Just had a family vacation in Phuket, Thailand and we stayed at the Andaman Embrace Resort & Spa Patong. On the surface the hotel looks very good and is located in an excellent spot close to the beach, restaurants and night life. Its the little things that just added to my overall disappointment with the hotel.
1. Hotel and rooms not bad. At best a 3 star hotel, about 5 min walk to Patong Beach. Close to restaurants and shopping. 2. Staff must be better trained in customer service. 3. Breakfast food items lacking variety and quality. Taste of western food items can be greatly improved. Staff are inattentive and disinterested to providing service. Food is left out and gets cold. Coffee is horrible. 4. Housekeeping is thorough yet very slow. Left the room at 9 AM back at 3 PM and room had not yet been cleaned. Had to call housekeeping for the room to be cleaned. And this is when the hotel was at best only 30% occupied. 5. Hotel is supposed to be smoking free, yet not enforced. Smoking in the lobby in the floor corridor and at the pool. 6. They have a policy of giving complimentary water bottles, yet if the bottle is broken or missing from the room they will charge you. See the attached policy placed in the room. 7. Asked for early check-in and late checkout and was told only if you give us a good review on trip advisor and you must show the review to the front desk as submitted before they will give the late checkout. So it seems all the positive reviews on this hotel may not be genuine and perhaps only given to get the complimentary 2 additional hours for late checkout. Asked three different staff and they all said the same, so seems like management encourages this behavior. See my attached photo of the TripAdvisor Review I had to show the hotel before they would give me the late checkout. 8. AC in the room does not work. No matter what temp you set it at it continuously runs and gets colder and colder, rooms were freezing. 9. It's claimed that you get sea view from the deluxe balcony rooms, that you pay more for, and you do not. The view is obstructed by two large trees on the property. It seems that the picture they show on their web site is actually taken from the roof, above the tree line. The room I was in was on the 5th floor of 6 floors. 10. The fitness center is not at all as depicted on their web site. The machines are old and rusted. Only one treadmill and one exercise bike. Good luck if someone else is already using the equipment. Additionally, there is no bottle water in the gym or even towels provided. 11. On checkout they sent a person to the room to actually count the water bottles and check that nothing was taken from the room. Additionally, they could not release the credit card hold on my card. They claim they need to send an email to the bank and the bank will release the hold after 30 days. Counter staff very pleasant yet following orders from their management. The hotel has some very good restaurants and hawker food surrounding it. - Ate at Sun Seafood, right on the corner of the main street and it was very good price and good quality. - Ate at Da Maurizio Italian restaurant. Restaurant is located right on the beach, about a 20 min walk from the hotel and worth it. It is pricy yet the food quality is excellent and the staff very well trained and professional. Really good Italian food. - Coffee Club around the corner is excellent, food is good and the staff are pleasant and very attentive. Best customer service by far. - Also ate at the hawker food center at the beach just 5 min from the hotel. Ok food not great and price is very reasonable. Overall this is a good hotel but it can be a lot better if the management just spent a little bit more money in training its staff in customer service and stopped charging for silly little things like bottles of water or late check-out when they are basically unoccupied. Better variety of food for the breakfast buffet and freshly made food would also make this hotel stand out. ztraveller rating: 5/10
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Stayed at the Holiday Inn Whitefield 21-23 February 2018. This has got to be the worst experience I have ever had at any hotel. It is actually the first time I specifically asked to speak with the manager of the hotel property to personally provide my feedback and to complain about the incredibly poor quality.
Where to start? I think if you look at the photos you will be disgusted by my room. I am a Spire Elite IHG Member and this was the type and quality of the room they prepared for me. The room had definitely not been cleaned for some time. There was dust and dirt an the walls as well as on the bed. In fact I awoke in the night to bed bug bites, each bed bug picture below is a different mite. There was a white fluid on the bathroom walls which I can only guess as to what it is. Coffee stains on the wall. And the shower stall floor was completely peeling off. The white towels are basically brown from dirt and the plug outlets are so dirty you do not even want to touch them. Outside my room door was food spilled all over the floor and left there, who knows for how long? The pillow also had what looked like mold on it, probably it had not been changed for weeks and the previous person that slept on it left it wet. I spoke with the duty manager and the GM of the hotel and showed them the photos, they were completely embarrassed and apologetic. I left for the day and they promised to rectify the issues. from 9 Am till 5 PM they were cleaning my room. They informed me they have done a deep cleaning of the room. It was completely cleaned from top to bottom, even looked like areas were freshly painted. The floor in the shower re-sealed and bed mattress changed. What they did right: Immediately my complaint was resolved and the room was thoroughly cleaned. I was also offered a complimentary upgrade to a 3 BDR Penthouse suite, which I did not take as I was worried that would be dirty too and this room was now probably the cleanest room in the hotel. They also offered me dinner for 4 people, cooked by the executive chef. Dinner was very good. The bad: Despite jumping through hoops to make sure I was satisfied with the room and its cleanliness. The following day the staff completely forgot to clean my room. I came back to the room at 5 PM to find not one thing in the room touched or cleaned. Then the hotel cleaning staff rang my room bell at 6 PM to ask if I would like my room cleaned. This has to be the worst trained staff within Holiday Inn and the IHG group. I would strongly recommend never staying at this hotel. ztraveller rating: 0/10 Stayed at the Cinnamon Red hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 4 nights in November. Basic hotel, nothing fancy but it is very clean and well priced. Central part of town but away from the main hotel hub. More of a business hotel or for the tourist on a budget.
