How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[Horatio]

Property: Novotel Sydney Darling Square
Status: Gold
Room booked: Superior Room, 1 King Size Bed
Rate: Flexible $264 AUD per night, but used Stay Plus, so 2 nights for $264 total
Room Upgrade: No
Free internet: Yes
Early check in / late out: Didn't need early check-in. Asked for a late check-out, given 12.30pm
Welcome drink: Yes x 2 in app
Welcome Gift: No
Recommend: Yes, a nice stay, very quiet room despte being next to an elevator

We were happy at the Darling Square, and would definitely stay there again. And while it was no real problem, we didn't get any sort of welcome on check-in. It felt like the clerk was perhaps pretty new. The 12.30 check-out was given grudgingly, as though it was a personal favour she really shouldn't be doing. But it was very pleasant stay, and the room had a nice view over the Chinese Garden of Friendship.

One night we went to the nearby Novotel Darling Harbour to eat at The Ternary Restaurant. Outstanding experience sitting at the open kitchen, and super value with the Accor+ discount.

 

[Zanzaid]

Property: TRIBE Kuta
Status: Explorer Platinum
Room booked: TRIBE comfort king
Rate: RHR rate, $81 a night
Room Upgrade: Yes, TRIBE comfort XL king with balcony
Free internet: Yes, high speed
Early check in / late out: Room wasn't ready by check in but seemed like a busy hotel, was in by 3pm, spent an hour at lunch at the rooftop restaurant. Asked for 3pm.late checkout and granted.
Welcome drink: Yes x 2 in app
Welcome Gift: No but they did try to bring a fruit basket the next day which I declined as I wouldn't have the time.
Recommend: 100% yes but you need to be okay with some noises from the hallway (mostly in the morning).

This hotel was fantastic! Bit more budget than other hotels in Bali but I was super happy with the stay, besides one minor issue.

Fairly new and modern hotel, tucked into the main beach strip along Kuta/Legian. Restaurant is on the 6th floor rooftop, with a view overlooking Kuta beach. The small pool is up here too. The breakfast buffet range was fairly extensive and definitely something for everyone. Their lunch/dinner is pretty good too, up their with my favourite pizza but I know that's subjective! Welcome drink menu is rather small and they did forget my drink but maybe because I was lounging by the pool.

My upgraded room was quite spacious! Quite clean and comfy bed to go with. I was asked if I wanted balcony or no balcony and I chose balcony thinking it might be nice to chill on but really it was quite tiny and the view was just of another building, besides a tiny bit of beach in the distance haha.

As I said above, the one downside is that you can hear sounds from the hallway, especially the cleaners clashing and bashing in the morning. I was placed quite far from the elevator at least so it was fine but I could see it being rough if you're in the main mix of rooms. I was on the 5th floor and rarely heard music from outside, even when live music was being played on the rooftop. Probably got lucky with only one brief fireworks going off before it rained the night away.

Location is great if you're after more of a city stay, supermarket and mini mart just 20m away. Beach across the road and beachwalk shops/cinema not far away either. Traffic getting out is rough though!

Would definitely stay again, especially if it has RHR rate again! I can't compare with the higher end properties though.

 

[sap1l]

Property: Pullman Cairns International
Status: Explorer Diamond
Room booked: Superior city view king
Rate: Stay 3 nights for 2, ~$600
Room Upgrade: Yes, Deluxe harbour view king
Free breakfast: Yes, decent spread
Early check in / late out: Early check in not required. Late check out till 1pm.
Welcome drink: Yes, x2 in app. I asked for non-alcoholic drinks, and when they asked for my status they said I could get anything on the menu. Not sure if this extends to alcohol
Welcome Gift: Yes, a nice cheese and fruit platter with some macarons. Also a bottle of Sav Blanc.
Recommend: Yes, the renovated rooms are excellent and the property and staff are lovely. The only small downsides IMO are that breakfast isn’t amazing and the on-site restaurant was pricey and not nice enough for what you pay. But the actual hotel (and pool) are great.

I popped up to Cairns for a weekend because fares were cheap and I needed wanted to do a status run. This Pullman was almost 40% cheaper than the Casino, so I decided to stay here.

The new rooms are really nice without feeling too modern. For those who hate touch switches, these ones have regular ones

I was given a corner room, which as far as I can tell doesn’t actually have a bigger balcony, but you don’t look into anyone else’s.

The bed was comfy and the pillows were nice, although I started with a really lumpy one that I exchanged.

The bathroom had lots of space, and a rain shower - although water pressure was a tad low. Also compared to Casino, there’s no bathtub here (which I’d take over a shub).

The one weird thing about the room was the TV - it was a smart TV but casting was disabled. So free to air TV only. There is a HDMI port though that you can plug a device into, but the hotel didn’t have HDMI cables for guests to borrow either… I left this as a piece of feedback for them, and they said that it’s a common complaint.

