How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

Property: Movenpick Hobart
Status: Explorer Gold
Room booked: Interior King (very short stay 😂)
Rate: Stay Plus free night
Room upgraded/type: Yes, Classic King (a window!)
Free internet: Yes
Free breakfast: No
Early check in/late out: didn’t ask, wasn’t offered
Welcome drink: yes, 2x in app but didn’t use
Welcome gift: chocolate plate
Recommend: yes

Quick stay for an event in town, nice rooms and bathrooms would recommend!
 
Property: Manta on Queen Brisbane
Status: All+ Explorer Gold
Room booked: 1 bdr apartment
Rate: $271
Room upgraded/type: Yes, 2bdr apartment
Free internet: Yes
Free breakfast: No
Early check in/late out: didn’t ask, wasn’t offered
Welcome drink: yes but didn’t use
Welcome gift: box of vegan chocolate bars and DB plonk
Recommend: probably not for solo trips

Thought it was a good idea to get an apartment instead of a standard hotel room, and this was the closest Accor property to HSW (corporate event). Got upgraded to a 2bdr apartment, but per recent AFF article it is kind of pointless for a solo trip as I didn't even set foot in the 2nd bdr. May consider for family trips, but not at the headline price for a 2bdr! Honestly felt like just a pretty generic inner city apartment from the 00s (which it probably is) and nothing to write home about. In-room laundry and cooking facilities is a plus though if staying for longer term.
 
Property: ibis Styles Hotel Berlin Mitte
Status: Accor Explorer Platinum
Room booked: Standard Room with one double bed
Room upgraded/type: No
Rate: ALL Accor+ Explorer - 15% OFF SAVER RATE. EUR 716 for four nights.
Early check in/late out: Not Required
Welcome drink: Yes (2) select from the fridge at check in.
Welcome gift: Nothing
Comments: Small room did the job.
Nice Middle Eastern Chicken Shop across the street.

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Property: Mövenpick Hobart
Status: Explorer Platinum
Room booked: Superior King City View
Rate: Accor Plus Stay Longer and Save + Member Stay Benefit
Room upgraded/type: No
Free internet: Yes
Free breakfast: Yes (Platinum)
Early check in/late out: Early check-in not needed. Late check-out requested - 1pm offered.
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x in app
Welcome gift: Chocolate plate
Recommend: Yes, if the price is right

Booked a 3-night stay here for a long weekend to attend the Hobart Lunch. Hotel is located very centrally and is easy walking distance to Constitution Dock, Battery Point (Salamanca Markets) etc. My only gripe with the location was more the logistics of locating it as a first-time guest. Once you know where it is, it's quite simple, however our rental car satnav had problems directing to the actual location, and even Google Maps only got us to the rear entry (which inconveniently can only be accessed via hotel keycard).

Was advised on check-in that the hotel was fully booked and an upgrade was not available, however we'd been moved to a higher floor. Sadly, the room was immediately in front of the lifts, but fortunately there was little to no noise for the duration of our stay. Once inside, I was very pleasantly surprised with the room (1414) - decent space, expansive views out to North Hobart and a bathroom with separate tub and shower.

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Welcome amenity of a chocolate plate plus associated welcome note had been left near the minibar.

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My main gripe with the hotel was breakfast in the Tesoro Restaurant. The food itself was quite nice, however front of house was woefully understaffed with a single person responsible for greeting guests, ushering them to tables, taking orders and also assisting to bring meals out to diners. We were offered a menu with the a la carte options -:

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My Eggs Benedict eventually came out and was quite tasty, however DejaBrew+1's "Fried Eggs + bacon (hold the sourdough)" yielded an interesting result -:

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After querying the error, a side of bacon was eventually brought out.

On our second morning, breakfasts came out without issue, however our coffee order - large FW + regular skinny cap - came out as a large skinny FW and large skinny cap. Our table neighbours also had their coffee orders mucked up, with the milk requested due to dietary requirements coming out as something totally different. I sent my coffee back to be remade, and some 15 mins later, the lone front of house staffer stopped by to assure me he'd reordered my coffee and that it was being made and would be out shortly. Another 15 minutes or so later, I gave up and walked out. The other thing we noted was that whilst the restaurant had a buffet, items that were depleted were never replaced. Once gone, that was tough luck.

