RichardSF, many thanks for fixing my Ventanas post!

Highs:

Imperial Vienna
Rosewood Mayakoba
Gili Lankanfushi
Velaa Private Island
FS Dubai Jumeriah Beach
FS Dubai DIFC
Coworth Park, UK
Hotel Urso, Madrid
FS Milan
Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como
Santo Maris Oia, Santorini
Abad�a Retuerta LeDomaine - just outside Madrid
Petit St Vincent
101 Reyjavik
Deplar Farm
Soho Farmhouse
Hotel Omm, Barcelona
Chewton Glen
Four Seasons Budapest

Middle

One and Only Royal Mirage, Dubai
St James Club London
Hotel Unico Madrid
Hotel Arts, Barcelona

Low

No lows this year

details? heli-skiing? welcome to the forum

Went back and looked at all the hotels I stayed at in 2017. When I try to rank the hotels, what I begin to realize is that the service and concierge doesn't matter to me as much as the hard product and location. I tend to be in and out type of guests and don't spend much time lingering inside a hotel. Also try to book all the restaurants myself so most times, I don't need the front desk or concierge aside than for check-in and check-out


High
Covent Garden Hotel, London
- love the vibe of the hotel and the location. The cafe downstairs has very good breakfast and is a great space to have a drink or afternoon tea. It does get crowded though

Arajilla Retreat, Lord Howe Island
- low key luxury with an excellent location on the island. Perfect family getaway for the island and LHI is as close to paradise as I have experienced. For couples, Capella maybe better but Arajilla is the right choice for families

Intercontinental, Osaka
- my go-to hotel in Osaka and I keep coming back. Nowadays, I always try to book the Club Floor since the Lounge is good for a relaxing drink and has great service

Hoshinoya, Kyoto
- came here during autumn leaves season and have a wonderful stay. Great service, good food and great location. Perfect for 1 night stay

Sumihei Ryokan, Tango peninsula
- best crab I have ever had and the ryokan itself is very nice as well. Would have been better if the room has a view but would love to go back during crab season

Mid
Amanfayun, Hangzhou
- love the location and the set-up of the property spread along a road that leads to the temple area. Only complaint was the food was only OK

Peninsula Shanghai
- great view from the bar at the top of the hotel. Not a fan of the Deluxe River King room though since when you look out the window, you are flanked by rooms on both sides. I do like the hotel and will need to try another type of room next time

Radisson Kashgar
- not 5 star luxurious but if I were to go to Kashgar again, this would be the place for me. Modern, clean and comfortable

Ritz Carlton Tokyo
- stayed there for its location and service was good. Personally I prefer the Club lounge at the Intercon Osaka

Meriton World Towers, Sydney
- my go to hotel in Sydney when traveling with family. Conveniently located with lots of shops and restaurants close-by

Low
A bunch of hotels on my Silk Road trip but none of those can be considered luxury hotels and doubt anyone would go there

Thank you for the welcome. This is AngieSilver I’ve changed my handle to SilverSpoon.



I’ll preface this by saying that Deplar Farm was one of my all time favourite hotels and is an excellent full service hotel. We didn’t do the heli-skiing as it was the wrong season and I am not a fan of extreme sports. My husband would have loved it though if it had been the right time of year.



Highs



� Deplar Farm is a home away from home and as such you’re treated like one of the family. The atmosphere is relaxed and there’s no need to dress up – you can go to dinner in your robe! You’re also welcome to take any food or drink from the fridges around the hotel just like you would t home.

� Location – Couldn’t be faulted. It’s ‘in the middle of no where’ nearly two hours drive from the airport and the scenery is stunning.

� The Lodge – Still very new and beautifully decorated in a local style. Everything is pristine. The bar is gorgeous and there’s lots of games and even a band stand.

� Food – Excellent quality ingredients for every meal – fresh ingredients, great wines and personal service from the sommelier and barman who will make whatever cocktail you want. There are also delicious fresh snacks in your room.

� Service – Very personalised, you are allocated an experience manager before you arrive and he creates an itinerary around your needs.

� Spa – Beautiful with fantastic views. Mr S and I both had a very enjoyable massage. One of my favourite things about this hotel was the geothermally heated pool. There’s a bar built into the pool too so that you can order drinks directly. There’s a second geothermally heated small hot tub.Also gives that real feel of Iceland.

� Excursions – The opportunity to see more of this beautiful country with personalised, expert guidance. We loved the excursions. If you do Drangey Island beware if you’re afraid of heights!



Middling



� The rooms – At first I was a little disappointed by the rooms which are quite small. There is so much space on the property they would be able to have individual cabins. However having a small room added to the home-like feeling of the place as everyone is located close together. I got used to the smaller room and it didn’t bother me. As we were there during summer and the sun rises early there are black out blinds in the room. We found these very effective.



Low



� Group Excursions – My husband and I love meeting new people and being sociable but we prefer private excursions. For our first excursion, the family in our group were a hour and half late meaning we were left waiting around for them losing precious time on our holiday and not returning from our morning trip until 3pm. I look forward to staying in the Awasi properties in April where all excursions are private.

� Dining is family style – Again we liked the social aspect of this but disliked having to run on everyone else’s timings. Again a couple were an hour late for a meal so we had to wait for them. On another occasion my husband and I had just got back from an excursion and wanted a shower but we were told we couldn’t as everyone was waiting for us for dinner. As we arrived late the only seats left were on the children’s side away from the other adults. However the staff quickly rectified this and put us on a private table. (we did feel rude though!)