Breakfast was also not bad, but not amazing. I’d rate it about on par with the Ibis/Novotel Melbourne Central. There are made to order eggs and free coffee for Plats+, but any lower and they ask you to pay for barista coffee!

The pool is really nice albeit cold. There were some remnants of construction, but nothing major.

Not entirely related, but I went to try the restaurant at the Novotel nearby. It’s really weird as a non-guest as you have to pay $30 to eat unless you have Explorer? And the Novotel pool was incredibly full of screaming kids, so I’m not coming here over any form of school holidays!

 

[Highway23]

Property: Ibis Styles Sydney Central
Status: ALL Accor+ Explorer Platinum
Room booked: Standard Queen Room
Room upgraded/type: Yes - to Superior King
Rate: Corp TA
Free internet: Yes, but I found it buggy and slow
Free Breakfast: Yes
Early check in/late out: N/A
Welcome drink: Yes, house wine or beer in the bar
Welcome gift / amenity: Carton of water and some pocky sticks
Recommend: sure, for a cut price stay in the CBD when you’re out and about most of the time

I often end up staying here for work travel for some reason (ok, the reason is price and travel policies) and it’s a pretty reliable cheap and cheerful stay in the CBD.

The hotel itself is nothing to really write home about, the rooms are pretty basic and could use a refresh. If you needed to spend most of the day in the room or common areas (no desk, pool, gym, or lobby to speak of) I would look elsewhere.

Given it’s an Ibis Styles I mostly found myself sharing the lift/lobby with student travellers, flight crews, and package holiday goer-types.

The location probably lends itself more to your “been to Sydney before” traveller - not particularly close to Circular Quay or Darling Harbour, but the Australian Museum, Surry Hills and Chinatown are all close by, along with the southern edge of what I’m terming the “serious” part of the CBD.

In terms of status recognition it’s pretty standard - the drink is fine, the upgrades are pretty reliable and there’s always a box of cheap pocky sticks or hello panda biscuits. You’re always directed to the robo-kiosks to check in, so nothing really special there and it is slightly annoying when the machine tries to upsell you breakfast when status gives you breakfast for free..

BUT - the thing I love is the bar/restaurant, Mee-so. It is absolutely one of my favourite Accor restaurants anywhere in Oz, and they sort the discounts without any fuss, and the service is informal, prompt and friendly. The menu is a pretty broad and casual Japanese affair, but I can’t recall a single failure across multiple stays where I always try to sample something new (dietaries permitting).

So I guess my review is that this is a surprisingly excellent food and bev joint attached to a fairly pedestrian hotel. Maybe the trick is to stay somewhere else and come here for a meal. Thread idea - best Accor restaurants?

 

[Flyfrequently]

Property: Pullman Cairns International


Not entirely related, but I went to try the restaurant at the Novotel nearby. It’s really weird as a non-guest as you have to pay $30 to eat unless you have Explorer? And the Novotel pool was incredibly full of screaming kids, so I’m not coming here over any form of school holidays!

That is interesting @sap1l
20 of us dined at Novotel last December. Paid at the Bar for our meals.
I was the only one with Accor +, received 50% off our two meals, no issues.
For our 20 person reservation not even asked for deposit.
Something new with Explorer?

 

[sap1l]

20 of us dined at Novotel last December. Paid at the Bar for our meals.
I was the only one with Accor +, received 50% off our two meals, no issues.
For our 20 person reservation not even asked for deposit.
Something new with Explorer?

Interesting, I’m not too sure either. The only thing I can possibly think of was that it was quite crowded so perhaps they wanted to control the number of people?

 

[jase05]

Property: Raffles Jakarta
Status: Explorer Doamond
Room booked: Raffles King Room NS
Room upgraded/type: Yes, and YES. See below
Rate: Saver, $311p/n
Free internet: Yes, seemed very good but I’m no techie
Free Breakfast: Yes, choice of Raffles Club or Restaurant
Early check in/late out: Offered both but not required
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x of whatever we wanted per day at Pool bar or Writers Bar
Welcome gift / amenity: Superb Pralines and small cake
Recommend: Absolutely, especially with high tier status

