Are luxury hotels for everyone?
Jan 14, 2015, 10:01 pm
#76
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Programs: SQ PPS/ *A Gold
Posts: 42
It is. The key is to NEVER pick the ones without a good number of positive reviews, no matter how enticing the photos look. On a site like airbnb, without the usual consumer protection you'd have with a hotel brand/company, user feedback is everything. Only go for the ones which get good reviews.
Jan 14, 2015, 10:15 pm
#77
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 96
Now, an off-site review on FT might be just the thing to bring a touch of honesty.. idea for a new subforum?
Jan 15, 2015, 1:26 am
#79
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Manhattan NV
Programs: Hilton LTD, Hyatt Glob, Marriott LTTE, AA LTP, Avis PC, National EE, Seabourn DE
Posts: 3,030
[QUOTE=trickless;24169747] It's harder for one to leave a more honest review once that personal connection has occurred./QUOTE]
So true! Currently on extended tour of New Zealand and writing TripAdvisor reviews. Very difficult to slam a property so deserving a slam after personal connection has been made.
I see this over and over on TA, and do it myself.
So true! Currently on extended tour of New Zealand and writing TripAdvisor reviews. Very difficult to slam a property so deserving a slam after personal connection has been made.
I see this over and over on TA, and do it myself.
Jan 15, 2015, 3:20 am
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,520
Don´t think so. It totally depends on the person. People stay at hostels with 68 and some stay in luxury hotels with 20. So I meet people of all ages at luxury Hotels but of course for many in young people (i.e. during University/ training) it´s simply a monetary issue.
Have to agree. I started in my very early life with my parents and booked luxury Hotels by myself in the early 20s. I can`t really imagain anything else.
Last edited by offerendum; Jan 15, 2015 at 3:30 am
Jan 15, 2015, 10:29 am
#81
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
Jan 15, 2015, 1:33 pm
#82
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
I like things in the middle. I don't use my hotel too much on a trip but I'm not a "just to sleep" kind of guy. However, I'm also unlikely to eat at the hotel except breakfast or use the bar. Plus, as others have said I'm not interested in spa or pool services.
For me, a luxury hotel is a great place to go for a drink or maybe a meal. But for my nights, I'm okay with a Hilton/Marriott type property.
For me, a luxury hotel is a great place to go for a drink or maybe a meal. But for my nights, I'm okay with a Hilton/Marriott type property.
Jan 15, 2015, 6:39 pm
#83
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 38
I will say that I think there are more people that think it's not for them when in reality it would be. I mean, of course there are a lot of people who simply have never had the means and would enjoy it, but I mean even if they can afford it, simply don't care or haven't stayed at the right one. When I was studying in France, the girl I was living with also wanted to see Florence (I had been once and wanted to return) and charged her a nominal fee for sharing a room at the Four Seasons. She wanted to stay somewhere cheaper, but when I told her I was taking on a lot of the cost, she conceded when I mentioned free breakfast. Anyway, she was so curious as to why I cared about luxury hotels so much and thought I was crazy for spending the money. Then, when we got there, she started to warm up to the idea. By the next morning after sleeping in those beds and having the room service breakfast, she really started to love the idea. She still thought I was kind of crazy, but appreciated it. We shared a 350sqft apartment in Nice where I was on an upper floor and she was downstairs, but with no barrier in between. When we got to the front door I said "Well, back to reality. It's going to be hard to adjust." She shrugged it off and thought I was being dramatic. Later that night when she went to bed she yelled up "Ughh you were right. I miss the FS. These sheets are so scratchy." To this day she still thinks I'm crazy, but you can reason all you want about spending a lot at a hotel, but once you've tasted it, your bar is forever raised. Just my $0.02
Jan 16, 2015, 4:23 am
#84
Join Date: May 2012
Location: UK
Programs: Leaders Unlimited,Fairmont Platinum,SLH Loved,IC Ambassador
Posts: 490
I will say that I think there are more people that think it's not for them when in reality it would be. I mean, of course there are a lot of people who simply have never had the means and would enjoy it, but I mean even if they can afford it, simply don't care or haven't stayed at the right one. When I was studying in France, the girl I was living with also wanted to see Florence (I had been once and wanted to return) and charged her a nominal fee for sharing a room at the Four Seasons. She wanted to stay somewhere cheaper, but when I told her I was taking on a lot of the cost, she conceded when I mentioned free breakfast. Anyway, she was so curious as to why I cared about luxury hotels so much and thought I was crazy for spending the money. Then, when we got there, she started to warm up to the idea. By the next morning after sleeping in those beds and having the room service breakfast, she really started to love the idea. She still thought I was kind of crazy, but appreciated it. We shared a 350sqft apartment in Nice where I was on an upper floor and she was downstairs, but with no barrier in between. When we got to the front door I said "Well, back to reality. It's going to be hard to adjust." She shrugged it off and thought I was being dramatic. Later that night when she went to bed she yelled up "Ughh you were right. I miss the FS. These sheets are so scratchy." To this day she still thinks I'm crazy, but you can reason all you want about spending a lot at a hotel, but once you've tasted it, your bar is forever raised. Just my $0.02
having said that I do believe there are some unrated boutique bed and breakfasts that offer wonderful rooms and service that are different from 5* but none the less I would still stay in them again even though they dont have the bells and whistles, so you dont always have to be hugely rich to enjoy 5* bespoke luxury ... you just need to do your research properly!
