tiger1tony

In June I spent the weekend in a lovely room at the Sheraton Park Lane in London. Albeit a bit small (but hey, it's Europe afterall) it had an incredible feather bed, comfortable sofa and chairs, marble bath "Luxury Collection" bath amenities and top quality bed and bath linens.

This week I am staying at the Sheraton Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam which, according to its comment card, is billing itself as a Luxury Collection hotel (according to the guest comment card in the room). While clean and nicely decorated, the room was no bigger than a standard Sheraton room. Standard Sheraton bath amenities and towels in the bathroom, and, most disappointing of all, standard mattresses on the two twin beds instead of the feather bed I expected(I got a great internet rate for the twin room - but wasn't offered an upgrade despite being 11 nights away from platinum).

Has anyone else experienced inconsistencies in the "Luxury Collection" Hotels? Granted, given the exchange rate, the Sheraton Park Lane was almost twice the price of the Sheraton Schiphol Airport Amsterdam, but there should still be some consistent level to achieve to be called a Luxury Collection hotel... Shouldn't there?

William, can you shed some light on this?

[This message has been edited by tiger1tony (edited 09-22-2003).]

welookgood.com

on the upgrade part i doubt a hotel would say your almost plat so let's take care of you, unless you have a prior history with that hotel..

Starwood Lurker

There are standards for being a part of The Luxury Collection. We police those standards. Some hotels have lost and then regained Luxury Collection branding. For example, The Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

ehe123

I am confused. The Sheraton Park Lane has never been part of the Luxury Collection (fortunately). Did you mean the Sheraton Park Tower? Similarly, the Amsterdam Schiphol Sheraton has never been listed on any web site as part of the Luxury Collection (the Pulitzer in downtown Amsterdam is in the Luxury Collection).

Starwood Lurker

I wasn't going to call much attention to this. After all, everytime I do I am accused of mocking someone.

Better to just answer the question as it was posed.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited 09-22-2003).]

dabbagmm

I'm glad you do! I guess someone needs to pay the Hotel President Wilson (Geneva, Switzerland) a visit to evaluate the standard of the regular rooms especially after what so called "renovation".

The hotel is among my favorites in Europe (despite ignoring my Platinum status) but I'm really disappointed by the standard of the renovation.

Bravo! for The Hotel Grande Bretagne.

One last comment: The most annoying thing about some of the Luxury Collection is their standard "Luxury Collection branded" bath amenities. Some others offer really superb amenities like Molton Brown and Bvlgari.

kindra178

If there exist standards for luxury collection, why the negative posts on Kapalua Bay?

I am heading there in January and I want it to be perfect.

fljbrs

I've been in Kapalua Bay this summer (award stay) and, sincerely, I don't understand the negative posts about it. I found it above many other luxury collection properties (although no upgrade was available). Among other things at Kapalua we had (and all rooms are similar):

- Room larger than most standard rooms anywhere (and it was the lowest standard room you could get there, because they are all the same)
- Separate shower/bath
- Sitting area with comfortable sofa and armchair in the room
- Lanai (balcony) with a table, chaise-longue and a couple of chairs
-Coffee/tea maker with free coffe/tea bags, etc
-Beds were very comfortable for us (maybe we european prefer a different kind of bed)
-Turndown service with a nice small pin different each night
-A different and nice amenity each day (plate of fruit, or cheese, or crudites, etc)
- Chance of reserving in advance (paying a fee) umbrellas and/or cabanas at the beach, with no need to wake up early to get them
- Very responsive service addressing all our needs, and a very good concierge.

Starwood Lurker

Shareholder

I thought the standard to be considered as a Luxury Collection hotel is that the property's daily room rate had to equal the annual per capita income of the lowest quintile of those living in the city it is located in.

f00sion

I too, enjoyed my stay at kapalua this past july.

ajnaro

Another positive vote for Kapalua Bay, on all points.

Just a question:

I’ve never been to a hotel that has been upgraded to LC, although I’ve been to some that have been downgraded (Royal Hawaiian, Sheraton on the Park Sydney, Palace Hotel Madrid and certain other former CIGA hotels in Europe. CIGA was in fact where the four-horses-of-Venice trademark came from. So, what’s in it? Why the downgrades? And why no upgrades?

[This message has been edited by ajnaro (edited 09-22-2003).]

Factotum

When did this "renovation" take place? I stayed at that hotel 2 years ago and found my regular room to be of a very high standard - spotlessly clean, beautifully appointed, and downright humongous as European hotel rooms go. And I loved the floor-to-ceiling windows! This place may not be the Four Seasons but it's definitely a cut above your typical Sheraton or even Westin. The "Luxury Collection" brand is well-deserved by this hotel IMO.

wasabi_gin

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starwood Lurker:
[B] I wasn't going to call much attention to this. After all, everytime I do I am accused of mocking someone.
Better to just answer the question as it was posed.

William, you are much too modest.

tiger1tony

>>>I am confused. The Sheraton Park Lane has never been part of the Luxury Collection (fortunately). Did you mean the Sheraton Park Tower? Similarly, the Amsterdam Schiphol Sheraton has never been listed on any web site as part of the Luxury Collection (the Pulitzer in downtown Amsterdam is in the Luxury Collection). <<<

Mea culpa.... you are correct, I meant the Sheraton Park Tower. As far as the Schiphol Sheraton, I didn't think it was part of the Luxery Collection when I booked the room. I was prompted to post the question when I noticed the Luxury Collection branding on the guest comment cards in the room.