The Best and worst Hotel

[Dyslexic traveler]

My Best Hotel/Resort is hard, my list is long, Vatulele Island before it was closed is high on my list, as is the Peninsula HK and Raffles Singapore, Paris is ale\ways good at the George V, and the St Regis is great in NY.

I enjoy Fawlty Towers. And must say I have stayed in a place just like that in the UK, its called Thornbury castle, the place was beautiful.

The owner was just like Basil and they even had manuel, we asked him for a menu and he ran off, only to returned 20 minuets later with toothpicks, the shower did not work and I had to clime the tower to a working one.

The owner came to me at dinner on our last night and after he had apologised, I said it was fine and I had enjoyed the full British service.

If you ever want to go to Fawlty Towers and feel like you in the show this is the place.

The Dyslexic Traveler

 

[Mardi]

BEST: Love, love, love AKA Times Square in New York. Bigger than some NY apartments, full kitchen, washing machine and dryer, separate "study" which we use as a wardrobe/dumping room. So much nicer on a longer stay to have a bit of space. Also love Four Seasons in Sydney but haven't stayed there since we discovered NY in 2010

WORST: we once stayed at a horrendous place in Junee... can't remember what it was called but it was so horrible I skipped a shower the next day and drove back to Canberra to have one (2.5 hours).

 

[toronto]

The worst






[h=4]Formule 1 Hotel Fawkner[/h]


http://maps.google.com.au/maps?rls=...a=X&ei=hGU7UPH7KsiRiQfS5IGQBg&ved=0CEwQrwswAQ
1401 Sydney Road
Fawkner

 

[mella2007]

The worst






[h=4]Formule 1 Hotel Fawkner[/h]


http://maps.google.com.au/maps?rls=...a=X&ei=hGU7UPH7KsiRiQfS5IGQBg&ved=0CEwQrwswAQ
1401 Sydney Road
Fawkner

Oh god. I thought my memory of that place had gone away. Stayed there one night with a then not married Mr Mella and I. One of those last minute stupid ideas when we were poor
Just terrible.


Best: Hilton kl grand exec suite. Or Level 50 suite at Sofitel Mel.
Worst. South stradbroke island resort and South Molle Island resort.

Neither were resorts. One went broke (by name by nature) and the council shut it down.
The other was a real "Molle"

 

[LadyC]

Best- Raffles in Singapore and the Legian in Seminyak Bali were wonderful. As was Fusion Maia in Danang (free spa treatments anyone?)
Worst - A mini hotel in a town in India called Radhanpur - very very basic and had a room filled with mosquitoes as it was next to a stagnant pond. I don't think the gentleman slept at all that night!

 

[Travel Guru]

Best is always a tough pick, but it's hard for me to go past The Peninsula, Chicago.

Service wise and product wise they nailed it, best overall service (as in offering from all staff from front desk to doormen to housekeeping) that I've experienced and being a Luxury Travel Advisor & Planner I've been blessed to stay in some amazing properties.

As far as worst goes, I honestly cant remember, I do my best to block out bad hotel memories as soon as possible after departing...Westin LAX would be the most recent poor performer I can recall.

For those who mentioned Raffles, St Regis NY, George V etc, be sure to track down a Virtuoso advisor (no that's not me advertising, it's merely FOC advice, there's 33 Virtuoso agencies in Australia) as you'll receive complimentary inclusions other agents/advisors cant access for you and with alot of hotels you'll find as good as the service was, they step it up another notch for Virtuoso clients (even above that which Centurion clients experience as many of my clients have attested).

TG

 

[BensAdventures]

This is tough one! The one for me that jumps out is the Hotel Indonesia Kempinski in Jakarta. I was upgraded to a suite and it was brilliant! My bathroom was bigger than most decent sized hotel rooms. Location was great too, I think this stand out because it truly was an oasis from the madness outside in greater Jakarta!

Worst! Easy - The Historic Mayfair Hotel - LA! Simply horrible! rubbish left in the room, half the lights didn't work in the room, and what ever you do, don't look under or behind the bed! EWWWW!!!

 

[Muzfly]

The Mayfair LA is my worst as well..... One of those places where you're expecting to find the white chalk outline of a body on the carpet.....

