staying in upmarket hotels

Not a hotel, a very high class food store. I went in on my lunch break (I was working at the time in an IT department and we had absolutely no dress code, so.. comfort it was), looking, quite possibly, like I'd just rolled out from under a bridge (scruffy but clean though). Best service I'd ever come across. I think they must have assumed I was just eccentric. I went back a few weeks later, much smarter, couldn't even catch anyone's eye!

annifrance, we stayed at both the Oriental in Bangkok and the Raffles in Singapore in the 70s, before they were tarted up almost out of recognition. At the time they were still like something out of Somerset Maugham. I particularly loved the Raffles, but don’t think I’d like to stay there now. A Bil and Singaporean SiL had their wedding banquet there much more recently, though, and it was beautifully done.

When we stayed at the Oriental I was working at the airport in Muscat so dh and I were eligible for 10% fares - not quite as great as it sounds since we were always standby and frequently offloaded - most notably twice across the Pacific from Melbourne to LA!

But after we’d checked into the Oriental we tentatively enquired whether there’d be any airport staff discount - not really expecting anything. But they phoned back and said we could have 50% off! Cue jumping for joy on the bed!

My experience was wonderful, my Daughter worked as a travel consultant and as a surprise had arranged for us to spend one night at the RITZ in Paris! This was all complimentary,unbelievable.I was overwhelmed when we arrived, and were treated like royalty, were given a super room with everything we needed. We were treated so well during our stay even given a tour of some of the VIP rooms.Couldnt get more exclusive than that, and we didnt feel uncomfortable at all.I will never forget the lovely surprise my Daughter had organised, how she did it I dont know.

My husband had always fancied a stay at The Savoy in London. We went for his 60th birthday. It was amazing and no where else now will ever compare. The staff were lovely and we look back on it with such fond memories.
Whilst we were in London , we also visited The Petrus, Gordon Ramsey’s posh restaurant. That was a terrible experience and we felt out of place and very uncomfortable!

When I lived for a while in Dinard there was a Lycée Hôtelier round the corner and you could go for meals (as a guinea pig) one day a week. The apprentices were learning their craft meticulously, you had four or so waiters and all the chefs came out afterwards for criticism. The students were dressed immaculately in black and white too. They took so much pride in everything they did. Our neighbour's daughter studied there and became a sommelier with Joel Robuchon in Geneva I think.

No, although we were initially refused a pre-booked room.... We'd collected 'hotel points' with a quite expensive chain due to numerous work trips abroad. We 'spent' them by booking into hotels across France and Spain breaking up a camping trip. Turning up at a very smart hotel in the centre of Andorra they wouldn't initially honour the booking (two grubby adults with two equally grubby under 6's) but, given we had half expected they might do that we had previously got written confirmation of the right to spend the points across they whole chain and named this specific, even more expensive, hotel, so they had to relent. We had a lovely few days there (with our oldest son spending most of the time on all-fours pretending to be a cat) and enjoyed the swimming pool on the roof overlooking the mountains and mini-golf course etc and very smart restaurant. Once ensconced we were treated very well. My youngest has, despite being a preverbal three year old at the time, never forgotten it and still judges all acommodation by thsat standard. His disdain for our next holidays in a small caravan was made very clear.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Riggie. I just checked with my Italian friend (northern Italy). And the T is definitely not pronounced !

annifrance
Oooh what lovely hotels you mention, some familiar. And others on here too.
A friend and I regularly met in top London hotels for coffee and a long, long natter. Always lots of fresh coffee, homemade biscuits, comfy sofas and attendant staff that never hassled us. And all for a reasonable price. These include the Ritz, the Savoy, the Meridian in Picadilly, the Intercontinental at Hyde Park Corner and the hotel in Victoria station. Oh and the old GLC building on the Southbank, I think a Hyatt, worth a trip just to see the building.
Have you tried The Goring? Lovely lounge for afternoon tea and attentive staff without fussing too much.

