My wife, Nikki, and I stayed at Hotel Berthod in Courmayeur for 4 nights in March 2013. I made the reservation online on the hotel’s homepage and I chose the hotel as it had a central location with easy access to both restaurants, the gondola to the ski area of Plan Checrouit and it had rooms available

We arrived by bus to Courmayeur and the Savda bus stopped at Piazzale Monte Bianco which is only about 100-200 meters from the hotel. We rolled our suitcases to the hotel and luckily there was not much snow on the road as it was uphill. Check in was fast in the tiny lobby of this charming hotel and we got room 212 on the second floor. The lobby, bar and restaurant area are filled with knick knacks  from the region…old skiing equipment, cow bells, maps of the area, photos of Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco as it is known as in Italy) etc.

The house and room was fairly similar to the hotel we had in Verbier in Switzerland a couple of years back – not that strange, as it is located in the same region. The room was quite small and most of it was occupied by the king size bed. The bed was pretty old school and when I moved the mattress seemed to bounce for a lot longer than expected. The sleeping quality was pretty good but the pillows were like bricks and were not comfortable at all. There was a wooden floor (or maybe just laminate), the walls were painted light and the furniture was in dark wood. The small flat screen TV was placed on top of the wardrobe and it was not the ideal position for TV watching but I guess you don’t come to Courmayeur to watch TV Most of the channels were in Italian but it was possible to change some shows to the original broadcast language.

The wardrobe had a few hangers and there was a small fridge under the desk next to it. The small fridge only contained two bottles of water and I assumed that this was complimentary as there was nothing else in the fridge but I was charged for these bottles when checking out. I guess we should have read the info or noticed when we did not get water bottle refills every day. There was also a small safe in the room located over the heating radiator – I’m not sure it is the ideal position but things in the safe did not seem to get over heated. There was little space to hang used ski clothing but we did notice a drying room in the basement when we arrived.

The bathroom was tiled in light tiles on the walls and terracotta color on the floor. The amenities included soap, shampoo and even body scrub (the body scrub is recommended). The bathroom included toilet, bide, sink and a shower corner. The shower corner was small but the water pressure was good and the water temperature was stable when showering. The mechanical fan was started every time the light was turned on and was on the noisy side but I guess it helped a bit. The room got stuffy so it was great to be able to open the windows during the day.
When I tried to connect to the wifi the first time I was prompted for a username and password and I thought I had to pay for it. But it turned out that it was for free and you just have to ask for the login details in the reception. The net was pretty slow compared to what I’m used to but it did the job.

Breakfast was served in the “lounge” on the ground floor and had an amazing view to the skiing area at Plan Checrouit and the mountains around Courmayeur. I think the hotel was full when we were there but on most days we were alone at breakfast. The breakfast included some cereal, croissants, bread, boil your own egg, some fruit, excellent freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh coffee, yogurt, cakes etc. Remember to read the sign – don’t take too much and end up wasting food.

The location of the hotel was excellent for us. It only takes like 3 minutes to walk to the main street of Courmayeur – the pedestrian street Via Roma. There were many restaurants around the hotel and it only took a few minutes to walk to them. It was about 600 meters to walk to the main gondola that takes you from Courmayeur to Plan Checrouit. The service at the hotel was excellent. The young woman that was in the lobby most of the time spoke English, French and Italian (maybe more?) and made recommendations as to where to rent skiis, how to get to the thermal baths at Pre’-saint-didier etc. I guess it is a family run hotel and from time to time it felt like we were walking into a home as it seemed like they were waiting up for us to come back to the hotel.

Conclusion
The room was a bit outdated but did the job. The main thing for us was that the hotel had a good location for getting to the gondola and for eating out at night. In addition to that we got a good and friendly service.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures 

We stayed at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel in January 2013. I booked the hotel as it seemed to be a good location, the reviews were quite good, the rooms seemed modern  and I was hoping to get some perks from being a Club Carlson gold member.

We got to the hotel at about noon and we were met by a giant red reindeer in the reception and there was also a strange smell in the lobby – a combination of a “hotel signature scent” and a moldy scent. As I checked in there was a bit of confusion regarding my name and the guy behind the counter asked me if I was at the correct hotel. It turned out that we were at the right hotel and we got room 2025. I asked if it was possible with a room upgrade due to the Club Carlson gold card but that didn’t seem to be an option. Our room was not ready either so we left the suitcases at the concierge and got a luggage tag and started the sightseeing in London.

When we got back to the hotel at night to pick up the suitcases later on I showed the concierge the luggage tags but they were not able to find anything so he asked me if I had gotten any other tag. After 5 minutes of lots of confusion between the 3 that was in the reception area, we were told that we should go to the room to check if the bags were there. When we got to the room the suitcases were there together with some parcels that I had gotten delivered to the hotel so that was excellent service of the hotel concierge earlier on – but there should have been a bit of communication between the staff to avoid all the confusion.

