When personal experience tells you a magazines's Top 100 hotel is NOT!
Jul 19, 2006, 7:08 am
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Bainbridge Island, WA
Posts: 8,973
When personal experience tells you a magazines's Top 100 hotel is NOT!
I always enjoy reading magazine's TOP 100 lists especially if I have stayed in one or two of them and had some personal experience. But I wonder sometimes what guides these lists and their choices besides out-dated information or client favoritism.
Travel and Leisure just listed their TOP 100. They rated a small hotel in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, The Casa Sierra Nevada as one of the Top Latin American Hotels (all be it #25 out of 25....but that is ALL hotels in Latin America) as one of the best. I have been going to this town for 15 years and have watched this very popular and beautiful hotel go down the drain from poor customer service, frumpy out-dated rooms, bad food, and confusing transitions from one owner to the next. Just read Tripadvisor and you will see what I mean. There are other better choices in town and the well-informed visitor knows this. How come Travel and Leisure doesn't.
What other hotels have you been surprised with that made a TOP 100 list and you know it should not have.....
Travel and Leisure just listed their TOP 100. They rated a small hotel in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, The Casa Sierra Nevada as one of the Top Latin American Hotels (all be it #25 out of 25....but that is ALL hotels in Latin America) as one of the best. I have been going to this town for 15 years and have watched this very popular and beautiful hotel go down the drain from poor customer service, frumpy out-dated rooms, bad food, and confusing transitions from one owner to the next. Just read Tripadvisor and you will see what I mean. There are other better choices in town and the well-informed visitor knows this. How come Travel and Leisure doesn't.
What other hotels have you been surprised with that made a TOP 100 list and you know it should not have.....
Jul 19, 2006, 7:24 am
#2
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Join Date: May 2005
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Posts: 1,548
The writing staff working at these magazines are usually ditzy right-out-of-college undergrads who will take any accomodation that is not a stained futon in a hostel as luxury and cuisine that is not ramen eaten with stolen silverware as gourmet.
Jul 19, 2006, 8:10 am
#3
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 9,711
I would be highly critical of the information communicated in these "Top 10/50/100 Brands" listings that are commonplace in magazines and websites. Unless there is a reasonably transparent methodology displayed for determining rank (for example, the voting process for the Flyertalk Freddies awards), one cannot be too confident of the lack of bias.
Jul 19, 2006, 11:23 am
#6
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Cows in Berkeley?....Moooo!
Programs: Fly Amtrak, Go Greyhound! I'm often wrong but always sincere.
Posts: 7,102
[QUOTE=Swanhunter]Ritz Carlton Singapore has - in my experience - been another classic example of award winning mediocrity.[/QUOTE
Funny, when I read the thread title, the RC Singapore popped in my head first as well. I stayed there two years ago. At the time, they did not honor my early check in request and I had to wait almost two hours in the lounge. I found the room fairly tired out and only the bathroom as impressive as described, though it didn't have the upgraded bath amenities described when I reserved the room.
Funny, when I read the thread title, the RC Singapore popped in my head first as well. I stayed there two years ago. At the time, they did not honor my early check in request and I had to wait almost two hours in the lounge. I found the room fairly tired out and only the bathroom as impressive as described, though it didn't have the upgraded bath amenities described when I reserved the room.
Jun 19, 2011, 9:04 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 98
I always enjoy reading magazine's TOP 100 lists especially if I have stayed in one or two of them and had some personal experience. But I wonder sometimes what guides these lists and their choices besides out-dated information or client favoritism.
Travel and Leisure just listed their TOP 100. They rated a small hotel in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, The Casa Sierra Nevada as one of the Top Latin American Hotels (all be it #25 out of 25....but that is ALL hotels in Latin America) as one of the best. I have been going to this town for 15 years and have watched this very popular and beautiful hotel go down the drain from poor customer service, frumpy out-dated rooms, bad food, and confusing transitions from one owner to the next. Just read Tripadvisor and you will see what I mean. There are other better choices in town and the well-informed visitor knows this. How come Travel and Leisure doesn't.
What other hotels have you been surprised with that made a TOP 100 list and you know it should not have.....
Travel and Leisure just listed their TOP 100. They rated a small hotel in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, The Casa Sierra Nevada as one of the Top Latin American Hotels (all be it #25 out of 25....but that is ALL hotels in Latin America) as one of the best. I have been going to this town for 15 years and have watched this very popular and beautiful hotel go down the drain from poor customer service, frumpy out-dated rooms, bad food, and confusing transitions from one owner to the next. Just read Tripadvisor and you will see what I mean. There are other better choices in town and the well-informed visitor knows this. How come Travel and Leisure doesn't.
What other hotels have you been surprised with that made a TOP 100 list and you know it should not have.....
Service is great too. I don't trust Tripadvisor too much, but the last 50 reviews on TA has been 5/5 and in this case I must say it's all true.
This is the best value experience in all of North America. It's a very special experience for me. I have been nearly 300 hotels so far and haven't had an experience similar to this one yet.
Could be nice if anyone on Flyertalk have been to the hotel and would agree with me?