The London Hotel – West Hollywood, California

July, 2008

Above and Beyond

• The London Hotel standard rooms are BIG. You will be incredibly comfortable in them. By comparison, their standard rooms are better than the better known Beverly Hills Hotel which is just down Sunset Boulevard.
• The bedding is incredibly comfortable.
• A fairly large “L” shaped couch makes lounging in the room incredibly comfortable.
• The London Hotel in West Hollywood also has a very large bathroom with a separate shower and bath. The shower has two heads and is very large.
• The London Hotel West Hollywood is very conducive to working in the room. The desk is also BIG with multiple convenient electrical outlets and the TV that sits on the desk faces the bed.
• The London Hotel West Hollywood offers turn down service which includes putting several bottles of water in the room at no additional charge.
• Bravo also to the London Hotel in West Hollywood for including both wired and wireless internet access which is all throughout the hotel.
• The service at The London Hotel in West Hollywood is spectacular. I checked out of the hotel very early on my day of departure. I asked the front desk for a cup of coffee. They called room service who said they would need to brew a fresh pot. The bellman noticed I was in a rush and unbeknownst to me ran to the corner store that was open 24 hours and brought me a cup of coffee. Is this impressive???

A Matter of Taste

• Request a South Side facing room at the hotel. The views are much better. There also are a few rooms that get little light and have dismal views – so be careful.
• The drawer and closet space is just OK so longer stays will challenge your usage of space.
• The clock radio can accommodate your iPod and the hotel has a safe embedded in the closet that is large enough to accommodate your laptop and other items.
• The room comes equipped with a refrigerator/mini bar and a 1 cup Keurig coffee maker.
• The London Hotel in West Hollywood has a modern gym that is open 24 hours per day. The equipment allows one to place their iPod in a holder. The fitness center comes with plush towels as well as included refrigerated water and headsets.
• The balcony is a nice size but is equipped with a small sofa seat as opposed to a couple of chairs or a chair and small lounge chair which certainly can be accommodated.

Needs Improvement

• Absolutely nothing.

My Conclusion

The London Hotel in West Hollywood is a fabulous property located just on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. Having stayed at The London in New York City, I was eager to stay at their new property in Southern California, The London Hotel in West Hollywood.

I was so fascinated with The London Hotel in West Hollywood that I convinced friends from the UK, who were staying at the renowned Beverly Hills Hotel to check out and stay at The London. They did just that, booking both a suite and regular room. They wound up staying for a week and will be returning next year.

Ritz Carlton, Palm Beach, Florida

July, 2008

Above and Beyond

• The rooms at the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach are a nice size with room enough for a small couch.
• I stayed in a typical ocean view room (not to be confused with ocean front) that did have nice views of both the pool and ocean due to the height of my room.
• The desk space is large with multiple electrical outlets for the ability to plug in the modern machinery we travel with.
• The bed is very comfortable and of course, the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach has full turn down service completely freshening the room and bathroom as if it was never used.
• The drawer and closet space is plentiful – fit for one to spend a week or more at the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach.
• I love the Ritz Carlton bathrooms – two sinks, a separate shower and tub, a toilet located behind a door you can close, plenty of towels and wonderful robes.

A Matter of Taste

• The Ritz Carlton Palm Beach is actually located a few miles south of Palm Beach in Manalapan, Florida.
• The hotel is a 6 story structure directly on the beach. The Ritz Carlton Palm Beach has a long beach partly due to the linear structure of the building.
• The room has the “rip” off but convenient mini-bar refrigerator as well as a single serving coffee maker. They do include the coffee and blessedly provide you two bottles of water the exact measurement that you need to pour into the coffee maker. They also provide you simple step by step instructions to make the coffee.
• The balcony size is comfortable for two sitting chairs and a table. I wish it was big enough for a lounge chair so one can return to the comfort of the room and read a book.

Needs Improvement

• One problem with the desk, or the TV, is that you cannot see the TV when working at the desk. I find this incredibly annoying. The safe is located in the closet and of size that can hold most laptops.
• One bizarre find was that the shoe horn and shoe polish sponge were located in the desk drawer. I would never have found this if I was not using the desk and curiously opened the drawer.
• The 24 hour fitness center has with modern equipment although shockingly their weren’t any towels the morning of my workout.

My Conclusion

Like one comes to expect from a Ritz Carlton, the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach is a deluxe hotel.

Marriott Copley Place, Boston, MA

July, 2008

Above and Beyond

• The Marriott Copley Place is perfectly located in the Back Bay district of Boston.
• It is attached to the Prudential Center and Copley Place shops which allow one to both shop and dine at dozens of places without having to walk outside.
• On beautiful days, it is within easy walking distance to the wonderful restaurants and shop that dominate the Back Bay area of Boston.
• The bed is just incredibly comfortable with lots of pillows.
• I was also impressed by the turn down service which might be a result of my “Platinum” status with Marriott.
• The TV in the room is wonderful – big and flat.
• The fitness center and indoor pool at the Marriott Copley Place are wonderful. The pool is big and the fitness center is well stocked with the most modern equipment. It also opens up at 5:30 AM, which is wonderful – allowing one to get a good workout and start their day early.