The room was actually quite nice on first glance – there was a maroon carpet on the floor and the walls had light wallpaper with a few pictures on the walls. The room was larger than expected – after staying at various hotels around London I’m used to the room being quite tiny in this city. The center piece in the room was the double bed with one large duvet to share. The bed was a bit on the firm side but still quite comfortable. Next to the bed there was a small desk and a chair – it also included an iPhone docking station for charging the phone and amplifying the sound. On the side wall there was a flat screen TV mounted and there was also a large chair and a small table. The placement of the TV was not ideal for viewing it from the bed. The room only has a tiny window and there was also a small window in the bathroom.

There was a wardrobe in front of the bed with a small safe, a small fridge (a Coke was £3 and a beer was £4.25) and there was also an ironing board/iron and hair dryer in addition to the kettle for boiling water and glasses and mugs. So the room actually had quite a lot of amenities. The wardrobe had about 12 hangers but the bar was hanging quite low in the wardrobe so not very practical for e.g. a coat. The bar was low due to a reason – when I came into the bathroom it was easy to see that the room was made to suite a person in a wheel chair. The bathroom had dark tiles on the floor and creamy tiles on the walls. The shower was very modern with a glass door and a rain forest shower head from the ceiling and the toilet was wall mounted and the sink was very modern. The bathroom would have been perfect if there had been some sort of heating in the floor. When we went to London the city was getting a bit of snow and the temperatures was about -2 degrees Celsius. This made the tiled floor in the bathroom absolutely freezing. There was also a small sink next to the main sink and there was something wrong with the tap as it was running all the time. On the first morning I told the reception area this and asked them if they could fix it but when we checked out 2 days later on it was still not fixed.

The bathroom did not have that many amenities but there was an Essential Elements soap by the sink that had a lovely scent together with a moisturizing cream. There was also a shower cap and the towels were hanging on a heated rack which was a great treat as the bathroom was a bit on the cold side. The hotel also offers free internet which is appreciated of course. You do have to log in quite often by putting in your e-mail address but the internet connection was quite good.

Sleeping quality was not bad at all and the temperature was easily controlled with the air-con. There was a gap between the door and the floor and hence there was quite a bit of light streaming in at night.

The night before check out I called the reception and asked if we could get a late checkout.  We got 1 pm instead of 11 am which isn’t much but better than nothing. We did not have breakfast as the hotel breakfast was £21 which is a bit expensive when I only eat a bowl of muesli or oats. Our solution was to walk the few meters down the street where there was a Pret A Manger café.  The location of the hotel is quite good as it is located only a 5 minute walk from British Museum and it only takes a few minutes to walk to Tottenham court Rd underground station. It is also a short walk to the heart of Soho.

Conclusion
This hotel has a pretty good location and the room was larger than expected. There was a bit of communication issues between the staff members that led to a bit of waiting and confusion but all in all we got good service. From my experience you should not expect to get much recognition due to a Club Carlson gold card – it didn’t seem to help when it comes to room upgrading or late checkout. I still think it would have been great if they could offer e.g. free breakfast when you are a frequent guest. But all in all we had a comfortable stay at the hotel and I would not hesitate to recommend friends or family to stay at this hotel.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

For many years I have heard stories about Ullensvang hotel from colleagues and they have been raving about it like it was most amazing place in the world. In August 2012 I decided to take my wife on a surprise trip to Hardanger and I saw that Ullensvang hotel is located here so I decided to stay at the hotel to check it out. We drove from Stavanger on a Friday afternoon and when reaching Odda and Hardanger fjord you get a spectacular view. The fjord stretches out from Odda and on both sides there are majestic mountains with waterfalls and on the one side you can also get a glimpse of the Folgefonna glacier. On both sides apple trees are clinging on in the slopes leading down to the fjord. When we parked at the hotel a young boy came over to help with the luggage – he was a poster boy for the typical Norwegian with his bunad inspired work outfit and blond hair sticking out under the hat. Once you get into the lobby there is a display of the Hardanger bunad (the traditional Norwegian costume from this area). But if you walk a few more steps you also get a beautiful view of the fjord in front of the hotel!

We got room 628 and after traveling a lot and staying at pretty nice hotels around the world I have to be honest to say that I was not expecting much as Norwegian hotels normally don’t have that much to offer. But I was pleasantly surprise when walking into the room. The room was not that big but it had light walls, two beds pushed together to form a double bed, a dark purple/greyish carpet, dark wooden furniture with purple colors in the fabric, a small TV on a small fridge, a desk with a chair and a mirror. There was also a dark wooden wardrobe by the entrance to the bathroom. We got a room with a view towards the apple tree garden and the mountains but I’m sure that you can get an amazing fjord view if you pay a bit extra. The bathroom seemed to be brand new and was tiled in large, light tiles and the bathroom furniture seemed modern and new. The shower option was in the bathtub and a glass panel prevented water splashing everywhere and it worked pretty well. There were not that many bathroom amenities…only a body and hair shower gel and small bars of soap.

