bad? Good: - Timeless hotel design, with spacious grounds, scattered wings, and large pool. - Possibly rare suite upgrade. - Coupon for $10 off breakfast, featuring made-to-order dishes in Amalfi restaurant (great longtime staff). - Free internet. - Plat care package of bottled water and mixed nuts. - Friendly staff! - Location near airport (courtesy shuttle until midnight) and key surface transport links (light rail, Caltrain via free shuttle, freeway). Bad: - Really nothing. Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? - Spectacular value for $67. Of course I'll return. |
Holiday Inn Waikiki (Honolulu, Hawaii)
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Royal Ambassador Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked the cheapest room available at the time -- I think it was actually for 2 double beds. Received a king room on the 16th floor (highest floor besides penthouse). Asked about upgrades for Platinums and was told I "already had a great room" -- I left it at that, I was just transiting overnight... How are the rooms? I've read some reviews that were less than stellar of this property elsewhere, so I was a bit leery going in -- but once in the room, I was pleasantly surprised. It's an older high-rise building in Waikiki, so the rooms are smallish, the bathroom particularly so. But it had obviously been refurbished sometime in the recent past. There was a chair and ottoman, a desk, a safe, a large fridge (for a hotel, anyway), free internet plus a couple of free computers available in the lobby, and good air-con. How is the exec. lounge? n/a What was good and what was bad? The price was good ($130 a night in Waikiki). It's about 4 blocks from the beach, walking through the outskirts of a park -- so a nice walk. There are decent cheap eating options around (a Chinese buffet downstairs, plus a 24 hour coffee shop down the block). Easy to catch cabs out on Ala Moana. Staff was really friendly. Nothing really bad to speak of, except maybe not getting a balcony room, and the toilet had a tendency to run... Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Yes, if we had a need to be in Waikiki and just had to stay at an ICHG property to get the points ;) we would definitely return. |
Holiday Inn Bloomington I35 Mall of America USA
What is your Priority Club status? Platinum Royal Ambassador Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked standard room, upgraded to Exec Room How are the rooms? OK for a Holiday Inn. They are having a MAJOR upgrade of the hotel just now. I was on the 4th floor for both my stays and even though it was messy its good to see a hotel spending the money to improve itself in such a way. Looking forward to seeing it when its all completed. How is the exec. lounge? n/a What was good and what was bad? Price was good. The free shuttle to/from the Airport plus Mall of America. The staff were very helpful indeed and it was funny when they noticed my RA Status and they had never seen a RA card before. Lots of vouchers and free breakfast...!!! As long as you don't mind the mess and the pool being shut till the end of April then its fine. Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Yes I would return. Good value for points and they gave some bonus points for the mess of the hotel just now. |
HI - Waikiki, Hawaii
What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Royal Ambassador Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Booked standard King room on gov rate ($125/nt) was upgraded to Penthouse level King room - city view. As The BeerHunter said earlier, they don't really have great rooms beyond this but was quite happy with room. How are the rooms? It's an older high-rise building in Waikiki, so the rooms are smallish, the bathroom particularly so. Renovations which were ongoing last time I was here are now complete with new furnite, bedspreads, etc. There was a chair and ottoman, a desk, a safe, a large fridge, free internet plus a couple of free computers available in the lobby, wall ac How is the exec. lounge? n/a What was good and what was bad? Good When you're there for work it's easy to get in and out as compared to the mega resorts. Good size balconies - with astrays. Wailana coffee shop is great, 24hrs and just down the street. Staff was really friendly. Bad AC was making horrible noises 1st night. Told staff and it was replaced the next day (so bad then good). The "restauran" here is a joke Chinese buffet that is attached to the hotel. I mean it's good enough for what it is but hate having to great breakfast from there. No bar area either. Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Yes, when I'm here for work (and thus by myself) this is where I stay. |
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