How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[Flyfrequently]

Have a night in MEL to use my free night stay. Sofitel is out. Which novotel has the best breakfast spread? I love a good buffet!
Pullman on the park is priceiest cash option currently.
If there's barely any differences I should stay at the airport, it's most sensible

Cloud9 did a review on Novotel Melbourne Airport, also in the How Does Accor treat you thread #2296 or thereabouts are comments on Novotel @Cynicor
Staying 2nd December but won't do breakfast due to an early flight.

Also staying Pullman on the Park 28/11 with breakfast. If you choose either I would be interested in your thoughts.

 

[jase05]

Also staying Pullman on the Park 28/11 with breakfast. If you choose either I

we stay there a bit for football and I don’t think it or any hotel in Melbourne is worth going out of your way just for Brekky

 

[Flyfrequently]

we stay there a bit for football and I don’t think it or any hotel in Melbourne is worth going out of your way just for Brekky

Thanks @jase05
We are attending a function at Pullman that evening, an overnighter saves us the 70 minute drive home at midnight.
Brekky is how I lure Mr Flyfrequently into a night in the big smoke.
The way to a man's heart.....!

 

[Cynicor]

we stay there a bit for football and I don’t think it or any hotel in Melbourne is worth going out of your way just for Brekky

Ah, but I do! When you have 2 toddlers normally and breakfast is the leftover crusts of cold toast, anything is good.
But relatively, I may as well choose the best. I don’t get to sit and eat buffet Brekky much by myself. Last time would have been jan 2023

 

[mel-world]

Property:The Park Lane Pullman, Causeway Bay, HKG
Status: Platinum.
Room booked: Executive Room, City View
Room upgraded/type: Executive Room, Sea View
Rate: AUD 1408 Pre-paid - 3 nights incl Fees and Tax
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Not required
Welcome drink: Yes, Two Vouchers
Welcome gift: Large Fresh Fruit platter

This hotel was an excellent choice for our stay in HKG after a cruise down from Tokyo. From the moment we arrived, until checkout, the service and amenity we received exceeded our expectations. Although we arrived at 0900, our room was ready and we were offered breakfast in the lounge.

Causeway Bay is a very busy and popular area with many local and high end shops, only a couple of stops from Central and a lot cheaper than the main 5-star hotels near Admiralty or on the foreshore in Kowloon. It also had Victoria Park opposite, if you fancied a walk or jog.

This is the view from our room during the nightly laser show.



The best thing about the treatment we received was in the Lounge, where a cooked and buffet breakfast was served at your table, as were afternoon tea and unlimited drinks and snacks in the evening. I have rarely seen as many people welcoming you and serving in a hotel lounge.

The room was fine and well appointed, except for the bathroom that had to be separated from the room by blinds and had the most ridiculous placement of a bath and rain-forest shower. I tried to capture it in a photo but, to have a shower, you almost had to lean over the bath.



I would recommend this property - despite the bathroom - but it will become a Marriott early next year so this post will have to move.

 

[RareAir]

Property: Pullman Hill St Singapore
Status: Accor Gold +
Room booked: High Floor Executive King Room with lounge access
Room upgraded/type: No and didn’t ask. Only further upgrade available for Gold + would have been better view I suspect.
Rate: Used a corporate rate for this stay
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Yes, late check out granted to 2:00pm
Welcome drink: Yes, 2 on the app but they weren’t required with lounge access
Welcome gift: Yes, fruit platter and box of 3 types of honey (hard to tell if this was for room type booked or gold plus or every one got one)

Hotel is nice, only about 12 months old. Mix of tourists and business travellers. Well located in the city. Welcoming service, great pool and amenities (2 pools, I didn’t use rooftop). Rooms are small but well functioning and great shower. Decent lounge inside and outside areas with great service including plentiful but standard breakfast fare. 3 restaurants on site but I didn’t eat at any (so many other food options!)

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Property: Pullman Hill St Singapore
Status: Accor Gold +
Room booked: High Floor Executive King Room with lounge access
Room upgraded/type: No and didn’t ask. Only further upgrade available for Gold + would have been better view I suspect.
Rate: Used a corporate rate for this stay
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Yes, late check out granted to 2:00pm
Welcome drink: Yes, 2 on the app but they weren’t required with lounge access
Welcome gift: Yes, fruit platter and box of 3 types of honey (hard to tell if this was for room type booked or gold plus or every one got one)

Hotel is nice, only about 12 months old. Mix of tourists and business travellers. Well located in the city. Welcoming service, great pool and amenities (2 pools, I didn’t use rooftop). Rooms are small but well functioning and great shower. Decent lounge inside and outside areas with great service including plentiful but standard breakfast fare. 3 restaurants on site but I didn’t eat at any (so many other food options!)

I stayed here recently and didn't rate it. Very small rooms. The executive lounge had people walking around in it with bath robes during evening canapes (straight from the connected pool area) - can't say I've seen that before in the lounge. Should have been kicked out but were not.

 

[RareAir]

I stayed here recently and didn't rate it. Very small rooms. The executive lounge had people walking around in it with bath robes during evening canapes (straight from the connected pool area) - can't say I've seen that before in the lounge. Should have been kicked out but were not.