We also had breakfast included in our stay and they have a pretty good breakfast indeed – breakfast is usually good in Norwegian hotel and Ullensvang could also offer a great selection of bread, cereal, locally produced apple juice, cheese, cold cuts etc. There was also a bit of egg and bacon but as usual Norwegian hotels are better on the cold food compared to warm food for breakfast. The hotel also had a dinner buffet at night which was very good. At night they had a wide variety of cold cuts including some typical Norwegian stuff such as rømmegrøt (sour cream porridge), fenalår (salted and dried leg of lamb), smoked whale meat etc. But they also served various fish (salmon and trout), crab, roe and various meat (pork, reindeer, beef etc). The dessert selection was also outstanding serving cheese, a selection of cakes and again typical Norwegian favorites such as karamellpudding (flan) and tilslørte bondepiker (apple jam and cream). The dinner buffet is about 500 Norwegian kroner per person (about 85 USD).

The hotel also has an a la carte restaurant which we checked out on Friday night. They had a small but good menu and to start with we got some cold cut with a strawberry jam which sounds like a weird combination but it was actually a pretty good combination. I continued with the duck confit starter and had rack of lamb with roasted vegetables which was excellent. Together with a good bottle of Italian wine we really had an excellent meal at the Zanoni restaurant. In the end we had some dessert made from local products and I also got a small glass of dessert wine to round it off.

The hotel is large and provides lots of activities. If you move outside there is a beautiful garden leading down to the fjord. You can rent a pedal boat or a rowing boat if you want to get away from the hotel, you can rent a fishing rod if you want to try to catch a fish for dinner…or you can head over to the activity part of the hotel where you can play squash, tennis, table tennis, work on your swing in the golf simulator etc. There is also an indoor/outdoor pool and it seems like they are working on expanding the pool area where the water will be heated (of course).

The room cost about 2000 Norwegian kroner per night (including taxes and breakfast) which is about 340 USD per night and hence it is quite expensive. We did get free wifi included but I’m a bit annoyed to see that you have to pay extra to get access to e.g. the fitness room. Maybe stuff like that should be included when you pay that much for the hotel room itself. I would also have liked to see more amenities in the bathroom (shampoo, conditioner etc). But all in all I was very impressed with the hotel. The hotel is filled with items that tell a story about Norway, the history and the location. I’m glad to see that they are also serving some traditional Norwegian dished for breakfast and dinner to let the tourists get a taste of Norway. But the best of all is of course the location of the hotel…located just a step away from the beautiful Hardanger fjord gives the hotel a breathtaking view. Once you step out of the hotel you get an amazing view of the fjord and the mountains that surrounds the fjord. If you are going to the area I can really recommend a stay at this hotel.

Read more about the hotel on http://www.hotel-ullensvang.no/

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

My wife and I had only one night in Hong Kong in connection with a trip to Korea from Europe. I chose Traders hotel in Hong Kong as I am a Golden Circle Jade member and there are some perks involved in that We arrived quite late at the hotel as we had been a bit delayed and I had arranged for pickup from the hotel. This turned out to be a large bus that had to drop off a few other people before driving us to Traders hotel and hence it took more time than expected.

The check in was fast and we got a room “upgrade” – I had booked the cheapest room as we were only staying there for the night but we were upgraded to a room with a harbor view. The bed was more queen size than king size but then again hotel rooms in Hong Kong are a bit on the small side. There was also a desk with a chair, I got welcome gift due to my Jade membership, we got some complimentary water and there was a small fridge with some drinks. The room also included a wardrobe with a couple of robes, a small safe and iron/ironing board. The room itself was with a beige carpet and light walls and we had a view of the ocean but we didn’t see much of the main harbor as that was blocked by other skyscrapers.

The bathroom was tiled and in light colors. It featured the same amenities that I’m used to when staying at Traders in Kuala Lumpur and there was a bathtub with a shower option (by using a shower curtain).

We had breakfast at Cafe508 on the lower levels. The breakfast did include most of the stuff that you want for breakfast but maybe we came just after the main rush as it seemed pretty empty and “dirty”.

Location
Located on Queen’s Road West it is not the ideal location of a hotel. The hotel is on Hong Kong Island and a bit west of the center. Both my wife and I had problems getting our taxi drivers to drive us to the hotel even if we tried to say the name of the road. I was on Queen’s Road central and ask my driver to continue west as I knew the road would turn from Queen’s Road Central to Queen’s Road West and the taxi driver just suggested hotels along the way. But note that it is not far to walk to the nearest tram stop and from here you can take the tram to get on the subway. Taxi can be expensive in Hong Kong as it seems like the passenger has to cover the toll when driving through the tunnels from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island.

Conclusion
I’m not sure that one night at a hotel gives you enough inside to make a good review. But the bed was comfortable and room was nice but I think I would pick a more centrally located hotel if I was going to spend many days in Hong Kong.