Last edited by CanfordCliffs; Jan 16, 2015 at 4:24 am Reason: mistake
Feb 26, 2018, 6:32 pm
#86
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
OP here with a brief update. Took some of the advice in the thread (from...more than 3 years ago. Time flies). Have stayed in a decent number of hotels which plausibly might count as luxury to the folks here (Amarvilas Agra, Leela Palace New Delhi, Park Hyatt St Kitts, Shangri-La Tokyo, Beacon XV, Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, Waldorf Astoria Roosevelt NO) plus a few that I found comparable given their location (Hotel Icon HK club floor, H15 Warsaw, Hotel Cubo Ljubljana). I stopped by a few others for meals and a visit, including Fogo Island Inn, Jade Mountain, Amangella. As a luxury hotel skeptic, here are my thoughts after this little experiment:
1a) A few were fantastic. The location, service, and hard product at the Waldorf in Amsterdam was incredible. The same was true of Amarvilas. Next best, honestly, were Icon and H15, even if they aren't usually as well-regarded as some other properties. Loved the Shangri-La Tokyo. Would gladly go back to any of these. Fogo Island is a beautiful building but the price makes no sense given that you can stay on the island and eat at the hotel for 80% less money. Same is true of Jade Mountain.
1b) At the price many of these places charge, they should all be fantastic. They weren't.
1c) The best room at a smaller, very-well-reviewed place is often far, far superior to what I was getting at a higher price at the luxury hotels.
2) I essentially never used the spa service, or concierge, or room service at any of these. Things like transfers and tours often struck me as exorbitantly priced, and the staff often seemed completely unaware of the type of basic local travel information that a decent hostel front desk would know.
3) I did notice, and greatly appreciate, that these hotels usually get basic creature comforts right: fewer mosquitoes on the beach, high-quality bathrooms and mattresses, etc.
4) My baseline for a "great hotel" are small, place-oriented, very friendly, top location hotels, whose rooms are more interesting in some way that my own apartment. I'm thinking of places like the 21c mini-chain, the Red Tree House in Mexico City, the Michelberger in Berlin, traditional mansion B&Bs in places like Natchez, some particularly well-designed Kimptons, the Standard in NYC, and so on. In general, I think I still prefer these to the so-called luxury hotels. The front desk recognized me whenever I came in, local events were promoted, things were organized without any attempt to upsell to hotel-linked services, great contemporary art was often displayed, interaction with other guests was much more frequent, etc.
5) In a number of hotels, I felt as if I was paying to be in a location that isn't even that interesting. There are the hip neighborhoods, then there are the rich neighborhoods. They are rarely the same.
6) The luxury hotel value strikes me as much higher in more remote places, where high-quality food is tougher to come by, or in hotels located in particularly important historic buildings. I can't imagine, say, ordering room service while visiting a new city in any reasonably high quality food destination.
7) Large luxury hotels, like large hotels in general, are of no interest to me: see the Roosevelt New Orleans. The Park Hyatt St Kitts fit this mold. Perhaps the standard I am looking for is, the service and quality of staying on the estate of a spectacularly wealthy yet fun friend. It is surprising how difficult this is to find.
8) If you are born with the "don't waste money" gene, it is tough to shake. I am lucky enough to be able to afford nice hotels now, but it still comes close to ruining a vacation to feel like I've gotten a bad deal.
1a) A few were fantastic. The location, service, and hard product at the Waldorf in Amsterdam was incredible. The same was true of Amarvilas. Next best, honestly, were Icon and H15, even if they aren't usually as well-regarded as some other properties. Loved the Shangri-La Tokyo. Would gladly go back to any of these. Fogo Island is a beautiful building but the price makes no sense given that you can stay on the island and eat at the hotel for 80% less money. Same is true of Jade Mountain.
1b) At the price many of these places charge, they should all be fantastic. They weren't.
1c) The best room at a smaller, very-well-reviewed place is often far, far superior to what I was getting at a higher price at the luxury hotels.
2) I essentially never used the spa service, or concierge, or room service at any of these. Things like transfers and tours often struck me as exorbitantly priced, and the staff often seemed completely unaware of the type of basic local travel information that a decent hostel front desk would know.
