How does Accor treat you as an Elite guest?

[Cloud9]

I went to this hotel in December last year, where my status with Classic and I found the staff's lack of warmth and manners extremely jarring. I ended up giving the hotel a poor review because of several incidents relating to noise outside, not being able to use points at checkout, and a staff member making the most hostile faces at the bar. I did take it up with Accor corporate (mostly because I couldn't use points at checkout) and was given 1,000 points as an apology.

That said, the hotel is perfectly reasonable as a Novotel. The buffet is efficent, the room is well equipped, and I don't know if I'd stay there again, but the location was terrific (I do think they should have earplugs... but that's another topic for another time)

The people of the Baltics are, as you said, reserved, direct, and a tad brisque. Still, Vilnius is probably the more international out of the three Baltic capitals. I heard Polish, Lithuanian, German, Ukrainian, English, etc. I found the Palace rather excellent in Vilnius, and the Cathedral has a gorgeous exterior but a bit dark inside. Nice walking around the city. Riga and Tallinn have greater old towns, yet are also smaller, with a strong Russian presence with prominently located embassies and churches. Vilnius was the only Baltic capital where I did not hear Russian.

Not to be brusque, but it isn't brisque.

 

[SYD]

Wish those Baltic hotel reviews had been posted 6 mths ago. I couldn’t convince myself the Accor offerings were in the nest locations (especially Tallinn). So we went with independent places via QF Hotels.

Driving Tallinn to Vilnius next month.

 

[Seat0B]

Wish those Baltic hotel reviews had been posted 6 mths ago. I couldn’t convince myself the Accor offerings were in the nest locations (especially Tallinn). So we went with independent places via QF Hotels.

Driving Tallinn to Vilnius next month.

Sorry @SYD. I have no real excuse other than a run of my own ill health - that UTI turned out to be multi-resistant and took more than 4 weeks to recover from, and then it was the was the first of sequence of them that also took a long time to get over , then all the stress associated with Seat Son's wedding and the impacts of the Trump War, and then my Mum's stroke and brush with sepsis....it has been a very strange 12 months, which I am privately calling my year of great discombobulation. So posting has been low on my agenda. Just starting to get back to it now.

That said, we loved all three of the Baltic cities. They are each very different in feel, but each worth the visit in their own right. We travelled by train, so I don;t have any suggestions re driving. I guess you could look to see the value proposition at each of the Accor places if your QF hotels are free cancellation, but honestly, I think the independent places will also be very good and probably a touch more local. If you think there is anything else I can tell you about Tallinn (and the ferry to Helsinki), Riga or Vilnius that you can't find on YouTube or elsewhere, do drop me a line.

Edit to add: yes the location in Tallinn was not the most central, but it was OK - we don;t mind a 20 min walk through the modern city (or even less if you take a tram) to the old city. The other 2 were well located for the old towns and activities, but not great from the stations - a common thing in the old soviet towns

 

[Cloud9]

Sorry @SYD. I have no real excuse other than a run of my own ill health - that UTI turned out to be multi-resistant and took more than 4 weeks to recover from, and then it was the was the first of sequence of them that also took a long time to get over , then all the stress associated with Seat Son's wedding and the impacts of the Trump War, and then my Mum's stroke and brush with sepsis....it has been a very strange 12 months, which I am privately calling my year of great discombobulation. So posting has been low on my agenda. Just starting to get back to it now.

That said, we loved all three of the Baltic cities. They are each very different in feel, but each worth the visit in their own right. We travelled by train, so I don;t have any suggestions re driving. I guess you could look to see the value proposition at each of the Accor places if your QF hotels are free cancellation, but honestly, I think the independent places will also be very good and probably a touch more local. If you think there is anything else I can tell you about Tallinn (and the ferry to Helsinki), Riga or Vilnius that you can't find on YouTube or elsewhere, do drop me a line.

Edit to add: yes the location in Tallinn was not the most central, but it was OK - we don;t mind a 20 min walk through the modern city (or even less if you take a tram) to the old city. The other 2 were well located for the old towns and activities, but not great from the stations - a common thing in the old soviet towns

Bloody hell, mate. That UTI sounds like it was REALLY taking the piss.

Glad you're mended.

 

[Seat0B]

I went to this hotel in December last year, where my status with Classic and I found the staff's lack of warmth and manners extremely jarring. I ended up giving the hotel a poor review because of several incidents relating to noise outside, not being able to use points at checkout, and a staff member making the most hostile faces at the bar. I did take it up with Accor corporate (mostly because I couldn't use points at checkout) and was given 1,000 points as an apology.

