Rolling evaluation of Summer 2020 European Hotels
 

In case anyone who can't travel is interested in reading about hotels...

After losing late Feb-July to quarantine, we are back at it for summer, I will update this as we go. Thus far:

1. Hotel Martinez, Cannes: B+/A-. I had originally booked The Carlton, but they never opened (and never told me they were remaining closed and my reservation was cancelled). Luckily, I checked and managed to pivot to the Martinez. The location is wonderful, the hotel has had a facelift recently and I found the rooms lovely and comfortable. We received a small upgrade maybe 2 classes, from the entry level room to a partial sea view. I don't have many gripes, in no particular order: 1. Some of the concierge desk staff seemed to be very lazy, telling us to go online to book a boat transfer to St. Tropez instead of offering to do it, and even during COVID summer they couldn't get a lunch reservation on a weekday at La Guerite for the late seating. Not good enough for the best hotel in town. 2. Removing the pool for a garden breakfast area was a horrible idea. The hotel would be much, much better with a pool. 3. The prices in the hotel were offensive (drinks, room service, etc...), but it's the SoF, it's to be expected. 4. On that note, I find it incredibly tacky that a hotel with no pool charges hotel guests to use loungers at their beach club. 5. The relocated gym in the conference room didn't have much in the way of weights. Other than these minor issues, great hotel. Would return.

2. La Ponche, St. Tropez: B. I added extra nights and figured I would try this place out as I had heard good things. This is a 3-4 star hotel pretending to be a 5-star. They have essentially nothing in the way of facilities and services. The rooms are ok, but very basic. In our room the safe was broken, TV was broken and the first night the aircon died in the middle of the night. Top notch, very 5-star. The location is good, and I got these nights quite cheaply, but at their normal rates, I wouldn't return here.

3. Hotel Byblos, St. Tropez: A. It's been a few years since I was last at Byblos and they have renovated and done a fantastic job. The rooms are spacious and modern while retaining their SoF feel. The new gym/spa is awesome, and of course you can't beat Byblos for convenience. The pool bar is dynamite. Sadly, Les Caves is still closed due to COVID. Food has never been Byblos' strong suit and that hasn't changed, but who wants to eat at the hotel anyway? Very enjoyable stay, will return in Sept. for Les Voiles de St. Tropez and again next summer.

NEXT UP: Le Saint Paul, Saint Paul de Vence.

It always bugged me that the Hyatt in Cannes charged for beach loungers, but if the pool is closed that is very poor

Not just closed, they got rid of their pool. They no longer have one.

4. Le Saint Paul, Saint Paul de Vence: B. We got a great upgrade from an Elegance Room (Entry level) to a Valley Suite. Really excellent and spacious room with a great bathtub (I am a big fan of a quality tub). The hotel was built in 1551 as a house, and has been a hotel since 1989. As you can imagine, it's a picturesque setting in an extraordinarily charming village. The rooms are nice and the staff were all well meaning, but really incompetent. We wanted to eat at the hotel restaurant the first night, initially they told us the hotel restaurant was booked. Then they thought we were a party of four, then they thought we needed to be at a table with this group of 5 and they were explaining it's a max of five people per table due to COVID. I have no idea where they got the idea that we had to sit with these people, since we very clearly asked for a table for two from the get go and we had no idea who this party of five even were. In the end they said we were good to go, table for two. When we got to the restaurant, they had no record of our booking, but took us anyway because there were open tables. One remained unoccupied until close. Bizzare. The food was very good.

Also, due to COVID, the included buffet breakfast was served in the room. That's no problem, however they have taken this is an opportunity to gouge clients. If you want eggs, meat, cheese, it is all a supplement on top of the included breakfast. We asked "the buffet breakfast was included in our room rate, right?" The answer was yes. Then we asked "eggs, meat, cheese, etc...are normally part of the buffet which is included in the room rate, right?" The answer again was yes. We then asked "So why do we have to pay a supplement if we want eggs, meat, cheese, etc..." The woman looked puzzled and said that's just how it is. Awesome.

The hotel itself and the town are great. I was told the property only has a 4.3/5 on Tripadvisor, I would guess the bumbling staff are what hurts their rating. It's a great property and even with the service issues, I would return. St. Paul de Vence is stunning, but very, very small. It' a ~2day max stop in my opinion. I will be glad to be back on the seaside soon!

I love the little town of St Paul de Vence and the nearby town of Vence is fantastic as well. The Chateau St Martin is a few minutes away and is a wonderful hotel.

thx! Will keep in mind for next time. The village is quite charming.

Le St. Paul wrapped the stay up by forgetting our breakfast for the second day in a row, then someone set off an early AM fire alarm that forced all hotel guests out into the street in their robes. An amusing end to a mostly enjoyable stay. still recommended.