Yes agree the pool being so adjacent to the lounge did provide for some very “casual” attire.

 

[Daver6]

Property: Pullman Hill St Singapore
Status: Accor Gold +
Room booked: High Floor Executive King Room with lounge access
Room upgraded/type: No and didn’t ask. Only further upgrade available for Gold + would have been better view I suspect.
Rate: Used a corporate rate for this stay
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Yes, late check out granted to 2:00pm
Welcome drink: Yes, 2 on the app but they weren’t required with lounge access
Welcome gift: Yes, fruit platter and box of 3 types of honey (hard to tell if this was for room type booked or gold plus or every one got one)

Hotel is nice, only about 12 months old. Mix of tourists and business travellers. Well located in the city. Welcoming service, great pool and amenities (2 pools, I didn’t use rooftop). Rooms are small but well functioning and great shower. Decent lounge inside and outside areas with great service including plentiful but standard breakfast fare. 3 restaurants on site but I didn’t eat at any (so many other food options!)

I stayed here recently and didn't rate it. Very small rooms. The executive lounge had people walking around in it with bath robes during evening canapes (straight from the connected pool area) - can't say I've seen that before in the lounge. Should have been kicked out but were not.

Do the rooms have a proper desk and desk chair?

 

[RareAir]

Do the rooms have a proper desk and desk chair?

No. There is a chair, a small table and an even smaller stool. Would not be conducive to doing much work.

 

[aikman]

Have a night in MEL to use my free night stay. Sofitel is out. Which novotel has the best breakfast spread? I love a good buffet!
Pullman on the park is priceiest cash option currently.
If there's barely any differences I should stay at the airport, it's most sensible

My ranking is
1. Novotel Melbourne Airport
2. Novotel on Collins
3. Novotel Melbourne Central
4. Novotel South Wharf

Overall its pretty much the same spread with minor differences except for #4. They didn't even have any eggs on display, you had to find a staff member, order some, they'd disappear in the kitchen and who knows how you'd get your eggs after they were cooked.

 

[Cloud9]

My ranking is
1. Novotel Melbourne Airport
2. Novotel on Collins
3. Novotel Melbourne Central
4. Novotel South Wharf

Overall its pretty much the same spread with minor differences except for #4. They didn't even have any eggs on display, you had to find a staff member, order some, they'd disappear in the kitchen and who knows how you'd get your eggs after they were cooked.

I'd concur with this list; but I'd give South Wharf a number 7 with three empty spaces above it, personally. Really wasn't a fan. Front of house just felt totally cold and clinical when I checked in and checked out.

 

[Cynicor]

Amazing, thanks all. The airport is most convenient so that’s perfect

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Apologies in advance for the flurry of posts here. I've had a number of stays at various Accor properties over the past week I'd like to share:

Property: ibis Auckland Ellerslie
Status: Accor+ Platinum
Room booked: Standard Room 1 King Bed
Room upgraded/type: No but got top floor
Rate: Accor+ Red Hot Room ($117.90 NZD/night)
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Yes, late check out granted to 2:00pm
Welcome drink: Yes, 2 on the app but they weren’t required with lounge access
Welcome gift: Yes, cheese platter

Decided to go on a mini holiday with my partner to Auckland. Checking around the Accor site, this seemed like the best option (i.e. cheapest that was still a decent property and close to train station). The hotel itself is a 5 minute walk from the Greenlane Station which is about a 15 minute ride on the Auckland Metro to the CBD. It is located in a business park of sorts, with the hotel being split between an ibis and a Novotel. Consequently, this means that you get some of the perks of staying at a more expensive Novotel hotel as some amenities are shared between the two properties (i.e. better breakfast and gym) without having to pay the Novotel prices. There are also some good restaurants near by too (I'd recommend trying Spiga an Italian restaurant).

The room was very much what you'd expect from an ibis. Basic yes, but had all the amenities one would expect from a hotel:



Our "welcome gift," if you can call it that was a plate of cheese. To be honest I was a bit underwhelmed here considering I am a Platinum and staying there for several days (for comparison the ibis Sydney Darling Harbour would give me a box of Macaroons for even a 1 night stay):


Breakfast itself was buffet with a decent selection of options including a variety of fresh fruit and breakfast items. Breakfast is served till 10 on weekdays and 10:30 on weekends. It wasn't the most comprehensive selection of food I've encountered but the quality more than made up for it. I must, however, warn that the coffee situation isn't so good. There is a coffee machine there but so far as I can tell it only produces espresso and drip coffee. If you want a latte you'll have to pay for it (something I later discovered on checkout):


Two drink vouchers were provided (in app) which were used on a flat white and wine:



The hotel has a gym which is shared between the two properties and consisted of a techno gym setup with bike, treadmill and other such items. Again, not impressive but a decent selection of equipment for exercise. The hotel has a number of areas if you need to get work done on the ground floor including an outdoor seating area. A late check out of 2 PM was requested on my final night there and was granted without issue.

Would I stay here again? Certainly at this price. Could the property do more to treat Platinums better? Yes.

