How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[MattA]

Property: Novotel Geelong
Status: Platinum
Room booked: Standard King Room with Balcony
Room upgrade: No
Rate: $322
Early check-in: Not required
Late check-out: Not required
Welcome drink: Vouchers x 2 (went straight out on arrival so didn’t have time to use)
Welcome amenity: Bottle of std issue Legacy Shiraz for the collection, 2x water, and printed (personalised) card that said “we hope you enjoy the wine and chocolates” (no chocolates anywhere to be seen—queried at check out and told it’s a misprint: “we’re transitioning to new amenities and haven’t done chocolates for months”).
Parking: Arrived late Friday afternoon, so parked on street out front (3P meter parking until 5:30pm M-F, then unrestricted overnight; 2P/3P free parking Sat/Sun from 9am so just moved the car round the corner to a different zone before brekkie). I think hotel valet parking would have been $40/night.
Breakfast: Buffet at onsite restaurant, included as Platinum benefit.

Kicking off our 2024 in Accor world, Mrs MattA and I were in Geelong for one night to catch up with friends and see Tim Minchin at the Arts Centre (he was great).

The Novotel is a little overpriced IMO for what it is, but it is in a great location, close to both the waterfront and the town.

Common areas are all a little tired and in need of a refresh I think, and one of the two lifts was out of order, but the room itself was in good condition, with a comfy bed and a view of both the waterfront *and* the car park from the balcony.



Good selection at breakfast (included as Plat): std hot/cold buffet, with barista coffees to order (although they seemed a bit understaffed and it took quite some time to get our coffees).

All up nothing amazing but perfectly serviceable for the one night.

 

[Daver6]

As a platinum, has anyone tried putting on their profile that they'd prefer perhaps beer to wine as the welcome give? For me being a bit of a wine nerd/snob I never drink the $10 wine they give me. I'd rather a couple of even one cold beer.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Property: Novotel Geelong
Status: Platinum
Room booked: Standard King Room with Balcony
Room upgrade: No
Rate: $322
Early check-in: Not required
Late check-out: Not required
Welcome drink: Vouchers x 2 (went straight out on arrival so didn’t have time to use)
Welcome amenity: Bottle of std issue Legacy Shiraz for the collection, 2x water, and printed (personalised) card that said “we hope you enjoy the wine and chocolates” (no chocolates anywhere to be seen—queried at check out and told it’s a misprint: “we’re transitioning to new amenities and haven’t done chocolates for months”).
Parking: Arrived late Friday afternoon, so parked on street out front (3P meter parking until 5:30pm M-F, then unrestricted overnight; 2P/3P free parking Sat/Sun from 9am so just moved the car round the corner to a different zone before brekkie). I think hotel valet parking would have been $40/night.
Breakfast: Buffet at onsite restaurant, included as Platinum benefit.

Kicking off our 2024 in Accor world, Mrs MattA and I were in Geelong for one night to catch up with friends and see Tim Minchin at the Arts Centre (he was great).

The Novotel is a little overpriced IMO for what it is, but it is in a great location, close to both the waterfront and the town.

Common areas are all a little tired and in need of a refresh I think, and one of the two lifts was out of order, but the room itself was in good condition, with a comfy bed and a view of both the waterfront *and* the car park from the balcony.

View attachment 367489

Good selection at breakfast (included as Plat): std hot/cold buffet, with barista coffees to order (although they seemed a bit understaffed and it took quite some time to get our coffees).

All up nothing amazing but perfectly serviceable for the one night.

Golly @MattA we stayed there when it first opened as Four Points Sheraton in the mid/late 2000's!!

 

[Captain Halliday]

As a platinum, has anyone tried putting on their profile that they'd prefer perhaps beer to wine as the welcome give? For me being a bit of a wine nerd/snob I never drink the $10 wine they give me. I'd rather a couple of even one cold beer.

I’ll be in PER in April, I’ll swap my De Bortoli Bancroft Bridge for whatever you’ve got.

Seriously though, yes, I have asked.

I did so at a property where I stay about a dozen times a year and felt it would be less awkward with staff.

I suspect it was only noted locally but not in my profile because my next three stays at that particular Novotel I was given beer.

Stay four was a different property, different city and it was back to wine.

The Novotel I stay at frequently has now ditched the wine/beer welcome in favour of free mini bar. Genuine enhancement IMO.

 

[ksthommo]

Nice surprise in the room at Novotel Perth Langley going back 10 years.

