david55

I just spent a week at the Grande Bretagne in Athens..... I might be exposing my "lack of experience" here but I personally have never stayed in a hotel that was so accomodating, comfortable, and luxurious as that....it was a real treat. The rooms were scrumptous, the staff all greeted us by name and those that did not know us at least said hello and nothing, nothing seemed to be a problem.... requests ( even dragging a lounge chair down from the 9th floor pool area to our terrace on the 6th floor was met with speed and a smile)..... BUT.... the GB is not often mentioned/listed as one of the best in the world let alone Europe..... so I ask.... what are the little things that a hotel does to make it one of the best hotels in the world? Is it the rooms.... the service....the food? All of the above?

peter11

Well, it is all of those things but it is the service that separates the good from the truly great. Often it can be the people that you interact with that make the difference. A very helpful concierge or a front desk manager. Sometimes, your requests simply give the hotel a spectacular opportunity to show off how great they are. Other times you might not interact with the right people or the hotel did not have as many opportunities to serve you. I think in the best hotels, they empower even the lowliest of employees, to do anything to make you happy. They train them to be constantly looking for ways to please you. It is that level of detail that is required to make a hotel great. It sounds like you stumbled on one of those gems!

Kibison

Can you say Burj Al Arab?

Without a doubt, that is the world's best hotel. Nothing anywhere can compare IMHO.

peter11

Obviously you enjoyed the rooms and the incredible architecture (I hope to too one of these days ). But what is it about the total experience that makes this hotel great? That is the OP's actual question. My personal opinion is that even a 3 star hotel can be great if it had the right staff with the right training.

luxury

People choose luxury hotels for different reasons -- though usually, it is the service which is usually the defining factor. Other factors include décor, location, value for money, space, view, etc...

For me, the most important criteria for a luxury hotel is that it gives back to me precious time. Details are looked after so I don't have to worry about it; services operate on my schedule and convenience; and comfort, from the bed, to room appointments, hotel facilities, etc. The greatest hotels for me go above and beyond the call of duty. It is the smallest things which can make or break a stay and that meticulous attention to detail is crucial for me.

The best luxury hotels are also quite consistent which is evident by the loyalty of their guests. The Peninsula HKG, or the Meurice in Paris, the Dorchester in London, Ritz Carlton San Francicso, etc are considered to be truly outstanding properties by many because things run smoothly at those properties. Guests can rest assured that most likely things will not go awry, and if they do, often, there is no impact on the guest. Should something go awry, for example, the best hotels also know how to make it up to the guest.

hairpeace

Oh yeah? What if I like being in Europe?

gleff

The little things, indeed. I call down to the concierge to ask when the Starbucks across the street opens. The concierge doesn't know off the top of their head (shouldn't they, though?!). There are several possible responses

1) Sorry, I don't have that information
2) Would you mind letting me check, I'll get right back to you. 2 minutes later the phone rings, "it's actually opened at six this morning."
3) Would you mind letting me check, I'll get right back to you. 2 minutes later the phone rings, "The Starbucks opened this morning at six, I took the liberty to order you a non-fat vanilla latte' which I believe you ordered from room service on your last stay. I'm sending it up now, complimentary."

Ericka

Gleff, you must be an Aman Junkie. Option number 3 sounds about right.

I recall my husband having to return the book he was reading to one of the Aman libraries before he had finished it (because we were checking out). Knowing that he had a birthday coming up, I decided to contact the hotel to find out the title. I asked them to check their records, telling them that he was reading something war or battle related. It turns out, they did not have a sign-out record, so they emailed me digital photos of their war and battle book covers so that I could identify the book by sight and purchase it through Amazon!

peter11

Gleff & Erika: Those are perfect illustrations of what makes a hotel great. There is a book called Positively Outrageous Service. I suspect the managers of those hotels have read it. Hotels have plenty of opportunities to serve you. They only get an occasional chance to provide outrageous service. It is a great hotel employee that identifies those momenets and runs with it.

Pickles

Here's another example. Mrs. Pickles is having lunch at the Cafe at the MOHK. It starts raining cats and dogs. She leaves the Cafe and waits outside with three other women (not with her, but leaving the Cafe at the same time) for the rain to slow down. A staffer at the Cafe sees the scene, fetches four umbrellas and gives them to the four women.

And she wasn't even staying there.

grumbler

I like to think of it as service so good that I don't have to manage the hotel, but it manages me. Had a nice example on a recent stay in Tokyo, where I stayed at the PHT and the FS Marunouchi - at the former, service polished but reactive. At the latter, service actually anticipated what I needed - I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything while I was staying there.

eutow

Mediocre service, truly garish decor, a stay leaving me never wanting to go back, no response from management to comments... That certainly leaves a few doubts in my mind.

Raffles

Can't argue with the above. We stayed at Madinat Jumeirah (which really is a top class hotel) which is next to the Burj and under the same ownership. This gave me a good chance to have a look round the Burj. Now, I may not have experienced the staff service, but I am pretty sure that any hotel that a) puts mirrors above the beds and b) is decorated entirely in primary colours will never meet my definition of luxury.

I have a colleague who regularly cheats on his wife with a couple of long-term mistresses, and the Burj is his favourite hotel in the world. If you're that sort of person, the Burj is for you. If not, a Gulf View villa at Dar Al Masyaf at Madinat Jumeirah will be far more to your liking ....

Kibison

The Beit al Bahar Villas are nice also. I haven't tried the Madinat yet.

Yes, the interior of the Burj is a bit garish but the service was top notch. It is excellent but different.

I love the Ritz in Paris and The Berkeley in London. The Palace in Gstaad was also an amazing experience.

eutow