Home » Posts tagged 'hotel review'
Tag Archives: hotel review
My review of Fairmont Amman
For my visit to Jordan I’m spending most of my time in the capital Amman – unorthodox I know but I’m just too lazy! My original plan was to spend four nights at the InterContinental, costing a total of less than 70k points thanks to my Chase card.
I decided in favour of the Fairmont in the end, because:
- It is ranked #1 on TripAdvisor
- I’ve never stayed at a Fairmont hotel before
- The Accor Step rate is very attractive: 3-for-2 + breakfast + $100 spend and more
I booked a Fairmont Gold room for three nights for less than £500.
I arrived in Royal Jordanian’s chauffeur. Ride from the airport takes about 40 minutes.
Lots of festive decorations in the hotel, and many “Merry Christmas” greetings from the staff.
The lady at the front desk explained to me about the breakfast, welcome drink, and $100 credit. They don’t have a brochure about restaurants and facilities, which I think can be improved.
Safety is taken seriously in this country. Vehicles and guests must go through security check when entering the hotel. The key card is programmed to work for the public floor and your floor only.
Floor 14, 15 and 16 are Fairmont Gold floors.
I got no upgrade at all, despite being an Accor Gold member booking the Step rate. Considering I probably paid less than most standard-room guests, I will not complain.
It is a corner room though, so might be slightly bigger.
It’s got a small vestibule and wardrobe. They use the space fairly well and the room is very well appointed.
There’s even a small office at the back.
The TV set supports Miracast, not as good as Chromecast but usable.
The bathroom is spacious with separate toilet and shower cabins.
There are two nuisances though. Cover on the flush button is falling off, and there’s only one set of body wash and shampoo fixated to the wall in the shower cabin, which is a hassle when you are bathing in the tub.
Fairmont, Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Sheraton occupies the four corners of the intersection. It is probably one of the most affluent areas of Amman.
Welcome amenity:
I was told about the closure of the Fairmont Gold lounge (for renovation) at check-in. It was neither communicated on their website or prior to my stay, which feels unprofessional.
Breakfast is served in the Lebanese restaurant Nur.
It is all buffet and no a-la-carte dining. I haven’t had the best experience in terms of breakfast in the Middle East, and Fairmont Amman didn’t change that. There are some international options such as chow mien and fried rice, but I’m not impressed by the quality either.
The egg station:
Afternoon tea is served at the Crystal Lounge, between 2pm and 4pm.
Happy Hour is hosted at the Caprice restaurant, between 5pm and 7pm.
The menu this time is very solid!
You’ve got multiple options for appetisers, mains and desserts. You won’t be short of alcohol supply either.
This kind of dinner easily sets you back £50+ pp in London, so Fairmont Gold pays off.
To spend the $100 credit I had two lunches in the hotel too. First one is Lebanese at Nur.
The lamb wrap is decent. Another meal is at the Asian restaurant Tsuki. The Korean fried chicken and lobster laksa are pretty good.
Spa and gym is at floor 3.
The outdoor swimming pool is closed in the winter, and the only spa facility most guests can use is a steam room. If you staying at the Gold floor however, there’s an exclusive VIP area reserved for you. You’ll find a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room in the changing room.
In the public area there’s another jacuzzi and a swimming pool.
There’s a also relaxation room with snacks and tea.
The spa (for Fairmont Gold) is great. Weather was pretty bad for my first two days so I mostly stayed in except for purchasing some essentials, and I spent a lot of time here.
The staff on the other hand, are lacking in profession. No one mentioned the Fairmont Gold spa to me at all, even when I inquired they mentioned only the regular steam room to me, without considering the possibility that I was on the Gold floor. Thankfully I asked a cleaner who was very keen on showing it to me.
When I asked about late check-out the front desk was also very rigid, saying that it would be upon availability on the day of checking out. On the last day however it was the (suspected) deputy manager who served me, and she was much more friendly and professional. She didn’t even look in the system before agreeing to my late check-out request, and proactively gave me half an hour more to “enjoy the lunch”.
