spainflyer

A variant of this happened to me at a well-known resort in Phoenix. I had flown MAD - PHX and arrived at midnight, local time -- 7 am Madrid time which my body clock was still on.

Checked in, and reception people insisted that a bell person (is that PC or what?) accompany me and my carry-on luggage to my hacienda-style room. I was tired, I certainly didn't need the help, and was even more irritated when, after reception carefully explained that "all tips are included in the room rate," the bell person just stood around for a you-know-what.

Was asked: "Would you like a newspaper in the morning?" and I mumbled "The Wall Street Journal, please."

When I checked out three days later and found I had been charged $3.25 a day for the (then) $.75 paper, I asked. "Hey!" was the explanation, "that was a special order!"

luxury

Fortunately for me, when I asked for the IHT at the Four Seasons Los Angeles the hotel printed out a copy and sent it up to the room along with breakfast. No charges appeared on my bill for that.

trojanman

Baglioni London (SLH property) also asked me what paper I wanted in the morning then charged me well over sticker price to have it dropped at my door.

Of course, they also asked how many bottles of water I wanted in the room and charged me for those too!

Stupid practice.

fflier_9999

Same thing happened to me at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco--I was presented with a large list of papers when I checked in and chose the WSJ. Little did I know (and I certainly wasn't told) that I'd be charged for it when I checked out. Desk staff committed to taking it off my bill, but they never managed to do it, and for $~2.50, I decided not to fight it. . .

elitetraveler

The outrageous internet charges - wow 35 SFR at day - are in large part the hotels making up for a huge decline in outrageous telephone fees since so many people use their mobiles even in room for outgoing calls. I think most 5-star hoteliers would tell you they are even to behind in terms of revenue/profit as they made more from phone charges pre-mobile era.

Fraser

On the petty charges front I hate being charged a flat fee for toll free calls.

At the Heritage in Christchurch, NZ (not luxury, but not super cheapo either) we paid I think $25NZD for the daily internet, it wasn't an exorbitant rate but then the downloads were limited to something petty like 30MB, with a pricey supplement for every megabyte over that. I fired up iTunes and forgot that I had a podcast that automatically downloaded DJ mixes Thank god a pop up appeared to say I'd reached the free download limit on the internet or else I'd have maxed out my Amex at checkout! There were four 230MB mixes downloading simultaneously!

Free wireless and wired at the Pen HKG and each room had its own network so no lousy signal ^

That is indeed shameful!

And you list Southwest Rapid Rewards in your profile...why am I not surprised?

luxury

It still irritates me when luxury hotels charge a delivery fee or per person cover charges for In Room Dining. It is even more irritating when the high gratuity charged in addition (18-20%) is charged on top of the $4.00 or $5.00 delivery fee/cover charge.

Kagehitokiri

i cant believe this thread hasnt been bumped in so long! ill bet this triggers a lot more new posts.

if you booked through FSPP there should be no internet charge, because it is an all suite property, but if there are multiple plans i would assume only the cheapest would be included for free.

http://www.fourseasons.com/provence/value/
doesnt mention morning/afternoon coffee/tea like some other FS

behuman

Your thread is simply too important to be bumped.

The contrary of "annoying fees" happened to me recently at Amanwella, one of the top Amanresorts.

I bought a SPF 30 cream in their boutique and "complained" that there was no SPF 50.

Guess what happened in the afternoon: The most committed, charming and handsome Aman GM, Pietro Addis, came to the beach and handed a SPF 50 cream to me with his big smile.

The item did never show on my bill^.

P.S. : And to BaumeMercier, why would you expect otherwise from a bland chain like FS claiming fake "luxury". There are really enough nice properties around on the Côte d'Azur.....

Musken

At Trisara We were given fresh aloe vera to calm sun burn and a local cream to put on a mosquito bite just because management noticed We needed it. We did not even ask. Also this with no charges. Wonderful service and very caring.

Musken

And at fs mauritius they Mauritius they prepared an extra spicy chutney for us almost every day just after telling once that We really like spicy food. No extra payment. And i also remember a spesial meal wish our son had at fs lg maldives which was not on the menu. We had talked about it with someone briefly earlier and it had been especially prepared when we arrived for dinner. Still my sons favourite fs. Again no charge for this.

aa4ever

I think these last few posts (including behuman's) go to the heart of the issue. Luxury hotels can/do provide great service and they will often go above and beyond. But, at the same time (and in the same places), they will sometimes nickel-and-dime you for certain amenities.

I personally think internet is one of the worst as it is cheap to provide and often has ridiculous fees to the guest. I personally get annoyed at hotels, especially luxury hotels, charging for it.

Kagehitokiri

although positive posts would be >
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ury-hotel.html


i guess in the last 2.5 years all the nickel and diming discussion has been in the form of side topics in other threads.