Mediocre crowds at luxury hotels
Apr 21, 2015, 10:00 pm
#91
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
But, after you have read the book, you can certainly determine whether the cover was appropriate.
Apr 21, 2015, 10:48 pm
#92
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Delta Silver Medallion, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador
Posts: 14,117
It's not always easy to know who people are, what motivates them, what inspires them to act, especially when we make assumptions about them based on first impressions.
Apr 21, 2015, 11:11 pm
#94
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 404
I have similar issues when I dine at fine restaurants. My wife and I enjoyed an anniversary dinner at the French Laundry. There was a couple across from us staring at their cell phones for most of the meal. They barely made eye contact. I ate at another Bay Area Michelin starred restaurant where there were a group of men dressed casually, also using their mobiles to take selfies, etc. I realize that's a culturally new thing, but restraint is a strong enough virtue that it should always prevail. My read on this kind of behavior is that it's selfish and that it sends a message that devalues the experience for fellow diners. The analogy is a loudmouth in a movie theater. You're ruining the experience for others.
Side note, I read the New York Times. Like a lot. It's my main daily read. I read it more on my phone now but also sometimes still read the paper edition. The difference in reactions and assumptions from some people based on what medium I'm using can be pretty funny. Too some when I'm reading it on the phone I'm wasting my time, being self-absorbed or being rude. When I'm reading the paper version I'm just 'reading the paper' and it's all fine. Kinda weird.
Good thread. Really interesting.
Apr 21, 2015, 11:23 pm
#95
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: BKK
Posts: 6,741
I don't think the behavior and persona of guests necessarily has to do with money. Most of the time I try to seak out hotels and resorts that are more understatedly elegant, where wealth is not flaunted and people of all different backgrounds can be comfortable and enjoy themselves. I don't like to feel looked up and down by others, or feel the need to look others up and down.
Most of the time I am after resorts where I can leave the world behind and focus on fun activities, relaxation, spa treatments, and good food. Poorly behaved guests regardless of socioeconomic background can negatively affect the experience, particularly at resorts where one spends most or all of the time on property.
Most of the time I am after resorts where I can leave the world behind and focus on fun activities, relaxation, spa treatments, and good food. Poorly behaved guests regardless of socioeconomic background can negatively affect the experience, particularly at resorts where one spends most or all of the time on property.
Apr 21, 2015, 11:41 pm
#96
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: my heart is on the shores of the north Italian lakes
Programs: LX Senator Lifetime, Relais&Chateaux Club5C, ex ! "Amanjunkie", ex LHW LC, hate chain hotels
Posts: 2,515
This phrase was used considerably at one point to describe unwelcome guests at hotels. It was thought, on the whole, that Amanresorts was very 'U' - i.e. people like us - but this, of course, has changed recently, in line with the new ownership.
I know that the 'U' and 'non-U' descriptions are politically incorrect nowadays, but if you think about it, what we all desire is to journey to a place that is co-occupied by 'people like us'. The trouble is, the world is increasingly full of people who are not at all like us, and there's the rub.
I know that the 'U' and 'non-U' descriptions are politically incorrect nowadays, but if you think about it, what we all desire is to journey to a place that is co-occupied by 'people like us'. The trouble is, the world is increasingly full of people who are not at all like us, and there's the rub.
Aman is dead and I have now good experiences heading to smaller less known properties and focusing on fine dining where I still can find "u". Just an example of such a property: Antumalal in Pucon, stuck in the fifties with guests to match. Would love to see them in the R&C.
Apr 22, 2015, 9:17 pm
#97
Join Date: May 2010
Location: FSD
Programs: BAEC, Delta SkyPesos, VS FC, SQ KF, AA, HHonors
Posts: 1,884
This discussion entertained me. Lixury hotels have all manner of guests of all styles, all levels of preferred dress, and all manners of expectations. The fact that one might be able to afford the room rate has little to do with the average customer...and that is increasingly true as more and more people from different places and customs visit luxury hotels.
I agree with a previous poster that any luxury hotel guest should be respectful to fellow guests and hotel staff, but that's just as true in budget hotels IMO.
