zzap

Hotel: W Taipei
Room Booked: Fabulous Room, City View
Rate: US$427.14/night
Early Check-in: Not requested; arrived around 15:30
Late Checkout: Used & departed at 15:30. Forgot to mention it at check-in but had no key card issues on the final day.
Upgrade: Fabulous Suite (newly renovated!)
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: Food and beverage credit of NT$3,000 (approx US$92) -- used for in-room dining and a few drinks at the lobby "WOOBAR".
Breakfast: Daily buffet breakfast for two at YEN Restaurant on 31F
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Paid at hotel
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: Lowly Gold but points credited.
Comment: Fantastic property. I've stayed here a couple of times and I think this is the best hotel in Taipei, after having tried about a dozen properties. Despite the loss of Harvey Thompson as GM in 2021, the soft product still excels. This is the first time I used an FHR rate here and was upgraded to a Fantastic Suite the morning of arrival (checked via the Bonvoy app). Loyalty manager came out to welcome us as we were checking in, let us know we were upgraded to a newly renovated suite, and asked us to let her know our feedback. While the new rooms have USB-A and USB-C ports on both sides of the bed, these weren't working in the room. Strong buffet breakfast spread -- but still annoyed that they don't have pancakes available (seems like only waffles and french toast on a daily rotating basis).

Hotel: Mandarin Oriental Taipei
Room Booked: Deluxe Room
Rate: US$389.40/night
Early Check-in: Not requested; arrived around 15:30
Late Checkout: Used & departed at 16:00
Upgrade: None
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: NT$3,200 (approx US$98) food and beverage or spa treatment credit -- used for in-room dining.
Breakfast: Daily buffet breakfast for two at Cafe Un Deux Trois
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Pre-paid
Comment: I was disappointed by a lack of any room upgrade at this property, but appreciated the accurate USD to NTD conversion for the $100 credit. Air conditioning in the room was completely silent but not able to reach the set point temperature; I'd prefer to be able to hear an AC fan but actually have a cool room. Noise deadening between rooms and into the hallway is exceptional. The property is beautiful -- but strangely my room was missing its chandelier with just some residual roof damage where it used to hang; I observed the same in my room floor's elevator waiting area. The upper floors of the "arcade" shops at the property is very eerie as most of it is empty. Location is pretty poor -- not much happening in the area and a 10 minute walk to the nearest MRT.

Nagasaki Joe

Hotel: ANA Intercontinental Beppu Resort & Spa
Room Booked: 2 Double Classic Club Lounge Access City View - (68 sq. m.)
Rate: USD 1,226.88 for 3 nights (USD 408.96/night w/taxes and fees)
Early Check-in: Checked in around 2:00 pm
Late Checkout: Offered 4 pm checkout but did not need it
Upgrade: 2 Double Classic Club Lounge Access Private Onsen - (68 sq. m.)
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: $100 Experience Credit. Since we had club lounge access, it was difficult to use up the credit, so we wound up buying bakery goods, which qualified for the credit, to take home
Breakfast: Free breakfast buffet for two at Elements or in the club lounge. Preferred the club lounge breakfast, which had some unique and delicious Japanese options.
Comment: Enjoyed stay with balcony onsen. Weekday stay, so not crowded, and not so many people using the pool. The club lounge provides breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening appetizers with assorted drinks and cocktails, and is well worth the extra fee.

Deathray

Hotel: Four Seasons Miami
Room Booked: Deluxe King City View
Rate: 1423 CAD taxes in + 90.40 USD resort fee for 3 nights
Early Check-in: Yes. Arrived at the hotel at ~120, room was ready at 140
Late Checkout: Available to 4pm but did not need
Upgrade: I was offered a complementary upgrade to a bay view room or a discounted upgrade (170 USD/night if memory serves) to an executive suite, bay view. Took the complementary upgrade
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: $100 USD credit provided for dining to be used either at the Edge Restaurant on site or in-room dining. The credit excluded gratuity as usual but also excluded taxes which was a new one for me.
Breakfast: $100 USD credit per day provided for the room to order a la carte breakfast at the restaurant or in-room dining. Since I was solo, this was way more than I ever used on a single breakfast. As above, both tax and tip were paid cash.
Comment: Hotel was modern, room was very comfortable and service was excellent. I liked the location as well in Brickell though it's not a beach/resort hotel if that's what you're looking for. I booked this stay last minute (about 16 hours before check in) and the FHR rate was substantially lower than the regular posted rate on the four seasons website.