Luccamy Italian Mum told me that in Italian the T at the end of words is pronounced - so Merlot (I presume if it's an Italian one!) and Pinot Grigio both have the T stressed. Whether this just applies to her part of Italy - I don't know?

In French the T is silent. As Merlot is originally a French wine I would pronounce it their way.

During a driving holiday DH and I stayed in a posh hotel in Brittany. The French are known for judging people by their clothing. For comfort he wore his padded checked shirt which made him look like the lorry driver he was. The receptionist looked down her snooty nose at him as though he was lowering the tone.

On cycling holidays in the same region we often turned up at restaurants in our cycling gear and no-one turned a hair.

We have a favourite 4* hotel in Suffolk, the staff are charming and it's a delight to stay there. We usually upgrade ourselves to a room with a sea view and last time we were there we had the most enormous room with a six-foot bed and two sofas, a bay window with comfy chairs and a little table, a gorgeous bathroom and even a tiny balcony (pity it was too cold to sit out). Lovely breakfasts cooked to order and scrumptious dinners too.

Abroad we have had wonderful stays at the K&K Palais Hotel in Vienna (fabulous breakfast buffet including unlimited smoked salmon and Prosecco) and at the Regina Palace in Stresa on Lake Maggiore.

Not actually had a bad experience but it’s me and how I feel about myself. Whether I belong somewhere nice, if other guests are judging me, my clothes etc I feel so self conscious even though I present myself well in terms of clothes (not designer just normal high street) hair done, makeup done yet I always feel like I shouldn’t be in higher end establishments. ?‍♀️

My uncomfortable experience was when I accompanied my husband on an emergency oil delivery to a very upmarket hotel one night. We made the delivery and we were invited in for tea and biscuits, as the manager was so grateful for the emergency delivery. I was wearing very old scruffy clothes and my husband the same. We hardly dared to sit on the beautiful chairs. The staff treated us with professional curtesy and the tea and ( shop bought) biscuits were nice. The toilets had very expensive soaps, hand creams and individual cotton hand towels, I did not know where to put the used hand towel ? so I put it in the wicker waste basket and hoped that was ok.
I later found out a nights stay there was more than I earned in a month.

I'm loving hearing about everyone's experiences of great hotels. I love staying in hotels and am happier to have 2 nights in a fabulous one than a week in a less luxurious one.
We were due a mini break in London just before the lockdown but lost our nerve as we didn't like the way things were going. I'd paid in full in advance to take advantage of a cheaper offer so I thought that money was lost due to our own decision. I knew the booking terms and conditions. Fair enough. However, I was amazed to be informed that the hotel would refund me in full.
The hotel? The Savoy. We'll be back!

All time favourite is the Taj in Bombay. Back in the day I stayed there regularly and was treated like royalty by the staff. They happily stored all my purchases as I traveled around India. I was in tears watching the film 'Hotel' starring Dev Patel and told of the horrific terrorist attack on the hotel. At the time I was so upset as I am sure that some of those lovely staff members that were killed were known to me.

The Oriental in Bangkok was pretty good too!

The Oberoi in Khajarao was amazing, the town is famous for the erotic temple carvings which are jaw dropping! We took a trip into the countryside and found an old Swiss guy who was building a sort of treetops hotel. I climbed a tree and used a porcelain loo! Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano concerto was blaring out loudly from a shaky machine!. One night we dined at the Taj next door but it was new and too glitzy.

The Hilton in Colombo was also wonderful. While I was staying there one time my husband and mother had a bad car crash in UK. The staff at the hotel could not have been kinder or more caring. I also loved the Topaz in Kandy, the Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya and the Bentota Beach Hotel, The Trident at Ahungala. Sri Lanka is the most amazing country and the people so wonderful whether in a 5 star hotel or the street market.

