Suite Night Awards.

My recent experience with the Ambassador team is rather disappointed. I stayed at the Gritti Palace, told my AMB that its a bday trip of my friend, which she forwarded to the hotel. We used a SNU and at checkin we got that very same suite - no furchet Upgrade. I confirmed with the checkin agent, if he received the messages of my AMB and he said yes. We never got anything as a small bday present - not a card, not a bottle - just nothing!

Since the Gritti stay was truly underwhelming, we decided to stay at the Imperial in Vienna. Booked the standard room and got upgraded to an old suite on the 2nd floor - the floor, which hasn't been upgraded yet. The history is indeed remarkable, service was good, but how can people here say it's better than the Park Hyatt or so many other good 5 star hotels in Vienna. No SPA, tiny and old gym, a sauna which is smaller than a shoe box. Breakfast at the PH is also better.

Overall, I get a much better treatment from my GHA Black status, where I always get a double upgrade on top. And at least in Vienna, always a suite with awesome service. I don't see myself spending 20+k again and stay 100+ nights at underwhelming hotels in the future. Most guys here must have never stayed at a proper Peninsula or Aman hotel and are impressed by average hotels like the Gritti etc.

Unfortunately those are probably two out of the top 3 Marriott hotels in Europe, so if they don’t do it for you I suspect others might not either.

Having said that, I do think we have to be realistic about spend here. For the Gritti Palace if you booked a base room it was probably what, €700 or so and with the SNA’s you got put in a suite which was presumably more around the €2,000 mark? A base room at the Imperial is usually around €350, with the Elizabeth suite I guess you got sold for perhaps €800? (Incidentally I think I had the same room in the Imperial last time and I have asked to not get it again).

While I think it’s true that even these grand properties don’t really approach the levels of the best Amans in terms of service, the point is surely that the buildings themselves and their ancestry are unequalled in most other collections. I also think it’s important to compare like for like: you would be lucky to get an Aman stay come in at twice what you will have paid for these Luxury Collection hotels.

So the Gritti confirmed your Ambassador had made the request for a further upgrade. So your Ambassador did his or her job. I am confused as to why you would be rather disappointed with your Ambassador.

So you used SNAs and got upgraded to a suite but are upset that the hotel didn't upgrade you further. I think entitlement is rearing its head here.

So you booked a standard award and got an upgrade to a suite. And still that wasn't good enough. You easily knew in advance this is a heritage hotel, and yet you aren't pleased by its heritage? I was in an Imperial Suite on the second floor and loved it--even with its curious quirks. I'm sorry you were underwhelmed.

I visited the Park Hyatt Vienna, too. It's also a really impressive hotel--much more modern, but then also lacking the sense of place the Imperial evokes in spades and certainly not having the same immense levels of service. Liking one over the other is a matter of relative priorities. That's why someone might like the Imperial more. I do. I couldn't care less about a spa. You care about a spa. I actually did a comparison review of the Imperial vs Park Hyatt vs Sacher: https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...-contrast-2206

Still, I am very confused as to how the Ambassador team in any way let you down. I can understand you liking the PH more than the Imperial because of the spa issue, but that has nothing to do with the Ambassdor issue. Am I missing something?

Enjoy your GHA Black status! However, very few hotels in the GHA portfolio come even remotely close to those of the Aman and Peninsula hotels you mentioned. Marriott, on the other hand, has with St Regis, Ritz Carlton, and Luxury Collection innumerable examples that I've stayed in that are quite comparable.

Actually, I think those grand properties do approach the levels of Aman in terms of service. And I would know better than most.

You're right, though, that the Aman entry price is almost always much more substantial than that of the properties being discussed. And my Ambassador status actually helped elevated the treatment I received at both--as evidenced by the details of both reviews.

When I say that Ambassador status can elevate as much as the actions taken by any Ambassador, my stays at the Gritti and Imperial are among the best examples I can share.

It’s funny. We have stayed at over a dozen Luxury Collection properties in Asia, Europe and North America and the Imperial was probably our biggest disappointment. It was most likely just bad luck (it happens) but they put us in a tired run down room in the back. (I am still mad at myself for not complaining and requesting a replacement). I know that others rave about this hotel and we went there with high expectations, but it didn’t work out for us.

We we had a lovely stay at the Gritti back in 2007 when we did something unusual- we spent 2 weeks in Venice, splitting our time between the Danieli and Gritti Palace. Gritti suffered by comparison because the Danieli gave us our best upgrade ever (on a points stay!) to the then 6700 euro a night huge Royal Suite with a magnificent Lagoon View Terrace. Our room was fine at the Gritti Palace, but it had no view of any kind. Still, the service was exceptional and we had a favorable impression of the hotel.

We were just in Vienna again last May and we decided against giving the Imperial a second chance and opted instead to spend 8 nights at the Le Meridien. That turned out great and we were pleased with our decision. Unfortunately our experience at the Imperial just left a bad taste.

We are looking forward to trying Gritti Palace again on our next visit to Venice. With Venice getting more crowded every year we prefer the Gritti’s location.

The base rooms at the Imperial are pretty basic. As someone has noted on the Imperial thread it’s like there are two hotels in one.

One hotel for visiting package tourists with the base rooms, the other for people with the highest standards (and unfortunately I think the standard Plat upgrade is a bit of a mix of the two).

I adore the Imperial and the PH in Vienna, but something that some people here might want to consider would be the strategy of booking a suite at the Bristol (SPG LC and in a historic building too, recently renovated, but not at the level of the Imperial although the Bristol's location across from the opera house is arguably better) instead of a regular room at the Imperial and hoping for a suite upgrade.

I think we may want to return to the thread topic of Ambassador service rather than discussing the merits of the Imperial or Gritti.

I will say that my Ambassador status (hotels knowing I had that status due to the contact from my Ambassador, beyond any specific requests she made for me on my behalf) went a very long way at both of those hotels. I absolutely was accorded VIP status because I was an Ambassador guest. Not only did both hotels upgrade me to specialty suites beyond the standard/SNA pool (in fact, my SNAs didn’t even clear for either hotel and I was massively upgraded anyway, almost certainly due to my Ambasssor status and the impact of my Ambassador), but they both treated me like serious royalty. The Gritti had perhaps the most incredible service recovery of any hotel besides a few Amans after a slight mishap with our transfer to have dinner at Le Calandre; the Imperial assigned us our own butler and invited us and seated us front row center for one of the most amazing hotel cultural events in our lives.

The salient point is that my Ambassador status played a massive role in our incredibly elevated experiences and enjoyment at both hotels.

If you don’t mind, I find the devil is usually in the details. What was the “special stay” property that disappointed you? What actually disappointed you there?

I applaud you dealing with the disappointment by discussing that with your Ambassador. The only way things can improve is when we are honest and forthright. Did you mention your disappointment at the property, too? I certainly hope so.

Was your Ambassador suggesting reminding that prior stay property about Plat benefits after the fact or reminding a property where you have an upcoming stay? If the former, I’d consider asking for a new Ambassador. If the latter, then maybe things will improve for you.