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OpenThread / Hotel Deals / Booking Tips / Michelle Higgins / → All Tags

Have You Ever Haggled With The Front Desk for a Better Rate?

When it comes to finding a hotel deal, nowadays more than ever, thanks to the proliferation of third-party booking sites, private sale sites, Twitter discounts and Facebook fan codes, you can't just settle for first cheap deal you see. You must comparison shop.

After all, wouldn't it just kill you to know that your friend paid only $10 more than you and got a suite with free WiFi while you suffered in broom cupboard with a miserly internet signal?

So shopping around is our first rule. But how you shop is another matter. We prefer to do things online but if we see a hotel that offers a "Best Price Guarantee" meaning they will match the rate another website has put forth, then we're not too shy to get on the horn with a human and make the hotel lock in that rate.

Yet Michelle Higgins of the NY Times recently wrote about another way to comparison shop--negotiating with the front desk at several hotels.

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Michelle Higgins / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Pasadena Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Ritz-Carlton Pasadena Can't Satisfy NYT Reporter's Munchie Cravings

Where: 1401 South Oak Knoll [map], Pasadena, CA, United States, 91106

It's not quite clear how to take Michelle Higgins' recent New York Times review of the Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena. Though she does make one point clear, the Ritz is actively making attempts to keep up with the hip boutique hotel scene. Along with its classy rep and digs, this Ritz locale which dates back to 1907 has added little trendy updates but still falls short in places, namely: service.

An internet station in the business center will soon come with a charge since it's been poorly manned and thus caused some serious lines. And that's just the beginning of the service problems during Higgins' short stay.

When we got the munchies around midnight, however, our chicken quesadilla never arrived. When we called room service, about 45 minutes later, to check on it, an employee apologized and said they had sent it to the wrong room. By that time we were too tired to eat and so declined the offer of a new order.

Yet Higgins' finishes her review by stating that "the high-quality Ritz service is still largely intact." The question is then, where? There certainly aren't any examples of this tip-top service in the review.

For a room starting at $399 and a name like Ritz, we'd expect more in the service department. Let's hope they don't think this is the new cool boutique attitude they're looking to adopt along with their more modern style.

Related Stories:
· Check In Check Out [New York Times]
· Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa [TripAdvisor]