 

[Dyslexic traveler]

Best is always a tough pick, but it's hard for me to go past The Peninsula, Chicago.

Service wise and product wise they nailed it, best overall service (as in offering from all staff from front desk to doormen to housekeeping) that I've experienced and being a Luxury Travel Advisor & Planner I've been blessed to stay in some amazing properties.

As far as worst goes, I honestly cant remember, I do my best to block out bad hotel memories as soon as possible after departing...Westin LAX would be the most recent poor performer I can recall.

For those who mentioned Raffles, St Regis NY, George V etc, be sure to track down a Virtuoso advisor (no that's not me advertising, it's merely FOC advice, there's 33 Virtuoso agencies in Australia) as you'll receive complimentary inclusions other agents/advisors cant access for you and with alot of hotels you'll find as good as the service was, they step it up another notch for Virtuoso clients (even above that which Centurion clients experience as many of my clients have attested).

TG

Guru is Virtuoso a travel agent group ? And do you think they offer better service than Amex.

 

[drron]

Guru is Virtuoso a travel agent group ? And do you think they offer better service than Amex.

They certainly do.I use a Virtuoso agent here on the Sunshine Coast.
Example.When AJ grounded QF we were due out on QF1 on the Tuesday.We had been babysitting-no watching the news as that is when the grandkids are going to sleep.Got back to our hotel,powered up the computer and turned on the TV.Saw the news,thought Oh s***.Then noticed the email from our TA-we were already rebooked on the BA flight.

PS-I had better answer the original question.
At the present our best hotel is the SGS Bangkok because of the service we get.
Worst-either Travelodge Hollywood(prostitutes) or Travelodge Brookline,Boston(drug dealers).

 

[Jude Starr]

Best: http://www.hotel-luganodante.com/ in Lugano

http://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/hotels/singapore/conrad-centennial-singapore-SINCICI/index.html?WT.srch=1 in Singapore

Can't think of any really bad ones off the top of my head...been pretty lucky; have been in a few I considered a bit ordinary, but none really super bad.

 

[Travel Guru]

Guru is Virtuoso a travel agent group ? And do you think they offer better service than Amex.

Virtuoso is an invitation only luxury travel network for the world's top travel advisors.


I can only go by what my clients tell me, and those that have both say they receive much better service using a Virtuoso advisor than using AMEX, they also tell me that having stayed at the same property booked by AMEX Centurion and then booked by myself under our Virtuoso contract they get treated much better by the hotel as a Virtuoso guest.

Not my opinion, just the feedback I've received and seems DrRon concurs.

TG

 

[amaroo]

Best Hotel = Four Seasons Hong Kong
Best Resort = The Nam Hai
Best Lodge = Huka Lodge

Worst = Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, absolutely pathetic. Checked out early & went across the strip to the Mandarin Oriental.....ahhhh, bliss:!:

 

[Justinf]

Does it have to be a hotel?
Best: Bungalow Bay Hostel, Magnetic Island. Stayed in one of the basic A frames. All it had was a minifridge, and air-con and a bed. The place was fantastic. Like a mini nature reserve, with an excellent outdoors bar and restaurant (fish curry was sublime) and a great vibe. $25 a night.
Worst: Seasons of Perth. Air-con nonexistent, towel ripped apart while drying myself, linen was branded with an insignia from a local hospital, bed had breadcrumbs still in it, TV reception drifted in and out - all for around $250 a night.

Sometimes it's not the price of the place you stay at that makes it '5' star.

 

[Dyslexic traveler]

Does it have to be a hotel?
Best: Bungalow Bay Hostel, Magnetic Island. Stayed in one of the basic A frames. All it had was a minifridge, and air-con and a bed. The place was fantastic. Like a mini nature reserve, with an excellent outdoors bar and restaurant (fish curry was sublime) and a great vibe. $25 a night.
Worst: Seasons of Perth. Air-con nonexistent, towel ripped apart while drying myself, linen was branded with an insignia from a local hospital, bed had breadcrumbs still in it, TV reception drifted in and out - all for around $250 a night.

Sometimes it's not the price of the place you stay at that makes it '5' star.

So true Justinf its often not how much you pay, some of my best travel experiences have been on the cheep.