That said, the hotel is perfectly reasonable as a Novotel. The buffet is efficent, the room is well equipped, and I don't know if I'd stay there again, but the location was terrific (I do think they should have earplugs... but that's another topic for another time)

The people of the Baltics are, as you said, reserved, direct, and a tad brisque. Still, Vilnius is probably the more international out of the three Baltic capitals. I heard Polish, Lithuanian, German, Ukrainian, English, etc. I found the Palace rather excellent in Vilnius, and the Cathedral has a gorgeous exterior but a bit dark inside. Nice walking around the city. Riga and Tallinn have greater old towns, yet are also smaller, with a strong Russian presence with prominently located embassies and churches. Vilnius was the only Baltic capital where I did not hear Russian.

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with the Novotel in Vilnius. We were quite lucky that our room faced the front/non-restaurant area side of the hotel and so we were not disturbed by noise.

I agree, the staff approach really was quite off putting! We did not feel that welcomed until our more positive interactions with the bar tender on the second night. It was much softer in Riga and very international in Tallinn. Anyway, we loved Vilnius as a place, and in the end had some very nice interactions with local people out an about the city, so I would go back there again for sure.

 

[Seat0B]

Bloody hell, mate. That UTI sounds like it was REALLY taking the piss.

Glad you're mended.

Actually it was really not taking the Pi55 that was the problem. The pain was indescribable. And the fever, pain in the kidneys, nausea.... I really thought we were going to have to contact the travel insurer about changing our flights home - which would be the first time I have ever had to do that in 50 years of international travel. But the non-targeted antibiotics were good enough to get me home, for more treatment with an ever stronger array of antibiotics. Not something I was keen to repeat in a hurry, but I did not even get that blessing. Ah well, it has been 5 months now with none, so maybe just maybe it is behind me

 

[Cloud9]

Actually it was really not taking the Pi55 that was the problem. The pain was indescribable. And the fever, pain in the kidneys, nausea.... I really thought we were going to have to contact the travel insurer about changing our flights home - which would be the first time I have ever had to do that in 50 years of international travel. But the non-targeted antibiotics were good enough to get me home, for more treatment with an ever stronger array of antibiotics. Not something I was keen to repeat in a hurry, but I did not even get that blessing. Ah well, it has been 5 months now with none, so maybe just maybe it is behind me

I understand. I ate in Glasgow when I was a kid.

That was post every meal...

(Serious note: Jeeeeeeezus, you poor bugger, many hugs)

 

[MARTINE]

Just watching those Sofitel ads with Gillian Anderson — clearly great service reserved for the A-listers if my last few experiences anything to go by

 

[Cloud9]

Just watching those Sofitel ads with Gillian Anderson — clearly great service reserved for the A-listers if my last few experiences anything to go by

Where are these adverts to be found for those of us who don't watch TV?

 

[MARTINE]

Where are these adverts to be found for those of us who don't watch TV?

All night tonight on SBS - watching French drama ‘The Brigade’ - love it

 

[Cloud9]

All night tonight on SBS - watching French drama ‘The Brigade’ - love it

You do you, bro. You do you.

 

[SYD]

Sorry @SYD. I have no real excuse other than a run of my own ill health - that UTI turned out to be multi-resistant and took more than 4 weeks to recover from, and then it was the was the first of sequence of them that also took a long time to get over , then all the stress associated with Seat Son's wedding and the impacts of the Trump War, and then my Mum's stroke and brush with sepsis....it has been a very strange 12 months, which I am privately calling my year of great discombobulation. So posting has been low on my agenda. Just starting to get back to it now.

That said, we loved all three of the Baltic cities. They are each very different in feel, but each worth the visit in their own right. We travelled by train, so I don;t have any suggestions re driving. I guess you could look to see the value proposition at each of the Accor places if your QF hotels are free cancellation, but honestly, I think the independent places will also be very good and probably a touch more local. If you think there is anything else I can tell you about Tallinn (and the ferry to Helsinki), Riga or Vilnius that you can't find on YouTube or elsewhere, do drop me a line.

Edit to add: yes the location in Tallinn was not the most central, but it was OK - we don;t mind a 20 min walk through the modern city (or even less if you take a tram) to the old city. The other 2 were well located for the old towns and activities, but not great from the stations - a common thing in the old soviet towns

All good! Like I said, we booked 5-6mths ago. Hopefully we have made some decent choices re Hotels.

OT: but we’re pretty clear what / where we’re going as we zig zag north to south. Funnily, a friend from the US just did the south to north route also.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hopefully we have made some decent choices re Hotels.

If you booked the Radisson Blu in Tallinn you can relive where the KGB used to be!

