Every so often we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in. Now, we present you with solid reviewer Michael S. Dacko's review of the W San Francisco which got a new look. Enjoy.
The W San Francisco was one of the original W's that laid the foundation of what "W" stood for in 1999. Fearing that I was going to spend 2 weeks at a trendy hotel to find "wear n tear" left and right was my main concern. Boy was I wrong!
The W San Francisco has renovated their interior quite a bit to keep sleek and posh like the rest of the new Ws, but original and unique just as all the Ws are. Since San Francisco has such an Asian influence in the city, the designer took much of that Asian influence and incorporated designs in with it. (Check out the elevators!)
That seems to be the case with what happened to Flickr member Ramones Karaoke (a nickname of course) who has a great collection of business hotel shots. Or as he calls them "Faceless Business Hotels of the World."
Ramones spent a night near the Munich airport and here's what went down:
They ran out of no smoking rooms on a day I was wearing a nice suit and looking hassled, so I got upgraded at the Munich Airport Kempinski into a 'Junior Suite' - what on earth a 'Senior Suite' must be like I cannot guess - the Junior has more toilets than my house, a walk-in wardrobe, 2 TVs, great toiletries in the bathroom.
Flippin' heck.
Granted it was at an airport hotel but whatever! This kind of upgrade should make the layover feel a little more comfortable. The only thing that bummed Ramones was the lack of WiFi, meaning he had to stay glued to the desk instead of lounging on the bed. Still that's way better than the desk/bed combo at TuneHotels.
We all want to get the best hotel room possible when we travel, and the UK Telegraph just put out an article with some handy tips on making sure your hotel stay is at least as good as you've hoped for.
Savvy traveler Nick Trend divides his tips into two parts: looking for the best room, and getting the best room when you actually book or check in. And like anything else in this world, you have to ask for you what you want.
Before you book, Trend suggests, you should have a chat to the hotelier (or reservations agent) about the merits of each kind of room. You should also avoid rooms near the kitchen (they're noisy, even if room service does arrive faster) and beware of rooms with a view if that side of the hotel will be on a busy (read noisy) street.
Once you have worked out which room or room category is the best for you, and you've booked it, Trend suggests getting something in writing from the hotel about what you've agreed on. Then when you arrive at the hotel--early, if possible--discuss the room some more with the receptionist, both to make sure you're getting what you asked for and in case there's any chance of an upgrade.
And if you don't like it, complain about it. But straight away, before you've started messing it up.
Frequent travelers who live by the maxim, "If you don't ask, you don't get" swear by the $20 room upgrade move. It works like this: when checking in to your ho-hum standard room, you casually slip an extra 20 bucks to the front desk clerk and ask if there's any chance of a "complimentary upgrade." In most cases, one of three things will happen. Either nothing (and you keep your $20), an official upsell at official prices (usually a poor value), or you score and get a much nicer room.
Judging by this site devoted to the topic called FrontDeskTip.com, your odds of $20 upgrade success in Las Vegas are far greater than they are at the gambling tables. As in a 74 percent success rate overall.
Some hotels have too limited a sample to really judge, but a few notable ones score an above-average success rate on a good sampling. These include the Venetian (pictured here), Wynn, Mirage, Bellagio, and Mandalay Bay.
As the site reminds you, if you're going to post about your successful upgrade, please don't mention who specifically helped you out. Many front desk managers seem to have a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" policy on spontaneous upgrades (whether the money goes into the till or into a pocket), but naming names can get someone in hot water.