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

My wife and I stayed at the Westin Chosun in Seoul, Korea in July 2012 in connection with a vacation in Korea and decided to stay at this hotel as we wanted to splurge on the hotel stay while in Seoul and the hotel was also in a great location compared to many of the attractions in Seoul. I travel a bit for work and pleasure and I have stayed at various 4 and 5 star hotels around the world just to give you an idea about the background for this review. I have been a bit spoiled by staying at some very nice hotels in Asia and due to this I do have high expectations when I stay at nice hotel chains like Westin. We booked the hotel on the Starwood Preferred Guest site (SPG) and it was a special summer “promotions” and it was 300.000 Won (300 USD) for club level (meaning free breakfast and cocktail hour at night) and free internet.

To get to the hotel we took a train from the Incheon airport and it arrived at Seoul station after about 45 minutes and it was only like 4000 Korean Won (about 4 USD) and from there it was only about 5 minutes to the hotel and it was only about 3000 Won (about 3 USD). We got room 1904 and check in was pretty fast as we had booked the room on the SPG site. The room is very nice when entering – as usual the room was in light colors with a wooden floor to start with and then a carpet. There was a wardrobe to start with that contained robes, slippers, a safe, ironing board and iron.

The main piece in the room was the king size bed and as often in Asia, it was huge! On the right side of the bed there was a control panel to adjust lighting in the room, air con etc. The air-con was very quiet which is excellent! The bed was quite comfortable but I don’t really like the layer of sheets options – there are also a number of pillows to choose from if you are picky when it comes to that. There was also a small sofa with a small table (that could also be used as a stool) and a desk with a chair. The plugs were a mixture of Korean and European sockets so I could actually plug in my Norwegian plugs in some sockets.

The flat screen TV was a bit on the small side if you ask me but it had the common English channels and a number of Korean channels. Westin have integrated a bit of stuff into the TV system (wake up calls, messages etc) and it makes it a bit slow. The fridge had some great options when it comes to drinks – I think it is the first time I have seen that a hotel offers both a half bottle of Champagne (Veuve Clicquot)and a half a bottle of Cognac! There was also a Nespresso machine for making your own espresso

The bathroom was pretty small and it was tiled in rather ugly tiles – but it was at least functional. The bathtub also featured a shower option with a glass panel to avoid splashing all over the floor and it did actually work out as intended. There were a few amenities on club level (shampoo, lotion, toothbrush, comb, shower cap etc) but in general I’m not a big fan of the products they use. Normally I don’t mention the sink itself but this time I have to as it was quite modern with the glass bench around it – it was not very practical as the soap holder would slide off the sink and end up on the floor. I normally don’t mention the toilet either but this time the toilet was high tech compared to what I’m used to. In some areas in Asia they have toilet seats that contain warm water for cleaning yourself and even a drier to dry up your private parts. But the best feature is probably the seat warming function! But the ventilation in the bathroom is not very good but luckily there is heating in the bathroom mirror to avoid that it steams up.

We had breakfast both upstairs in the lounge (on the 20^th floor) and on Aria on the lower lobby level. As usual it is quieter upstairs and the view is great but the selection of food is not as extensive as in the main breakfast restaurant. I e.g. seemed to stir up quite a fuzz when I asked to get an omelet made. The hotel was not very good when it comes to healthy cereal option but you have a selection of bread, fruit, bacon/egg/sausages and there are a couple of coffee machines if you need your fix in the morning. In the main breakfast area they had stations focusing on bread, hot food, egg station etc so you have a more extensive selection. From 6 to 8 pm there were evening cocktails severed in the lounge so we could enjoy a drink while watching the sun set over Seoul – they have wine, whiskey, vodka, brandy etc. They also had some food but don’t eat too much – remember to taste the Korean cuisine while you are in Seoul

On the third level there is a swimming pool and one floor down you will find a large gym with lots of treadmills, stationary bikes and all the stuff that you expect to find in a good gym. And with large windows you also get a bit of a view while working out.

The location of the hotel is very good at least when looking at the main attractions of Seoul. You don’t have to walk far to get to the City Hall metro station and you can easily walk to many of the main attractions. There are a number of restaurants, bars etc nearby but Seoul is a huge city so you can find that all over the place.

But everything is not perfect with the hotel of course. First of all: the lifts are extremely slow and maybe it is not enough with 4 lifts when you have 20 floors. When we were there they were doing maintenance with one lift and hence there were only 3 lift operational and they seem to work on two different systems! I’m also surprised by the reservation system. We decided to stay a few days extra and they said they it was not possible to get the same rate as before. I can understand this but I think the right phrase is “we don’t want to give you the same rate”. When we started talking to the reservation desk they said that they could offer us a rate of 360.000 Won but instead of king size bed we would get twin bed. But when we checked online it was possible to get a king size bed…so we showed this to the reservation desk and they were like “Ok, then it is possible”. We then decided to extend and they booked it but then after 5 minutes they were like “Oh…you are two people in the room? The rate will then be 360.000 + 50.000 for an extra person”…this is after we had talked to them for quite a while when booking the room. When we checked online we could still get it for 360.000 for two people so I showed this to the reservation team and asked them if I really had to book it online in front of their eyes compared to just getting them to do it and the answer was “Yes”….this is too weird if you ask me.

