How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[markis10]

Red Hot Rooms.

And while some are promoted on the Accor Plus site, a lot appear without promotion on locale searches.

 

[RooFlyer]

On check-in the didnt have the connecting rooms or the feather free room ready. They said if I want connecting one of the rooms would be an accessible room (which IMHO a downgrade. The only other option would be for me to be on a different floor which would have been problematic, so I had to accept the accessible room.

This sounded familiar. Ah, yes, from last November (my stay):

Annoyingly, at check-in when I checked that the room was quiet, as requested, they said its away from the lifts. "Facing the road or other side?' I asked. Facing road. I asked if I could be moved to the other side. "We are fully booked". I didn't reply: "Yes, I booked months ago, with my request and I'm plat, and I'm checking in early but don't need the room". Duty manager called. Was basically "we have upgraded you, should be happy; and the room is quiet." Room on 11th floor - could easily hear the trucks and motorcycles down below.

Like, Brisbane, the Exec Lounge is small and hardly used - coffee, soft drinks and small snacks.

Definitely a step down from the Brisbane Airport Pullman I stayed at the prior night.

 

[Cynicor]

Stayed at the Novotel Mel Airport on Saturday night.
No status I think. Free night with Accor plus. So I guess I must be at least silver.

Perfectly fine for a short stay, just needed a dark room with a bed and it was all that.

My main gripe was getting there- they say to call a number for the shuttle pickup (I would have walked but I was with my 80yo parents)

The number has no IVR selection for shuttle pickup so I chose the last option of “for everything else, hold the line”. It auto disconnects after 30-45 seconds of hold time.

So after trying this twice (it’s past midnight at this point) I chose the “parking” option of number 4. This was useless for the info provided but also said to press 1 if I needed more info.

Pressing 1 at that point led to a ringing phone that didn’t auto hang up and after a few more minutes it was answered.

Didn’t try breakfast as we were in a hurry to get out, sadly.

 

[FlyingFiona]

On check-in the didnt have the connecting rooms or the feather free room ready. They said if I want connecting one of the rooms would be an accessible room (which IMHO a downgrade.

Agreed. However, it's not the case in all situations. I was booked into one in an Ibis in Paris and was delighted to have cracked how to get a room you can actually swing a cat in.

 

[markis10]

Agreed. However, it's not the case in all situations. I was booked into one in an Ibis in Paris and was delighted to have cracked how to get a room you can actually swing a cat in.

Did they give you the cat as a welcome gift?

 

[ms1]

Darling Harbour gets all the attention, but is overrated, and will be exposed once they lose their views.

From the Mirvac development? I expected that to impact the Novotel and Ibis but didn't realise it would impact Sofitel.

 

[Lemon_Party]

Property: Movenpick Phan Thiet
Status: Accor+ Platinum
Room booked: Classic King x2
Room upgraded/type: Yes, one room only to Classic King Ocean View. Very few rooms didn't have an Ocean View.
Rate: Accor+ member rate, half board package (wasn't much more than base rate as Accor deal) - $134/night per room
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Included in half board package
Early check in/late out: Not required or requested
Welcome drink: Yes - via app voucher. Used with lunch in restaurant.
Welcome gift: Bottle of low quality red, drinks nibbles and fruit platter.
Recommended: Probably not - not much to see in Phan Thiet and not the best resort we've stayed in. Has a pirate theme that is very odd and is adjacent to a fairly tacky development. Breakfast and lunch at the hotel was OK but the evening buffets weren't great. Half board package allowed breakfast plus the choice of lunch or buffet dinner. After the first night of buffet dinner we just took lunch and ate at local restaurants nearby for dinner. Rooms were OK sized but not fantastic, the fit out and furnishing were fairly high quality though.
Fairly ordinary service from the staff and limited english in the hotel too - seemed to be more popular with asian and russian tourists.
Had a nice play area for the kids with zero shade, and had a fairly derisory "kids club" which seemed to be a room that a couple of staff could scroll their phones while kids watched TV.
Very large thigh height pool with splash pad area for the little ones, again limited shade though.
Executive lounge was mostly empty, quiet and stocked with food all day. Few extra plated breakfast options, but the buffet downstairs was more extensive.
I used a mix of reward points and $ for the stay, with over half the balance being cash. This resulted in almost no status points, and I got half the nights - basically nights for one room instead of 2. I'd expected to accrue for 2 rooms, but maybe i've misunderstood.
The front desk were at pains to point out they'd only upgraded one room and platinum benefits would only be extended to my room as the primary booking. This was the same in Saigon at the Sofitel as well...
It wasn't a terrible hotel, just didn't really wow in any way, the location is out of town with not much happening nearby, and the town itself isn't really that worth visiting.