 

[k_sheep]

Property: Ibis budget Windsor (Brisbane)
Status: Gold and plus
Room booked: Base
Room upgrade: No
Rate: $97
Early check-in: No
Late check-out: No
Welcome drink: No
Welcome amenity: No

I expect so little and yet am still disappointed. Am at work so put in a request for a quiet room - I am immediately next to reception. The room absolutely reeks of urine, yet somehow the bathroom doesn't.

Luckily the Ibis Styles Elizabeth st is a red hot room again - I'll that that one thanks!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Property: Ibis budget Windsor (Brisbane)
Status: Gold and plus
Room booked: Base
Room upgrade: No
Rate: $97
Early check-in: No
Late check-out: No
Welcome drink: No
Welcome amenity: No

I expect so little and yet am still disappointed. Am at work so put in a request for a quiet room - I am immediately next to reception. The room absolutely reeks of urine, yet somehow the bathroom doesn't.

Yikes! ibis budgets outside of Europe from my (albeit limited) experience are largely miss. I've stayed at the one at Sydney Airport, it was a decent hotel but if I was paying anymore than the $80/night I was spending would be hard to justify. In terms of how you are treated as an Accor elite, I tell people all the time don't expect anything (including stays towards status).

Luckily the Ibis Styles Elizabeth st is a red hot room again - I'll that that one thanks!

Having stayed at the ibis Styles Elizabeth Street it does come highly recommended. Modern room, great location and a place where they do value elites. Specifically my employer booked that property using their TA and I was fully expecting the hotel to not recognized my status as Accor+Platinum given it wasn't booked direct via Accor. Nothing could be further from the truth. Got the free breakfast, got the upgrade to corner room and the mega pint of wine when redeeming the free drink voucher. A colleague of mine recently stayed at the property last week as an Accor no status nobody (but booked with an Accor+ rate he got through 2 Accor+ vouchers I gave him) and also thought highly of the hotel. They even let him checkout at 5 PM for just $35. Not bad!

-RooFlyer88

 

[sudoer]

Specifically my employer booked that property using their TA and I was fully expecting the hotel to not recognized my status as Accor+Platinum given it wasn't booked direct via Accor.

Corporate TA GDS bookings are eligible for ALL points/nights and status recognition - it's in the ALL T&C.

OTAs and booking aggregators are excluded.

 

[dairyfloss]

Property: Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach
Status: ALL Platinum A+
Room booked: L'Opera Suite
Room upgraded/type: No - booked highest category.
Rate: Stay Longer & Save, Room Only (booked before I had A+) x 6 nights = expensive!
Early check in/late out: No / Yes***
Free Breakfast: Yes*
Welcome drink: No - told that it (singular) was in the app; it wasn't. Couldn't be bothered getting it fixed given the beers on offer.
Welcome gift: A folded card telling us the water in the tap was good to drink**

Indicated days in advance that we would be arriving at ~1:45PM. No reply to that message, or any other contact made in advance by Guest Services, which I had become accustomed to since becoming ALL Platinum. When we arrived at 2:45PM they said the suite was not ready and we couldn’t check in until closer to 4PM. Hotel is busy and its school holidays; OK, no biggie... just went off for some late lunch. Eventually got into the suite about 4:30-5PM.

No real ALL recognition was given, and I later figured out after opening the welcome letter (there's a 1st time for everything!) that they had an older ALL status of mine (Gold) in the system from a previous stay, years back, and so ALL Platinum status inclusions like breakfast were not correctly applied (*). Also might explain why no contact in advance of the stay. Other things like the welcome gift only showed up after a reminder was given (**). Breakfast was added to the folio and credited daily. The welcome gift that came after asking was a fruit plate (as requested), and a bottle of their finest $10 De Bortoli Legacy Brut, which we left to mature in the ice bucket.... beyond our check out.

Pool is not staffed or monitored, and pool towels constantly ran out without being replaced. Chairs were not cleared up after guests left or finished consuming poolside F&B, which was ordered via QR on your phone, rather than via a server. Most of the chairs have no umbrellas, so not many good options for shade. Need to do the bullrush with the oldies at sun-up for the covered ones. Also fun (and can't necessarily fault them on this); the floor really was lava, with the wooden decking around the pool seemingly synchronised with the temperature of Earth's molten core. Havianas / Archies essential.

