Four Seasons London at Ten Trinity Square
Jun 29, 2017, 6:34 am
#47
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Jun 29, 2017, 7:29 am
#48
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Jun 29, 2017, 7:54 am
#49
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FHR is continental, not hotels
many do not negotiate/etc
is changing offers a new thing coming from corporate / owners ?
might be similar to adding new lower limits on highest upgrades
many do not negotiate/etc
is changing offers a new thing coming from corporate / owners ?
might be similar to adding new lower limits on highest upgrades
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jun 29, 2017 at 9:18 am
Jun 30, 2017, 12:42 am
#50
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: England
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Jun 30, 2017, 8:45 am
#51
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Programs: Krisflyer PPS, SPG, Hyatt GoldPassport, Shangri-la Golden Circle, British Airways ExecClub
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I almost booked FS Trinity for my holiday. Then decided not to due to expected teething problem and location. Looks like it's the right choice.
Jun 30, 2017, 10:05 am
#53
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Jun 30, 2017, 10:10 am
#54
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could use more discussion of where the line may be on not getting what one is paying for
and are there more negative changes at FS and others recently ?
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jul 1, 2017 at 6:22 am
Jun 30, 2017, 12:06 pm
#55
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Not in my experience. I was hoping to go back to Ten Trinity a few weeks ago now that their suites are open, but after my rather eventful opening night experience, they have refused to honour their own agreement and to upgrade me to one from an Executive (i.e. the one category down from a suite). They offered an upgrade from Superior to Executive, which I said wasn't what we agreed and wasn't what I wanted. Their counter offer was to offer free breakfast if I booked a suite. I mentioned I could get that for free with any FHR/Virtuoso/FSPP booking, plus they'd have to pay 10-15% commission, and I'd get other benefits too. So they just retracted the offer and went back to the original offer. I refer this to my own business, where a client would complain; it would be like me offering them £200 compensation, only for them to say it's not enough, so I offer them £70 compensation or something that is in fact worthless, for them to say it's even worse, and then go back to the original offer.
At FS Prague they never even responded to our feedback.
We're heading to FS Florence next week and if things are similar to Ten Trinity and Prague, I won't ever go to another FS again.
At FS Prague they never even responded to our feedback.
We're heading to FS Florence next week and if things are similar to Ten Trinity and Prague, I won't ever go to another FS again.
I suggest you take a night or two in Florence to also try the StR Florence (same owner as the FS Florence) and then share your thoughts. It would help if you had elite status with Starwood like I do, but I'm happy to put in a good word for you!
Jun 30, 2017, 12:15 pm
#56
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And somehow my experiences almost always turn out to be as good as or much better than when we spent tons of money on suites at disappointing and lackluster FS, MO, and other such properties. Remember: everyone claims these places are so worth the price because of their amazing service. But far too often, it doesn't sound amazing at all to me.
There's a reason FS is going to introduce a loyalty program...but it still doesn't sound like they're on the right path to me.
Last edited by bhrubin; Jun 30, 2017 at 12:30 pm
Jun 30, 2017, 12:24 pm
#57
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,856
The GM, Charlie Parker, did come to see me at departure. He did seem distressed at what had happened and genuinely wants to run a good hotel. Still seems more like a soft opening to me. As if to prove it, when I was on my way out of the hotel, I opened one of the hallway doors and it fell off! That was just plain funny.
Still with this level of service issues, the hotel is not worth what would be its normal rack rates, not even close.
Still with this level of service issues, the hotel is not worth what would be its normal rack rates, not even close.
Jul 1, 2017, 5:19 am
#58
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The GM, Charlie Parker, did come to see me at departure. He did seem distressed at what had happened and genuinely wants to run a good hotel. Still seems more like a soft opening to me. As if to prove it, when I was on my way out of the hotel, I opened one of the hallway doors and it fell off! That was just plain funny.
Still with this level of service issues, the hotel is not worth what would be its normal rack rates, not even close.
Still with this level of service issues, the hotel is not worth what would be its normal rack rates, not even close.
Comedy of errors. So bad I guess you just have to laugh it off?
Last edited by Aventine; Jul 1, 2017 at 5:25 am
Jul 1, 2017, 9:27 am
#59
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Welcome to the party of reality that FS often isn't quite all that it's cracked up to be as so many FTers crave...to remember. Just as Aman has changed, so has FS--and not for the better IME.
I suggest you take a night or two in Florence to also try the StR Florence (same owner as the FS Florence) and then share your thoughts. It would help if you had elite status with Starwood like I do, but I'm happy to put in a good word for you!
I suggest you take a night or two in Florence to also try the StR Florence (same owner as the FS Florence) and then share your thoughts. It would help if you had elite status with Starwood like I do, but I'm happy to put in a good word for you!
Really puts into perspective my joy of using points for free stays or paying for entry level rooms at comparable or near-comparable luxury hotels--and then almost always getting upgraded to beautiful and spacious suites because of my elite status, not to mention getting amazing service (and tremendous service recovery when things do go awry).
And somehow my experiences almost always turn out to be as good as or much better than when we spent tons of money on suites at disappointing and lackluster FS, MO, and other such properties. Remember: everyone claims these places are so worth the price because of their amazing service. But far too often, it doesn't sound amazing at all to me. Even the traditional / older ones can drop in standard over time.
There's a reason FS is going to introduce a loyalty program...but it still doesn't sound like they're on the right path to me.
And somehow my experiences almost always turn out to be as good as or much better than when we spent tons of money on suites at disappointing and lackluster FS, MO, and other such properties. Remember: everyone claims these places are so worth the price because of their amazing service. But far too often, it doesn't sound amazing at all to me. Even the traditional / older ones can drop in standard over time.
There's a reason FS is going to introduce a loyalty program...but it still doesn't sound like they're on the right path to me.
Could it be that luxury hotel stay experience ( both hardware and software combine ) is gradually a thing of the past? More and more hotels especially newly opened ones might have great hardware but they often falters at the software side of thing.
In my long vacation, I went thru 7 European cities and trying out 6 new hotels in the process, only the Ritz in Paris managed to truly impress me ( granted it's also the most expensive ). The rest just range from Good to acceptable and a few quite bad. I guess the problem is that luxury hotel do not need deliver outstanding quality that we come to expect, they just need to deliver what competitors in same locality can deliver at the same price point more or less.
So unless I am quite convince a hotel can deliver a really good experience, it makes sense to book one of the chains in the event it doesn't turn out well, it's also not going to be too costly.
Jul 1, 2017, 9:45 am
#60
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I guess the problem is that luxury hotel do not need deliver outstanding quality that we come to expect, they just need to deliver what competitors in same locality can deliver at the same price point more or less.
So unless I am quite convince a hotel can deliver a really good experience, it makes sense to book one of the chains in the event it doesn't turn out well, it's also not going to be too costly.
So unless I am quite convince a hotel can deliver a really good experience, it makes sense to book one of the chains in the event it doesn't turn out well, it's also not going to be too costly.
Last edited by Aventine; Jul 1, 2017 at 9:51 am