97nts currently, 102 by Friday,then 5nt@ Westin Snowmass, will ambassador save me?
Dec 20, 2014, 8:27 am
#61
Join Date: May 2007
Location: CA & TPE
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, Hertz Plat, Centurion, too many airlines
Posts: 618
MBA... Late 20s.... Consultant... Trying to impress a special someone by showing what a VIP he/she is, when the reality is a lot of 2 and 3 day stays at HIX and 4P properties.
What do I win?
P.s. Why is the word "bal*er" banned?
What do I win?
P.s. Why is the word "bal*er" banned?
Dec 20, 2014, 8:35 am
#62
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Englandshire
Programs: SPG LT Plat, BA G, BD*LG, MG Blue+ ...
Posts: 16,027
Folks, just a reminder of the FT rules :
Please stick to discussing the topic, not the poster. No-one wants to win themselves a free holiday from FT, do they ?
/mod
If you have a difference of opinion with another member, challenge the idea — NOT the person. Getting personal with another member is not allowed. Personal attacks, insults, baiting and flaming will not be tolerated.
/mod
Dec 22, 2014, 7:40 am
#63
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
My thoughts after being here so far;
I declined my one approved SNA, just because I didn't want to move rooms twice and have to wait for the suite to get cleaned (and leave my luggage in storage or something). Like I previously mentioned, they started the show off right. But, before going to bed last night I was told by my companion "this hotel is great if you don't need anything". With that I will somewhat agree, and say the hotel is hard to hate due to its location @ Snowmass. Although in regards to her comments and why she feels this way (and me too, to some extent);
- Lunch @ Snowmass kitchen took north of 1 hour yesterday. This was for a burger and a pizza. We speculate they forgot to put the order in. There were tables next to us that had arrived after us, were larger in size, and all receiving their orders. By the time we received our food, they had already left. This was very disappointing considering our lunch at Venga Venga the day prior had almost unreal response time from the kitchen. Now the waitress eventually ends up comping our food (and we didn't even say anything, our wait alone spoke for itself when other tables came and left). The day prior we ordered from the same place and a dessert item was promptly made by the kitchen. So its 1/2 for success here.
-We arrive at Westin's valet desk at 10:50 at night. We see a single valet person, who is eventually pulled into the back by another Westin staff member before being able to acknowledge or help us. After no valet staff to be seen for 5 minutes, we decided to just put the key on the counter (with our westin valet tag) and hope it will be handled. My companion at this time just wondering "where is everybody?" (there were 2 agents at the check-in counter)
-Remember how I wondered if I dial 0 on the phone, will anyone even pick up? Well that problem happened last night. We called down about 10 minutes later to speak with valet. No answer for an extended period of time. We call again a minute or two later and someone eventually picks up.
-We have all dealt with dishes being left in the hallway. I see it all the time at Sheratons. There are dishes that were left out for at the very least 4-6 hours and still not retrieved. We noticed it because we saw actually more dishes accumulate in the spot.
-I was waiting for valet to retrieve our car and was in front of the building. While looking at the building, I noticed a door blowing in the wind (open of course) with a sign next to it named Telecom Closet. I peered in. I see boxes of cat5 cable, presumably switches, routers, and firewalls mounted on the wall. No one is around, but it seemed odd to leave your telco closet open in the middle of a winter snow storm. I assume someone was there to service something and would be returning. This is just an observation
Condition of the property; our windows are old and they do not shut that well. It is obvious when looking at the hotel that some of the rooms have different style (and presumably newer?) windows. This is kind of an odd issue. Snowmass Kitchen has visible water damage that can be seen by the windows. The doors of everything are heavy wooden doors. A lot of them on our floor look to be showing quite a bit scratches/wear. You have to walk by them on the way to the pool, and its somewhat an eye sore that takes away from the experience. This is somewhat a cheap/easy fix, as I am sure you have all seen home improvement items to try and hide scuff marks in wood. That alone could do a bit, since replacing or refinishing a bunch of doors is probably not something they can do at the start of a ski season.
Heres why I give them a break. Its that time of the year. They could have new staff who are still being broken in. They could be short staffed. We arrived at valet at 10:50 at night, which is a little late, and it was obvious most of the staff were cut to go home. The ski valet team is really good to work with. Always well staffed and very timely. It all depends on your level of expectations I guess. When you work with the staff, you can tell they are being helpful and are considerate of your issue
I still say the hotel is hard to dislike due to its second to none location.
I declined my one approved SNA, just because I didn't want to move rooms twice and have to wait for the suite to get cleaned (and leave my luggage in storage or something). Like I previously mentioned, they started the show off right. But, before going to bed last night I was told by my companion "this hotel is great if you don't need anything". With that I will somewhat agree, and say the hotel is hard to hate due to its location @ Snowmass. Although in regards to her comments and why she feels this way (and me too, to some extent);
- Lunch @ Snowmass kitchen took north of 1 hour yesterday. This was for a burger and a pizza. We speculate they forgot to put the order in. There were tables next to us that had arrived after us, were larger in size, and all receiving their orders. By the time we received our food, they had already left. This was very disappointing considering our lunch at Venga Venga the day prior had almost unreal response time from the kitchen. Now the waitress eventually ends up comping our food (and we didn't even say anything, our wait alone spoke for itself when other tables came and left). The day prior we ordered from the same place and a dessert item was promptly made by the kitchen. So its 1/2 for success here.