Breakfast was nowhere close to the brand standard. I've had better at 3-star motels than this joint. No eggs guy. No eggs benny (I know - is that even allowed??). You could order an omelette, or an omelette, but keep it simple please; plus, they were always overdone. No fresh juices or a juicer. No proper bread. Fruits were over and under ripe. My son and I made do, as you sometimes will when it's free, but I would have been very annoyed if we'd paid the sticker price of ~$40 each! The pastries - when available - were pretty good, as was the Bircher muesli.

Near everything in the property is old, outdated and smells musty. They add their signature scent throughout the hotel to mask the damp smell; but it’s still obvious. The lifts are old; frequently out of order, and some do not display the levels correctly. Needed to allow extra time when coming and going to wait for the lifts, and then practice calming techniques while riding them with the myriad other guests, as the cars jumped and bobbed from level to level. The outlook from the Opera Suite was very nice, but room and bathrooms were very outdated, complete with yellowing toilet seats. Most of the bathroom window shutter slats were busted (and that's a lot of slats). The shower head was barely functioning and full of limescale. The bath was a small corner spa, barely big enough for a child. The bathroom did have a bidet right in the middle of it though, which was a great use of the space

Icing on top: I called guest services the day before we were leaving for a later check-out, to 12-12:30PM. The booking was checked and they confirmed that this was no issue, and that we could stay later if we wished, offering until 1 pm or beyond. As we’d intended to get away by 12:30 to meet a BNE departure, we confirmed this time, and made our plans accordingly for the following morning (relaxed start; beach visit, etc). Next morning about 11:30, after returning from the beach, the GM calls up asking when we’ll be out of the room, because they need it back. Seems Guest Services didn’t update the system with the agreed checkout or notes. I explained we weren't ready given our agreement… which was argued about for a while, before I made it crystal clear that when we were ready, we would be leaving as soon as possible. 15 minutes later, housekeeping started knocking on the door (‘do not disturb’ sign ignored) asking when we will be done and gone. They were sent away. Bad finish to an overwhelmingly underwhelming stay.

There was some goodness though - and I shouldn't leave that out. The room service food and delivery were excellent, with preparations and taste of a high quality. The beds were very comfortable, and we all slept great, once figuring out the optimal A/C set-up. There is an Accor ALL service desk (unmanned, when we arrived), where we met the very friendly Jasper, who helped us with getting my $2K of ALL GVs applied (WW EDR bonus points!); he was always smiling and great to interact with. And lastly, the location above the Oasis Centre was great, with good F&B and general shopping options below you, very nice to have.

We've long been fans of a QLD getaway after xmas... but I think we're done with the Gold Coast for a while, and it's not just this hotel. The Goldie just doesn't seem to have been able to pull itself out of the hole it's in. Does it want to be a family holiday place, or a glam / luxury destination, or is it for schoolies, benders & buck's weekends? If it's a yes to all of these, then how can they be better separated? Maybe further south like Burleigh Heads or Kingscliff might be better... but then they don't have the full-service hotels and dining options that Surfers and Broadbeach do. We're trying out Noosa again soonish for a short visit, and hopefully that works out better. A discussion for another section of the forums, either way......

Au revoir,
Matt.

 

[ms1]

Welcome gift: A folded card telling us the water in the tap was good to drink**

WOW

 

[sudoer]

They have responded to offer a complimentary 60 minute massage for two on our next stay at Fairmont Makati

So I went back to the property to say that a massage voucher isn't much use - my wife and I are expecting a little sudoer soon and travel to Manila is off the cards for now. I asked for some other form of compensation and suggested ALL points.

They came back to say they could offer one free night stay instead. I pushed back again and asked for the points, they said no points or partial refund.

Raised with ALL yesterday and will report back on the outcome. The ALL rep said they would need to ask for the hotel's permission to credit ALL points, which sounds like a bit of a cop out. Has anyone had raised compensation cases directly with ALL when they couldn't reach an agreement with the property, and what was the outcome?

 

[dairyfloss]

@ms1 - At least it looked nice
(p.s. the referenced minibar was empty... aside from the obligatory handful of long life milk pods from the turn of the century)

 

[ric_melb]

Property: Novotel Geelong
Status: Platinum
Room booked: Standard King Room with Balcony
Room upgrade: No
Rate: $322
Early check-in: Not required
Late check-out: Not required
Welcome drink: Vouchers x 2 (went straight out on arrival so didn’t have time to use)
Welcome amenity: Bottle of std issue Legacy Shiraz for the collection, 2x water, and printed (personalised) card that said “we hope you enjoy the wine and chocolates” (no chocolates anywhere to be seen—queried at check out and told it’s a misprint: “we’re transitioning to new amenities and haven’t done chocolates for months”).
Parking: Arrived late Friday afternoon, so parked on street out front (3P meter parking until 5:30pm M-F, then unrestricted overnight; 2P/3P free parking Sat/Sun from 9am so just moved the car round the corner to a different zone before brekkie). I think hotel valet parking would have been $40/night.
Breakfast: Buffet at onsite restaurant, included as Platinum benefit.