Being a 5 star hotel the services are expensive. We had a breakfast at the lower lobby floor one day at the Vecchia e Nuovo when we woke up late and two sandwiches and two coffee was like 70.000 Won (about 70 USD) and it was not worth it at all.

Conclusion
The Westin Chosun is a very good hotel – the room was large enough, there are amenities and services and on club level you can enjoy breakfast and evening cocktails on the 20^th floor with a view. But Westin has a tendency to annoy me a bit – no free internet in general, not really offering any perks when you have a gold card on SPG (like when I stayed at Westin in Madrid earlier this year) and this time there was the incident of having to book a room online in front of the staff in the hotel to get a lower rate. So I’m still going to stick to Traders/Shangri-La if I have a chance!

But all in all…if you are willing to cough up the money then Westin Chosun does offer a nice room in a very central location in Seoul !

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

My wife and I stayed at December hotel in July 2012. We booked the hotel online on Agoda and we had to pay 170 USD for the room for three nights. When we booked the hotel we were not familiar with the island so we didn’t really know where to stay but we decided to stay near Jeju-si as it seemed central. Taxi from the airport to the hotel only takes 5-10 minutes and it was about 3000 W. Check in was fast and we got room 305. The guy who checked us in was not very fluent in English but he managed to explain the basics of our stay and to explain the remote control (as this controls TV, aircon and light). When we got out of the lift on the third floor we became a bit skeptical as the carpet seemed stained or really dirty. But the room was far nicer than expected. When we entered the room there was a tiny room to leave your shoes and to put on the slippers – one door leads into the bathroom and one into the main room.

The main room contained a bed, two big chairs, a table, a small fridge that was empty apart from two bottles of water (complimentary each day), a desk and a TV. Let’s start with the king size bed: it was brick hard and not the way I like it! And to make it even more challenging the pillows were huge and also very firm! I don’t think I have ever tossed and turned that much during sleep as I did at this hotel. So if you like your bed soft, this is not the hotel for you.

The remote control gives you access to control the TV, air con and light. There were some problem with the light and the guy in the reception tried to explain it to us and we did manage to turn of the light but we did experience that it came on automatically a couple of times. The air con was OK but it was a bit tricky to get the right temperature at night and it became pretty freezing at night. And we only got a thin sheet at a duvet for the bed – I like it better when the blankets are covered up by a sheet. The TV contained a lot of Korean channels and only a few English ones. There were not that many amenities in the room but there was a water boiler and some bottles. One was with a gel called Exciter Superhard – with a lot of Korean signs on the back. I thought it was hand sanitizer gel to start with but in the end I think I came to the conclusion that it was hair gel!

The bathroom was actually quite nice with light tiles and a decent shower. The only “problem” was that the drain was in the middle of the room so when taking a shower it would get kind of wet in the room. There was also a drain for the air con and that would leak water all the time on to the floor and it is kinda annoying with a wet bathroom floor. But I guess that is why you have bathroom slippers. The decorations in the bathroom were also a bit cheesy (with decorations on the toilet seat) but maybe that is common practice in Korea? Bathroom amenities included dispensers for shampoo and body wash.

The location of the hotel is very good – when we walked out of the hotel we could walk to places like FamilyMart and GS25 (places like 7Eleven) within seconds and nearby there are lots and lots of restaurants and bars. It is close to the airport and a taxi to Jeju-si bus station is about 4000 W in a taxi. If the taxi driver doesn’t know where the hotel is, ask him to take you to Grace Hotel – it is just around the corner.

The lobby has a selection of pamphlets for the main attractions of Jeju. The hotel also has free wifi which seems to work well. Note that there is not safe in the room so we just used a suitcase to lock up our valuables.

Conclusion
Due to extensive business traveling in the last few years, I have gotten a bit spoiled when it comes to hotels as I have stayed at very nice 4 and 5 stars hotels all over Asia. December hotel in Jeju is a pretty basic hotel and my main problem was the bed and pillow that were brick hard and due to this I had a hard time getting decent sleep in this hotel. But the room is pretty cheap at least compared to some of the big chain hotels that you find around the island and the location is quite good. So if you can handle the bed it is not a bad place to start exploring the island of Jeju. But as the island is bigger than you think I would advise you to get a hotel on the different parts of the islands if you want to explore it in an effective way. I’m not sure the hotel has a homepage but you can find some more information on the Agoda page for the hotel.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

I stayed in Westin Calgary in connection with a work trip there in June 2012. I chose this hotel as the location was very good and it was possible to walk to where I was going to work within minutes. I travel a bit for work and pleasure and I have stayed at various 4 and 5 star hotels around the world just to give you an idea about the background for this review. I do admit that I have been a bit spoiled by staying at some very nice hotels in Asia and due to this I do have high expectations when I stay at nice hotel chains like Westin. I booked the hotel through t a travel agency in Norway.