For those who love dress codes at restaurants, I'm sorry to tell you that the world is changing--and I'm thankful for that. I've always wondered about how a less or better dressed group of diners at another table has any bearing on my experience at my table. To me, it's just pretension. It is Old World, and the old World still exists, of course. But far more restaurants and luxury hotels are evolving into the New World where jackets and ties are no longer the norm nor in any way needed for everyone who can afford such places. In the Old World, keeping up appearances was part of the class experience and a way to manage class distinction; in the New World, those distinctions are frowned upon, thankfully.
There will always be differences of opinion, of course...but I'm delighted that more and more diversity exists of all kinds in the luxury hotel and restaurant sector. The entire idea of "mediocre" guests makes me laugh...at those who would use such terms.
I agree with a previous poster that any luxury hotel guest should be respectful to fellow guests and hotel staff, but that's just as true in budget hotels IMO.
For those who love dress codes at restaurants, I'm sorry to tell you that the world is changing--and I'm thankful for that. I've always wondered about how a less or better dressed group of diners at another table has any bearing on my experience at my table. To me, it's just pretension. It is Old World, and the old World still exists, of course. But far more restaurants and luxury hotels are evolving into the New World where jackets and ties are no longer the norm nor in any way needed for everyone who can afford such places. In the Old World, keeping up appearances was part of the class experience and a way to manage class distinction; in the New World, those distinctions are frowned upon, thankfully.
There will always be differences of opinion, of course...but I'm delighted that more and more diversity exists of all kinds in the luxury hotel and restaurant sector. The entire idea of "mediocre" guests makes me laugh...at those who would use such terms.
Enjoy the following ramble. This genre of topic triggers all sorts of thoughts for me.
I am happy to have stumbled on this topic, as it strikes near to my pet interests as a social "scientist" (academic people-watcher).
A luxury hotel can be a very...fey experience for me. One thing that hits me is when I see children and wonder what it would be like to grow up with these experiences. In childhood, my family could have been homeless given dad's bad habits (fortunately my mother worked out a deal with her father to use his mother's house). That I can afford them now on occasion is very much accidental, and I do often feel out of place despite having the right appearance. I haven't been in a French-fine dining restaurant in years, as I have little idea of what I am ordering. Example: I think I was 22 before I realised that Hollandaise sauce, which I had been avoiding, was blissfully cheese free! So many years of possible eggs-Benedict orders had been wasted!
Anyway, I really don't care about the demographics of a city hotel. Aside from breakfast and cocktail hour, I really don't have to deal with the other guests. Also, most are generally moving on in 2 or 4 days. I find that the clientèle matters more at resorts, as they hang around longer and the atmosphere is often more social.
I feel sorry for the young woman travelling with her father (German) who regaled all of us with his sexual exploits in Bangkok. My deepest sympathies though are reserved for the working girls... Also, who brings their 18 year old daughter along on a sex holiday?!
If any of us cross paths, I warn you that I do have a small armband tattoo patterned off of Anglo-Saxon/Sutton Hoo jewellery, to commemorate my happy years in the UK. I just want you to have your smelling salts prepared in advance. It can be a double shock for those who know me, but didn't know about the tattoo, realise that someone with a post-grad education and no substance abuse history can have one.
On another forum dedicated to my discipline, we were discussing appearances, perceptions, and the job market. It's amazing how certain traits can signal others, as evidenced in this thread. We had come up with: 1) thin, rich, smart, well-mannered; 2) poor, fat, dumb, loud.
Apr 22, 2015, 9:54 pm
#98
Moderator: Delta SkyMiles, Luxury Hotels, TravelBuzz! and Italy
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 26,544
My husband and I were enjoying a quiet meal at a charming Inn in the South of France. To our chagrin, our reverie was interrupted by a man speaking in a very loud, yet recognizable, voice. He was dining with a woman his age. At an adjacent table was his chauffeur.
The year was 1972. The Hotel was Columb'd'or in St. Paul de Vence and the man with the loud voice was Alfred Hitchcock.
The year was 1972. The Hotel was Columb'd'or in St. Paul de Vence and the man with the loud voice was Alfred Hitchcock.
Apr 23, 2015, 2:05 am
#99
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Monaco
Posts: 317
Very simple:
If you have a problem with the term "mediocre crowds", you are one of them.
