Category: Hotel

• Penang Hard Rock Hotel CheckIn Not So Rock!

  09.03.11 |Hotel, Service| Permalink | Comments Off on Penang Hard Rock Hotel CheckIn Not So Rock!

  Recently I was really frustrated with the check in process at Penang Hard Rock Hotel. I made a reservation for a seaview room 4 to 5 months back, using my stage pass complimentary voucher. It is clearly written, if I booked on Sunday to Thursday, I am guaranteed a seaview room.

  On the check in day, the front desk told me no seaview room. He argued with me that it is only based on availability. I am really annoyed that he didn’t know the stage pass terms and condition. He still insisted it was based on availability. Next he told me that I booked a hillview room. My reservation clearly stated a seaview room.

  Then he asked me to wait 15 to 20 minutes. My family waited. He didn’t bother to update me after 30 minutes. I had to go to the front desk to ask again. After which he told me that he cannot get a seaview room for me. I asked him to escalate to his manager. He pulled along another staff.

  I had to repeat my situation, she told me that she will check but need to wait another 15 minutes. I waited. Still no news after 15 minutes. I didn’t see any action being taken either, no updates.

  By the way, I arrived at the hotel at 1:45pm, they finally gave me the room at 3:10pm. Lastly, one of the staff told me that the check in time was 3pm. The staff should have told me that upfront rather than asked me to wait 15 minutes after 15 minutes. They didn’t even bother to serve us any welcome drink while waiting. It really spoiled my entire stay at the hotel.

• Berjaya Langkawi Resort Hotel

  12.07.10 |Hotel, Malaysia, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Berjaya Langkawi Resort Hotel

  
  
  

  It is a great resort in Langkawi. I did enjoy my stay there for 3 nights without much problem. Before the trip, I did read some feedbacks on tripadvisor.com about the hotel. It was a mixed feeling. I was kind of confused why certain people gave lots of positive feedback and the others gave negative. Probably the negative ones didn’t get good rooms or they had high expectations.

  I must say the kampung chalet does give me a feel that I am closer to nature. However the condition of the rooms does not portray a 5 stars hotel room for the value they charged. They do need some sort of refurbishing. The bathroom has a couple of stains, bottom of the bathtub is slightly cracked, TV is old, furniture is outdated and the resort facilities are limited.

  The swimming pool is very wide. If they add in a slide for kids, it will be perfect. I kind of like the water wall by the side of the pool. There is a portion of the pool that provided some sort of Jacuzzi.

  There are other activities available in the hotel like nature walk, water sports, beach play, swimming in the sea where they block off from water sports and lots of beach chair for a nice tan.

  One more thing that may cause an inconvenient, some of the chalet are a distance from the lobby. You need to ride shuttle van to and from the room. However the wait is just 5-10 minutes. I am pleased that the chalet given to us is walking distance from the lobby.

  The price of the rooms is a little steep if you asked me. I would go back if I still get the Berjaya Membership rates from my good friend. My family did enjoy the resort.

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

• Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa Santa Rosa

  08.10.10 |Hotel, Travel, US| Permalink | Comments Off on Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa Santa Rosa

  
  
  

  I stayed in this hotel in Jan 2010 on my business trip to Santa Rosa. However my stay wasn’t that pleasant. It had a bad start and finish. I booked the hotel through my company travel agent and it was suppose to come with a free breakfast and Wifi. I was very sure of it because I checked before I booked it.

  On the day of arrival, the front desk told me no complimentary breakfast or Wifi. I should have printed out the reservation info. Anyway I went online with paid Wifi to verify and call the front desk. The front desk verified again but he said I can have the free Wifi but no complimentary breakfast.

  I stayed there for 4 nights and on the second day, I received a notice from the General Manager with an email address. I wrote to him with regards to my complimentary breakfast. He told me to go ahead and order the breakfast, he will have it waive off my bill. Pretty cool.

  
  

  I worked late for a few nights and in the morning, I called room service for breakfast so that I do not have to make a rush.

  At the end of my stay, the bill came but the breakfast was charged. I told the checkout person but he told me that room service was not part of the deal. He also explained to me that I should get the complimentary breakfast vouchers upon check-in and have my meal in the restaurant. I wasn’t given those vouchers upon check in and the GM didn’t say I could not call room service for breakfast. I just didn’t like the way the checkout guy talk to me. Anyhow, he settled it with his GM.

  Another upsetting part was I went for dinner at Brasserie Restaurant, I wasn’t given a menu for ordering. I had to get the menu myself. On top of it, the waitress who saw me didn’t bother to come and take my order. I had to go to another part of the dining area and a waiter serving that area served me right away.