The taxi from the airport to the hotel was about 35 Canadian dollar (about 35 USD these days) and on a Sunday afternoon it only took 15 minutes. Check in was fast and I got room 551 – to my surprise the internet was included in my business room rate which is great. I was also offered more Starwood points if I could do without room service during my stay and I think this is a great idea. The internet worked pretty good and when logged in I did not have to log in again every time I got back to the hotel – excellent! I was also able to log in with several devices which is also great.

The room I got was located on the 5^th floor and from the hall there was a view out on a huge construction area. I think they are putting up a large building here so it might create some noise for the next few years. The rooms at Westin are refurbished recently but I have to admit that my first thought when I walked in was that it was a bit outdated. The carpet was dark brown while the curtains where dark greenish in color. Due to this the whole room seemed a bit on the dark side. The lighting in the room was not very modern either as there were no master control for the lighting – each of the lamps had to be switched on individually. The walls in the room were covered in a mustard colored wall paper and there where dark furniture. The flat screen TV was mounted on the wall and it was possible to pull it out to face it towards the chair in the room and that is a great feature. Under the TV was a rather big dark furniture of drawers and a cupboard. It was totally empty so I guess it at least provides space if you unpack your entire suitcase. In many other hotels this normally contains the mini bar and the amenities that you need in connection with that.

The mini fridge was located by the entrance in the room and it was totally empty which seems a bit weird but maybe that figured that they don’t sell anything anyway as prices are normally too high compared to prices on street level. But at least there were two wine glasses and two regular glasses and a bucket for ice (there was an ice machine on the floor). There was also a coffee maker but there is a Starbucks in the lobby so there are also other options for coffee. The wardrobe included quite a few hangers, two robes, iron and ironing board and a small safe – but no slippers. The desk had a pop up plug stand but it did not have international sockets – but luckily I could borrow a plug adapter from the reception.

There were two queen sized beds in the room and the bed was quite comfortable. But I’m not sure I understand the lack of a proper bed linen around the duvet – instead the duvet is just placed between two sheets – not a very good system for the guests in my opinion.

The bathroom was partially tiled and included a bathtub with a shower option. The shower curtain was on a curved bar so at least it didn’t stick to me while I was showering. But it did splash a bit on the floor anyway as it was hard to control the water pressure in the shower. I was very disappointed by the amenities as there was only shampoo, conditioner and a bar of soap – but then again I’m not a big fan of the Westin products. I did get a few more amenities after a couple of days at the hotel e.g. mouth wash. There was a bit of noise in the room – the aircon was not very quiet kind even when running it on low. The traffic on the outside also created a bit of noise but luckily there is not that much traffic at night so it was not a huge problem. I was also in a room close to the elevators and that is never a good idea as you get quite a bit of noise when the lifts go up and down.

The location of the hotel is good for work as it is located close to many of the main office buildings in downtown Calgary. There is also direct access to Calgary +15 from Westin which is great – the +15 is the skybridge system that connects many of the building together in the downtown area. Note that the downtown area is pretty dead after like 6 pm as most shops and food courts close about this time so just finding a 7Eleven around the hotel was tricky. Breakfast at the hotel is served at Essence restaurant and it had a pretty decent selection of food. I enjoyed the cereal on offer but they also had an egg station and a selection of bacon, sausages etc. The pool and gym is located at the 20^th floor but the gym was smaller than I had expected. But if you want to go jogging you can easily walk over to Prince’s Island to go jogging there.

Conclusion
The Westin Calgary had a great location for me as I was basically working next door. But I was not that crazy about the room itself. There was quite a bit of noise from the lifts next to the room and the room was a bit on the dark side and not very cozy. But thanks for providing me with free wifi and complimentary drinking water. I don’t have experience with other hotels in Calgary so it is hard to compare how Westin is to other hotels – so if I go there again I might try a different hotel.

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

I have had the pleasure of staying at Shangri-La Bangkok a couple of times. The first time was in October 2011 when I stayed in the Krung Thep wing and the second time in June 2012 when I stayed in the Shangri-La wing. In June 2012 I actually booked the hotel using my Golden Circle points as I was only staying one night. I chose the hotel as the location is pretty good and I am a Golden Circle member and like staying at Shangri-La/Traders hotels.  I travel a bit for work and pleasure and I have stayed at various 4 and 5 star hotels around the world just to give you an idea about the background for this review.