Loved the Majestic in Cannes, the Intercontinental in Paris, a chateau hotel at Amboise and various other superb hotels back in the 80s around France. There was a great French guide book at the time with an illustration of a suit of armour and a tapestry on the cover. Never let us down. This guide included a hotel that I had stayed in with my parents in 1966, we stayed there in 2000 and it hadn't changed at all, the Grand Hotel, Les Lecques on the Cotes d'Azur. A village that had not been spoilt by over build, not a crane in sight.

A friend and I regularly met in top London hotels for coffee and a long, long natter. Always lots of fresh coffee, homemade biscuits, comfy sofas and attendant staff that never hassled us. And all for a reasonable price. These include the Ritz, the Savoy, the Meridian in Picadilly, the Intercontinental at Hyde Park Corner and the hotel in Victoria station. Oh and the old GLC building on the Southbank, I think a Hyatt, worth a trip just to see the building.

Really had a priviledged existence in those days! Can't do it now!

threexnanny

No one has mentioned the 5 * Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath. We've stayed a few times for special occasions and it is always lovely.

As someone else has said about appearance - the scruffiest people we know are also the richest!

I have noticed vehicle snobbery in some places where they park your car for you though.

Lovely Hotel for a weekend and not too far away either.

Montpellier Plantation Nevis is absolutely lovely. We’ve had to stop going there because of the travelling, we get tired.?

Stayed at a few 5* hotels but a couple memorable. We stayed in a hotel in India I didn’t like the allocated room and asked to change, they showed us 3 other rooms all more expensive but told they were complimentary. We chose a beautiful room and were very happy, a few nights later a letter was left in our room asking us to join the hotel manager for cocktails that evening as she wanted to check everything was ok and we were enjoying our stay. Then in Dubai where my daughter and I stayed the hotel was amazing, all the staff seemed to remember your name and once provided the hotel limousine to take us somewhere. The first time we ever ate in a Michelin restaurant it was awful, we were a young married couple and saved to go to this restaurant. The wine waiter made us feel very uncomfortable we wouldn’t order a different wine with each course and rudely told us the wine we chose would not go with anything we were eating. The food was ok but we went to local chippy on the way home ?

I’ve stayed in several lovely 4* and 5* hotels in Scotland. Lovely welcome and good treatment. My favourite hotel abroad was the Budapest Hilton. I was really impressed by the waiters who seemed to be multilingual.

Callistemon

It would just be lovely to go away!

I draw the line at a tent these days, though.

I've drawn the line at a tent or any form of self catering since no 5 got to be 16. I love my home and cooking but I also love having someone else do it.

No one has mentioned the 5 * Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath. We've stayed a few times for special occasions and it is always lovely.

As someone else has said about appearance - the scruffiest people we know are also the richest!

I have noticed vehicle snobbery in some places where they park your car for you though.

On our last trip to India (those were the days!) we stayed at the Oberoi Grand in Kolkata. The waiter brought the wrong dish for DH’s breakfast and he had to wait a few minutes for the right one. We had barely got back to our room when the duty manager was on the phone apologising profusely - and when we stayed again on our return journey we got a major room upgrade!

You should never feel uncomfortable, but some staff are very rude as if they are doing you a favour. Try to rise above it!

Can I add The Fullerton to the mix as several of you having been to Singapore have mentioned a couple others. Absolutely beautiful hotel, rooms are huge and luxurious and staff wonderfully friendly and accommodating. Dh and I have been three times and we’re always upset to leave. ?
Ps we’re not posh !!

For our 25th we went on a tour of Cuba staying in some very basic hotels ( bare wires etc.) but as the tour ended the day before the anniversary, OH booked 2 extra nights at the 5 star Parque Centrale hotel in Havana. We arrived to be told that they our modest room was no longer available but do not worry as they always kept back Fidel Castro's room. They would be happy for us to have it at no extra cost. We spent the next 2 nights in a suite with a bedroom,2 bathrooms, a library, kitchen and dining room. It even came with a speech balcony for addressing the adoring crowds. When I
gave our number at the pool for the towels, the pool guy said "ah, very rii-ch" and I said "no, very lucky!". Needless to say it made our anniversary!