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When Will the Four Seasons and Other Luxury Hotels Ever Learn About Free WiFi?

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 300 S. Doheny Drive [map], Los Angeles, ca, United States, 90048

March 21, 2008 at 9:25 AM | 2 Comments

In our Annual WiFi Reports, luxury chains are usually the worst offenders. They charge extremely high rates (minimum $400 a night) and then they ding you again for internet access. And that's not even for WiFi in most cases. Usually it's the dreaded old ethernet connection.

Anyways, it's getting clear and clearer that frequent guests won't put up with this much longer. Tim Dunn (oh how we wish it was a "g" instead of a "d") writes to us about a recent experience at the Four Seasons Los Angeles:

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles has the nerve to charge you $10 for in-room wireless internet access, when their rates alone run from $795-$2100 per night, how very MOTEL 6 of them.

One would not expect to pay for towels by the pool, shampoo in the shower, or nightly turndown service, but you turn around and they rob you for a small and very unnecessary fee.

Does this need to be added to (FS owners) Bill Gates and Price Alewaad's bottom line, I think not.

Speaking of Bill Gates, we wonder: Would he stay at a hotel that didn't have free wireless? Ok, maybe that's not the right question considering he's one of the richest men on the planet.

However, we think that if you are the type to pay $795 a night for a hotel in the middle of Los Angeles, you probably wouldn't flinch at another $10 rolled into the room rate. So why doesn't Four Seasons et. al. just roll it in? Why make us go through unnecessary steps?

Have any hotel WiFi experiences that you want to vent about? Email us your gripes.

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Author Photo: juliana by juliana

2 Comments

Return to » When Will the Four Seasons and Other Luxury Hotels Ever Learn About Free WiFi?

  1. hartss

    HotelChatter Member
    March 21, 2008 at 9:39 AM




    Free Wi-Fi

    When is Starwood going to stop charging for internet access? Other, lesser chains have already done so, and I really resent this charge. I feel that it is a hidden, de facto rate increase, and the hotel is being inherently dishonest in charging this while most hotels outside the US do not charge for web access.

    I am Starwood Gold Elite.  Should my elite status, showing my customer loyalty, not at least entitle me to a pass from this charge?

    Additionally, at during a recent stay at a Westin in suburban Chicago, I made four calls to my company's toll-free number and was charged $2.27 per call (including tax). I asked the front desk to remove these charges and they refused to do so. Simply egregious. Toll-free indeed.

    These charges are indicative of what is wrong with corporate America today.  Nothing is customer-friendly anymore, just angling for every penny they can get.  Ugly but true.

  1. juliana

    HotelChatter
    March 21, 2008 at 2:11 PM




    Re: When Will the Four Seasons and Other Luxury Ho

    that's actually a pretty good idea. if you are a starwood elite member you should get these kind of perks. i thought they already did something like this but i guess not.

Return to » When Will the Four Seasons and Other Luxury Hotels Ever Learn About Free WiFi?

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