When I saw a #1 hotel with top TripAdvisor rating I was expecting a flawless experience, but Fairmont Amman didn’t live up to that expectation. It is however still an upscale and decent property, on a par with some of the Waldorf Astoria and St Regis hotels that I’ve stayed at.
My review of Gritti Palace and St Regis Venice
My friend had an expiring 85K Marriott FNC from the Amex card and we were trying to redeem it together. We sifted through the high-end hotels in Europe and agreed on Venice, as it was easy to get to by flight and we could try out both the St Regis and the Luxury Collection hotels.
Both hotels are near the San Marco Square in the main island. From the Venice airport you could do either 20 minutes by bus (€20) + 30 minutes’ walk, or 80 minutes by boat transfer (€15) + 10 minutes’ walk. There’s no car inside the island, so the last option is “water taxi”, which will set you back €150!
Venice is very pact so hotels tend not to occupy a lot of space. The Gritti Palace hotel, part of the Luxury Collection, has quite a small entrance and you wouldn’t spot it easily.
Gritti Palace has a very long history that dates back the 14th century. It turned into a hotel in the 19th century.
I’ve stayed at my due share of “palaces” in Europe, and I’m still astonished at how beautiful this hotel is, which I guess is from the Venetian school.
The suite night award cleared into a one-bedroom suite.
Their bathroom amenity is from Acqua di Parma, and my friend loves them a lot. He took all of them before the turndown service however the housekeeping didn’t bring in any more supplies, and I couldn’t stop laughing…
It’s my birthday in couple of days and we left note. The hotel has kindly prepared a cake and champagne.
Have a look at the gorgeous restaurant:
Breakfast buffet:
A-la-carte menu:
I was wondering whether the complimentary breakfast covers all items, until I saw the caviar… Food is generally good especially the pastries.
My friend had a spa treatment and here’s a photo:
There’s another restaurant with an outdoor terrace, but probably seasonal and closed during the winter.
The hotel’s concierge is very friendly and professional. When we came back from sightseeing the second day he chased and told us that there’s a free tour to a glass factory, and he could coordinate with the St Regis if necessary. We declined the offer but really appreciated the gesture.
Our next night is at the St Regis, which is closer to San Marco and the port. Its entrance is in a hidden courtyard and very quiet.
In contrast with Gritti Palace it is a very modern hotel. The property was recently renovated and upgraded from the Westin brand – quite a climb up the ladder!
Interestingly I found this sculpture, which is the work of Jaume Plense like the one I saw at At Six.
The hotel has four buildings, however according to the staff they don’t really differ in terms of room types or themes. Our suite night award materialised as a Venetian Suite, which is a suite in one of the lower categories.
It is new and reminiscent of an upscale, expensive apartments. Made aware of my birthday they added some decoration in the bedroom.
Acqua di Parma again – this time my friend left a €5 tip and housekeeping brought two sets of amenities :p
Champagne and cake, but the cake from Gritti Palace is much more delicious.
Restaurant:
Breakfast buffet and menu:
The plates are so delicate and I love them, food quality not so much.
Couple of photos of the gym. Neither hotel has a swimming pool.
If I need to choose between the two I’ll go for Gritti Palace at the drop of a hat, as it’s got much more of a character and the service is also better. We had a coffee at the Aman as well, and I must say I was truly impressed.
My review of NEW Hotel Athens
After Melia Athens I wanted to move closer to the Acropolis, and decided on the NEW Hotel, a member of Marriott’s Design Hotel collection. 65,000 points for two nights is pretty good, and perfect for me to spend the 35k free-night certificate.
The location is excellent as you are only five minutes away from the main square and tube station, very convenient but also quiet at the same time. The Acropolis is within walking distance. In short it’s an ideal location for tourists.
The property is run by Yes Hotels, who owns a couple of other Design Hotels in Athens including Periscope and Semiramis. Unfortunately Marriott elite members receive very limited benefits at Design Hotels, and as a Titanium member all I get is 1,000 welcome points and room upgrade. Breakfast is not included, and the €35 price is bit insane in my opinion.
