dAAllas

Gotta get this off my chest. Checked into the Orchid at Mauna Lani about 8:30 in the evening. We were hungry so we asked what restaurants in the hotel were open. Turns out everything closed at 9PM except for the bar and 24hr room service. We looked at the bar menu and it was pretty minimal so we walked back up to the room to look at the 24 hr room service menu. You guessed it...same menu only even more expensive than the bar menu. We then went back to the front desk and asked about options for food. Again we got the "24-hour room service" response. I then specifically asked for alternatives off site. I was told "everything around this area closes at 9PM but 'we have 24 hour room service'". Ugh...they sure were proud of that room service. I opted for the $8 cup of soup from the bar, and my companion had a $15 sandwich. Next day we are 1 mile away at the Hilton. Guess what....5 restaurants that are open til 10PM or 11PM. Hmmmm....now why weren't we told of these when asked? Also, there's another hotel right next door to the Hilton and a small shopping plaza also with restaurants open past 9PM. Did all of these places slip the mind of the Orchid employees? Were they lying or just plain ignorant of the local surroundings?

Sweet Willie

I'm going to be gracious and go with the ignorant of surroundings answer.

My largest pet peeve about hotels is they do not know of the nearest Kinko's (or other sim-type biz center), any restaurants other than chain (God forbid they come up w/a small local favorite) and directions. In my experience it does not matter what hotel chain it is, most fall far short in acceptable answers to the above questions.

PLangian

That does it! I'm calling Barry and I am going to cash in a few chips he owes me. I assure you, this will be taken care of and those employees that lied to you will no longer be working at a Starwood property. It's just a matter of time.

------------------
"You continue to persist with the silliness"

edg1

The Hilton Resort and the King' Shops are at least 3 - 4 miles away from the Orchid. The King's shops have fast food, but I think they close early. Any of the other alternatives in that area are at least as expensive as your room service. The front desk was not deceiving you in that there really is nothing in the immediate area of the Orchid, but perhaps was not proactive enough in determining how far you were willing to travel.

Bostom

I don't want to be too hard on ya, but I've been up that road from Kona and it musta looked pretty lonely in the evening - nothing appealing on the way up?

And indeed, being the Orchid, everything else is a bit of a hike. But to wonder here about the ignorance vs greed of the employees? I dunno: I didn't think the desk clerk gets a cut of your room service bill.

And I honestly don't find a $15 sandwich too pricey in a place where the rooms run a coupla hundred $ a night to start. Or even the $8 bowl of soup. Hell, we had a run of posts here a year or two ago about the $34 bowl of soup at the St. Regis and the $85 pork chops at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House and I confess: them I find pricey.

You'd have more of a btXch if it was a Red Roof Inn where you'd expect they know where the Denny's is and how late the 24 hour IHOP stays open...

dhammer53

As of 12/15, this place was no longer associated with SPG. There is a current thread floating around.

dAAllas

Well next time we'll be more specific on distance. I would have driven into Kona if they had told me the restaurants there were open past midnight. And as far as King's Shops and the Hilton Hotel, I consider 3-4 miles local. The Kings Shops also has more than fast food, they have a steak restaurant, a chinese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant to name a few. And actually the meal at the bar was by far the cheapest meal we had the entire trip so the meal amount wasn't the issue per se. But I don't care what the price of the hotel room....I don't like paying $8 plus tax and tip for a small cup of onion broth. I will tell you though, that was the one and only meal we had at the Orchid. I just found the entire thing a little odd. Usually hotel employees at that level hotel go above and beyond helping you locate some place.

B Watson

I could not agree more - what is it with people who pick a luxury hotel and then act like they are in shock at the costs. You had best stick with the US and not realize how much you CAN pay at a hotel - this is just nuts.

francophile

I'm surprised that at a large resort such as this one, that there wasn't at least a casual restaurant on resort grounds open later than 9:00pm, especially for those folks coming in on flights arriving into OGG in the early evening.

For example, AA has flights coming into OGG at 8:28pm and 10:26pm. UA has flight a flight coming in at 8:20pm.

Maybe the restaurants' closing early is seasonal. I mean, isn't early December in Hawaii considered low season?

anthonyanthony

You should assume the front desk agents were ignorant before you get peeved at them, unless you find evidence that they are part of some hotel conspiracy to misinform their guests with the aim of selling more hotel services.

While it is the mark of a good employee to be be able to answer the type of questions you asked, I certainly don't expect them to know when area restaurant close. 9pm was a fair estimate.

I would let it go.

SMessier

The complaint is about the inaccurate information he received from the hotel staff. If they didn't know, they should have said so.

What is it with people who think any comments about room service prices/local restaurants is driven by shock over the costs?

Rolling Stone

Maybe it was this quote?

slawecki

I have lived in the same residential suburb of Wash DC for 25 years. If you asked me what restaurant within a 5 mile radius was open at 9 or 10pm, I would not have the slightest idea. I don't eat around here, I don't shop around here. I do not think any of my neighbors would know either.

The front desk probably does not eat or shop in the area around the Orchid. What do they know about 10pm restaurants.

You should have asked a concierge if there was one. That is the duty of the concierge.

I have only stayed in 5 luxury hotels in Hawaii(no starwoods). Those food prices seem about standard.

TravelScholar

Of course, if I was in this position, I would probably say, "I don't know of any", instead of "there aren't any."

On the other hand, the front desk folks might have had good intentions in that they're probably trained to feature the hotel's convenient services to you. I don't think this justifies ignorance of their surroundings, but they might have just been doing what their managers trained them to do.

dAAllas

Thanks for your responses all. My personal feeling is that the hotel was making an effort to keep us on the property to spend our money. And I never said I was "shocked" over the prices. Actually, the prices were secondary to the limited choices on the menu. Prices were about what I expected. But even staying at a luxury resort, I don't feel that such all of a sudden makes an $8 cup of broth justified. And I'm not the only one. I lost count of the number of people during my stay that I saw bringing in outside food and drink onto the property including multiple bags of groceries and large ice chests full of food.