Apologies, was away for a bit. Yes, the pavilion was a disappointment and yes, I had high expectation plus I had just been thoroughly pampered for a couple of days by the 24/7 butler in Banyan Tree's double pool villa. It was the service and ambience for the first 3 days which disappointed more. I mentioned to the front office staff that I didn't know I had to climb 64 steps to pavilion with a bad knee and the response was "you should have let us know beforehand." No change was offered. I repeatedly asked the staff about paying for an upgrade to a villa and they went to a lot of trouble to discourage me. First they said I would lose the free dinner, then the free spa etc etc (all part of an Amex Travel offer). I was met with smiles everytime I complained but I was not getting anywhere. It was low season and there was a lot of renovating and repairs going. The first few days the banging was constant till pretty late. There was storm damage to a roof of one of the main buildings but one would think that they will try to accommodate guests in pavilions further away. Also the initial welcome was pretty ordinary from memory and I would not have known about the afternoon tea ritual (the staff serving were faultless so were the other F&B staff) had we not chanced upon it. So after a sleepless second night as I was quite miserable by then, I decided to check out 2 nights earlier forgoing the complimentary night. While having breakfast I noticed senior management out and about and asked the F & B staff who's who. I managed to accost an assistant manager (a lovely Brit) and she made satisfactory amends. I have stayed away from Amans since but will be in Hangzhou in April so am wondering if I should give Amanfayun a go.

speaking of butlers, xracer checked out of amanpuri villa early. they said they found six senses butlers best.

? - im curious whether amanjunkies interact with front desk at all. or, in general, when it becomes a problem, what do people do. i think its come up before with amanpuri, but not positive. pretty sure trojanman mentioned problems at trisara though, although it included language issues IIRC.

Hotel de Crillon in Paris.

29e for one gin and tonic at the hotel bar, and ~25e for a G&T out of the minibar. I don't often get sticker shock, but I did this time.

The Crillon is not what it was 20 years ago. It is now famous for being famous. It was just purchased by a Saudi Royal for 250 million and will be managed by Kempinski. How the mighty have fallen! I cannot understand why people still go there, given the options in Paris.

I agree and I made that decision 15 years ago!

Hotel Adlon Berlin. I have never seen more incompetence and ignorance in one place. Definitely not 5 stars. I am GHA Black and wanted to stay with them using a Kempinski Suite-Upgrade Voucher. Turned out to be a complete disaster of miscommunication and the inability to resolve the issue. I left after wasting my time discussing with senior staff and went back to the Grand Hyatt. Best choice in Berlin and highly recommended.

I completely agree with you! The Grand Hyatt is leagues ahead of the Adlon, which is, IMHO, a frightful hotel.

Amanwella

Stayed there some time ago (November/December 2008) but was left disappointed. Actually disappointed isn't the right word because with Aman this is supposed to be a relative term and a disappointment by Aman standards could still pass the test of good elsewhere. Unfortunately, my stay there was average by any standard making it feel a whole lot worse given the anticipation I had for an excellent stay.

My arrival at the resort was underwhelming - greeted by a nervous junior member of staff who was barely audible and seemed to want to quickly usher us to our room via the charming little rickshaws they put on as their buggy offering. Things got better when we met Jonathan Blitz - more Aman like except he informed me that unfortunately he had been called away and would not be around for the duration of my stay. Perfectly acceptable I thought and should not affect service levels given that we were at Aman and given that Jonathan had briefed his team to make a special effort to ensure we were comfortable in his absence - I was wrong.

Long delays on food orders both in restaurant and on room service requests, very average fare when food did actually arrive, DVD's that didn't work, sliding doors in the room that were stiff and therefore hard to open, uselessly positioned plunge pool that was often uncleaned and without sun - therefore never used, need to repeat requests on at least a couple of occasions and muted responses when they did come. All this was negative enough but was made worse when feeding back to the management on check out. It took an age to check out, the bill was wrong when it did come and my comments were met with the kind of response that you might expect at a lowlier hotel a sort of "we know about the service levels and we are working on it". Well I'm glad that you are but that does not help me because there is no way I will be making the arduous journey to Tangalle for the privilege of staying somewhere distinctly average ever again.

Oh and no spa - overall a real shame and let down and I can't help but feel that my positive sentiment for the Aman brand have been damaged as a result. I can no longer take for granted that just because a property is managed by Aman that it will be good. Due diligence is required.

I would have been positively fuming had I been paying the full rack rate but luckily I wasn't. I do note however, that the new rack rate is significantly discounted no doubt in recognition of the lack of quality and maybe as a means of filling the resort - we were virtually one one of only two or three couple staying there on our visit.

I hope they have fixed the bugs I faced during my stay but I doubt it given that there just seemed to be a real lack of quality throughout. It's hard to put my finger on it but I guess even if things went smoother during my stay I may have still come away thinking that the property was average. My previous experiences at Aman in Bali and Marrakech had inspired not a feeling of efficiency but of magic and of beautifully anticipated needs and wants - I just don't think that magic can be replicated here despite the beautiful backdrop.

The Bvlgari Milan.
Aloof and unhelpful staff. After multiple failures of the room key, the response from the desk, "Why don't you ask to have your door fixed?"
Completely non-ergonomic room. No place anywhere in the bathroom to put a towel, except on the floor, so you have to move a chair from the bedroom into the bathroom if you don't want to place your towel on the floor while you shower.
Absurd spa--the only item in the locker is a Bvlgari jewelry box--nothing of practical use anywhere to be found in the changing rooms--no shampoo or soap in the shower, no razor, no toiletries, etc.
I couldn't wait to leave.

It was always the sort of place where you had to book one of the suites as the rooms are tiny with too much Antonio Citterio furniture, but it sounds as though service has really gone down. Pity, as the garden in the summer is delightful. Another one to cross off the list, although I had already done this after hearing that LVMH Group (Cheval Blanc etc) had taken over.

Many great choices in Berlin, however 100% agreed that Adlon is not one of them unless you happen to be the head of state of a larger republic, kingdom, or territory. I actually like the Hotel de Rome more than the Hyatt.

To be fair to the Adlon: The GM returned my complaint in 12 hours and he seemed to be very sorry about the experience. I got a very generous compensation offer to give them a new chance to win back my trust.

The absolute worst was Shangri-La in Bangkok (ugh!!!)

Here are the runners up:

Chateau de la Chevre d'Or - Eze, France
Round Hill - Montego Bay, Jamaica
Hotel Bristol- Vienna, Austria
The Lygon Arms - Broadway, England

It's a lot more helpful to all of us if you briefly tell us why they are your worst, then we can judge if the reasons apply to us as well.

seems like the poster is posting some good posts. but id have to agree bristol is interesting choice.