Good news is Superior Room is bookable using points, and I received a further one-category upgrade to Superior Plus.
The way how the basin just sticks out is quite weird, so is the mirror behind it.
The “ladder” by the wall is actually a chair. As a Design hotel there are for sure some design elements in the room, whether you agree with the concept or not is a different matter!
There’s no bathtub but the rain shower is powerful.
I received a bottle of water and some local delicacies as a welcome gift, and some more during the turndown service. I love baklava, but don’t think I’m a fan of Greek desserts otherwise…
As a result of the upgrade, my room comes with a balcony.
I went to the restaurant on the rooftop for some pictures.
Gym is at level -1. I’m sure there’s a jacuzzi hidden somewhere as well although I didn’t find it, as I was told by the staff.
I’m not necessarily fond of the hotel’s design choice, but the room is good in general and the location is perfect. Compared to the other Marriott hotels in Athens NEW does have some advantages, and is a decent option if the price is right.
My review of Melia Athens
Back to Athens after nine years, and it’s the rare chance for me to stay at a Melia hotel again. €178 for two nights with breakfast included is a satisfying price, until it dropped again by a further €30 not long after I booked, oh well…
Location of the Melia Athens is good, but not great. The neighbourhood seems a bit rough, but it’s just 25 minutes on foot to the Acropolis which is a nice stroll for walkers. The Omonia metro station is fairly close, which brings you to the Acropolis and seaside directly.
I got trapped in a big traffic jam in Thessaloniki, followed by a flight delay, and was exhausted when I arrived at the hotel. Man from the front desk learned Chinese for a few years – we had a short but delightful conversation before I went to my room.
I am Melia Gold, but it doesn’t come with room upgrade as a benefit. I did however claim a room-upgrade voucher as my birthday gift, and it is time to test it. The voucher allows you to choose the room of a higher category during online check-in:
It’s only one-category, and only confirmed 48 hours before arrival, so not hugely useful. On the bright side, they are very efficient and I could see my room number in the app in the morning.
I got an upgrade to Supreme Room VIP Experience:
View from my room:
The bathroom has a very funky design, which converts part of the bathtub into a shower cabin.
The tub has built-in jacuzzi jets for a nice massage:
Dates and preserved fruits as the welcome gift for my Gold status:
The room is more or less the same with a standard Supreme Room, but with some VIP Experience addons:
- Welcome drink
- Free breakfast
- 20% dining discount
- Free fast wi-fi
- Coffee machine
- Upgraded bath amenities
- Early check-in and late check-out
Although its rooms are tired, the hotel has a nice rooftop swimming pool on the 8th floor.
Nice view of Mount Lycabettus.
It looks quite fancy in a different way at night.
Gym, sauna and steam room are on the same floor.
My welcome drink:
Breakfast is served at the Vivendo restaurant on the mezzanine floor until 10.30am. There’s also a late breakfast option at Cafe Mondo afterwards, but I’m not sure whether the offering is the same.
This is the usual buffet you find in Europe. The Spanakopita – Greek spinach pie – is pretty good.
It’s not a top-grade hotel, but in general it doesn’t have any major flaw and the rooftop pool is a big highlight. If you don’t mind the slightly odd location, Melia Athens is worth considering when the price is right.
My review of At Six Stockholm
After two days at the Clarion Sign hotel, I’m splashing out and changing to the At Six hotel. By splashing out I mean the cost has doubled, but still I paid like just $105 for the 20,000 points.
At Six is one of the best hotels of Stockholm and very centrally located, as in you can reach the main places within 10 to 20 minutes. Next-door in the same block is Hobo, another Strawberry hotel.
I was wondering what its name actually means, until my friend reminded me that the hotel’s street number is six…
As you can see from the plate at the entrance, At Six is also part of the Preferred Hotels group. It is not uncommon for high-end boutique hotels to join multiple groups at the same time, and you can expect to see crosses between Preferred Hotels / LHW / Mr & Mrs Smith / Melia / SLH.