Overall as mentioned we loved this property and there’s just a few things that need ironing out.



You can read a full review on my blog: A Home-Away-From-Home: Deplar Farm, Iceland - SilverSpoon London

thanks! really odd. did you ask re private dining around property?

what are rates/options? hear anything re their other properties?

Welcome to FT, SilverSpoon!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Deplar. My wife and I briefly considered it for our trip to Iceland this past October, but your review only solidifies my comfort in deciding not to go. At those prices, the rooms and family-style dining (plus group outings) are simply not what we want.

I do hope you loved your time in Iceland, and will love your experience here on FT.

Welcome, again!

when i was talking to staff at Richard Branson's The Lodge in Verbier, they were clear they would do d�gustation menus anywhere on property for no additional fee. seem to recall others mentioning properties like singita proactively offering similar. perhaps most inclusive properties require asking, even though they shouldnt. room service should be standard, and small inclusive properties should be able to serve anywhere. [and basically anytime]

unclear what rate options eleven experience offers as they do not have anything on their own website, only some on mr & mrs smith.

At Deplar Farm a set menu is offered every night though of course they are happy to cater for dietary requirements. It didn't seem a problem to serve us dinner privately though the hotel is small there aren't many private areas. They do however have a separate lodge called the Ghost Farm which is gorgeous log cabin around ten minutes from the main property. We went there for a glass of wine but I don't know what the arrangements are for meals or staying there (there is a small bedroom for two) and if you need to pay extra.

I'm sure they'd do their best to accommodate some form of room service but the rooms are small and there is no dining table.
I have not stayed at any other Eleven Experience properties though I do love the look of Crested Butte.

We paid $3000 a night and stayed three nights. I guess you could say this was steep given the room size and shared activities / dining but we honestly left having fallen in love with the property and the beautiful country. I would return in a heart beat.

Thank you for welcoming me to FlyerTalk!

I think given the room sizes and the shared activities / dining it was a tad over priced. But as mentioned in my other comment there was something very special about this property and I absolutely fell in love with this magical country. I would definitely return, I would love to see it the winter and catch the Northern Lights.

This is very interesting.

We were there 2-3 years ago and found 101 to be underwhelming. I would rate it more than an "ok-ish" 4* boutique with quite a few amateurish errors (and didn't fall in love with the hard product either).

Surprised to hear about your positive impressions of it. Perhaps it has changed for the better since we were there.

Ok, perhaps a little over zealous to include it as a high but it is a good compared to the rest of the standard in the area. The location was great for exploring Reyjavik, for getting to the local airport and we enjoyed the breakfast.

The room was a little basic for the cost but it was spacious and relatively stylish. Perhaps would go into mid level tier, I wouldn't say it was a low.

Highest
Villa Feltrinelli - Divine. setting, rooms, service, food. Exemplary.
Aman Venice - Loved it. Waking up to the grand canal; excellent food, stunningly beautiful spaces, wandering out into the heart of Venice.
FS Dubai - Our second week+ family stay here. Great dining options on site; great facilities for the kids; rooms perfect for our family (we take a suite and adjoining room); strong, consistent, friendly service
TUH - just love the suite; our go-to for a special occasion in HK

High
Como The Treasury Perth - lovely hard product; decent (not perfect) dining; more service flaws than one would like.
Eden Rome - nice location, good renovation; room descriptions inaccurate and inconsistent meaning we spent a night waiting for availability to �downgrade� to what we considered a much superior product from our free �upgrade�. Service variable - some confusion at dining; one excellent concierge, a few average; and one negatively memorable front desk person who has no business working in a property of this (aspired-to) caliber.
The Merrion - love the location; very nice suite; not mind-blowing but solid and our favorite option in Dublin
MOHK - not perfect (much longer wait for room to be ready then promised but good service recovery) but just feels like the epitome of HK so is always nice to visit.
GHHK - I know not always considered in the same league but we stay here often for work reasons and we are looked after at a level equal to or exceeding many other HK luxury properties so I feel bound to mention. The club level staff take very personal care of us and our family, going to great lengths to provide whatever/whenever we need, from particular items and food for the kids, to meeting spaces for us. We delivered mini-Altocumulus-III a couple weeks ago; they took the time to check in with us to find out when baby arrived and we very promptly received a card from the entire staff.

Middling
Claridge�s - initially dire with a frankly grim room. But recovery was prompt and complete; the new (renovated) suite was pleasant. They turned a guaranteed-never-stay-here-again into somewhere we would consider revisiting (with careful room choice�)
The Vale Niseko - Not true luxury but currently top of the pack for Niseko (with new possible exception of Aya, when we will check out soon this season, and other new options coming next winter). Some standout service from the guys who seem to do all jobs here; they repeatedly really went out of their way to help, from assisting with cold kids and ski equipment to magically appearing from nowhere as we emerged from a bar three sheets to the wind to deliver us on time for our dinner reservations.

Low
The Westbury - just meh. Alas the Merrion was sold out (U2 concert�)

What dates were you at Awasi? I wonder if we saw eachother - We were there April 16-20th.

I was at Awasi Atacama 15th - 17th and Patagonia 19th - 23th

What did you think? We loved both properties.