-We arrive at Westin's valet desk at 10:50 at night. We see a single valet person, who is eventually pulled into the back by another Westin staff member before being able to acknowledge or help us. After no valet staff to be seen for 5 minutes, we decided to just put the key on the counter (with our westin valet tag) and hope it will be handled. My companion at this time just wondering "where is everybody?" (there were 2 agents at the check-in counter)
-Remember how I wondered if I dial 0 on the phone, will anyone even pick up? Well that problem happened last night. We called down about 10 minutes later to speak with valet. No answer for an extended period of time. We call again a minute or two later and someone eventually picks up.
-We have all dealt with dishes being left in the hallway. I see it all the time at Sheratons. There are dishes that were left out for at the very least 4-6 hours and still not retrieved. We noticed it because we saw actually more dishes accumulate in the spot.
-I was waiting for valet to retrieve our car and was in front of the building. While looking at the building, I noticed a door blowing in the wind (open of course) with a sign next to it named Telecom Closet. I peered in. I see boxes of cat5 cable, presumably switches, routers, and firewalls mounted on the wall. No one is around, but it seemed odd to leave your telco closet open in the middle of a winter snow storm. I assume someone was there to service something and would be returning. This is just an observation
Condition of the property; our windows are old and they do not shut that well. It is obvious when looking at the hotel that some of the rooms have different style (and presumably newer?) windows. This is kind of an odd issue. Snowmass Kitchen has visible water damage that can be seen by the windows. The doors of everything are heavy wooden doors. A lot of them on our floor look to be showing quite a bit scratches/wear. You have to walk by them on the way to the pool, and its somewhat an eye sore that takes away from the experience. This is somewhat a cheap/easy fix, as I am sure you have all seen home improvement items to try and hide scuff marks in wood. That alone could do a bit, since replacing or refinishing a bunch of doors is probably not something they can do at the start of a ski season.
Heres why I give them a break. Its that time of the year. They could have new staff who are still being broken in. They could be short staffed. We arrived at valet at 10:50 at night, which is a little late, and it was obvious most of the staff were cut to go home. The ski valet team is really good to work with. Always well staffed and very timely. It all depends on your level of expectations I guess. When you work with the staff, you can tell they are being helpful and are considerate of your issue
I still say the hotel is hard to dislike due to its second to none location.
Last edited by factory81; Dec 22, 2014 at 7:49 am
Dec 22, 2014, 9:32 am
#64
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG-Plat, Hilton-Diamond, Club Carlson-Silver, Cathay-Diamond, Virgin-Gold
Posts: 2,183
Good to hear your thoughts and impressions, it can sometimes be the case that properties that have a great location do skip on things they should do as they feel they can get away with it and still fill the rooms. It shouldn't be this way and in no way an excuse for some of the things you outlined.
For that reason maybe you should put this on the thread for the Westin Snowmass so people considering it will have access to the information easily long after this thread disappears down the lists!
For that reason maybe you should put this on the thread for the Westin Snowmass so people considering it will have access to the information easily long after this thread disappears down the lists!
Dec 22, 2014, 2:36 pm
#65
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
Will do. The biggest annoyance of the hotel is the elevators. There is a 5 minute wait it would seem at times. Resulting in the busiest stairwell of any hotel I have ever been in. Its not uncommon to see the elevator just open as you walk by. People hit the button and just walk down/up.
Staff are really on point when you do work with them. Like this morning, awesome valet guy, brushing the car off, etc. They do put a good effort in.
The hotel I think gets pushed to its limits sometimes. Like right now, its getting to be peak ski season. So I'm not sure if this is just everyone trying to keep it together, or what. But the guests I'm sure do overwhelm them with requests.
This morning, those dishes are still out there. I mean, if this is something that annoys you - which we have a thread here I think even discussing the delay in which housekeeping picks up stuff, you may want to speak up. I'm giving everyone a pass. Its dumping snow. I don't want to work. I know they wouldn't want to either.
My trip is perfect timing snow wise.
Staff are really on point when you do work with them. Like this morning, awesome valet guy, brushing the car off, etc. They do put a good effort in.
The hotel I think gets pushed to its limits sometimes. Like right now, its getting to be peak ski season. So I'm not sure if this is just everyone trying to keep it together, or what. But the guests I'm sure do overwhelm them with requests.
This morning, those dishes are still out there. I mean, if this is something that annoys you - which we have a thread here I think even discussing the delay in which housekeeping picks up stuff, you may want to speak up. I'm giving everyone a pass. Its dumping snow. I don't want to work. I know they wouldn't want to either.
My trip is perfect timing snow wise.
Good to hear your thoughts and impressions, it can sometimes be the case that properties that have a great location do skip on things they should do as they feel they can get away with it and still fill the rooms. It shouldn't be this way and in no way an excuse for some of the things you outlined.
For that reason maybe you should put this on the thread for the Westin Snowmass so people considering it will have access to the information easily long after this thread disappears down the lists!
For that reason maybe you should put this on the thread for the Westin Snowmass so people considering it will have access to the information easily long after this thread disappears down the lists!