Right in the middle of the lobby is a spotlight of the hotel: Mar Whispering by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. I’m not an art person but I find the sculpture quite interesting, and I saw another piece of artwork from him at St Regis Venice a couple of months later.
The concierge welcomed us warmly with a glass of Prosecco upon entering. I just became a Strawberry Platinum member thanks to their tier match offer, but the staff never mentioned that at all during the check-in process. I did however get free breakfast and 4pm late check-out.
The hotel is almost full and no room upgrade was granted. The levelling is a bit weird – Ground floor is Floor 4 and the underground gym is Floor 1.
Our standard room is on Floor 8.
The room size is even smaller than Clarion Sign, but the materials and finish make a whole world of difference.
All the small pieces here and there show you it is a lavish hotel. I have only one complaint: the extensive use of granite and black wood dims the whole tune, and they should install more (brighter) lights to compensate that.
The room key:
There’s no swimming pool, but the gym and sauna room are free to all guests.
Breakfast buffet is priced at over 300 SEK pp which isn’t cheap.
In terms of spread it’s not much better than Clarion Sign, but the quality is finer and they make eggs too. Croissant is especially tasty.
All hotel staff are very enthusiastic and go out of their way to make sure your need is satisfied. Except for the lack of a pool I’m fairly impressed by the hotel, and my 20,000 points is well spent.
My review of Clarion Hotel Sign Stockholm
I’m heading to Stockholm for a few days, and it’s finally an opportunity to burn my Choice points. When showcasing Choice points we usually use Oslo’s The Thief as an example, but Stockholm is also a sweet spot – all hotels are available for between 10,000 and 20,000 points.
The only five-star property amongst them is At Six. It’s not available for my first two nights though so I booked Clarion Hotel Sign instead. It costs only 10,000 points ($52) per night, with breakfast included and a swimming pool. From the online pictures I thought the two hotels are more or less in the same league, which turns out to be a huge misunderstanding.
The hotel is at the edge of the city centre, not very close to the main attractions but still within walking distance. There’s a small park in front.
I checked in at 2.15pm, slightly earlier than the regular check-in time. Many of Strawberry’s staff aren’t very familiar with Choice’s integration, so you might need to explain that you booked with points.
Family Room and Superior Room are redeemable at the same price as standard rooms. I thus booked a Superior Room which has a bit more space.
Honestly speaking the room is too basic for a four-star hotel even by European standard. It’s reminiscent of the Ibis set-up, but with a tad more budget for the furniture – regular-sized table, coffee machine and bathtub.
According to this plate in the elevator, floors are designed by different artists:
I’m on the Danish floor. Finnish:
Norwegian:
Swedish:
I hope they are more distinguishable in the interior.
Spa is located on the eighth floor. Unfortunately the pool is closed for renovation. Sauna is open but you need to pay 100 SEK entry fee.
Gym:
Like many other hotels in the North, breakfast is complimentary to all guests.
The buffet:
SEK has been devaluing over the last few years – dining out in Stockholm is much cheaper than London!
Service here is not super warm but friendly enough. As you can see there’s nothing spectacular about this hotel – in fact it’s just mediocre. At the price I paid however, it is definitely a bargain worth going for.
My review of Hotel Indigo Stratford-upon-Avon
I managed to burn my BA companion voucher and Hyatt’s free night voucher eventually, but still struggling to find anywhere decent to redeem my 40K free night voucher from the Chase credit card. It happens that IHG launched a 15%-off sale on reward nights, and the two IHG hotels at Stratford-upon-Avon became an option.
There’s a Crowne Plaza with larger guestrooms, swimming pool and a club lounge. The Hotel Indigo however, is ranked #1 on TripAdvisor and has a marginally better location, so we chose them instead.
The Hotel Indigo is just opposite to Shakespeare’s New Place, and about 10 minutes’ walk from the train station.
It is a Grade-II listed building that started off as a small house in circa 1500, and after centuries of renovation it became a hotel and joined IHG. The timber-framed Tudor architecture is commonly seen in Stratford-upon-Avon and some other English towns.
