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Originally Posted by Aventine
(Post 35891650)
Personally for me, Andaz, Thompson and W Hotels aren't luxury at all. EDITION only charges like a top luxury hotel.
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The word “luxury” often is misused, especially by the industry.
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I’m somewhat undecided on this one. Whilst I agree that 1 Hotels doesn’t meet the standards of what many of this forum’s demanding regulars expect, the most logical delineator of “luxury” within markets would seem to me to be price. I might be mistaken, but I would expect that within comparable markets you might see the 1 Hotels at price parity with chains like Belmond, Chedi and even some Four Seasons/ Mandarin Oriental hotels, all of which we would consider luxury chains (Chedi obviously being a bit random just now with its franchising).
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Originally Posted by Adelphos
(Post 35891539)
The brand hasn't officially been designated into a chainscale according to STR (maybe it isn't big enough):
https://hotelnewsnow.com/Media/Defau...hainscales.pdf However, if brands like W Hotels, Edition, Andaz and Thompson Hotel are officially "Luxury," then so is 1 Hotels IMO. Though it seems like very few sub forum participants would all any of those brands luxury... Not sure why my response from way back got reposted (Kat?), but I ended up liking their West Hollywood property even more the second time this summer. To me, both that and the Brooklyn outpost read 'young' luxury. Felt the same about recent visits to the Thompson in Zihuatanejo and the Conrad in Los Angeles. But I've slowly learned that this forum does not, so i go with the when-in-Rome flow. :) |
To me the nuance is between ultra-luxe and luxury - to 90%+ of the world, a Ritz-Carlton, St Regis, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Waldorf Astoria, etc. are luxury hotels. They are in the Amex FHR collection, in the Virtuoso program, are categorized as "5-star hotels", and industry-wide are classified as luxury in their chain scales as a poster mentioned (some examples like the Park Hyatt Vendome even meet the "palace" classification of a luxury hotel from the French Government).
What this forum views as luxury is ultra-luxe / premium which is another half step up from the brands above in most cases (but not all - I've stayed in plenty of mediocre "premium brands" like Four Seasons particularly in North American cities where they are no better than the PHs or Waldorf Astorias of the world). You'll even have random locations for the "young-luxury" brands where an Andaz or W may surprise (e.g., last year in Prague I stayed at the Andaz Prague and Mandarin Oriental Prague and found them to be very comparable - if you look at their average rates, both are a full tier lower than the Four Seasons and usually within ~10-20% of each other and have similar reviews / ratings so it appears to be a situation where the Mandarin Oriental is punching below its weight). You'll see the nuance in most development press releases where a new Rosewood or Aman will be tagged as "7-star" or "ultra-premium" rather than as a simple 5-star / luxury property. |
Interesting. I enjoy many properties, some are not luxury. In many locales luxury is not available and I happily go with best. Price is AN indicator of luxury but not consistently reliable. Another indicator is number of keys. Most true luxury venues skew toward fewer keys and the ones that don’t may not stand up to the designation. Service level, concierge expertise both play into luxe determination.
There might be a generational division. “Young” brands target a younger guest pool, in my experience which usually entails furniture and decor that does not appeal to me, and in the case of the former, often is not suited to aging bodies. Are some of us snooty about hotels? Well, yes. Is that not the point? |
Sounds to me like the consensus is that this is not a luxury hotel chain (and having stayed at several Andaz hotels, I would say the same about them), so I am going to move the thread/
RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels and travel |
Not to mention the very small rooms, on standard categories...
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This thread was booted from the luxury forum - but it is interesting to note that several properties landed on this new Michelin ranking system.
https://liveandletsfly.com/michelin-...s-hotels-list/ |
Originally Posted by Goodmorning2U
(Post 35888241)
I stayed at this property many years ago, back when it was a St. Regis.
It barely fit in the luxury market under St. Regis but is clearly not luxury under 1 Hotel. One example, neither of their pools is usable in the winter months. They aren’t heated. It was really sad to see all the kids and guests lined up around the pools in Hawaii looking at them forlornly. They did have two hot tubs, which were delightful and packed. The ocean was significantly warmer than the pools and guests were swimming there. There are not that many rooms here but the elevators have not been renovated and are extremely slow. The wood oven pizza at lunch was very good and the service was lovely. There was only one other guest at the restaurant for lunch. The Hawaiian shave ice was $14(?), which would have been fine if high, had not the wait been so excessive. There was only one guest in front of me and it still took 15 minutes to get my order. The rooms are small but beautiful and the views stunning. Again, everything felt very “one use” and then would need to be replaced. The carpet and all the fabrics are not the type that would do well with water and sand. All of the beige fabric on the pool chairs is already very moldy and needs to be deep cleaned or replaced. Everything felt very disposable and temporary. I left the hotel feeling sorry for the owner of the property, worried they are going to lose money hand over fist. If I had to guess, the management company over promised on revenue to get the contract and the property will be reflagged again in a few years. The ocean view from the pool is blocked by a lot more shrubs/trees than before, and the service is subpar all around. The food was mediocre (aside from the pizza at the pool) and the hallways looked very dated. I've loved visiting the St. Regis (yes, rooms and interior was dated, but the views and service made up for that). Now, it's not worth the visit unfortunately. I am hopeful for a reflag and another change. This last one got it all wrong... |
This past weekend I made a reservation at 1Hotel Hating Bay via their website. At the conclusion of the booking process, it was noted that “We have sent you an email confirmation with all the details of your stay” and also “A 1 Team member will reach out to customize your additional experiences”.
Neither of these have happened. It's only been 3 days but a luxury experience this is not! I'll email the property to see what they say, but really, this is a step that should not be necessary. |
Dear RCyyz,
Warm greetings from 1 Hotel Sanya Haitang Bay！ It’s really sorry for this and bring you confuse. I have check you reservation is check in 28 December 2024 and check out 31 December 2024. Now I had cancelled your reservation ####. We are looking forward to see you in next time. To be honest, I was well into Plan B anyway so no biggie. But still ... |
Originally Posted by Adelphos
(Post 36213787)
This thread was booted from the luxury forum - but it is interesting to note that several properties landed on this new Michelin ranking system.
https://liveandletsfly.com/michelin-...s-hotels-list/ https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxu...iscussion.html |
I had a similar experience at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay last year, definitely overpaid although we got a generous suite upgrade and helping of resort credit ($350) thanks to FHR.
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