  On the last day, there was a fire drill but there wasn’t any notice given. All the doors were closed. I took the stairs but it led to a lock door. If really there was a fire, I will be dead. I climb back up the stairs. The drill was over when I came out of my room but no one bothers to open back the doors. Ooh there was also a door for the elevator. Elevator was not working too. I had to walk a couple of rounds to get to the exit. Imagine dragging my bags here and there. It was really frustrating.

  There wasn’t any DIY laundry service and I have to go to Marriott Hotel next door to do my laundry. The front desk lady was kind enough to do a electronic key for me to get into the laundry room and provided free WiFi while I waited for the laundry to be done.

  I will not ever stay there again! Of all the Hyatt hotel I stayed, this was the poorest customer service ever!

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• Hard Rock Hotel Penang

  03.16.10 |Hotel, Penang| Permalink | 1 Comment

  It was a pretty cool hotel. My family loved it. It was really crowded because of the school holidays. Rooms very fully book. Yeap, there were some walk in guests whom were really disappointed. During the evening, the car park was closed for outsiders.

  
  
  

  CheckIn & Check out

  Firstly I empathize with the staff working there, the front desk or lobby is non-air condition. Both the staff and the customers have to bear with the heat. It took a long time for check in because there were no rooms available. Funny, the guests’ latest check out time is 12:30pm. I went there at 2pm, still no room. I wonder how long it takes for the room to be clean. Maybe short staffed in the housekeeping area.

  Next, while I was checking out, one customer was smoking. No non-smoking sign around, really bad for us non-smokers who has to bear with unhealthy environment. It took long wait for me to check out.

  The Room

  
  

  
  

  It has a very spacious room and fun for every age group. I got a room with a good view of the beautiful sea. The room decoration was just ok, nothing to shout about. However the bathroom is a little small and no bath tub.

  The Pool

  The swimming pool is the highlight for children with 3 slides. For children below 4 feet, it is advisable to wear an arm float. There are rooms by the pool, just like a personal pool. Very convenient for some.

  There were dancing at the pool and water ball organize by the hotel. Something to rock their guests there.

  
  
  

  Teens Club

  There is a teen club room for teenagers or children to have fun with Xbox, play stations and computers. However there is no queuing system. Most children were hogging the stations and left others waiting. I even saw a dad hogging the computer. I saw many disappointed kids there.

  TV Program

  Lastly, I do wish the put Cartoon Network on. It is a MUST have, especially kids.

  Rates

  Will I go back there again? Yeah, if they reduce the hotel rate or provide more value for my money!

  
  

  
  

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• Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore

  12.06.09 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | 2 Comments

  
  
  

  Love it! Love it! Absolutely love it. First of all, after many years of points collecting, I get some complimentary stay in Hyatt for my family. I would pick this hotel every time I go to Singapore for business. Sad to say that because of cost cutting, they remove this hotel from the preferred list. I hope they add it back on.

  Why do I like it so much? First the staffs are super friendly. They treat me the same even though the stay was complimentary. Next, the room is spacious, especially like the bathroom. The TV is a huge flat screen.

  
  
  

  I am glad they renovated the swimming pool and provide a children pool. My children absolutely love it. While my children were enjoying the pool, I ordered breakfast by the pool. It has my son’s favorite garlic bread and chicken drumlets. They love it. They asked me whether they can stay another night there.

  Lastly as I was checking out, the staffs casually ask my feedback on the stay. I wasn’t complaining but told them the air condition in the room was not working well. It switched off by itself and I had to turn it back on. For that, they waived my bill for my stay. Isn’t that great, hardly get this type of service in Asia.

  I will sure return to stay with them again! Absolutely.

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• Hyatt Summerfield Hotel

  09.07.09 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Hyatt Summerfield Hotel

  
  
  

  When I was in the Colorado Springs, I stayed in Hyatt Summerfield. Initially I booked Hyatt The Place which is more upper class. However there is no DIY laundry service, so I downgrade myself. I wanted all my laundries clean before going home.

  
  

  
  

  Hyatt Summerfield in Colorado Springs is very spacious. The room has a kitchen, a living hall and a bedroom. I believed land in US is always available which makes most hotel room spacious. The room was very clean. The only complain I had was the security latch to the lock was broken and every morning I received a 6am morning call. I feedback the morning call problem to the front desk, every morning but they told me they were fixing it. It wasn’t fixed till the day I checked out. It was really annoying having to wake up an hour early. I am not a morning person.