A Matter of Taste

• The Marriott Copley Place is a big convention oriented hotel.
• The service is vintage Marriott which I have come to interpret as efficient and effective. These are code words to say that Marriott will not “wow” you nor will they disappoint you.
• The standard rooms at the Marriott Copley Place are small but comfortable.
• The bathroom is a tad smaller than I would like but was equipped with all the necessary bathroom amenities and plenty of towels.
• The desk is a good working desk at Marriott with a two tier top that allows one to use their laptop at normal typing height which is lower than standard desk height.
• There are plenty of plugs in the lamp for the laptop and cell phone charger.
• The safe is large enough to accommodate any size laptop.
• The drawer and closet space is plenty adequate.

Needs Improvement

• I am NOT a fan of Marriott’s charge for internet use. They package this with unlimited local and long distance telephone calls to try and sell you on this great value. Most people today travel with cell phones. As such, there isn’t a benefit for local and long distance calls. The Marriott Copley Place surcharge of $12.95 per 24 hour period is a “rip off”.

My Conclusion

All in all, the Marriott Copley Place is somewhere I would stay again on business.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas

May, 2008

“The Cook doesn’t eat in the kitchen”

This cook does. I took my own advice. For the past 2 months I have been talking to employees in town hall meetings and sharing with our home based agents, in my “Bits from Brad” section of the “business center,” of the “value of cruising”. Two weeks ago I took my family on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas which departed from Barcelona on a 7 night cruise returning to Barcelona after stops in the south of France, Livorno (Pisa, Florence), Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples (Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi) and Palermo, Sicily.

Cruising is the GREATEST VALUE in travel today. It makes sense why our sales are bucking the economic storm that we read about and personally experience everyday. It now makes sense why Goldman Sachs picked Royal Caribbean as one of their top 10 stocks for the balance of 2008. However, sometimes one interprets value as a decent product that exceeds your expectations. And there is nothing wrong with this interpretation. Our experience though rates as a fantastic trip, a superb experience that borders on a “luxury” experience, that I would do again, and that also happens to be the GREATEST VALUE in travel today. I say this for many reasons which I detail below. For those of you who have heard me define luxury, you recall that it is simply a 7 letter word – SERVICE. The SERVICE I experienced on the Voyager of the Seas was every bit as good as I enjoy at a Ritz Carlton - my favorite chain for Service. If one was to experience this service at a Ritz, a Four Seasons or on board one of the small luxury lines, they would say to themselves this is the reason they pay up for that experience. Please do not take my words lightly here. My cabin attendant and my waitress at my table could NOT have provided more service. My superlatives on service are not accorded for someone doing their job. I do not simply throw out these words – so let me give you three examples that permit me to shower the word SERVICE on the Voyager of the Seas.

As many of you know, I am recovering from Shoulder (Rotator Cuff) surgery that I had 7 weeks ago. Each day at 6 PM I went to my exercises. On the first day (departure day), I asked my cabin attendant for ice and she helped me put it in the plastic bag that I brought on board to ice the shoulder after the work out. Each day, without prompting, she had ice not only waiting in my cabin but in the plastic bag that I had brought on board. This is SERVICE.

On our first evening in the dining room, we ordered a bottle of wine prior to dinner. We asked for a couple of cheese plates as this is something we enjoy with our wine prior to dinner. Each night, again without prompting, there were two cheese plates on our table. This is SERVICE. I would have ordered a bottle of wine anyway, but what a great subtle way of encouraging wine sales. I sincerely doubt that our wonderful waitress knew that this gesture sealed the deal on us ordering wine each evening.

On the last day of the voyage – our only day at sea – we lucked out with a beautiful day and sat up on deck to enjoy the weather. It amazed me how quickly used glasses, cups, silverware, paper and dishes were picked up when anyone put food down next to their chairs. This is SERVICE.

We did experience the Portofino restaurant one evening. Suffice it to say that the space is very nice and the presentations of food are an upgrade to what one receives in the main dining rooms. However, the food is not an upgrade and we cancelled our second reservation there. They sell it for a $20 per person upgrade. For me, it was worth the change in environment but advise your clients of my comments. In these economic times, tell them to save their money.

The Windjammer Café where most people experience breakfast and lunch is a great presentation for the “buffet”. One can get eggs and omelets made to order. Coffee and tea is delivered to your table so one does not have to get up after bringing their food back to the table from the buffet line. Last December I experienced a couple of nights on Cunard’s new Queen Victoria. Royal Caribbean does a far superior job in handling the presentation and quality of food in their “buffet” experience than Cunard.