The taxi from the airport cost about 400 Baht (including the 50 Baht airport tax) + the toll station fees of 70 baht.  The reception at the hotel was great as always when coming to a 5 star hotel in Thailand. The staff took care of the luggage of course and we were taken to the reception where we got checked in and I got 1425. This time I was staying in the Shangri-La wing – the hotel has these two wings that both have stunning views of the Chao Phraya River. The room was delicate as always at Shangri-La hotels – a neutral carpet, light wall paper, dark furniture, art on the walls etc. The centerpiece was as always, the over-sized king-sized bed which was quite comfortable. Apart from that there was a sofa by the window with a grand view of the river, a desk and chair and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall in front of the bed. As a Golden Circle member I was also greeted with a welcoming package on the room which is always a nice treat. The furniture under the TV hid a small fridge with a selection of drinks but as usual it is cheaper to buy this outside the hotel (one Coke is 160 Baht) . There is also complimentary water in the room.

The room also included a large wardrobe with hangers, ironing board, iron, a small safe, robes and slippers. The bathroom was also in line with other Shangri-La hotels that I have stayed at around the world…a combination of neutral marble tiles and dark tiles. The sink was in black marble finish and the bathroom also featured a bathtub, shower corner (with a proper glass door) and a toilet. The selection of amenities are not as extensive as when you stay at the club level but you still get a tooth brush, soaps, shampoo etc. When I checked in the duty manager came to greet me and said that I should get in touch if I had any additional requests – later on I did go to the front desk to ask if I could get the L’Occitane shower products and not the standard shower amenities as I love the small of the L’Occitane products. I know this is just for the club rooms but I was hoping the guy would give me a break as I’m a Jade member but apparently not.

My friend stayed at the club level and at 5.30 PM he invited me to the Horizon lounge on the 24th floor for evening cocktails. The lounge has again a stunning view in many directions and there are lots of tables right by the windows. Here they had a small selection of snack and a pretty good selection of wine and drinks that we could enjoy while watching the sun go down over Bangkok.

Conclusion
Shangri-La Bangkok is a great hotel and it has a great standard as you will find in many other Shangri-La hotels in Asia. The room is lovely, the reception that you get at the hotel is great and if you stay at horizon level you will be able to enjoy breakfast and evening cocktails in the horizon lounge on the 24th floor. The hotel is located near the river so it is easy to get around by skytrain as it is located near Saphan Taksin skytrain station. But you can also easily take a river boat bus to go e.g. grand palace. If you want a great hotel and want to stay by the river in Bangkok, you should definitely check out Shangri-La as one of the options.

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

I stayed at China World Hotel in Beijing in May 2012 for a few days. I booked the room online on a Norwegian travel agent and I chose the hotel as the location seemed pretty good, I got a good rate and I am a Golden Circle member and like staying at Shangri-La/Traders hotels.  I travel a bit for work and pleasure and I have stayed at various 4 and 5 star hotels around the world just to give you an idea about the background for this hotel review – so in some ways I guess you can say I have been spoiled by staying at very nice hotels with great service.

I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and it was about 140 Yuan. The hotel has a great lobby as you often see at Shangri-La hotels and when I tried to check in I was informed that as I had a club room (or Horizon room) I would be checked in at the Horizon lounge on level 20. Check in was fast and I got room 1844 located at the very end of the hall on level 18. The only thing that I found a bit strange with the reception at the hotel was that no one came to take my suitcase. Normally at 5 star Asian hotels the suitcase it brought to your room so that you don’t have to drag it around while checking in.

The room was larger than expected when I walked in.  The curved hallway leads to the room itself and it had yellowish/cream color carpet while the walls were in neutral colors. To start with there was a wardrobe in dark wood with a number of hangers. It also included a couple of robes and slippers together with an iron and ironing board. There were also a number of drawers and a mini safe – I’m not sure there was a plug inside the safe for charging a laptop but it seemed large enough to store one at least.

The bathroom was to the left after the entrance and it was very well laid out with a combination of white marble tiles and beige wall paper. There were both a bathtub (which I personally think is a waste of space) and a great, large proper shower corner – excellent. Shangri-La also knows their amenities and here you will find everything that you need…shampoo, shower gel etc but also toothbrush, shave kit etc. I do like their L’Occitane bathroom amenities and it is nice to not have to bring your own shampoo etc.

The room itself was quite large with a huge king-size bed. The bed was a bit too firm for my liking but it was still comfortable. And it came with a proper duvet and 4 huge pillows. There was a bench to put the suitcase on but I had to look around to finally discover that this bench also included a drawer with the laundry bag.  Apart from that there was a TV bench which included the mini bar and amenities related to that and also a work desk with a chair. There was also a chair with a small table by the window and it provided a pretty good view of the city looking south.

Breakfast was served at the 20th floor in the Horizon lounge and it provided more or less the same view as from the room. The lounge seemed to be a bit small so there was also a section on the 19th floor but it got pretty crowded at breakfast and during evening cocktails. The breakfast was great for me…it included some granola, fresh bananas, a great red berry smoothie and fruit. But there were also eggs to order, bread etc but if you want a huge selection you should go to the main breakfast restaurant on the lobby level. During evening cocktails it was possible to get wine, beer etc but also a nice selection of small dishes.