Kacee

Hotel: Fairmont Olympic Seattle
Room Booked: Signature Suite
Rate: Attractive, on an expensive Seattle weekend
Early Check-in: Yes, arrived a little after noon and were able to get into a room immediately
Late Checkout: Yes, 4 p.m., except the same FDA trainee coded our keys incorrectly TWICE
Upgrade: No, in fact the no view Junior Suite we were given appeared to be a downgrade
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: Burned on dinner at Shuckers Oyster Bar.
Breakfast: $72 credit at The George. Breakfast was outstanding. Went about $20 over for two both mornings.
Comment: A really mixed stay. We loved the public areas and the breakfast. Bed was also very comfortable. Dinner at Shuckers was pleasant (though the food was nothing special). Didn't care for the room at all, it had a weird layout with the bath not connected to the (super tiny) bedroom and there was zero space for us to put our clothes. Very annoyed at the FDA who twice failed to properly code our room keys for late checkout. This resulted in a significant waste of time that I could not afford to waste (as I had to run back from the office to get a new key for my partner, who was not on the reservation and was thus locked out of the room, only to be given a second set of nonfunctional keys, resulting in a lengthy wait at the desk as she chatted on and on with another check-in).

stormer

Hotel: Conrad Tokyo
Room Booked: King Bed, City View
Rate: $433 USD/night ($551 with taxes/fees and adjusting for the complimentary AmEx third night)
Early Check-in: Not used
Late Checkout: Stayed until 4pm
Upgrade: King Bed, Bay View, also included an extra bed without charge
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: $125 credit, used it on the spa
Breakfast: At Cerise, they also did not charge for our son.
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Prepaid
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: Yes, Hilton points
Comment: Nice hotel that focuses on service. Swimming pool is nice (they require rinsing off first and using a swim cap). The hotel is next to the Shiodome station, but most will use Shimbashi station (it’s ~10 minute walk underground) if you're taking the subway.

Hotel: W Taipei
Room Booked: Wonderful Room, 2 double
Rate: $278/night ($321 with fees)
Early Check-in: Not used
Late Checkout: Not used
Upgrade: None, but mentioned paid upgrade to the WOW suite. They claimed the hotel was full, but a Fabulous room was showing (and disappeared) a few hours before checkin.
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: $100 on F&B including in-room dining (there’s a $400 NTD service fee for IRD that we didn’t see on the menu). The hotel has quite a markup on the exchange rate (~7%, so only worth $93); Conrad Tokyo was a lot more reasonable at only ~2% markup..
Breakfast: At YEN Chinese restaurant (31st floor). They included our son as part of the FHR breakfast. As mentioned before, it's a large selection of both Western and Chinese food.
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Prepaid
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: Yes, MR points. Was told to select the 1,000 MR welcome benefit as a platinum as our kid was free for breakfast. It seemed like they would allow stacking of the FHR and Platinum breakfast benefit (so 4 people for breakfast plus kids).
Comment: Very trendy and modern hotel next to the Xinyi shopping area that seemed better if you didn’t have kids. It didn’t look like the shower/bathroom area could be completely closed off to the rest of the room (not optimal if you have kids). They offer Platinums two cocktails at happy hour (and included our kid). I spotted a cockroach at one point that scurried off into the closet area and I assumed off to somewhere else in the hotel.

neuro0

Hotel: The Ballantyne, Luxury Collection Hotel Room Booked: Grand King. Park view
Rate: $299 USD/night
Early Check-in: Not used
Late Checkout: Stayed until 4pm
Upgrade: none
$100 Food & Beverage Credit
Breakfast: $60 total
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Prepaid
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: Yes, Marriott Comment: Elite Breakfast credit $40 can stack with the FHR benefits. So total of $100 credit for breakfast. The room is old and tired. Not really clean well also. Bed is comfortable.