The rooms are nice and clean and housekeeping does a wonderful job everyday. Furniture is up-to-date and the bed is very comfortable. Internet is a bit spotty. The first day I was there I was not able to connect to the internet as the assigned ID and password did not work. I was provided with a 4-hr voucher which did work and eventually from the second day onwards the internet did work. Late in the evening when most hotel guests are on the internet the speed is very slow. The restaurant is OK, nothing special. Western and India type food. Again nothing to rave about and not 5*. Breakfast has an OK spread of choice. It does get crowded at breakfast time and space is limited. The staff are always smiling and helpful. It did happen twice that the coffee machine broke down after so many people were taking cup after cup. Check-in and out is smooth and not an issue. Not much around the hotel to do, There is a mall a short walk away with a food court and Burger King. There is one Indian restaurant around the back of the hotel "Mango Tree". Its good but on the pricy side and it is popular so it gets full fast in the evenings. There is also a Chinese restaurant close by but never tried it. It was always empty so did not want to. Great places to eat that are just a short drive away are: 1) Ministry of Crab, 2) Fat Crabs, and 3) Cinnamon Grand. ztraveller rating: 7/10 I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel Suzhou for 6 nights (25 -31 October, 2017). I was really impressed with this hotel and how I was made to feel like a welcomed guest. The rooms are very nice, comfortable and clean. The staff are incredibly friendly and accommodating. The restaurants are also well staffed and guests are catered to well not to mention the food - top notch multi-cuisine options.
On the first night I arrived I got settled in an unpacked my cloths. The next day I received a message from housekeeping that they noticed I had run out of hangers for my cloths and they placed extra hangers are amenities for me. the chamber staff also wrote a very nice note for me, which made me feel as though I was in my own home. The hotel has also started to use robots to deliver smaller items to the rooms. If you order something from room service and it is small enough or your ask for extra water bottles etc it will be delivered by a very friendly robot. A bit of a shock when you see it at your door but excellent and efficient. There are three restaurants and all are excellent, not a bad thing to say about them. There is a top level terrace and bar. The view from the top at night is simply breathtaking. The hotel also offers complimentary car pick up and drop off to surrounding offices which is very nice and convenient. Check-in and out was done very efficiently and as an IHG members I was treated very well. Only one negative for my entire 6 day stay was that on one day (Sunday) the housekeeping did not make my room till much later in the day, and only after I called to indicate the room had not yet been made. ztraveller rating: 9/10. Stayed at the Mercure Ambassador for three nights in October. Very convenient location in center of Seoul. Close to financial center, restaurants and some retail outlets. Hotel is very reasonably priced, yet rooms are rather small. Staff are very nice and attentive. Small café on the ground floor for light snacks and drinks. Top floor restaurant and 2nd floor restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet. Restaurant reminds me of a high school cafeteria so not really worth it. Food quality also not too great but you have lots of eating choices just walking distance from the hotel.
Rooms are comfortable yet small. Clean and well organized rooms. Mainly for the business person that needs to have the convenience for a few days. If more than one person in the room you will be knocking into each other. ztraveller rating: 7/10 at this resort from 1 Oct till 6 Oct and was very pleased with all aspects. It is a small and quaint little resort. The staff are very nice and professional, the property is very clean and well maintained, rooms are very spacious. I will say that you should ask for an ocean view room rather than the Sound. The Sound view is really a view of the parking lot so not worth it at all.
The Lifesaving Station restaurant is small but very adequate. The food potions are large so you can easily share between two people. The price is also reasonable. The property has two pools, two fire pits where you can make smores (ingredients provided free of charge by the resort). There are ample variety of water and ground sports to participate in (a bit on the pricy side). There is kayaking, biking, hang gliding, you can take a plane ride around Kitty Hawk. You can also explore the Wright Brothers' museum. Negatives: If you do not have a car you are basically stuck on the resort. Across the street you have two other restaurants and that is it. Also, if you get a parking lot view it can get noisy at night. ztraveller rating: 8/10 14-19 September 2017. I stayed at this property for 5 nights. Very nice hotel, clean, modern and relatively new.