Location of the hotel is not bad at all. It is right by the Guamao metro station and metro line 1 will take you straight to the Forbidden Palace and Tianamen square in just a few stops. The hotel is also linked to the huge China World complex which includes three other Shangri-La hotels and a large mall with lots of well known brands including Louis Vuitton etc. But traffic is bad around the hotel so taking a taxi around town can take some time depending on what time of the day you go of course.

So what was not that great about the hotel?  Being at room 1844 I was at the very end of the hallway and hence the wifi was pretty weak. That created a bit of frustration but I also had the option of plugging directly into the wall to get broadband. And thank you Shangri-La for understanding that internet is important these days and it should be free of charge!

Communicating with hotel staff was a bit of a challenge. The main hotel staff all knew English of course but it was still a bit tricky to talk to them to ask them about stuff. I had a long conversation with the laundry department to ask when my shirts would be ready pressed and I had a hard time explaining that I had already handed in my shirts and I was just wondering when they would be done. But all in all the staff is great and did our best to help us out whenever we requested any help.

But apart from that…Shangri-La China World Hotel was a great hotel. The staff was great, the room was very nice and the location is quite good for sightseeing the main attractions of Beijing. There are restaurants nearby (including Aria in the hotel itself) that are rated high on e.g. TripAdvisor but do note that they are pretty upscale (like Grill on 79 (Summit Wing), China Grill (Park Hyatt) etc. But I would not mind staying at this hotel again if I had the chance and I would not hesitate to recommend it to others.

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures

Over the last few years I have travel a bit for work and pleasure and due to this I have spent a few nights at hotels. Once you start to stay a lot at hotels it can be useful to stick to an alliance of hotels to achieve some benefits like you do on airline alliances. I have ended up staying at Starwood Preferred Guest hotels (Sheraton, Le Meridien, Westin, St. Regis, Aloft etc) and Golden Circle hotels (Traders and Shangri-La).

Just recently I went to Madrid and I ended up staying at Westin as the location was good and I was hoping that my SPG gold card would give me some benefits. To save some time I booked the hotel and flights as a package deal on a travel website and when I checked into the hotel in Madrid I was a bit annoyed that I did not get any benefits from my card as I had booked the room through a third party. Normally it is possible to get free wifi due to the gold card but this was not the case due to this – and it cost like 16€ per day if I wanted to pay for it. I think it is totally over the top to charge 16€ per day for wifi but I guess they assume that if you can afford the room, you can afford to pay extra to get access to the net. I did twitter about this and the response I got was that they offer free wifi in the lobby. Yes, they do offer a bad 256K wifi connection in the lobby but who wants to sit around in the lobby when skyping, surfing the net etc? And I can’t understand this policy of not giving me benefits when booking through a third party – with so many travel websites out there it is perfectly normal these days to use a third party to book plane tickets, rental cars and hotels. So I do hope that Westin and the other SPG hotels soon realizes that having access to the net should be for free as everyone will have some use for it these days. With 16€ per day it was cheaper for me to buy a local sim card and surf using 3G!

The other thing that annoyed me about Westin in Madrid was breakfast. When we checked in the guy in the reception said that they had a special breakfast promotion and it was 22€. I said I would think about it. Next morning we decided to have breakfast at the hotel and I went to the reception to ask about this promotion and it turned out that it was 22€ per person for breakfast and it was not possible to just have breakfast one day. If I wanted the promotion I had to go for breakfast the entire stay. I should of course said that I just wanted a regular breakfast rate for that day as there were breakfast places just around the corner – I normally just have some cereal for breakfast so paying 22€ per day for that was a huge mistake.

A week after I went to Madrid, I was on the road again and this time I went to New Delhi in India. I had the option of Shangri-La or Le Meridien that was just across the road and I think the price was about the same. As I have a Jade membership on Golden Circle (equal to a gold card on SPG I guess) I get certain benefits. I get a room for two for the price of one and breakfast is on the house. In addition to this Traders and Shangri-La hotels also provides free internet at the hotels! So what should I choose? A hotel that charges me for internet, breakfast and gives me no benefits if I book through a third party? Or a hotel that welcomes me with free breakfast for me and my wife, gives me free internet access and actually awards me with a welcome present due to my Jade card? I did ask the same rhetorical question to SPG on Twitter Maybe this is just ranting and raving about nothing – I guess for some I must appear as a spoiled brat complaining about these things. Maybe I should just be happy that I get to stay at nice hotels. But the fact is that I do feel more appreciated at Shangri-La and Traders due to my Jade card compared to the SPG gold card. So which alliance is the best? And what should you choose? I guess it depends a lot on where you travel and your budget. Due to the recent events I will be staying more at Shangri-La and Traders at least!

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures