offerendum

I donīt know if anybody on this forum knows Heinz Hormann. He is a German hotel tester and quite famous. He wrote some guides and writes regular for big German newspapers. He also had his own TV-show.

Now I found his world wide Top-ten of favourite hotels. It is:

1. Raffles Singapur
2. Oriental Bangkog
3. Del Coronado, San Diego
4. Savoy London
5. Cipriani Venedig
6. La Posta Vecchia Rome
7. De Crillon Paris
8. Nassauer Hof Wiesbaden
9. Vier Jahreszeiten Munich
10. Mount Nelson Hotel Capetown

To make it clear, itīs not my top ten I donīt wonna start a discussion, but I thought it might be intersting to see, what "the biggest hotel expert" in Germany thinks.

P.S. I always find his work amusing

MikeFromTokyo

Not a single one of his 'top ten' would even be my first choice in any of the respective locations. The only possible exception might be Nassauer Hof - it looks awful, but I am not familiar with Weisbaden's other options.

Only the Oriental, hotel de Crillon, and Cipriani might make my personal top fifty list (including resorts). If I were limited to city hotels only, the Oriental might make my top ten list, but would be well below The Peninsula Bangkok, which is number one for me.

My top ten list would look something like this:

1. The Peninsula Bangkok
2. Four Seasons George V
3. Four Seasons Milan
4. Four Seasons Sultanahmet AND Four Seasons Bosphorus (tied)
5. Four Seasons Hong Kong
6. Four Seasons London (Park Lane)
7. The Peninsula AND Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (tied)
8. Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro
9. Hotel de Russie
10. Four Seasons Bangkok AND the Oriental Bangkok (tied)

offerendum

I always stay in Frankfurt, but it should be the best in Wiesbaden. I thought about it a few month ago, but found the hotel not good enough But it is a LHW.

I forgot another fact about this list. Most hotels are testet from him. For example he gave Cipriani only 4 stars, because they slept down. Other hotels got 5 stars but arenīt on the list. It all vindicate my thoughts about Hormann

For example he "tested" the Atmosphere Dubai (with a TV-team of course). They had a special dish this evening, but he found it doesnīt match together, before even tasting it. So he asked the chef to cook his own recipe, only to say that it match so well together. Ridiculous....

somkiat

I like reading his hotel reviews which from time to time appear in some German newspapers , although if that Top 10 list is really his opinion he should better retire asap I guess . I further guess that he judges partially from distant memories , for example I believe that he has not been to my personal No 1A Oriental Bangkok for a very long period because he always keeps praising features that have disappeared 12 years ago like checking room occupancy with a match leaning against the door . And how the Nassauer Hof would ever make it into the World Top 10 remains a mystery to me . Maybe it belongs to the top 10 worldwide for Russian travel agents . The previous GM of the Oriental , Kurt Wachtveitl , now works as sort of a consultant for a Red Bull- family owned place somewhere in the Pacific where rates start at 4000 USD / night , so what about that one . ( Before you pick up the phone and book for a month : make sure it includes breakfast )

somkiat

To mention these 2 properties within one sentence is an insult as such because the Four Seasons has nothing to offer except that it is possible to smoke cigars in the open air cafe . Here we go , it shows that these ratings are useless . We might take the opportunity to launch another good Oriental ./. Peninsula thread possibly integrating people who have never visited any of them .

MikeFromTokyo

I can't believe this person is actually paid to review hotels and to appear on television.

MikeFromTokyo

I chose my top ten based on personal experience, so this is of course my subjective opinion. Four Seasons Bangkok has superb service, and I simply love the place. Especially at suite level or in a cabana room/suite with executive club access it is an exceptional hotel.

Frankly I think it was generous of me to include the Oriental in my top ten list at all. It would have been my favorite hotel in the world twenty years ago, but for me the Pen and FS are far better options.

Mickidon

The Del??? Geez. This is a very particular kind of list, populated by some fading hotels that once hosted famous people. We know, because the literature in the rooms tell us about good kings' visits and celebrity pictures are in the lobby, where tourists can take photographs.

Blackbook

Heinz appears to have no taste except for the love of aged "historic" hotels. The De Crillon may have been a nice play to stay when Marie Antoinete was alive..

Blackbook

The Oriental hasn't aged well enough to compete with newer options in Bangkok.

MikeFromTokyo

Hopefully it will again be a viable option after the current renovation.

somkiat

Might depend on preferences ,I just had what I believe is my 115th visit and I don't really miss anything yet .

offerendum

Perhaps he only meant "the ten biggest hotel legends" (not clearly stated in the article) - unfortunally, it woudnīt make the list much better

Pausanias

I never trust anyone who writes travel stuff for newspapers - and I used to be a journalist. It's the most corrupt section of the paper.

Big Mac

Reviews like these are a joke. Of course he will get the best service possible, actually he will probably be treated like royalty since everyone knows who he is and what his intentions are. I'm pretty sure "ordinary" people won't be treated the same. Reviews should be done undercover, without mentioning your intentions, etc.

I visited the Mandarin Oriental about a month ago when I went to dine at Sala Rim Naam (terrace) and here is my (bad) experience:
- Upon arriving at the hotel by taxi I was greeted by a woman who looked at me head to toe (way too obvious) probably to look if I was properly dressed (was dressed in a dress shirt and jeans), how degrading...
- Even after the boat arrived to take me to the restaurant across the river I was never asked to board (I was/am not familiar with the hotel/boat/restaurant so I did not know what/which/where the boat was going) nor was I asked why I was at the pier nor was it explained to me how this boat/pier/restaurant thing worked.
- I was expecting to be seated right beside the river, however we were seated under a covered terrace (not even close to the river). No explanation/apologies offered. Later I overheard that because rain was forecast (it did not rain) they did not put any guests by the river. Is it really that hard to move guests to the covered area at the slightest hint of rain? I guess they were lazy that day...
- The location around the hotel is "scary" (ghettoish)...

I agree (it's old but in great shape)!