3) I did notice, and greatly appreciate, that these hotels usually get basic creature comforts right: fewer mosquitoes on the beach, high-quality bathrooms and mattresses, etc.
4) My baseline for a "great hotel" are small, place-oriented, very friendly, top location hotels, whose rooms are more interesting in some way that my own apartment. I'm thinking of places like the 21c mini-chain, the Red Tree House in Mexico City, the Michelberger in Berlin, traditional mansion B&Bs in places like Natchez, some particularly well-designed Kimptons, the Standard in NYC, and so on. In general, I think I still prefer these to the so-called luxury hotels. The front desk recognized me whenever I came in, local events were promoted, things were organized without any attempt to upsell to hotel-linked services, great contemporary art was often displayed, interaction with other guests was much more frequent, etc.
5) In a number of hotels, I felt as if I was paying to be in a location that isn't even that interesting. There are the hip neighborhoods, then there are the rich neighborhoods. They are rarely the same.
6) The luxury hotel value strikes me as much higher in more remote places, where high-quality food is tougher to come by, or in hotels located in particularly important historic buildings. I can't imagine, say, ordering room service while visiting a new city in any reasonably high quality food destination.
7) Large luxury hotels, like large hotels in general, are of no interest to me: see the Roosevelt New Orleans. The Park Hyatt St Kitts fit this mold. Perhaps the standard I am looking for is, the service and quality of staying on the estate of a spectacularly wealthy yet fun friend. It is surprising how difficult this is to find.
8) If you are born with the "don't waste money" gene, it is tough to shake. I am lucky enough to be able to afford nice hotels now, but it still comes close to ruining a vacation to feel like I've gotten a bad deal.
Feb 26, 2018, 6:58 pm
#87
formerly known as deathscar
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: Virtuoso | Four Seasons Preferred Partner | Rosewood Elite | Hyatt Prive - and more
Posts: 2,096
OP here with a brief update. Took some of the advice in the thread (from...more than 3 years ago. Time flies). Have stayed in a decent number of hotels which plausibly might count as luxury to the folks here (Amarvilas Agra, Leela Palace New Delhi, Park Hyatt St Kitts, Shangri-La Tokyo, Beacon XV, Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, Waldorf Astoria Roosevelt NO) plus a few that I found comparable given their location (Hotel Icon HK club floor, H15 Warsaw, Hotel Cubo Ljubljana). I stopped by a few others for meals and a visit, including Fogo Island Inn, Jade Mountain, Amangella. As a luxury hotel skeptic, here are my thoughts after this little experiment:
1a) A few were fantastic. The location, service, and hard product at the Waldorf in Amsterdam was incredible. The same was true of Amarvilas. Next best, honestly, were Icon and H15, even if they aren't usually as well-regarded as some other properties. Loved the Shangri-La Tokyo. Would gladly go back to any of these. Fogo Island is a beautiful building but the price makes no sense given that you can stay on the island and eat at the hotel for 80% less money. Same is true of Jade Mountain.
1b) At the price many of these places charge, they should all be fantastic. They weren't.
1c) The best room at a smaller, very-well-reviewed place is often far, far superior to what I was getting at a higher price at the luxury hotels.
2) I essentially never used the spa service, or concierge, or room service at any of these. Things like transfers and tours often struck me as exorbitantly priced, and the staff often seemed completely unaware of the type of basic local travel information that a decent hostel front desk would know.
3) I did notice, and greatly appreciate, that these hotels usually get basic creature comforts right: fewer mosquitoes on the beach, high-quality bathrooms and mattresses, etc.
4) My baseline for a "great hotel" are small, place-oriented, very friendly, top location hotels, whose rooms are more interesting in some way that my own apartment. I'm thinking of places like the 21c mini-chain, the Red Tree House in Mexico City, the Michelberger in Berlin, traditional mansion B&Bs in places like Natchez, some particularly well-designed Kimptons, the Standard in NYC, and so on. In general, I think I still prefer these to the so-called luxury hotels. The front desk recognized me whenever I came in, local events were promoted, things were organized without any attempt to upsell to hotel-linked services, great contemporary art was often displayed, interaction with other guests was much more frequent, etc.
5) In a number of hotels, I felt as if I was paying to be in a location that isn't even that interesting. There are the hip neighborhoods, then there are the rich neighborhoods. They are rarely the same.
6) The luxury hotel value strikes me as much higher in more remote places, where high-quality food is tougher to come by, or in hotels located in particularly important historic buildings. I can't imagine, say, ordering room service while visiting a new city in any reasonably high quality food destination.
7) Large luxury hotels, like large hotels in general, are of no interest to me: see the Roosevelt New Orleans. The Park Hyatt St Kitts fit this mold. Perhaps the standard I am looking for is, the service and quality of staying on the estate of a spectacularly wealthy yet fun friend. It is surprising how difficult this is to find.