If you have a problem with mediocre crowds, you are one of us.
Quote from travelblog Gentleman Adventurer:
"Do not read my TRAVEL DIARY if you belong to the great unwashed, or to the average brainwashed, if you support mediocracy, or if you suffer from penis envy, tall-poppy-syndrome, crabs-in-the-bucket, or worse: janteloven."
If you have a problem with the term "mediocre crowds", you are one of them.
If you have a problem with mediocre crowds, you are one of us.
Quote from travelblog Gentleman Adventurer:
"Do not read my TRAVEL DIARY if you belong to the great unwashed, or to the average brainwashed, if you support mediocracy, or if you suffer from penis envy, tall-poppy-syndrome, crabs-in-the-bucket, or worse: janteloven."
Last edited by LuxuryRogue; Apr 23, 2015 at 1:14 pm Reason: adjacent posts by same person
Apr 23, 2015, 5:42 am
#100
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OSL
Posts: 2,145
Mediocre crowds at luxury hotels
Someone mentioned Service recovery for bad behaviour. We actually experienced something like that. We were in an Amanresort. In the villa next to ours a couple was having loud sex outside. When we heard that the second time in one day my husband went to talk to the management. Even our son have started to ask what kind of noise came from next door. They immediately moved us to another villa two categories up.
Apr 23, 2015, 6:52 am
#101
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,525
Someone mentioned Service recovery for bad behaviour. We actually experienced something like that. We were in an Amanresort. In the villa next to ours a couple was having loud sex outside. When we heard that the second time in one day my husband went to talk to the management. Even our son have started to ask what kind of noise came from next door. They immediately moved us to another villa two categories up.
But yes, I know this prolem - can be very annoying
Apr 23, 2015, 8:03 am
#102
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 1,644
My husband and I were enjoying a quiet meal at a charming Inn in the South of France. To our chagrin, our reverie was interrupted by a man speaking in a very loud, yet recognizable, voice. He was dining with a woman his age. At an adjacent table was his chauffeur.
The year was 1972. The Hotel was Columb'd'or in St. Paul de Vence and the man with the loud voice was Alfred Hitchcock.
The year was 1972. The Hotel was Columb'd'or in St. Paul de Vence and the man with the loud voice was Alfred Hitchcock.
The Colombe d'Or has always been a Hollywood watering hole, especially during the Cannes Film, Festival.
Apr 23, 2015, 9:03 am
#103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
obscure2k, great post!
"The attitude and treatment changed immediately."
and thats the problem, not whether theres dress code
in a related thread to this thread >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ury-hotel.html >
and thats the problem, not whether theres dress code
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ury-hotel.html >
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; May 13, 2015 at 3:31 pm
Apr 23, 2015, 4:23 pm
#104
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,592
Probably coke was the best thing on the wine list of this only 2 Michelin starr. Hihihihi
Apr 23, 2015, 4:32 pm
#105
Join Date: May 2010
Location: FSD
Programs: BAEC, Delta SkyPesos, VS FC, SQ KF, AA, HHonors
Posts: 1,884
Very simple:
If you have a problem with the term "mediocre crowds", you are one of them.
If you have a problem with mediocre crowds, you are one of us.
Quote from travelblog Gentleman Adventurer:
"Do not read my TRAVEL DIARY if you belong to the great unwashed, or to the average brainwashed, if you support mediocracy, or if you suffer from penis envy, tall-poppy-syndrome, crabs-in-the-bucket, or worse: janteloven."
If you have a problem with the term "mediocre crowds", you are one of them.
If you have a problem with mediocre crowds, you are one of us.
Quote from travelblog Gentleman Adventurer:
"Do not read my TRAVEL DIARY if you belong to the great unwashed, or to the average brainwashed, if you support mediocracy, or if you suffer from penis envy, tall-poppy-syndrome, crabs-in-the-bucket, or worse: janteloven."
I also want to give something back to the traveller community, because I know how hard it is to find reliable, on-the-ground info, even in times of the internet. Most of the online forums like Flyertalk, Horizons Unlimited or Wuestenschiff are frequented by couch potatoes, trolls or even disinformation agents who give a lot of inaccurate info, especially about so-called danger zones, and are a waste of time for the big boys.