The good: The hotel is modern, clean. Far outside the center of town but at least you miss most of the traffic which is good. The rooms are excellent and very comfortable and modern. Daily cleaning is also very efficient. Staff are also very friendly and the service very good. The restaurants are very good. The food is very tasty yet the selection and variety of the food can be improved. The meeting rooms are also very well maintained and catered to. The banquet staff are attentive and provide good service. The bad: Although it is a very nice hotel, there is nothing surrounding the hotel accept office buildings. Therefore, to get to restaurants or a mall you need to drive. The restaurant as mentioned has good food but being there for 5 nights I had the same food everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The staff were nonetheless friendly and offered to make special dishes for me to make up for the lack of daily variety on the buffet. After all the positives and the good things to say about this hotel I was actually very disappointed when I was checking out. Accuracy of the invoice and the staff at checkout was poor. More training is needed here, not at international standards. 1. I provided my SPG number at the time of booking. Yet on arrival the number in the system was not correct. I provided the correct number and asked for it to be changed in the system. I was assured it was, but at checkout it still had not been done and I am now 1 week after and it is still not updated. 2. On the invoice I was charged for a hotel car drop to a shopping mall after I was provided the service as complimentary. I informed the front staff that this is an error and needs to be removed from the invoice. I was first told it was correct as it was not complimentary. To which I informed the desk staff that as a long staying guest the hotel provides complimentary drop off and pick up from local shipping malls on the weekend. After a lot of back and forth they agreed but then told me it was too late as they had already charged my credit card. 3. I was shocked that they had charged my card before I had reviewed and signed the bill, In fact, what they did was to just process my deposit that was taken on check-in. Standard practice would be for the hotel to release the deposit and make a new charge or at least ask if they can use the deposit for the payment. As a result now the hotel told me that although the charge is an error it will take 45 days to process the refund. Very unprofessional of the staff to do this. They offered to give me a credit on my next visit - who wants that when you have no idea when the next visit will be? Again, after a lovely stay, I was disappointed by the checkout experience and the errors made on the bill and the charge, which I had to end up absorbing with no relief given. ztraveller rating: 6/10 (only because of the checkout debacle) 13 September 2017 - Stayed at the Le Meridien in New Delhi, India and was very disappointed. Only stayed one night and this was enough to set my impression of the hotel. I arrived in the evening of the 13th and all seemed well. I was greeted on arrival and the check-in was very fast and easy. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had been upgraded to a suite.
When I arrived at the room, my first impression was wow this is what they call a suite!. The room was very dark, all the furniture, walls, curtains were all black in color. Also, the lighting was very dim. This is a tell tale sign that the hotel is covering up a dirty room. When the room is so dark it makes it hard to see the dirt. And there was a lot of dirt. Even the bathroom was dark. The room also did not look or appear to be cleaned frequently. There was a rubber band left in the shower stall on the drain, clear to see if housekeeping actually does clean the room. Dirt on the floor and on the tables. I cannot say it enough times, just not a clean property and not at all up to the standard that a Le Meridien should be. Checkout was fast and efficient but again who cares if the property itself is so bad. I would give this location a pass the next time in Delhi, it is not worth the price. ztraveller rating: 2/10 Holiday Inn at 971 Ploen Chit Road. I have stayed at this property several times and have always been pleased. Decent price usually very clean and well located in the heart of Bangkok. On this visit I was very disappointed from day 1 till my departure. Where to begin?