  I came back and wrote a feedback on Hyatt website. I was pretty pleased that the customer service responded to me immediately, apologizing about the bad experience. On top of that, they added points to my membership. Now I get a free night stay at any Hyatt hotel. Cool eh. Kudos to the customer service folks! For compensating me on waking up early to shut off the morning call.

  Hyatt Summerfield Hotel in Colorado Springs was very near to Garden of The Gods road and you can visit the rocks there. It is very beautiful all season. I visited it during winter and it was splendid. Next, you can go to Manitou Springs. Lots of beautiful places in CS. I don’t mind staying there.

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• Green Hotel

  08.21.09 |Hotel| Permalink | 1 Comment

  Many hotels claim to be green. Often I see a card in the hotel telling us to limit the usage of towels and leave it in the tub if it required washing. They encourage us not to waste energy for the washing, waste labor or waste detergent. I am not sure they want to cut down on expenses for more profit or they want to help the environment.

  One of the hotels I stayed to had this sign. However I am surprised that they use foam cups and plates. It takes a very long time for polystyrene material that makes the foam cup biodegrade. Materials that are not good for the environment. I bet they want to save money of labor to wash the plates or cups. They do provide plates and cups but it was not very visible. Cutleries are all plastics.

  Next time if any hotel tells you they are green, better take it with a pinch of salt. They want to be green if it can help them save cost.

• Genting Resort World Hotel

  06.17.09 |Hotel| Permalink | 1 Comment

  
  
  

  Genting is a city of entertainment with the only casino in Malaysia. I managed to stay in Resort World Hotel for free. Thanks to my mom. It is a peak period in Genting due to the school holidays. You cannot really check into the hotel before 3pm but you need to check out before 12 noon.

  Fortunately for my family, we have an express check in card. Instantly we got a room. The customer service person who served us was very accommodating. I can feel her stress because lots of people were waiting to be check in. However, she still wears a smile and was very courteous.

  
  
  

  The rooms were just nice for a family of 4. It has a nice view of the theme park. I kind of like the bathroom, very wide but no bath tub. It is superbly clean. It is very near the casino and places to eat. However it is away from the indoor and outdoor theme park.

  The major attractions in Genting are the casino, the theme parks, the shows and the cool air.

  
  
  

  I am not a gambling person. I go up there to enjoy the cool air.

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• Hong Kong Hollywood Disneyland Hotel

  12.05.08 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Hong Kong Hollywood Disneyland Hotel

  
  
  

  I must say that I had a pleasant stay with Hollywood Disneyland Hotel in Hong Kong. The only thing that is a setback is the rooms are very pricey. I guess that is Hong Kong, most hotel rooms rates are pricey. The rooms are very spacious and great for a family of four. The twin beds can be share with 2 persons.

  
  

  
  

  Service was superb. You can leave your luggage with the concierge if you arrive early, so that you can first enjoy yourself at Disneyland park.

  I had an opportunity to dine in with my family and enjoy the buffet. There was a variety of food there with my favorite sashimi, seafood, roast beef, roast goose, Chinese dim sum and plenty of dessert to go around. They even have a chef to cook special sauce pasta for the children. Do try the seafood sauce pasta, it taste great. Not forgetting the chocolate fountain.

  A tip to get good savings in the hotel is to get the child annual pass. You can get discount rates on hotel room rates and dinning in the hotel. However there is a quota with discounted room.

  I did enjoy my stay there. My children loved the sauna heated pool. Too bad it was fairly windy outside, if not we could have soak a little longer.

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• Penang Golden Sands Hotel

  03.15.08 |Hotel, Malaysia| Permalink | 1 Comment

  
  
  

  It definitely has a great view of the sea and the staffs are friendly. First time I am greeted with a big smile from hotel staffs. While I was checking in with my family, the staff served us all with a welcome ice cooling refreshing lemon tea.

  The room was just nice, not too big. I took the sea view room and it was excellent. You are able to sit on the balcony and enjoy the pleasant view. It has a nice bath tub too. Too bad the TV is not a LCD or flat screen TV. It has wifi at the pool area, lobby and the room.

  They have also renovated the pool area that gives a Hawaiian feeling with lots of huts, coconut trees and sun bathing benches. It looks like I was in Hawaii for a while.

  If you enjoy water sports, there are water ski, sky parachuting, Jet Ski and banana boat. You can also do some sun bathing or walk on the beach. It is really a great affordable vacation!

  
  

  

  
  

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