Entrance of the hotel is at the back, which in contrast is very modern.
The lobby has a very boutique-y style, as you would expect from an Indigo.
The hotel has a small storefront, but it is actually quite big with three buildings. The older Tudor and Georgia buildings have 32 guestrooms, whereas the new building has 61. Premium Room (above standard rooms) can be redeemed at the same cost, and I got one in the new building.
The room’s tone is dominated by blue and yellow, and measures just about 20sqm. The suites are not much bigger either at around 30sqm, but it is not unusual in Europe.
Ceramic tiles in the bathroom are the most shiny that I’ve ever seen and look quite expensive!
To be honest I’m surprised that they manage to squeeze a bathtub in. The bathroom is so small that there’s nowhere to place my washbag.
An Indigo perk: the minibar is completely free, including two bottles of water, two cans of coke, one sparkling wine and one lemonade. Safe to say that I’m drinking (or taking) them all…
A big trouble emerges when we are going to sleep. Soundproofing is terrible as we can hear our neighbour’s TV clearly. We have to phone the front desk to remind them.
Rooms in the new building are prefixed 1 or 2, and the old buildings with 3-7. Personally I prefer the new building – I can’t imagine how bad soundproofing is like in the old building.
Breakfast is complimentary for Diamond members, served at the Feasting Room. You can find all the buffet on one table:
An a-la-carte menu:
The eggs are tasty.
However compact the room is, the hotel has a lot of public space, with quite a few bars and lounges.
And even a private garden:
Regular checkout time is 11am. My late checkout is only extended till 12.30pm, which is understandable on a Saturday. Although soundproofing is a main issue, the hotel is really nice overall and I think it lives up to the #1 ranking on TripAdvisor.
My review of The Grand Hotel Eastbourne
Thanks to a generous promotion from Hyatt, I received a Category-4 free night voucher but it was only valid for 6 months. Hyatt has few properties in the UK. There are a handful of nice SLH properties but reward availability is difficult to find and many of of them are hard to travel to.
My persistence paid out eventually though, as I managed to book The Grand Eastbourne for the August bank holiday. The Grand Eastbourne is, to quote them, the finest 5 Star hotel by the sea in Sussex. I haven’t been to Eastbourne yet so it works out perfectly.
The hotel is 30-seconds’ walk from the beach, right next to the Ferris wheel and easy to find. The hotel is also known as “The White Palace”, and that name does justice. Compared to Brighton I find the urban plan much newer and prettier in Eastbourne.
We arrived at 1pm and the room was not ready yet. The sightseeing bus stop is just in front of the hotel, which brings you to the beautiful coast.
The hotel was purposely built in 1875. It’s maintained very well considering that history, and you barely see wear and tear anywhere.
Upon entering the lobby, there’s the Palm Court Strings restaurant on the left-hand side that serves afternoon tea.
And a lounge bar at the end of the hall.
The receptionist thanked me for being a World of Hyatt member. As it’s a bank holiday I wasn’t expecting any upgrade at all, and it really surprised me when they mentioned an upgrade to the sea-view room. The sea-view however, needs to be taken with a pinch of salt:
As a lowly Explorist I’m not really disappointed.
The room is up to the standard of an old five-star hotel, except for that tiny TV from the last century.
Nespresso machine and tea kettle:
I don’t like the single bed or the stiff mattress so much. The key holder looks classy:
World of Hyatt bookings all come with complimentary breakfast, served at the Garden Restaurant.
The buffet’s spread is quite limited and I don’t praise its quality either. I find the breakfast at UK five-star hotels below average in general.
We ordered the traditional breakfast, porridge and pancake from the menu, which are so-so.
There’s an outdoor swimming pool and it is heated – have to give the hotel some credits for this.
In addition there’s an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi and steam room.
Gym:
In a word, The Grand Eastbourne is a decent five-star hotel that gives you a resort experience to some extent. If you have a World-of-Hyatt Cat 4 free night certificate to redeem, it is probably one of your best options in the UK.