 

[Cloud9]

If you booked the Radisson Blu in Tallinn you can relive where the KGB used to be!

Some sexy Friday night cosplay as Putin and Thatcher, eh?

 

[SYD]

If you booked the Radisson Blu in Tallinn you can relive where the KGB used to be!

Ah, no.

Some sexy Friday night cosplay as Putin and Thatcher, eh?

What, no stuffed Orangutang?

 

[Cloud9]

Ah, no.

What, no stuffed Orangutang?

Maggie might have been able to penetrate that sort of thing, but mere mortals........

 

[rake]

Property: Mercure Canberra
Status: Explorer+ Platinum
Room booked: Deluxe Loft 1 King Bed Courtyard View
Room upgraded/type: No
Rate: A$399 for 2 nights, booked on Accor App
Early check in/late out: Neither offered nor requested
Free internet: Yes.
Welcome drink: Yes - on the app and additional 4x paper based ones which strangely had "Luxury Escapes" logo
Welcome amenity: Wine bottle.

Stayed as a family. It is a historic property - there are outdated elements but also renovated bits. The breakfast at the restaurant was severely understaffed and struggling to keep up. The secure parking at the back is quite large, however only two EV charge bays which the hotel has no policies on. During our stay, 2 cars hogged the charging bays for 16h and 20h each. We commenced our drive back to Sydney with 30% battery!

It is an affordable, clean, centrally located base with a history and great split-level room choice for families travelling with kids.

 

[NZ_Flyer]

Property: Sofitel Singapore City Centre x 5 stays
Status: Gold (3 stays) + Platinum (2 stays)
Room booked: Luxury King
Room upgraded/type: Hardly ever. Sometimes I see they've allocated me an upgrade to a high floor or club room on the paperwork...and then they give me a standard room...if I ask about an upgrade they'll usually try tell me I've got one
Rate: Usually book a stay 4/pay 3 HERA rate which is SGD$400/night (inclusive of free night)
Early check in/late out: Early I've needed twice and once was checked into my room at 8am (other time not available), Late I've needed a few times and always given it after some negotiation on the time (usually arrive at 2pm after starting at 4pm)
Free internet: Yes.
Welcome drink: Yes - on the app
Welcome amenity: Sometimes fruit, sometimes chocolate

Review for 5 stays. As above the late check out is more a barter than a given (compared to Marriott) and they definitely can seem a little reluctant to part ways with benefits that are subject to availability like upgrades and late checkouts. The staff I've found are always great (especially in Club Millesime) and I absolutely love the quality and size of the rooms. FYI Collet Champagne is available in the Club which is very good. And they give you access to Virgin Active next door which is the main reason I stay here!

The slight negatives would be: not as good a breakfast selection as you'd think/other hotels and the same would go for food selections in the evening for the club, although the quality is always good.

 

[Daver6]

Property: Sofitel Singapore City Centre x 5 stays
Status: Gold (3 stays) + Platinum (2 stays)
Room booked: Luxury King
Room upgraded/type: Hardly ever. Sometimes I see they've allocated me an upgrade to a high floor or club room on the paperwork...and then they give me a standard room...if I ask about an upgrade they'll usually try tell me I've got one
Rate: Usually book a stay 4/pay 3 HERA rate which is SGD$400/night (inclusive of free night)
Early check in/late out: Early I've needed twice and once was checked into my room at 8am (other time not available), Late I've needed a few times and always given it after some negotiation on the time (usually arrive at 2pm after starting at 4pm)
Free internet: Yes.
Welcome drink: Yes - on the app
Welcome amenity: Sometimes fruit, sometimes chocolate

Review for 5 stays. As above the late check out is more a barter than a given (compared to Marriott) and they definitely can seem a little reluctant to part ways with benefits that are subject to availability like upgrades and late checkouts. The staff I've found are always great (especially in Club Millesime) and I absolutely love the quality and size of the rooms. FYI Collet Champagne is available in the Club which is very good. And they give you access to Virgin Active next door which is the main reason I stay here!

The slight negatives would be: not as good a breakfast selection as you'd think/other hotels and the same would go for food selections in the evening for the club, although the quality is always good.

I agree with your comments all round, especially the breakfast. It's average by SIN standards. Champagne used to be better when they had the Laurent Perrier champagne.

As for the rooms, you're actually not be lied to. The problem is all the rooms are identical layout. Just different level or side of the building. There might be a minor difference in amenities too but unless you're upgrade to a suite, they're all the same.

Access to to the Virgin Active club for status/upgrade people is awesome.

Edit: I'll be there next week. Lets see what it brings.