NEXT UP: Hotel Royal, San Remo

5. Hotel Royal, San Remo: A. Upgraded to a sea view room. I absolutely love this hotel. Built in the 1870’s, it has all the charm of a grand old Euro hotel and is retro in all the best ways. San Remo isn’t particularly fashionable anymore, but the faded glory of the Royal shines through. The rooms are a bit small but have been recently reno’d. The pool, built in 1948, one of the first hotel pools in Europe is phenomenal. The seaside in San Remo lacks a really great beach, and it’s nicer to just post up at the Royal’s pool. We intend to return next summer for a longer stay, the hotel is a pleasure in every way, great service. No complaints at all.

Next up: Porto Cervo.

6. Cervo Hotel, Porto Cervo: A-. While the Cervo hotel is insultingly labelled a Sheraton by Bonvoy, and is the red headed stepchild of the four Marriott properties in Porto Cervo (the other 3 are luxury collection), it's unfairly maligned. The physical facilities at Cervo (and all four of the Bonvoy properties here) could due with a refresh, there is no doubt about it. The locals in Sardinia feel Marriott is running these four hotels into the ground and want their management terminated. The staff at Cervo (and the other 3) were absolutely wonderful however. On the ball, attentive and extremely nice. We were very pleasantly surprised. Prior to arrival on this award booking, we requested SNA for the duration of our stay. The request was denied, then at check in we were upgraded to a large suite anyway. Upgrade AND more SNA in reserve...always nice. The hotel bar makes great drinks, breakfast was good and given how downright disgracefully bad most restaurants in Porto Cervo town are, the hotel's food was one of the better options short of driving somewhere. Due to COVID the Cervo's beach was closed, but a hotel car was on call to transport guests to Cala di Volpe, Romazzino or Pitrizza's beach clubs. It was also nice that since the Cervo hotel is in town, you can walk around without needing a car. The other three properties are isolated. While I will agree that the Cervo hotel overall is a step down from the other properties facilities-wise, the price gouge for what you get at Cala di Volpe for example is so extreme, that I would strongly consider retuning to Cervo next summer for convenience and relative value. I expected nothing from this hotel, given that it was a Sheraton, and was pleasantly surprised. Not one complaint.

NEXT UP: VIU Hotel, Milan

I guess for many no surprise.

VIU Hotel, Milan: B-. Full disclosure, I do NOT like Milan, and this was an unplanned stop there. We were supposed to fly to Zakynthos out of Rome. Our flight was cancelled about a week before departure and the most sensible re-route was to take a direct out of MXP. I didn’t want to risk a train delay in the AM from Rome to MXP, so we decided to overnight in Milan. I am sure this to some degree colored my review. The hotel gave us a great upgrade to a suite with a large terrace. However, we had contacted the concierge days in advance about tickets to see The Last Supper. When we emailed them, tickets were available. By the time they replied ~2 days later, tickets were sold out. They encouraged us to show up and try to wing it. That also didn’t work. We then asked them to make a dinner reservation and they booked it for the wrong time. I don’t think they did anything correctly. The hotel was also badly understaffed. The gym was closed for COVID yet inexplicably the small roof pool was open and so jammed with people that it looked like a cauldron of COVID soup. The rooms themselves were nice, the location was fairly convenient and we got everywhere on foot, but really I just hate Milan and hope I don’t have a reason to return to this hotel or city.

Lesante Blu, Zakynthos: A+. We had a wonderful stay at Lesante Blu. Zakynthos is a beautiful island and the hotel is stunning. On top of the modern (bordering on Bond Villain lair) design and views, the staff are all terrific. Warm, friendly and passionate about their work. The stay was not without hiccups. My gf put a silk dress in for dry cleaning. The next AM they told us dry cleaning wasn’t possible due to a holiday and asked if we wanted our clothes hand washed. My gf told them no, as that would destroy her dress and to please just return the clothes dirty. Unbeknownst to us they had already hand washed the clothes (and ruined her dress). The manager was horrified. The hotel ordered her a replacement dress straight away and had it sent to our home. They made a mistake but they quickly and decisively cured the issue. No one is perfect, but many hotels try to shirk responsibility when they mess up, not Lesante Blu. The staff were all so wonderful that we feel bad leaving. Will return next summer. The hotel has a private beach and a great pool with sea views. There’s not much nearby which we saw as a plus. It’s easy to get around the island by car or ATV. Highly recommended. The best LHW property I have stayed at in Greece BY FAR. As LHW Sterling, breakfast included, early/late checkin/checkout and we were upgraded to a suite with a jacuzzi on the terrace. All rooms are sea view.

Why didn't you book directly? In such issues I see no reason to get concierge involved as it's more complicated in my eyes. Would only use if no available tickets show up in hope they have some other sources.

They wanted passport details and all kinds of extra info.

Wouldn’t the concierge need all the passport details and all kinds of extra info to get you the tickets? I would think that the museum is very particular about those that they admit to the museum.