How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[Assassin]

Property : Swissôtel Stamford Singapore
Status : Accor + Platinum
Room booked : PREMIER ROOM, 1 King Plus, balcony, city view
Room upgraded/type: Yes Club room, high floor, but no Marina Bay view
Rate: Accor+ stay longer for less rate
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes in restaurants and Club lounge
Early check in/late out: Early check-in not required, requested 4pm check out and given
Welcome drink: Yes - via app
Welcome gift: Yes, bowl of fruit

 

[austgap]

Property: Raffles Makati
Status: Diamond.
Room booked: Artists Suite King
Room upgraded/type: Legacy Suite (120m2)
Rate: ~$500/night
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Didn't use either option.
Welcome drink: Yes
Welcome gift: Chocolates and sparkling water + fruit - day one. Chocolate cake and bottle of red - day two.

Detour via MNL to tick another Raffles off the list! Upgrade to a lovely suite, great breakfast and the evening drinks had some great coughtails (however limited one plate of small snacks). Certainly confused a few staff why anyone was going to MNL for the weekend. Pool area very quiet and looked far nicer then the fairmont next door.

 

[austgap]

Property: Hotel des Arts Saigon
Status: Diamond.
Room booked: Deluxe Room
Room upgraded/type: Executive Studio Suite (via SNU)
Rate: ~$240
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: N/A
Welcome drink: Yes
Welcome gift: Wine, fruit bowl and macaron's

Second visit to the hotel, great Suite (particularly good shower), canapes/coughtails at the executive lounge were great - full of Australians naturally. Staff seemed far more interested in the AccorPlus (or lack of membership in my case vs status) which while fine at the start became a bit tedious when trying to check-in.
Pool and rooftop bar both great - pool is dead in the mornings and then packed in the afternoon and then becomes this weird hybrid as they combine the bar into the pool area so you've got wet feet walking through a trendy bar.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Property: Novotel Rotorua
Status: A+Plat
Room booked: 2xQueen city view
Room upgraded/type: No.*
Rate: ~Adv Purchase*
Free internet: Yes
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: Not required.
Welcome drink: Eventually*
Welcome gift: Yes. Bottle of Roaring Meg Pinot Noir (better than the $6 quarters offered in AU

Explanation of the asterisks:
*Room type was the same as booked, just on the other side of the corridor with lake glimpses. The hotel claimed it to be an upgrade, but the room received was identical to the pictures of the room booked, so not an upgrade in my books.

*About a month before travel I received an Amex offer for Novotel so cancelled my four night flex booking and replaced it with 2x two night advance purchase bookings.

Fineprint of the Amex offer was only for in-person payments and so instead of saving 2x$50, I was slugged with a $40 idiot fee (current conversion).

*No welcome drink vouchers in App. Given paper vouchers by front desk when I asked.

The rest in brief:
Pros:
- Free parking for Plat and above
- Onsite thermal pools in the pool area.
- Great location
- Breakfast buffet includes a small number of items made to order including a delicious breakfast burrito.
- No breakfast coffee tax for Plats.
- unlimited sparking water refills 24/7 (take jug to restaurant)
- Welcome drink included basic spirits
- Onsite washer/driers are free of charge.
- Accor Plus dining benefits honoured for bar menu.
- Allowed us to keep same room despite my two-booking shambles.

Cons:
- Dinner and breakfast buffets are done on the cheap. For instance, seafood chowder was mostly seafood extender and at breakfast rather than grilled tomato it appeared to be tinned tomato warmed up.
- Napkins in the restaurant were always damp. They were elegantly folded on the tables and I suspect they may have been sprayed with the water to keep their shape. Whatever the case, it felt like you had a wet lap for every meal.
- Rooms are beginning to show their age, especially the bathrooms.
- Housekeeping staff seemed fond of shouting at each other up and down the corridors from very early.