staying in upmarket hotels

Merlot originates from the Bordeaux region of France and therefore is a French word so a silent T!

gulligran I imagine the hotel you are talking about is one of our favourites too.

if the staff make guests feel uncomfortable then whatever they charge they are NOT a high end hotel

Talking of Cipriani, the Hotel Cipriani in Venice is another place where service is flawless. And it comes with a charming Italian accent

Thank you. Reids sounds like a plan for me.

Oops spelling *Cipriani

Aveline

Best ever afternoon tea on the terrace at Reids in Madeira. We hope to stay at Reids next Spring. Fingers crossed.
Here's a pic of our table.

The meal we had in Villa Cipriana at Reid’s is the best Italian food we have had outside of Italy.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202104/medium-267722-dsc-0273.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202104/medium-729737-dsc-0270.jpg

Best ever afternoon tea on the terrace at Reids in Madeira. We hope to stay at Reids next Spring. Fingers crossed.
Here's a pic of our table.

We have never had anything but positive experiences in 5* hotels, even staying with the children both here and worldwide.

Never had anything but a good experience. There have been a couple of hotels I was apprehensive about as they were very high end but absolutely no issues from any staff or other guests. May have just been lucky.

I've stayed in quite a few very lovely hotels on business or for pleasure and have never felt out of place, if you can afford to stay there then you should be treated the same as everyone else.
I second your recommendation cupcake1 of The Fullerton in Singapore, an amazing hotel with the best breakfast I have ever had in the world, eating outside next to the Singapore River. Best afternoon tea was taken in The Tiffin Room at Raffles, a wonderful experience, followed by drinks in The Long Bar.
We usually splash out for big birthdays, oh to go to a five star hotel again ..... can't wait.

Back in the late 1950s, my parents were living in Malaya, My sister and (14 and 15) flew out there for the summer holidays. Unfortunately because the runway in Kuala Lumpur was on the short side and there were strong tail winds it couldn't land there and we had to fly on to Singapore and spend the night there. DS and I were discussingwhich hotel we would be in, we knew the island from when we had lived there befoe.

We were considering all the medium hotels.so imagine our amazement when the airport bus deposited us outside the Raffles Hotel. We had a suite to ourselves, bedroom, bathroom and sitting room, room service and a magnificently elegant dinner in the dining room. We were treated like adult guests and we did our best to live up to it.

Our DF rang us up to say ' Make the most of it, girls, I cannot afford to take there!

I only posted once

It's on my bucket list, if I can summon up the courage to do the flight/landing.

As DH said, it's like landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.

It's on my bucket list, if I can summon up the courage to do the flight/landing.

As DH said, it's like landing on an aircraft carrier at sea.

We stayed at The Cliff Bay a few years ago.

It was lovely but their parasols were rubbish and needed replacing as I lay under one and still got burnt!!

We stayed at a mid-priced chain hotel here and the staff could not have been better. The chef came out and discussed the menu in great detail with DD who is coeliac and made sure her food was gf and cooked separately. Excellent service.

Ellianne

Has anyone stayed at or had afternoon tea at Reids Palace in Madeira?
It's on my bucket list, if I can summon up the courage to do the flight/landing.

We stayed in the the Cliff Bay (also 5*)next to Reid’s, (we couldn’t get booked in on our chosen week) ate in the restaurant and had afternoon tea, both very nice.

We went to the P&O Hotel in Penang (sister hotel to Raffles in Singapore) we couldn't afford to stay but did book ourselves in for a wonderful lunch experience. Only trouble was I needed a decent pair of looking shoes as I only had a pair of walking sandals. So we went to the local market and after a lot of trouble bought a pair of shoes that fitted. We were walking to the hotel as it was only a short distance away. By the time we had walked for 15 mins on the very hot pavements and just about arrived at the hotel I found the sole of my shoe had come away with the heat from the shoe! I managed to hide it the problem and managed to get in. It was a wonderful 3 hours experience and would just love to stay there if I had the money.

Ellianne

Has anyone stayed at or had afternoon tea at Reids Palace in Madeira?
It's on my bucket list, if I can summon up the courage to do the flight/landing.

My mother used to love Reid’s. Can’t say I enjoyed the one week we spent in Madeira (not Reid’s !)

I once stayed in the Georges V. In Paris . But can’t remember much about it as I was 17....

Can’t help you with that one Ellianne. I have been told it’s very good though.

Has anyone stayed at or had afternoon tea at Reids Palace in Madeira?
It's on my bucket list, if I can summon up the courage to do the flight/landing.

Oldwoman70

We were in Singapore outside Raffles Hotel, the tour guide told us the hotel didn't like people wandering in and taking photos but suggested we walk in as if we owned the place! We did and even enjoyed a Singapore Sling at the bar (and took photos).

Since then whenever visiting somewhere considered "upmarket" I do walk in with the air that I belong! Remember Eleanor Roosevelt's words "No-one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

Oldwoman70
You are allowed to go into Raffles just for a drink. We did when we were in Singapore and I had the famous Singapore Sling too. It was delicious. We then had a wander round and bought lots of souvenirs in their gift shop.

If anyone here is planning to book to go to India and Simla with Riveriera Travel, every hotel they use, including the 3 star, is absolutely fantastic. The hotelstaff really care and nothing is too much trouble - plus the food was amazing and the chef is happy to discuss the dishes. I've still not managed to make my black lentil dahl, must find the recipe I was given.

Ellianne
I’ve never been to The Goring, but quite fancy the idea of afternoon tea there. I’ve had afternoon tea at a fair few nice hotels in London, but having had afternoon tea at The Ritz twice, I feel I can say I felt more ‘processed’ there than at some of the other five star hotels in London. Some of the less famous hotels are quieter and more relaxing.

I particularly loved the Raffles, but don’t think I’d like to stay there now.

I had a birthday tea and a gin sling in Raffles 20 years ago and I hear it has been renovated again, so wondered whether to treat ourselves to a stay there en route - if we're ever allowed back to Australia. If it's been too much modernised then perhaps not.