On our third morning, we ditched Tesoro and drove out to North Hobart for breakfast :rolleyes:

We availed ourselves of the welcome drinks on our last day, and whilst I enjoyed a local Willie Smith's Cider, I felt there was a big miss with not a single Tassie wine on offer from the list -:

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Hotel parking was $35/day valet-only parking, but allowed for multiple entry/exit. Hotel staff advised that we needed to provide at least 20-25mins lead time for them to retrieve the vehicle, but we quickly worked out that if we could forecast when we wanted the car (e.g. 9:30am), they'd have it sitting out the front of the hotel ready to go.

Overall, we enjoyed the stay. The staff were very polite and friendly, but they really need to do something about the staffing and management of the breakfast service. I provided appropriate feedback to the hotel on this matter, but unsurprisingly, am yet to hear back.
 

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Property: Novotel On Collins
Status: Explorer Platinum
Room booked: Deluxe Room King
Rate: ALL Accor+ Explorer - 15% off Flexible Rate
Room upgraded/type: No
Free internet: Yes
Free breakfast: Yes (Platinum)
Early check in/late out: Early check-in not needed. Late check-out requested - 2pm offered.
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x in app
Welcome gift: No
Recommend: Yes

Last minute booking for a 2-night stay. Been a while since I had stayed at this property, but it was always a local favourite used quite regularly back in the day for work trips.

Arrived quite late. Status acknowledged, but no mention of any upgrade etc. Was issued room 1438 which was on the top floor and well away from the lift foyer - super quiet! No idea if that was an "improved" room location or just luck of the draw?

Room (1438) was super spacious and bathroom had a proper shower.

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No welcome amenity or note in sight (which whilst it doesn't overly bother me, is clearly a miss from the hotel based on what is meant to be given to members with status).

Whilst the hotel was generally very clean, there was a notable cigarette smoke smell in the corridor on L14. It was first noted on the second day of my stay and was there to various degrees for the duration thereafter. I did mention it to the front desk as I thought it must have been someone smoking in the room, but not sure if they worked it out. Was still noticeable when I checked out, but thankfully never came into the hotel room.

Breakfast was the usual buffet fare - nothing out of the ordinary and nothing spectacular, but decent selection. When arriving for breakfast, I was asked whether I wanted to charge it back to my room. Advised that I was Platinum and that it should be included. After reviewing my member card, staff made a note and said they'd sort it with the front desk. No issues on day 2.

Dinner at the Lane Restaurant was fantastic - sent compliments to the chef / kitchen staff on a lovely meal. Accor Explorer food and beverage discount came in handy and ensured the cost was comparable to eating out at any other restaurant. Staff were very friendly, professional and attentive. Enjoyed welcome drinks at the Lane Bar and Cafe and was pleasantly surprised to see that the offerings included spirits, so availed myself of a nice G&T.

Was nice to revisit an "old friend" and find that it has been nicely updated in the ensuing period. Also nice to spot some familiar faces in the staff.
 
Property: Premier Village Phu Quoc
Status: Explorer Diamond
Room booked: 3bdr Beachfront Villa with Private Pool
Room upgraded/type: Upgrades offered but declined
Rate: Saver, $855p/n
Free internet: Yes, seemed pretty decent
Free Breakfast: Yes, very good buffet
Early check in/late out: Offered both but not required
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x welcome drinks to use anywhere for beer, wine or spirits plus minibar was included daily for soft drink and juices but as Diamond they replaced the 2 beers daily too. Complimentary airport transfers provided too.
Welcome gift / amenity: Bottle of red and snacks plus mentioned our anniversary was coming up and received small cake, bed decorations plus bottle of wine and special dessert at dinner one night.
Recommend: Absolutely, have already started looking at return dates next year.