 

[RB001]

Property: Movenpick Phan Thiet
Status: Accor+ Platinum
Room booked: Classic King x2

I used a mix of reward points and $ for the stay, with over half the balance being cash. This resulted in almost no status points, and I got half the nights - basically nights for one room instead of 2. I'd expected to accrue for 2 rooms, but maybe i've misunderstood.

You'll only get status points/nights for one room, rewards points for up to 2 rooms.

 

[dairyfloss]

From the Mirvac development? I expected that to impact the Novotel and Ibis but didn't realise it would impact Sofitel.

Yes - not all views are lost, but a lot are impacted. The Ibis actually comes out best from the three, I think. Novotel the worst as they don’t have the elevation. There’s another thread on the impacts somewhere.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Stayed at the Novotel Mel Airport on Saturday night.
No status I think. Free night with Accor plus. So I guess I must be at least silver.

Perfectly fine for a short stay, just needed a dark room with a bed and it was all that.

My main gripe was getting there- they say to call a number for the shuttle pickup (I would have walked but I was with my 80yo parents)

The number has no IVR selection for shuttle pickup so I chose the last option of “for everything else, hold the line”. It auto disconnects after 30-45 seconds of hold time.

So after trying this twice (it’s past midnight at this point) I chose the “parking” option of number 4. This was useless for the info provided but also said to press 1 if I needed more info.

Pressing 1 at that point led to a ringing phone that didn’t auto hang up and after a few more minutes it was answered.

Didn’t try breakfast as we were in a hurry to get out, sadly.

We stayed at Novotel Melbourne Airport recently as departing pax not arrivals.
Upon check in, we were given a mobile number to call for the shuttle upon our return @Cynicor
Pity you didn't have access to the number, it's no fun being tired after a trip.

 

[Cynicor]

We stayed at Novotel Melbourne Airport recently as departing pax not arrivals.
Upon check in, we were given a mobile number to call for the shuttle upon our return @Cynicor
Pity you didn't have access to the number, it's no fun being tired after a trip.

Coming from Perth it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The person who arrived after us while we were checking in was livid. The had been travelling 48 hours they said, then walked to the hotel after the auto-hang-up twice. And it was a warm night so they were dripping in sweat.

Might email the hotel/gm again as I never got a reply.

 

[Lemon_Party]

Property: Sofitel Saigon Plaza
Status: Accor+ Platinum
Room booked: Superior Room
Room upgraded/type: Yes, Superior Club Room
Rate: Accor+ member rate - $221/night
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Requested ahead of arrival and again at check in and was given till 4pm.
Welcome drink: Yes - via app voucher. 4 vouchers for 2 adults and 2 children.
Welcome gift: 3 beers in an ice box, some snacks and some chocolate truffles on sticks - well presented pack.
Recommended: Its a pretty nice hotel. We had dinner in the Koto restaurant which was excellent but pretty expensive by Vietnam standards (cheaper than Aus still). Accor+ gives 20% off food. Breakfast was reasonably busy but a huge range of options and mostly very high quality of food. Didn't try executive lounge as no under 12s allowed. I stuck my head in for the evening drinks [6-8pm] around 6:30 and no free tables, completely packed. Good beers, wine & coughtail selection plus option for each guest to choose 2 items from a menu that ranged from small snacks to small mains. Outside of that service the food offerings were very minimal - handful of small biscuits or cakes.
Rooms aren't the largest but probably fine if you don't have 2 small kids, a cot and 3 cases.
Shower was excellent with amazing pressure and great water temp.
Staff had done a fantastic job preparing a room for us - wigwam style teepee in the corner with a padded blanket and pillow which our 3 year old slept in, teddy bears and toys for the kids, a kids bathroom amenities kit etc. It both looked amazing and was pretty practical as it kept the kids entertained for a while.
Last year I stayed at the Hotel des Arts on a work trip and the rooms were larger and more opulent. The breakfast was similar, and the location is arguably better as there's more drinking and dining options in the immediate vicinity, whereas you need a 5-10 minute walk from the Sofitel to be surrounded by options.
The Hotel des Arts has a better rooftop bar with better views, but the pool is better and more useable at the Sofitel.
Travelling with kids I'd definitely pick the Sofitel, but otherwise I'd pick the Hotel des Arts if pricing was similar. That said, both are great options in Saigon.

On our way into Vietnam we had 2 nights at a non accor hotel, also district 1. Le Than Ton Signature by MVillage - huge rooms, reasonable breakfast, well located next to Japan Town and excellent staff - we were messaged via whatsapp frequently from before arrival asking if they could help with transfers (very reasonable) to if we needed housekeeping, if the stay was going OK and did we need anything etc and was just a level of service I've not had before at a hotel - it was actually the standout from a service perspective on the trip and was the only non 5 star hotel. Recommended if you are looking for a cheaper option in Saigon.