1. The hotel is under renovation so to get to the reception and check-in is a long walk. As a member of the IHG rewards program I would expect to be greeted as a valued member which I was not. The room I was given was also not per my travel preferences. The staff just do not seem to be bothered and excited to be working here. 2. When I got to the room it was very dirty and had a very bad odor in the room. The room just looked run-down and dated. Definitely needs a facelift. 3. When I logged onto the hotel internet it immediately asked me to complete a survey of my Check-in experience and on the room condition. For which I responded exactly what I thought. Within 30 minutes the hotel front manager called me to ask why I rated them low. When I explained the situation, she proceeded to argue with me that the hotel is very good and that my comments are not accurate. Even if they thought so the fact that I was called in my room to discuss what should have been an anonymous survey was not at all professional on their part. They seem to be all about their KPIs and not about really giving good service. The manager did feel bad about how she reacted and the next day she had a plate of chocolates left in my room with an apology note. This was a nice touch! 4. When I got into the bed I noticed that the bed sheet had a rip in it. The following morning I notified the front desk and housekeeping about this and specifically requested the sheet be changed. After I returned in the evening the sheet had not been changed and I had to call again and wait for housekeeping to come and change the sheet. Which they did. 5. The room itself is very dirty and the table top (under the glass top) had leftover food. I took a picture to see if on any of the following days housekeeping would clean it. They never did! 6. On my first day I used the executive lounge for breakfast which was also horrible. I was not even greeted when I entered. I just went in and sat down myself. The space is small and the selection of food is basically nothing. I was the only person in the lounge at 7 AM and ordered pancakes. After about 15 minutes two other hotel guests arrived and were seated. They too ordered some food. After 30 minutes I was still waiting for my food. I could not wait any longer so I got up and left. I did mention to the lounge staff that I never got my food and cannot wait anymore as I need to leave for work. It appears that they order the food from the main kitchen on the ground floor and then send it to the lounge and were waiting to send all three guests' food at the same time. Well this is not much of a lounge if we do not get individual and prompt service. I did not eat at the lounge for the rest of my stay as it was a waste of time and effort. 7. The room itself was smelly and not at all clean. It felt very damp in the room. On my second day the housekeeping staff did do a better job to clean the room and meet my needs. This makes me believe that they take shortcuts in cleaning and preparing the rooms for their new guests and only put the extra effort in when a guest complains. This is definitely not what an IHG property should be doing or how they should treat guests. ztraveller rating: 4/10
19-22 June. Amazing ! Just spend 4 days in Koh Samui with my family. We stayed at the Intercontinental Samui, I would say this is one of the best resorts I have stayed at in Thailand. The staff are very professional, always smiling and ready to go out of their way to make the stay memorable. The location is far from the airport and most of the other resorts, yet this is actually a good things as you are away from the hustle and bustle of the main city and all the tourist crowd. This facility is truly a 5 star.
The hotel has several pools and three restaurants, food is excellent even though slightly on the costly side. The rooms are very nice, especially if your room has an ocean view. Given that the location is very isolated there is not much you can do off-site unless you rent a car or scooter to get around or take a day excursion. Therefore, you are basically captive on the resort. The beach was disappointing, this could be the time of year as the water level was low and you really could not walk into the water - very rocky. Water sports are complimentary (kayaking and paddle boarding). The resort has a wonderful breakfast buffet with a lot of choice and very delicious food. In the evening the main restaurant serves dinner (buffet or a-la-cart). Based on what you select it can be expensive. There is also a Mediterranean restaurant by the beach that is very beautifully set, at night there is an open fire pit. The pool side also serves excellent burgers and club sandwiches. Staff also come around twice a day at the pool and beach side to provide complimentary fruits. Check-in and out was very smooth and accurate. Although I have been very impressed with this facility there were some negatives: 1. One day housekeeping forgot to clean our room. When I mentioned this to the staff they immediately had the room cleaned. They additionally sent a plate of cakes as an apology and even sent a letter of apology from the Manager. 2. We were given a bowl of fruits in the room on arrival, we ate some of the fruits and the plates and cutlery that were used were never cleaned or removed/replaced. So we had a dirty plate, cutlery and napkin for the 4 days. 3. One of the things that bothered us is that hotel guests were permitted to sit right at the pool area and smoke. As a non-smoker this can be very annoying and takes away from the pleasure of enjoying the pool and the resort. ztraveller rating: 9/10 I stayed at the Hilton Wuhan from 9 to 13 April and was very much impressed by the property as well as the staff. It is a fairly new property and the condition is top notch. Staff are very well trained and very friendly. I was upgraded to a suite and it really looked good. I have allergies to feather and the first night was awful, the pillows and comforter were down filled and this made it unbearable. Next morning I told the staff and they switched out the bedding, great service. Yet, still my allergies kept acting up when in the property. Turns out I was not the only one, many of the other guests that were there were also complaining, seems that the new property has some indoor air quality issues that still need to be sorted.
The rooms are really good, the property also excellent, the restaurants are amazing with lots of very good variety of food (western, Chinese and Italian). The staff are also very friendly and very attentive. They definitely have been trained well. Check-in and out was very smooth and efficient. ztraveller rating: 8/10 I have stayed at this hotel many times and have always been happy with the service. It is in a great location, right next to Tokyo Station (right downtown). Close to incredible restaurants and all the shopping you can do.
The hotel is very clean, very efficient, and they really provide customer service. I have allergies to Down feathers. Almost 8 years ago I mentioned this to the hotel staff and they changed the linen in the room to make sure it was all hypoallergenic. Guess what, till this day every time I stay at the hotel they remember to have hypoallergenic bedding without me ever having to remind them again. This is true customer service. traveler rating: 9/10 Tango Nanshi Hotel, Nanjing Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
Very friendly and customer focused staff, excellent price for the tourist on a mid range budget. Good central location close to shopping and restaurants. very close walking distance to subway. Not so great for the business traveler: Rooms are very dark - hard to work, internet absolutely horrible, elevator key cards never work, breakfast only restaurant. Food not available any other time. Selection at breakfast not worth the price at all. Space to sit is minimal so better arrive early. No parking and no place for pickup and drop off for guests. Ztraveller rating: 5/10 |
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