Absolutely wonderful 7 night stay in paradise. A few weeks after booking we received the normal emails from the property and also advising that as Diamonds they would throw in complimentary airport transfers. The property takes up the southern tip of the island and is secluded on its own so no neighbouring properties and requires about a 5-10 minute cab/grab back to civilisation. The property is large but quite narrow and so offers both Surise and Sunset sides each with their own beaches on golden sand. The Sunset side offers great Sunsets but the beach is more open to the elements and can get rough, I personally didn’t think it was as good as our side. We were on the Sunrise side and had a long stretch of golden sand with warm, calm water and great for relaxing. The main part of the beach down near the restaurants was quite busy each day but we were about 250m away and no one came down our end so those with beachfront villas had their own private gorgeous stretch of the beach only a few feet from out door. We had the 3 bedroom villa with private pool and all 3 bedrooms had their own ensuite and toilets with verandahs offering uninterrupted views. The main bedroom was obviously larger and the pick of the bunch. We had a private pool that was steps from the ocean and also a great place to relax. We were offered several upgrades and whilst the villas looked stunning they were secluded on the hillside and didn’t have direct beach access so required a buggy to get to the beach. We chose to keep the room we had. The resort seemed popular for families and groups but even though occupancy was fairly night it never felt busy and was never noisy, you lways felt peaceful and relaxed. Property has a very large pool that sprawls from several hundred meters and has a swim up bar but we had drinks at our private pool most of the time. At present there is one main dining room for breakfast that serves a very comprehensive buffet aswell as items off the menu and as much as you can eat. Was very good taste and fresh produce. Lunch and dinner was in a different restaurant but was also pretty good and never really saw many people in there for lunch and dinner. What set the place to even higher standard was the staff who were absolutely superb. The property is meticulously maintained and everyone from the gardeners to the buggy drivers will stop and greet you aswell as bend over backwards for everything. Lucy was the shift manager who looked after us and she provided her WhatsApp number and would contact us regularly to assist us with dinner bookings, excursions etc. she even contacted us on her day off one day to ensure all was good. I had let them know of our impending anniversary and they prepared us a cake and decorated our room and then at dinner one night prepared a special dessert and a bottle of champagne on the house. On the final day Lucy contacted me and let me know the GM personally was coming to check us out as she being Diamonds she had a parting gift of 2 cute dolls from the local region and a framed photo collage of us during the stay with a handwritten note. Truly wonderful stay and already looking to return. We were told that the property owners are in talks to rebrand as a Sofitel so hoping for the same standards and care by the staff
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A few more pics
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Property: Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
Status: Accor Plus Platinum
Room booked: Superior King
Rate: Corporate rate $280
Room upgrade: Yes to Jones Bay view
Free internet: Yes
Free breakfast: yes (Platinum benefit)
Early check in / late out: Yes
Welcome drink: 2 vouchers in app, redeemed for take away coffees on departure.
Welcome gift: Yes, sparkling wine served during check in in the lounge and a bottle of legacy Shiraz delivered to room.
Recommend: Yes

Let us check in at 11am which was lovely, and some sparkling served during check-in.

Hotel was full with a lot of platinum guests so there was a line for a table during the coughtail hours, but staff were great and still took drink orders while you were waiting for a table.

Asked for check out at 12 due to a flight at 2pm which was granted with no issues.
 
Property: Premier Village DaNang Resort
Status: Explorer Diamond
Room booked: 1bdr Garden View Villa
Room upgraded/type: Upgraded to 1bdr Ocean Access Villa
Rate: Saver, $375pn
Free internet: Yes, seemed pretty decent
Free Breakfast: Yes, very good buffet
Early check in/late out: Offered both but not required
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x welcome drinks to use anywhere for beer, wine or spirits plus minibar was included daily for soft drink and juices plus 2 free beers once only. Complimentary one way airport transfer provided too.
Welcome gift / amenity: Small gift box of chocolates
Recommend: Only if you are quick to book as this place is closing down on December 31st.