Kicking off our 2024 in Accor world, Mrs MattA and I were in Geelong for one night to catch up with friends and see Tim Minchin at the Arts Centre (he was great).

The Novotel is a little overpriced IMO for what it is, but it is in a great location, close to both the waterfront and the town.

Common areas are all a little tired and in need of a refresh I think, and one of the two lifts was out of order, but the room itself was in good condition, with a comfy bed and a view of both the waterfront *and* the car park from the balcony.

View attachment 367489

Good selection at breakfast (included as Plat): std hot/cold buffet, with barista coffees to order (although they seemed a bit understaffed and it took quite some time to get our coffees).

All up nothing amazing but perfectly serviceable for the one night.

I used to stay at Four Points Geelong (Now Novotel) regularly to keep my Marriott (Starwood) Status, before it changed hands. From memory could usually get a room for between $100 and $150 a night. After it became Novotel the rates were more like $200 a night. Over $300 a night is plainly ridiculous for this hotel. But obviously occupancy must have been high. Now that a new Holiday Inn has opened in Geelong they may have to be more competitive on pricing.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Has anyone had raised compensation cases directly with ALL when they couldn't reach an agreement with the property, and what was the outcome?

Not with ALL, no.

But you could cite my 6,000 ALL points when denied published benefits at Sofitel Manila.

Same city at least. Details here.

And congratulations to you and your partner!

 

[neeyuese]

I used to stay at Four Points Geelong (Now Novotel) regularly to keep my Marriott (Starwood) Status, before it changed hands. From memory could usually get a room for between $100 and $150 a night. After it became Novotel the rates were more like $200 a night. Over $300 a night is plainly ridiculous for this hotel. But obviously occupancy must have been high. Now that a new Holiday Inn has opened in Geelong they may have to be more competitive on pricing.

Their eftpos machine still show four points , I was paid by Amex US Marriott card and got 6 Marriott points per dollar.

 

[ThatMrBlake]

Property: Novotel Melbourne on Collins
Status: ALL Silver Plus
Room booked: Standard Queen Room
Room upgraded/type: Yes - advised room was upgraded but I suspect only to a higher floor
Rate: Red Hot Stays
Early check in/late out: Yes - but only an hour extra
Free Breakfast: No
Welcome drink: Yes
Welcome gift: No

In Melbourne for the tennis last minute and this hotel turned up on red hot stays. It isn’t the best and it isn’t the worst - a pretty typical Novotel stay in my book.

 

[Highway23]

Property: Ibis Styles Brisbane Elizabeth Street
Status: ALL Gold Plus
Room booked: Superior King River View
Room upgraded/type: No mention
Rate: Red Hot Rooms
Early check in/late out: Arrived 30mins before official check in and no problem.
Free Breakfast: No
Welcome drink: Yes, 1.
Welcome gift: No

No pro-active recognition of membership, but staff applied the Plus discount at breakfast without any problems.
May have been moved to a higher floor (25th), but staff did not make any mention.
I’d stay again but status didn’t deliver much, although the red hot rate was great for a fairly last-minute booking over a long weekend.

 

[ThatMrBlake]

Property: Novotel Twin Waters Resort
Status: ALL Silver Plus
Room booked: Resort Room Queen - Lagoon View
Room upgraded/type: Yes - Executive King - Lagoon View
Rate: Plus complimentary night
Early check in/late out: Not offered
Free Breakfast: No
Welcome drink: Yes
Welcome gift: No

Twin waters has been refurbished and look a little more modern then last time I visited. Was upgraded without prompting upon arrival and offered two commentary welcome drinks despite travelling by myself and with only one person on the booking. Room service arrived promptly and overall it was a good stay.

