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Taking The Bad With The Good: Reviews of The Surrey So Far
When we had the chance to check out The Surrey Hotel’s $60-million “re-creation,” we were impressed by the sheer prettiness of the new guest rooms. But not everyone shares our take. Over at the UK site, Globalista Travel Journal, this week The Surrey copped a dressing down for what the nameless reviewer called “a pointless refurbishment.” In the nature of being “fair and balanced,” we decided to compare Globalista’s opinion to recent reviews on TripAdvisor.
Let’s start with those Gloablista grumbles, shall we? The things that ticked them off included: a huge discrepancy in the size of the lowest category Deluxe Salon rooms (some box-like and others spacious, but the same price); the noise; spotty housekeeping service; the complicated or non-functional TV; and the lack of weekend breakfast until 8 a.m. Globalista also said, “The 1920s homage to Lanvin decor is quite simply ghastly.”
Tags: Checking In On / Hotel Renovations / Hotel Reopenings / Fairmont Hotels / London Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
The Savoy Will Finally Reopen In April Or May Next Year
If it seems like years since The Savoy closed its doors for its £100m restoration, that’s because it, um, is. It closed in December 2007, and was supposed to reopen 16 months later, but of course, 16 months in hotel speak is double the length of normal human time.
But, hallelujah, it looks like we’re coming to the end of the process - Fairmont just announced that they expect it to reopen in Spring 2010. And when we quizzed them what counts as spring, they said April or May. Here’s hoping!
We’re not sure what’s taken all the time up, but they’re adding a new two-bedroom Royal Suite, "remodeling" the River Restaurant, "relaunching" the River Suites, and adding a new bar, the Beaufort, and a rooftop swimming pool. Dare we hope it’s an infinity pool overlooking the Thames?
Tags: Checking In On / W Hotels / Hotel Openings / Barcelona Hotels / → All Tags
W Barcelona May Be Stylish, But Still Needs To Work On Service
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Last time we looked, the W Barcelona wasn’t going down so well with its clients. But then that was after opening weekend, nearly a month ago. Is it time to give it another chance?
The Independent reviewed it this weekend and, going by the review, it'd seem the “abysmal” service and “no edgy people” may have been teething problems.
The hotel is “nothing if not striking”, they say, and the pool is “bracingly cool” (we're assuming that's in a literal sense - it's nearly November, after all). The views from the 26th-floor Eclipse bar, meanwhile, are “bewitching”.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / W South Beach / Checking In On / → All Tags
How is Mr. Chow at the W South Beach Doing So Far?
We’re heading to South Beach this weekend, with plans to sample the menu at the W South Beach’s Mr. Chow, which opened a couple of weeks ago. To prepare ourselves, we surfed the interwebs for some of the restaurant’s first reviews.
Here’s what we found:
So far, there are 4 reviews on Yelp. One declared Mr. Chow “a first class dining experience,” noting that the mushroom side dish contained “the largest mushrooms I’ve seen in SOBE.” The next reviewer called the meal “fine” and “respectable, but I wasn’t wowed.” The most recent review, however, raved: “Outstanding! Outstanding! Outstanding!!!” Overall, the Yelpers lead us to believe we should order the crispy beef (three out of four loved it), and maybe the green prawns and ginger lobster.
Tags: Refereeing Hotel Reviews / Checking In On / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
The Roosevelt New Orleans Gets Its First Reviews
The Roosevelt New Orleans re-opened this month, with a brand new Waldorf-Astoria Collection flag, newly-renovated rooms, and a pretty hefty and impressive history — but is all the hype and hooplah worth it? How are guests feeling about the place?
Natch, we checked in on the property at TripAdvisor — and, sadly, there are only two reviews of the iconic hotel that have come in so far.
Still, reviews are...good, if not bland. As usual, there are some service glitches to work out. One guest who called the hotel "beautiful, beautiful, beautiful" also said this:
I waited an hour for breakfast and it was alright,waited a bit for valet parking to bring my car but there was a lot of construction in the area. Overall you will not be disappointed with this hotel-I would most certainly go back
Another guest added this (and, um, sic):
The shower was the best thing during my stay multple jets and sit down. The king bed very comfortable, very small rooms but in new orleans your not suppose to be in them..... the restaurants and bars service was excellent when you received it. I walked out once out of the bar after waiting 15 min for service and walked out at the restuartant once waiting on service after 10 mintues.... food is expensive but good.
Rates are still sitting under $200, and the famed Blue Room lounge should be open by the end of July.
[Photo: Judi Bottoni, AP via USA Today]
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Palm Springs Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / Checking In On / → All Tags
The La Quinta Resort is Making Some Much-Needed Improvements
While we managed to score an excellent rate at the La Quinta Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif., by calling the hotel's reservations line instead of booking online, we actually ended up having to cancel. The reason? Our friends offered to house us for the holiday weekend and our little dog too. We just couldn't pass that offer up.
But we did stop in to visit other friends who were spending the weekend at the Waldorf-Astoria Collection property and we kicked it poolside with them for a while. The best part about La Quinta is that there are tons of small pools throughout the property, so you don't have to fight for pool chairs at the main pool. You can easily find a pool (or two) near your casita or spa villa and park yourself there.