 

[The Rok]

Best is a toss up between the Conrad in Bali or the Ritz Carlton on Miami's South Beach.

I have had some poor ones but none so shocking to stand out! I didn't really like the L Hotel, Causeway Bay in HKG. Mattress was made of concrete!

 

[TheEmu]

I didn't really like the L Hotel, Causeway Bay in HKG. Mattress was made of concrete!

Pretty common with cheaper Chinese hotels - one in particular in Beijing I swear had pillows filled with sand to match the concrete mattress! (used a cushion off the lounge instead)
Don't know that the L would qualify as cheap though - certainly not in the same (cheap) vein as university hotels in mainland China...
One of my favourite hotels is the Westin Bund Centre in Shanghai - always get great service and a great room, and after the first time I stayed, I've been upgraded every time without asking. They always do something different for Sunday brunch as well, entertainment-wise. The place seems to have that personal touch to me - I stayed around the corner at Le Royal Meridien in Nanjing Road for over a week last year as well, and it was a nice enough hotel, but the staff made it seem rather sterile by comparison to the Westin.
I happened to be staying at the Westin Bund Centre last year when Typhoon Muifa came hammering up the east China coast and was quite impressed with the hotel's pre-emptive measures and the way they kept everyone informed about what was going on. Of course I'd been safely ensconced well inland in Nanjing and had come to Shanghai for just one meeting then decided to stay for the week-end to have a break from the cheap uni hotel in Nanjing... As it turned out Muifa had pretty much run out of steam by the time she got to Shanghai but caused plenty of damage along the way. It was very eerie to look down on a near-deserted and darkened Henan Central Road on a Saturday afternoon - the traffic chaos and cacophony of horns usually goes on nearly 24/7 there.

 

[Berlin]

Best:

• Andaz West Hollywood- right on Sunset Boulevard, ten mins down the hill to all the gay bars, free drinks in the mini bar and awesome service. Actually- any Andaz (pretty much Hyatt's -much better- take on Starwood's W concept) I've been to has been absolute top
• Palazzo at the Venician, Las Vegas: Unbelievable what you get for these low prices, one of my favorite hotels in the world. Huge suites, jaw-droppingly magnificent artificial lobby and one of the most insanely big pool areas anywhere in the world. Loving it!
• Any hotel that is adult only. Far too rarely available but nothing makes a relaxing holiday better than the absence of some crying, quaaking, unruly kids and their obnoxious parents. Had a good example of that in Gran Canaria just a few weeks back and while the hotel was typical Spanish 4 Star fair, the absence of anyone under the age of 18 made the stay an absolute bliss.

Worst:

• Smith's Beach resort in Yallingup, Margaret River WA: Paid over 400 Dollars a night for a one bedroom in this horrid place. Views of a parking lot rather than the beach, arrogant unfriendly staff asking you to "clean the rubbish bins before you leave", rooms unserviced at this price :shock: and pool unheated to save a few bucks. Found out later from the friendly lady in one of the winery that the property apparently has pi%@#ed of lots of the locals by not adhering to some environmental building obligations. Not surprised.
• Apollo resort Wamberal (just North of Terrigal, NSW): I cannot put it into words. Just look it up on Tripadvisor, probably one of the worst hotels ever seen on that website.
• Hotel "Grand" Chancellor Auckland Airport: Calls itself a 4 Star but offers below youth hostel quality. Such a trashy place, hard to believe!

If anyone is interested in the details, my hotel reviews are here... sydneyberlin - Member Reviews - TripAdvisor

 

[Justinf]

Palazzo at the Venician, Las Vegas: Unbelievable what you get for these low prices, one of my favorite hotels in the world. Huge suites, jaw-droppingly magnificent artificial lobby and one of the most insanely big pool areas anywhere in the world. Loving it!

Completely forgot about my stay here. You are right. It is amazing.

 

[blackcat20]

The Roosevelt in Hollywood is pretty nice. One of the best beds I've ever slept in, which is good when the weather is terrible and you are a bit unwell. Staff were a little snooty though.

The worst Ive stayed in was some chain hotel in one of the mid-south US states. Pulled back the bed covers to find the linen hadn't been changed, and dirty towels still in the bathroom.