 

[Lynda2475]

Property: SO/ Auckland
Status: Accor+ Gold
Room booked: SO Urban - 30 SQM, Bold Design, Vibrant City Views, Deep Soaking Tub and Rainshower, Maraca bathroom amenities, 49" TV, Nepresso Coffee Machine, Complimentary Non-Alcoholic Minibar and Wi-Fi
Room upgraded/type: No upgrade, received an apology that were fully booked because of the local long weekend
Welcome drink: one drink voucher (even though room was booked for 2) to be used at foyer bar, rooftop bar or the cafe
Welcome gift: 3 chocolates (see pic below)
Rate: 2 nights ACCOR PLUS - STAY LONGER AND SAVE - BED AND BREAKFAST plus Stay Plus benefit for the 3rd night. Booking confirmation said no breakfast on the 3rd morning, but on check in was told buffet breakfast included on all 3 morning, not that it was relevant.

I booked this property to cover my stay as part of a QF DSC run.

My flight from MEL-AKL was late, landed at 1:30am instead of 00:15am; then there was a huge queue at customs because many flights had just arrived, didn't get out of the airport until 2:10, but thankfully no traffic so was at reception by 2:30am.

I was one of 5 rooms yet to check in seemed several flights were late. Check in took about 3mins and I was soon on my way to my room. Swipe room key and lift takes you direct to your floor, no numbers to press.

I liked the room and its perfect for a solo traveler, super comfy bed, convenient powerpoints, nice walk in shower with a shelf and great water pressure, plenty of hanging space and drawers for clothes, good sized desk if need to work, and very quiet did not hear any other guests.




Welcome chocolates were delicious

The view (room was on 11th floor)


BUT I would not book this room type if staying with someone else, as the toilet is in an alcove with no door. In fact whilst seated on the toilet, your knees protrude past the nib wall. I don't care how close you are to your partner you don't need to see/hear/smell them poop!



The complimentary min-bar contained 2 * bottles of Still water (even though my profile says I refer sparkling), 2 * bottles of Remedy Kombucha , 2 * cans of L&P, 1 bottle of juice and 2 Whitakers chocolate bars. The Bottle of water, Kombucha and chocolate bar I ate were not replaced during my stay.

The included buffet breakfast was pretty typical cereals, breads/pastries (including bagels), fresh fruit, juice, yoghurt, charcuterie, cheeses, bacon, sausages, tomato, mushrooms, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, mini spring rolls and an omelette station. However no ability to get poached or fried eggs cooked to order. Took me a while to find the butter, was in a squeezy tube not a pat.

Also included barista made coffee but it was awful so I didn't drink it day 1 and didn't bother to order it day 2. There are many fabulous places to get great coffee in Auckland no need to drink a bad one.

The concierge happily offered me an umbrella (with torch built into the handle) when It was raining on my way to dinner with local friends Saturday night.

Location was excellent, easy walk to everywhere i needed to be.

Although I paid for 3 nights (Thur, Fri, Sat) I was only actually there for 49 hours checking in at 2:30am on Fri, checking out at 3:30am on Sunday because of stupid early 6am flight.

Now for the negative: I figured 10 minutes for check out would be ample at that time of day. The efficient girl who had checked me in was dealing with some drunken guests who were trickling in from a nearby nightclub and wanting room service; leaving the guy on the front desk with very poor English and no sense of urgency to check me out.

He slowly turned on the laptop (no idea why it would be off when they have 24hr reception), had to look at his phone to get the log on details, took about 10 minutes to bring up my booking and then says that will be $92. I said my room was fully paid at time of booking (and confirmed at check-in) and I had not charged any meals or drinks to the room, could he please explain what the $92 was for, as I suspect it is an error? He says why don't you pay it and we will email you a receipt and you can challenge it later. I was like no, can I speak to a supervisor please, he tells me he is the night manager (which seemed like BS given the low proficiency).

Luckily the girl who had then checked me was now free and came over, I explained I wanted to know what I was being charged $92 for given the room was paid for. She looks at the booking and says "oh you paid for 2 nights and used your Accor+ member stay benefit for the 3rd right"? I said yes, and she is like so nothing to pay, we will email you the statement.

Interesting they value a Saturday night stay on a long weekend at only $92, as the website says NZ $315.

38hours later no statement received, nights not showing in my Accor account but also thankfully no charges on my credit card. I don't know if the guy was trying to run a scam or just incompetent; but I will be making a complaint when the post stay survey email arrives.

Would I stay again? Yes if solo, but would likely book elsewhere if travelling with a friend or partner because of the toilet unless I could confirm a better layout with a door in advance.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

38hours later no statement received, nights not showing in my Accor account but also thankfully no charges on my credit card.

I finished up a stay at the Como Mgallery last Thursday, and also still waiting on statement, nights and points. Perhaps a wider Accor issue? They're normally much more efficient.