However, if you do want drinks you will have to hit up the bar at the main pool. Prepare for some interactions with children if you do. Or a sighting of "Dr. 90210" Dr. Robert Rey, like we had.
Tags: HotelChatter Reviews / Thompson Hotels / Hotel Bathrooms / Checking In On / → All Tags
Why One Dude Loves The Smyth Hotel's Bathrooms
We often travel alone and spend the night in hotel rooms alone but on a recent trip to New York City, we managed to have a few travel buddies come along with us. Our mother stayed with us when we visited The Plaza (she loved the rooms but misses the old feel) and a dude very close to our hearts, who we'll call Mr. Z, stayed with us during our two nights at Smyth Hotel in Tribeca. Thanks to him, we learned what dudes look for in hotel bathrooms.
Tags: Refereeing Hotel Reviews / Checking In On / W Hotels / New Jersey Hotels / → All Tags
'Overwhelming Hospitality' at the W Hoboken
By the end of this month, the W Hoboken will have been open for two months already; quite a feat considering how many delays we've fretted over and how many times we've personally staked the place out. With all components of the property functioning properly as far as we know, it's time to take a look at what real guests are saying about the place, and if the commute into Manhattan is really all that bad for tourists.
Of course we're turning to TripAdvisor for the first-hand lowdown, since other sites (even Yelp) so far have nothing on the two reviews we found here.
Tags: Green Hotels / Portland Hotels / Hotel Service / Checking In On / → All Tags
The Avalon Still 'Green' When It Comes to Service
What's a hotel got to do to stand out these days? Certainly being a green hotel—even if you are the tenth LEED-certified hotel in the United States—isn't much of a cache anymore; at least that's how it seems to be when we check in with Portland's Avalon Hotel and Spa.
Because environmentally-friendliness aside, it's service that matters, and judging from certain reviews on TripAdvisor, it appears not much has changed from our stay at the Avalon a little over a year ago.
Then, we found it to be "relaxing, romantic…though their maid service needs to improve," a sentiment echoed in more recent reviews. "It's really quite nice…[but] service leaves a bit to be desired," says one. "Service was reasonably efficient…I might stay there again if the price is right or place improves," reads another.
So while it's great to be tuned into the green movement--and have a relatively affordable rate of $155--you might want to also check in with your customers every once in a while.
Tags: Mumbai Hotels / Hotel Emergencies / Hotel Reopenings / Checking In On / → All Tags
Checking In On The Taj Mahal Palace, Post-Terrorism
It's a couple of months now since the terrorist attacks and, two weeks later, an accidental fire, caused havoc for the poor Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai. We figured it was time to check in on this Taj and see if it's really up and running again.
And it looks like, just as they promised, the Taj Mahal Palace reopened the rooms of the Tower Wing plus the restaurants, banquet hall and chambers on December 21. That's a pretty impressive at just 24 days after the attacks.
A brass and bronze sculpture named the "Tree of Life" which was already on display in the hotel has now been turned into a memorial to the 31 people who died at the Taj during the terrorist attacks, with their names inscribed at its base.
Since the reopening there hasn't been too much gossip amongst guests; a traveler who stayed there a week after the reopening said it was "good to see things starting to buzz again albeit a bit quietly". But hey, we can understand being a bit quiet about things there.
[Photo: Dey]
Tags: Island Resorts / Australia Hotels / Checking In On / → All Tags
Hamilton Island's Lower-Cased qualia Turns One
The luxury qualia resort on Australia's Hamilton Island is not afraid to bring attention to its birthdays. A while back they reported in on the success of their first six months and recently they started distributing press releases wishing themselves a happy first birthday.
But as far as new kids on the resort block go, qualia--and yes, that's qualia with a small Q, because the lowercasing shows "the relaxed, understated nature of the property"--must have reasonably proud parents. In the second half of qualia's first year of life, a few cracks have been showing on this resort that we used to think was perfect.
More recent TripAdvisor comments point to plenty of lapses in service quality, like unstocked supplies in the rooms, slow service in general, and a toddler at this supposedly over-18s escape. Quelle Horror! Apparently looking under the beds is not advised either because they're a bit on the dusty side.
Everyone still agrees the resort is beautiful and with good service would be perfect, so all is not lost at qualia. Yet before we're prepared to hand over the minimum of A$1,450 ($1,050) a night, we'll be expecting a bit more.
[Photo: samyoyoyang]
Tags: Checking In On / Miami Hotel Mambo / TripAdvisor / Hotel Openings / → All Tags
Did the Fontainebleau Re-Open Too Soon?
After its epic $1 billion makeover, Fontainebleau Resort in Miami reopened in spectacular fashion back in November with a celeb-packed weekend that included parties and pictures and Victoria's Secret models working a 7-story runway set up near the pool.
We finally stopped into TripAdvisor to check out reviews of the new and improved Fontainebleau, and, as is always the case with any hotel, reviews have been mixed since the reopening — but we managed to find two common themes among the reviews: number one, the hotel looks amazing and people are blown away by the new look. And number two: from the service issues, guests got the impression that the hotel re-opened too soon.
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