Wyfind

Hotel: The Langham Melbourne
Room Booked: Superior Room (King)
Rate: $160 USD ($176.68 USD after taxes and fees) after the complimentary third night
Early Check-in: Arrived at 10:30 a.m. and was allowed to check in without a wait
Late Check-out: Did not use, but was told at check-in that 4 p.m. was guaranteed
Upgrade: None - not even a river view
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: I was given $145 AUD and spent $146 AUD. The extra $1 was waived at check-out by the front desk as a courtesy.
Breakfast: Full buffet at the Melba restaurant
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: I earned 14,250 points in the new Brilliant by Langham program and reached the Topaz tier from the base level. I received two automated emails—one to tell me the points earned and the other to let me know I got to the next tier—a few hours after check out. I didn't receive the 5% dining discount, which the base tier offers, and the restaurant staff had no idea what I was talking about. Fortunately, I had the FHR credit and the extra dollar waived. My guess is the loyalty program is too new, and the staff (front desk included!) haven't been properly trained about the benefits and tiers. I also got a fruit plate and two bottles of San Pellegrino as a welcome amenity in the afternoon after check-in.

I stayed at the Langham in Nov. 2023 (see post #767) and paid $485.37 USD for three nights. I'm surprised that a summer stay (then) would be about $45 USD cheaper than my three-night winter stay this past weekend. Maybe the rates were a bit higher because it's Aussie football season or it's just general inflation.

imnotalawyer

Hotel: The Whitby Hotel, NYC (April 2024)
Room Booked: Deluxe Room, Top Floors
Rate: $1,195/night
Early Check-in: Yes. We arrived well before noon. Our room was not immediately available, but the hotel called shortly after we dropped our bags off (maybe around 10:30/11:00) to let us know that a room had been made ready.
Late Check-out: Yes. Utilized 4PM checkout.
Upgrade: Yes. Upgraded to a Junior Suite. The room was really spacious and pin-drop quiet, despite being close to street level. Large bathroom with separate shower and tub, as well as a bidet. Room featured large floor to ceiling windows, which could be tilted open.
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: $100 credit which I applied toward food/drinks at the hotel's bar. Drinks were good but food was insanely expensive. I think I paid $30+ for some wimpy sliders? Wish I just sunk the credit towards drinks.
Breakfast: Buffet/A la carte options. Not blown away but better than dinner.
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: N/A
Comment: This was a beautiful hotel and located a stone's throw from Central Park and still walkable from Grand Central. Staff were friendly/welcoming, although we had no issues pop up that required their attention. The room was very quiet, which is often one of the greatest luxuries when staying in NYC.

Trailing Edit...
I also just want to add emphasize that this is a beautifully designed hotel. Other luxury hotels in NYC feel like they're frozen in time, where they just decided to gold-plate everything in the 80's and call it a day. The Whitby is funky and reminds me a lot of one of my favorite US-based hotels (Maison De La Luz in New Orleans). It features a lot of different art/design elements that shouldn't make sense together, but they somehow do.

Oh, another positive experience. When we dropped our bags off (again, hours ahead of early check-in) they welcomed us to use their lounge, which was a neat little feature. It is a small sitting room (maybe space for 10 or so people to sit without bothering one another) but it was very quiet and very comfortable. It had an honor bar set-up (self-serve and record your own purchases in a ledger) much the same way that Maison De La Luz does...