Have had a few stays here previously and have found status recognition superb and staff amazing. This time was no different. I booked a 2 night stay about a month ago and chose the basic Raffles King room as from previous experience we were told that as a Diamond you will generally get upgraded to the Artist Suite as a minimum and we have also received upgrades to a Gallery Suite. A few days after booking we received an email from the hotel thanking us for being Diamonds and for choosing them again whilst also offering us Complimentary return airport transfers and confirming we would be upgraded to the Gallery Suite. We were slightly late arriving into CGK but driver was waiting and his car was a luxury van with a great interior and loaded with complimentary water, nuts and nibbles in Raffles packaging.. On arrival at the property we were greeted by the head butler who informed us that the GM had further upgraded us to the Garden View suite (which goes for about $5k per night on average) and that he would check us in up at the room.
Room was absolutely stunning and spacious offering views not only of the garden but of the city aswell. Large bedroom with one of the most comfortable beds I’ve had, large bathroom, living area and butlers area with second toilet. Welcome gift of a small cake and some delicious pralines plus a butler who literally went out of their way to do anything. Contacted via WhatsApp and he would run baths for us at night, bring up pots of tea, beverages etc whenever required and basically looked after us the whole stay. Raffles lounge is accessible to Diamonds or those with Suites and was a quite area albeit not huge. Staff were amazing in there too and apart from breakfast they had all day non alcoholic drinks and then afternoon tea consisting of a small but nice buffet. Had fantastic tea and scones. At 6-9 they serve dinner from a limited menu plus the buffet and a pretty extensive drinks menu including beer, wine, spirits and coughtails. Hotel was at capacity due to a wedding that had 600 guests so we decided to skip the restaurant and have breakfast at the Raffles Club. Very good menu and all you can eat from menu plus buffet with staff once again making sure you don’t go hungry. Nice pool area and bar and the Writers bar was a great place to chill out in the evening and enjoy a few drinks. Absolutely will return
The Suite

 

[jase05]

Raffles Club

Dinner menu

Breakfast menu

 

[Daver6]

Property: Raffles Jakarta
Status: Explorer Doamond
Room booked: Raffles King Room NS
Room upgraded/type: Yes, and YES. See below
Rate: Saver, $311p/n
Free internet: Yes, seemed very good but I’m no techie
Free Breakfast: Yes, choice of Raffles Club or Restaurant
Early check in/late out: Offered both but not required
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x of whatever we wanted per day at Pool bar or Writers Bar
Welcome gift / amenity: Superb Pralines and small cake
Recommend: Absolutely, especially with high tier status

Have had a few stays here previously and have found status recognition superb and staff amazing. This time was no different. I booked a 2 night stay about a month ago and chose the basic Raffles King room as from previous experience we were told that as a Diamond you will generally get upgraded to the Artist Suite as a minimum and we have also received upgrades to a Gallery Suite. A few days after booking we received an email from the hotel thanking us for being Diamonds and for choosing them again whilst also offering us Complimentary return airport transfers and confirming we would be upgraded to the Gallery Suite. We were slightly late arriving into CGK but driver was waiting and his car was a luxury van with a great interior and loaded with complimentary water, nuts and nibbles in Raffles packaging.. On arrival at the property we were greeted by the head butler who informed us that the GM had further upgraded us to the Garden View suite (which goes for about $5k per night on average) and that he would check us in up at the room.
Room was absolutely stunning and spacious offering views not only of the garden but of the city aswell. Large bedroom with one of the most comfortable beds I’ve had, large bathroom, living area and butlers area with second toilet. Welcome gift of a small cake and some delicious pralines plus a butler who literally went out of their way to do anything. Contacted via WhatsApp and he would run baths for us at night, bring up pots of tea, beverages etc whenever required and basically looked after us the whole stay. Raffles lounge is accessible to Diamonds or those with Suites and was a quite area albeit not huge. Staff were amazing in there too and apart from breakfast they had all day non alcoholic drinks and then afternoon tea consisting of a small but nice buffet. Had fantastic tea and scones. At 6-9 they serve dinner from a limited menu plus the buffet and a pretty extensive drinks menu including beer, wine, spirits and coughtails. Hotel was at capacity due to a wedding that had 600 guests so we decided to skip the restaurant and have breakfast at the Raffles Club. Very good menu and all you can eat from menu plus buffet with staff once again making sure you don’t go hungry. Nice pool area and bar and the Writers bar was a great place to chill out in the evening and enjoy a few drinks. Absolutely will return
The Suite
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I've always been curious about a butler and what they do. So you whatsapp him and he brings you some tea. Is there a charge?

 

[RooFlyer]

Have had a few stays here previously and have found status recognition superb and staff amazing. This time was no different.

THAT (and the rest) is more than enough to make me think of chasing status with Accor! Although I guess I may need a few Raffles stays before I get your level of recognition.

 

[jase05]

Some other random pics of the stay

 

[jase05]

I've always been curious about a butler and what they do. So you whatsapp him and he brings you some tea. Is there a charge?

Basically they are at your calling. For example on the first night I messaged him whilst we were in the club and requested him to run a bath and bring up some chamomile tea and we would be back at around 9:30pm. Get back and bath is ready, turndown service competed with blinds drawn, lights dimmed etc and a fresh pot of tea on the table. All complimentary.
Diamonds get 3 items of clothing pressed per day per person so you can message him to come and collect and get items pressed and then put away. They will bring breakfast to your room and pretty much anything you request. On the second day we went next door to the mall and I messaged him asking for a couple of our complimentary drinks to be ready in the room when we returned and they were.. it’s all a bit over the top but it makes you feel special