8) If you are born with the "don't waste money" gene, it is tough to shake. I am lucky enough to be able to afford nice hotels now, but it still comes close to ruining a vacation to feel like I've gotten a bad deal.
1a) A few were fantastic. The location, service, and hard product at the Waldorf in Amsterdam was incredible. The same was true of Amarvilas. Next best, honestly, were Icon and H15, even if they aren't usually as well-regarded as some other properties. Loved the Shangri-La Tokyo. Would gladly go back to any of these. Fogo Island is a beautiful building but the price makes no sense given that you can stay on the island and eat at the hotel for 80% less money. Same is true of Jade Mountain.
1b) At the price many of these places charge, they should all be fantastic. They weren't.
1c) The best room at a smaller, very-well-reviewed place is often far, far superior to what I was getting at a higher price at the luxury hotels.
2) I essentially never used the spa service, or concierge, or room service at any of these. Things like transfers and tours often struck me as exorbitantly priced, and the staff often seemed completely unaware of the type of basic local travel information that a decent hostel front desk would know.
3) I did notice, and greatly appreciate, that these hotels usually get basic creature comforts right: fewer mosquitoes on the beach, high-quality bathrooms and mattresses, etc.
4) My baseline for a "great hotel" are small, place-oriented, very friendly, top location hotels, whose rooms are more interesting in some way that my own apartment. I'm thinking of places like the 21c mini-chain, the Red Tree House in Mexico City, the Michelberger in Berlin, traditional mansion B&Bs in places like Natchez, some particularly well-designed Kimptons, the Standard in NYC, and so on. In general, I think I still prefer these to the so-called luxury hotels. The front desk recognized me whenever I came in, local events were promoted, things were organized without any attempt to upsell to hotel-linked services, great contemporary art was often displayed, interaction with other guests was much more frequent, etc.
5) In a number of hotels, I felt as if I was paying to be in a location that isn't even that interesting. There are the hip neighborhoods, then there are the rich neighborhoods. They are rarely the same.
6) The luxury hotel value strikes me as much higher in more remote places, where high-quality food is tougher to come by, or in hotels located in particularly important historic buildings. I can't imagine, say, ordering room service while visiting a new city in any reasonably high quality food destination.
7) Large luxury hotels, like large hotels in general, are of no interest to me: see the Roosevelt New Orleans. The Park Hyatt St Kitts fit this mold. Perhaps the standard I am looking for is, the service and quality of staying on the estate of a spectacularly wealthy yet fun friend. It is surprising how difficult this is to find.
8) If you are born with the "don't waste money" gene, it is tough to shake. I am lucky enough to be able to afford nice hotels now, but it still comes close to ruining a vacation to feel like I've gotten a bad deal.
- Surely for a fair experiment you'd have to do a range of hotels across categories in each destination? Bangkok and Hong Kong are well regarded for hotels, so even some of the not-so-super-luxe ones (Hotel Icon, or for example The Olympian where I do several staycations) can be good alternatives to splurging USD 500/night++ for The Peninsula, Upper House etc if budget is of consideration. Some destinations are notoriously not great for luxury, in which case unless you care about very specific things that luxury hotels tend to provide, you do not get great value for money - however, they are likely the top luxe hotels in the destination itself.
- Similarly, again, when it comes to price, again the only fair comparison is within city rather than across places. You're going to get great value in Bali, Thailand and even India (which has some of the best hotels around, particularly historic hotels) vs somewhere like Hawaii.
But as you say - it really comes down to the individual hotel. I'm not a fan of large hotels that typically cater to business crowds or larger conventions etc either. If budget is of a serious concern, I think you have to go by merit for each place.
Last edited by chinmoylad; Feb 26, 2018 at 8:10 pm
Feb 27, 2018, 1:04 am
#89
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 1,644
I'm growing more sceptical about luxury hotels - especially the ultra luxury hotels. I do think there is a certain sort of person who actively searches out the most expensive hotels and goes there as a sort of trophy challenge which the hotel usually wins. So many people here have found fault with these hotels, mainly in their failure to provide minuscule service details. My favourite bottled water or crisps were not in the room - ergo, this hotel is rubbish. That sort of thing. Personally I don't care about in-room amenities. I don't care if I never meet the manager. I only order room service if I am ill. I just want a nice room, serviced properly, nice surroundings, a pool if appropriate and helpful staff who don't fawn over you.
Yes, I've stayed in about a dozen Amans, many Four Seasons and other niche-market places but I always travel to a specific place or country, rarely just to a hotel. If you only go to luxury hotels you won't see much of the world.
Yes, I've stayed in about a dozen Amans, many Four Seasons and other niche-market places but I always travel to a specific place or country, rarely just to a hotel. If you only go to luxury hotels you won't see much of the world.