Kacee

Thanks for the review. I've considered staying here but never pulled the trigger. It's a local hot spot for breakfast. An excellent location indeed.

zzap

Hotel: The Okura Tokyo
Room Booked: Prestige Room with view
Rate: JPY 72,580 (~US$483) / night
Early Check-in: N/A - arrived at 16:00
Late Check-out: Yes. Utilised 16:00 checkout.
Upgrade: Was 'upgraded' to a high floor of the same room class. The high floor was the club room floor but did not receive access to the club lounge.
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: $100 credit which I used for in-room dining dinner one night but was not impressed by the quality of the food. Considering the property has 5 restaurants, including a Michelin star restaurant, I was somewhat disappointed.
Breakfast: Option for buffet at "Orchid" restaurant, or a set Japanese breakfast in the club lounge.
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: N/A
Comment: This was a beautiful classic hotel with a strong Japanese aesthetic. The hotel is dripping in history, and has hosted every U.S. president since Nixon. Disappointed about the lack of room upgrade, and the buffet breakfast was nothing to write home about, but otherwise a pleasant stay.

italdesign

Hotel: Shangri-La Singapore
Room Booked: most basic (Tower Wing Deluxe)
Rate: $700 for 2 nights all in
Early Check-in: Noon, used.
Late Checkout: 4pm, used.
Upgrade: barely, maybe a corner room; boring view.
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: many onsite restaurants to choose from; only the Japanese restaurant is excluded.
Breakfast: buffet for 2 guests. Extensive but not much tasted good. Extremely crowded and a queue to get in.
Comment:
Exquisite lobby, sparse foot traffic Friday, a zoo Saturday. Multiple welcome snacks appreciated. Room very spacious, easily fit our 8 luggages. Plenty of drinking water refilled daily. L'Occitane bath amenities still in travel-size bottles, a unicorn these days. Bed good, bigger than King, not soft but don't feel when partner moves. Used $100 dining credit at Shang Palace; food was average, 2 dishes without drink came to just under $100; service also average for the price point. Bad location for exploring city: Far from nearest (Orchard) MRT and Orchard shopping area, 25min walk including last 10min underground; if street crossing allowed would be 2min. Does have a free shuttle but limited hours. Better as "stay onsite whole time" resort.

happychic

Anyone used the FHR credit in Seoul? I would love to read about your experience.

I'm debating between The Shilla or Four Seasons Ambassador but am certainly open to any of them.
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lawyer75

I’m in Cape Town. Just stayed at the Taj for two nights and all Hotel Collection benefits were honored plus breakfast.

Now at the 12 Apostles, booked through FHR. On checkin FHR was recognized, Breakfast and $100 food and beverage credit confirmed (did not receive anything in writing). Had some food and drinks at the Leopard Bar. Was just woken up (literally) to a knock and an envelope pushed under my door right before midnight. The envelope contains the page you usually get at checkin with the FHR benefits but then in addition states (verbatim): “US$100 Food and beverage credit to be used during your stay. Excluding beverages and gratuities and Seafood platter.” Tips, standard. Seafood platter, weird but ok. Beverage credit doesn’t include beverages? I’m traveling solo, two nights. Obviously the money itself isn’t the point. But the principle. It’s clearly a bait and switch. But I’m left with multiple CoAs: a. Maybe it’s just poorly written and a $100 in beverages and food will come off the tab just fine. B. It won’t and I could raise a ruckus on checkout (pointing out I could do a partial chargeback…not like it’s part of a hotel chain I’m concerned with); C. I could cancel my dinner plans and pig out. D. I could rightfully point out they bait and switched and demand to check out and go back to the Taj. I really want it to be a. I’m a little worried that if I don’t check out in the morning that I’m accepting the bait and switch as far as Amex is concerned.

For the record, I went through all confirmation emails. All confirmed “$100 food and beverage credit.” No exclusions. Total bait and switch. Thoughts? Anyone experienced this?

lawyer75

I have not used it in Seoul but the Four Seasons is lovely. So is the Peninsula.

mia

I would take the paper to the front desk and cordially ask for clarification. My guess is that the credit only excludes some beverages, perhaps alcohol?