Luxury hotels on TV - never lives up to expectations
Dec 3, 2018, 10:17 am
#17
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 1,782
Yep, I don't think Mr. Carson would approve of a table not being set properly for Lord Grantham when he traveled. I mean, you have to have some freakin' standards.
Dec 3, 2018, 11:41 am
#18
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 1,644
I am a bit OCD and a perfectionist, but sometimes I cannot help but complain. At the Mandarin DC, the towels in the bathroom were not in a straight pile and the bedsheet was 1.7cm longer on one side of the bed. I know this seems very petty but especially when paying £1000s per night I think I have a right to be.
Dec 3, 2018, 12:20 pm
#19
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 226
I love seeing the documentaries of State dinners at Buckhingham Palace. The place setters have measuring tapes to ensure that all the flatware is set at the correct distance from the edge of the table. Chairs are set at 27 inches from the table.
I think GodAtum would have a splendid time at one of the Queen’s dinners.
I agree that it is a let down, when people are careless in their jobs. However, I am sure that staff start smirking when they see guests pull those tape measures out of their pockets or purses!
I think GodAtum would have a splendid time at one of the Queen’s dinners.
I agree that it is a let down, when people are careless in their jobs. However, I am sure that staff start smirking when they see guests pull those tape measures out of their pockets or purses!
Dec 3, 2018, 1:18 pm
#20
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
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I think our OP has exacting (overzealous?) standards to which he or she is entitled but which rarely are quite to be met at even the best luxury hotels. Measurements for dish placement and bed linens are something out of royal protocols and/or Downton Abbey, not so much for modern luxury hotels. But I hasten to point out that a hotel like the Ritz Paris feels like a rare place our OP might enjoy—even as we heartily disliked it.
I do expect proper air con and do bring my own thermometer, for which I’m quite notorious here on FT. But I also confirm in advance that any luxury hotel can accommodate my requirement for 67 F or cooler. That’s quite distinct from what our OP is craving, I think.
I do expect proper air con and do bring my own thermometer, for which I’m quite notorious here on FT. But I also confirm in advance that any luxury hotel can accommodate my requirement for 67 F or cooler. That’s quite distinct from what our OP is craving, I think.
Dec 3, 2018, 1:20 pm
#21
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What happened to the Samantha Brown series? I realize that they weren't all luxury hotels, but some were included. I think it was on the Travel Channel.
Dec 3, 2018, 1:23 pm
#22
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
It's funny how my experiences never compare with how these hotels are portrayed on TV. The service is never as good as it should be. For example, in the Savoy in London the housekeeper was saying she runs her finger checking for dust in each room. But when I stayed there I found some dust behind the TV. In the Mandarin in London, i never got a cake for my birthday.
Dec 6, 2018, 10:44 pm
#23
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 1,644
I thought the two hour-long BBC-TV documentaries about the Corinthia, London, were outstanding, by far the best of their kind I have seen. It covered a lot of ground - so you met many of the staff, saw lots of background admin detail, met several guests, went to Malta to meet the owner, went to Las Vegas to attend a ghastly Virtuoso convention, and followed the conversion of the Massimo restaurant into a Tom Kerridge dining pub experience.
The manager, Thomas Kochs, poached from Claridge's, dominated the programmes with his silky charm, always fussing about which way the patterns on plates should face. He was a man with a vision and an incredible attention to detail. There was Virtuoso's head honcho, Matthew Upchurch, padding his way around the hotel to see if the new suites were worth his clients' cash. Tom Kerridge, clearly having a ball and raking it in on his name alone and hiring his wife to provide the sculptures for the new dining space. And lesser mortals like the 16 year-old trainee concierge, going to Harrod's to buy a suit; and the Bulgarian room attendant whose ex-husband had gambled away their fortune; another Bulgarian, preparing a suite for Bill Clinton. . . . This was a wonderful show.
The manager, Thomas Kochs, poached from Claridge's, dominated the programmes with his silky charm, always fussing about which way the patterns on plates should face. He was a man with a vision and an incredible attention to detail. There was Virtuoso's head honcho, Matthew Upchurch, padding his way around the hotel to see if the new suites were worth his clients' cash. Tom Kerridge, clearly having a ball and raking it in on his name alone and hiring his wife to provide the sculptures for the new dining space. And lesser mortals like the 16 year-old trainee concierge, going to Harrod's to buy a suit; and the Bulgarian room attendant whose ex-husband had gambled away their fortune; another Bulgarian, preparing a suite for Bill Clinton. . . . This was a wonderful show.
Dec 7, 2018, 9:21 am
#24
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
I thought that all TV doumentaries on hotels were rubbish, but I now take that back. The Corinthia show was outstanding, even though I missed the first one - the second episode was unusually honest and very good television.
Dec 7, 2018, 11:17 am
#25
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,856
Was it honest enough to mention that there is weak or non-existent cellphone service in all of the interior facing rooms and suites (half the rooms in the hotel)?
Dec 7, 2018, 2:49 pm
#26
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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superior / deluxe - presume very few city view, cant book online
(ridiculous not to have "city view superior" / "city view deluxe")
exec - seems none with city view
family - none with city view
jr - previously said none with city view
deluxe jr - none with city view
garden suite - none with city view
whitehall / trafalgar - city view
(trafalgar could upgrade to river)
(butler service only river and up)
(virtuoso upgrades up to entry level penthouses)
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Dec 7, 2018 at 3:30 pm
Dec 7, 2018, 4:29 pm
#27
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Europe
Posts: 2,600
one exception proving rule? (am i only one who doesnt watch TV?)
superior / deluxe - presume very few city view, cant book online
(ridiculous not to have "city view superior" / "city view deluxe")
exec - seems none with city view
family - none with city view
jr - previously said none with city view
deluxe jr - none with city view
garden suite - none with city view
whitehall / trafalgar - city view
(trafalgar could upgrade to river)
(butler service only river and up)
(virtuoso upgrades up to entry level penthouses)
superior / deluxe - presume very few city view, cant book online
(ridiculous not to have "city view superior" / "city view deluxe")
exec - seems none with city view
family - none with city view
jr - previously said none with city view
deluxe jr - none with city view
garden suite - none with city view
whitehall / trafalgar - city view
(trafalgar could upgrade to river)
(butler service only river and up)
(virtuoso upgrades up to entry level penthouses)
I am interested, considering Vuittons’ praise. Is there any way to access online?
Dec 7, 2018, 8:13 pm
#28
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYZ
Programs: Ex-Bonvoyed, Hyatt, Hilton, BR, AC, AA
Posts: 1,296
I would not be found dead in a Savoy.
Dec 13, 2018, 9:51 am
#29
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Here there and everywhere
Posts: 6,303
As for watching TV, I do - but only Masterchef and programmes about hotels...
Dec 13, 2018, 10:56 am
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,521
Sometimes I think it would be a big pro when I hang on the phone all the time or people I don´t wonna talk to call me.....
