For someone who spends about 250 nights in Luxury hotels – I feel I am qualified to answer the same.
Criteria –
Category of 5 star
- Not all 5-star hotels are same. They have a different category within them. St Regis hotels and JW Marriott hotels are both luxury hotels but it is automatically expected to have much grander service at St. Regis as compared to JW Marriott.
Brand Ethos –
Different brands of the hotel give premium to different parts of service and they carry different identity. You might like the taste of some and you might not like the taste of few.
Eg. W hotels, Curio collection, Andaz hotels etc
Some work towards more novelty and edgy factor. Some prefer providing high tech. Some prefer to provide high opulence while other provide simplistic living in the middle of the nature cut off from all sort of mobile phone, internet etc.
New Hotel vs Old Hotel vs Dated Hotel
New/Refurbished – if Hotels is extremely new and has recently opened or is in process of being refurbished – expect few hiccups as there might be small issues that haven’t been worked out.
Old hotel – if Hotel has been around for a while, expect it to have smoothen out its kinks and winks. If there are recurring issues. They know about it.
Dated Hotel – Some hotels were great back in the era but the management forgot to upgrade them. That TV looks 5 generation old. Those switches are clinky. There are not enough charging points. The carpet might smell. The toilet or shower leaks. The Internet isn’t there yet or it is there and it sucks.
Regional bias
If you travel to South America or Asia – hospitality tends to be better as there is an inbuilt classism built in the culture. The work just happens for you. As soon as you enter, someone fetches your bag. The environment is about pleasing you.
Europe and North America – They really don’t care so much as they treat everyone with or without money equal (I know it’s not the whole truth but a generalization). Some hotels you won’t find anyone to help you with luggage. You are supposed to check in yourself. Take your bags to your room. No bellboy service to expect. You have to specifically ask for things that are taken for granted in Asia.
Food Choices
Some hotels have competent staff who can handle a variety of food. You can say things like celiac, keto, paleo, gluten-free, nut- free, allergen information etc and they can handle it. They can handle dietary choices well. I believe Westin hotels are best around the world in that particular category.
Last but not LEAST – SERVICE
There are countless times where a guest is uprighteous and demand for things that they feel they are entitled to. The hotel being in hospitality can choose or not choose to accommodate those requests.
On the flip side, hotel service might be terrible. They don’t know a thing about how to be hospitable. They make up their own rules. They don’t comply with the basics. There are management teams which you feel are out there to get every penny from you. You feel that they won’t do a thing for you until you pay for it through your nose. Even the staff can’t get room service or clean on time. You have to request for same thing 1000 times. They make promises that they can’t deliver upon. They mix up your orders. They do exactly what you tell them not to do.