Not a horrible stay by any means but just several factors throughout our stay indicated that something wasn’t right and that was confirmed when the GM told us the place was closing end of the year and most likely bulldozed to make way for ugly high rises. Pity as it’s a beautiful stretch of the beach. Resort itself was beautifully maintained with an army of gardeners working around the clock to ensure everything looked supreme. The property really only has 3 types of accommodation in the Garden Villas, Ocean access Villas and Beachfront villas. All of the villas have 4 bedrooms and if you get the 1 bedroom villa they simply lock the doors to the other 3 rooms and you are unable to use them. This was very different to Phu Quoc where you had access to the whole villa which comes in handy when Mrs Jase sends me to the spare room due to my snoring 🤣
All villas have a private pool and the Ocean access villas of which we were in have a rear garden with a gate and path to the beach which is about 100m away. The beach is not private and is part of the My Khe stretch so whilst beautiful does attract a lot of people from other areas going for walks. Pool and bar area were nice and staff were great in that part. One restaurant has closed down so only the one restaurant for breakfasts and that also has lunch and tea if you want. Breakfast was a fantastic spread including a great Banh Mi station but staff were a bit slack if I’m I’m being honest. We had dinner there one night and food was ordinary plus staff were woeful so even with the Accor discount proactively offered it was far better to walk out the front gate and go to one of the many hundreds of great eateries. The resort uses buggies to get you around as it’s quite a hike to the front gate but they will come within a few minutes of requesting them and from the front gate it’s a short walk to eateries, massages, shopping or a cheap Grab into town or the airport.
It rained heavily the whole time we were there but got a few hours each days to unwind at the pool or beach. Not a bad stay but has so much more potential. We will go back to our usual haunt the Novotel next time
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Last month after my stay at Mercure Sydney Central I posted details here including the upgrade from base room to the two room corner suite (top category).

Among other things I said this:

At checkout I thanked the front office manger for the upgrade and said what a terrific room it was. He offered to add it as my preferred room for future visits. I’ll be very happy if that actually happens.
I also emailed the GM to say thanks.

I’m back for another stay this month.

Once again I was booked in the lowest room category via corp TA and find myself upgraded to a two room corner suite.

At check-in I was also asked to confirm my welcome amenity preference on file and update if required. 👍

The new GM here is working wonders. For instance when arriving at breakfast a coffee order is taken as soon as your room number is check off (Plat and above).

Little things matter.
 
Property: Pullman Chongqing Xiyue
Status: Explorer Diamond
Room booked: 2x Superior rooms
Room upgraded/type: Both rooms upgraded to Executive Suites
Rate: Asia 20% off sale, $103pn
Free internet: Yes, worked well but still used Global roaming to escape the Great Firewall of China
Free Breakfast: Yes, very good buffet
Early check in/late out: Proactively offered 4pm checkout.
Welcome drink: Yes, 2x welcome drinks to use at cafe but no alcohol.ic drinks.
Welcome gift / amenity: Fruit bowl and small cakes.
Recommend: Absolutely.. it’s out of town but only 200m from Chongqing North Railway station.

We had a 2 night stay in Chongqing to catch up with the folks who are currently travelling in China. We have stayed in the heart of Chongqing previously at Accor properties but as the Pullman only opened about 7 weeks ago and the parents were arriving into Chongqing North Railway station which is located virtually next door we decided to give this a go.
Had a very good stay and you can tell the property is brand new even if there was a smoke smell in some sections. We paid just on $100pn per room for the base room and both rooms upgraded to Executive suites which is highest room category in the hotel. Staff were amazing although English very limited and being able to speak a tiny bit of Mandarin helped us. Room itself was spacious and had a comfortable bed, great shower and multiple toilets. Complimentary mini bar for water, juices, energy drinks and soft drinks. Small welcome gift but the upgrades well and truly override that IMO.
Large dining area for breakfast and had a pretty decent selection plus chefs whipping up eggs, noodles and plenty of other dishes to order. The hotel has a EL but being new it didn’t seem to advertise it and at this stage they don’t serve breakfast in it. The EL is open from around 11am and has all day soft drinks and a decent quiet spot to work. Afternoon tea and happy hour seemed to start when they felt like it but had several beers and wines one evening.
All up I couldn’t have been much happier with the stay, it’s located about 20 minutes from the airport and about 20 minutes from the city and there isn’t a heap to do in the immediate area but we went for a walk both days and nice to look around. Would stay again
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Property: Novotel Munich Airport
Status: Accor Explorer Platinum
Room booked: Standard Room with one double bed
Room upgraded/type: Executive Room
Rate: Flexible Rate EUR 136 for 1 night
Early check in/late out: Not Required
Welcome drink: Yes (2) beer or wine.
Also gratis mini bar, 2 more beers
Welcome gift: Box of Chocolates
Comments: Small exec lounge with coffee machine, juices and waters. Building an Ibis Styled right next door. Public bus available outside the hotel, 2 euros to airport.
 

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