-RooFlyer88

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Property: ibis Budget Auckland Airport
Status: N/A (see below)
Room booked: 1 Room, 2 Twin Beds
Room upgraded/type: No
Rate: Qantas Hotels ($111.08 AUD after $50 Qantas hotels voucher applied)
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: N/A
Early check in/late out: N/A
Welcome drink: N/A
Welcome gift: N/A

My partner and I had an early morning (7:30 AM) flight back to Sydney this Monday from Auckland and decided to stay near the airport at the ibis budget. The hotel was booked via Qantas hotels meaning I won't get any Accor Platinum perks. With that being said, it would not have made much of a difference had I booked with Accor directly as the property doesn't seem to be part of the loyalty program either.

The hotel itself is located about 15 minutes (by foot) from the international terminal, which was why it was selected. It is across the street from a shopping centre that has a Woolies, and there is also a KFC, Taco Bell, Dunkin' Donuts and Maccas nearby. Check in was prompt and we got to our room:





The room itself was quite cramped with my partner and I have to contort our body to get in and out of the restroom and bed. Certainly if you are carrying any amount of luggage this is a no go.

At the lobby there are some places to work, and there is also a coffee machine that dispenses free coffee. Additionally, I saw a poster that said that some breakfast items were free (again I couldn't try that given our early morning departure).

Would I stay here again? Certainly I wouldn't want to stay here if I had any intention other than catching an early morning flight. Indeed, with hindsight I probably spent the extra night at ibis Ellerslie then caught an Uber over to the Airport. On the bright side there was no dread shub.

-RooFlyer88

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Property: Mercure Sydney Macquarie Park
Status: Accor+Platinum
Room booked: Standard Triple Room
Room upgraded/type: Top floor?
Rate: Accor Plus Stay Longer - Complimentary Breakfast - ($170/night)
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Not needed
Welcome drink: 1 drink voucher (in app)
Welcome gift: Free beers, water, fruit and cheese plate (in fridge)

A bit of a strange booking made at the last second, as I live near Macquarie Park. To make a short story long, I'm a PhD student at Macquarie University and am in the process of completing my thesis. Since I am doing a thesis by publication, most of my chapters need to be submitted to journals and conferences which in turn have deadlines. The current chapter I was working on had a deadline of 11 PM Wednesday October 30 Sydney time meaning time was of the essence for me to get this submitted before the deadline. Had I missed this deadline my next opportunity to submit would be April, which could potentially slow down my thesis progression. So I made the calculated decision to open up my wallet and stay at this hotel which is a 10 minute walk to the office I work at, at the Uni (compared to the 45 minutes it would take cycling in from Normanhurst or taking the train). It also meant I could stay super late at the University on the 2 days leading up to the deadline and not have to worry about stuff like breakfast.

With that long preamble out of the way, here are my thoughts on the hotel. The hotel used to be a Travelodge. Consequently you have a lot of amenities you'd find at a Travelodge hotel like a microwave, crockery, etc, which for me is a positive. Check in/check out was done by way of a kiosk which an agent had to help me with and which I found to be super tacky. No late check out was required since I'd be at my office the whole time anyway.




Room itself was spacious albeit some parts were outdated (namely the restroom). For a Mercure though it's pretty good.

The welcome gift consisted of quite a few small items which I was pleasantly surprised by including a bowl of fruit, beers, water and a cheese platter. Now that's how you treat a Platinum:


Breakfast was until 10 AM and consisted of a small buffet area that had a combination of hot and cold items. Not the craziest selection of items at the buffet but certainly provided for a decent breakfast. Unlike the ibis, this hotel actually had a coffee machine that could make flat whites:



Speaking of flat whites, I used the one voucher I had (made the mistake of booking for 1 adult instead of 2) in app to redeem for one on my first day there.

So to answer the question of this thread, how does Accor treat you as an Elite guest? I'd say pretty good. I'd certainly stay here again should I encounter another such tight deadline (or perhaps next year for graduation, fingers crossed).

-RooFlyer88

 

[Zanzaid]

Property: Mercure Perth
Status: Accor+Silver (Partner)
Room booked: Superior double room
Room upgraded/type: Nothing higher
Rate: Not sure, special accor plus rate, prices were same with and without breakfast
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Not needed
Welcome drink: 3 drink voucher (in app)

Nice enough hotel, had no big complaints. Showing it's age a bit and the shub was small. Buffet breakfast selection was good, but wouldn't have paid full price otherwise.

Would stay again!

 

[Daver6]

Looks like a Pullman is finally coming to Perth....at the airport Perth Airport's New Pullman Hotel

 

[Cloud9]

Looks like a Pullman is finally coming to Perth....at the airport Perth Airport's New Pullman Hotel

Well, that's not necessarily terrible... The one at Auckland airport's pretty nice. Same with Guangzhou...

 

[Daver6]

Well, that's not necessarily terrible... The one at Auckland airport's pretty nice. Same with Guangzhou...

I meant more from the perspective that PER has rubbish Accor hotels with a Novotel being the best currently. Would be good to see something like a Pullman or Sofitel open in the city or somewhere central. Especially with a good restaurant for those with the A+ benefits.