Johnny Rockets is a great respite from the buffet. The Voyager also has a place to get coffee, donuts, cookies, sandwiches and pizza (all included in the price) on the Promenade that is open all day – from breakfast to late at night. The pizza looks bad and tastes close to how it looks, but the rest of this food was decent. My overall assessment of the food on board the Voyager of the Seas is that it is OK. The food experience is not Gourmet, but one should not be expecting this. I think the food quality met my expectations. We did ask our dining room captain to make us Chicken Kiev one night (yes, you can ask for special requests). The chef made it and the Kiev was superb.

Another great surprise (for me, as I do not remember this when I sailed on the Adventurer) is room service. Room Service is included – no surcharge (I couldn’t believe this) and we had coffee delivered to our room every morning. I think room service is open 24 hours, but don’t hold me to this. However, get this – they called each morning prior to delivering the order. What a great SERVICE (back to that word). So, not only was it delivered at the time promised, but they give you a courtesy call so you can throw on a robe to answer the door.

We had two cabins – a standard outside balcony cabin on deck 8 and a “junior suite” on deck 10. The junior suite is an aggressive description for our cabin as it really just contained a small sitting area a step away from the bed, but this was more than adequate for an itinerary that had only one day at sea. I found both cabins to have lots of closet space – more than you could possibly desire. The outside balcony cabin had adequate drawer space and the junior suite had more drawer space and storage space than one could use. The bathroom in the junior suite had a full bath and the shower pressure was amazing. I am not a fan of the tacky combination shampoo/conditioner that they paste to the shower wall. The bathroom also had plenty of storage area in two roomy compartments that book-ended the mirror. The outside balcony cabin just had a shower. However, back to the comparison with Cunard’s new Queen Victoria. This bathroom felt much bigger. Kudo’s to Royal Caribbean on the shower door enclosure in this bathroom versus the flimsy curtain that the Queen Victoria had in their standard outside balcony cabins. In that case the curtain was always hitting up against my body and it felt uncomfortable and unsanitary.

I wish Royal Caribbean could perfect internet access in the cabins. While it is available in several areas throughout the ship, I would love the convenience and privacy of working in my cabin.

The public space on the Voyager is fantastic. The ship was full and I always found a seat in the area where I wanted to go. The music at the different venues was “comfort” music and quite enjoyable. They have a fantastic fitness center and spa. I just wish they would open up the fitness center prior to 6 AM. This is just a pet peeve of mine. It has nothing to do with supervision as between the time I arrived at 6 AM each morning and left at 7, there wasn’t any supervision.

We sailed from Barcelona to Barcelona with stops in the South of France, the western coast of Italy and in Palermo, Sicily. The first stop was in Villafranche – a lovely port equidistant between Nice in Monaco. The problem is that you have to tender (take a boat) to shore and the first boat is not until 10 AM. This is a short day as you must be back on the ship by 6 PM. I think Royal Caribbean does a poor job in handling the disembarkation. If you do not buy one of their optional tours, you have to wait in line until all the tour passengers disembark. We had to wait a full 45 minutes. This meant we did not board the tender until 10:45 AM. Between waiting for the tender to fill up and the short trip to shore, we did not arrive until 11:10 AM. Either Royal Caribbean has to arrive at this port earlier or they must have more tenders operating as soon as the ship is cleared for passengers to disembark. Alternatively, you can recommend to your clients to take one of the optional tours. I am not a fan of these in general, but in this particular town you do not need a tour to visit Monaco, Nice or Cannes. In Villafranche, there is a train station within a 7 minute walk of the pier. You can take a train in any direction.

Rome, or the port of Civitavecchia, which is the gateway to Rome for ships, is about 1 hour, 15 minutes from downtown Rome without traffic. Royal Caribbean offers several tours of Rome. Royal Caribbean offers several tours of Rome and an option of just transportation to and from Rome. However for those who have been to Rome or would like to explore Rome on their own, it is less expensive for 4 people to hire a cab for the day. Cabs are plentiful in Civitavecchia and will stay with you all day. We were four, had been to Rome before, and loved the flexibility of creating our own schedule.



In Naples, consider taking one of the Royal Caribbean tours unless you are just going to hop a ferry to nearby Capri. You do not need a tour to see Capri and this is very much a walking experience. If you intend to explore the Amalfi coast – Sorrento (a charming town), Pompei, Positano (a town built into the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea – they made postcards from towns like Positano) or one of the other towns along the Amalfi coast, consider a tour. Naples is also not the safest of the Italian cities. Additionally, renting your own car will test every skill you have behind the wheel.

In Palermo, I stumbled upon this small travel company operated by Alessandra and Antonio. Alessandra lived in Great Britain for 5 years and speaks perfect English, as does Antonio. They operate tours all over Sicily as well as Southern Italy. I highly recommend you contact them for yourself or your clients. It will be a fabulous experience and potentially less expensive than a tour arranged through Royal Caribbean Contact Alessandra at alantrip@libero.it. Their website is www.alantrip.com

Lastly, make sure you put in your clients Crown and Anchor number in the reservation. Their on board savings certificates really add up. Everything from discounts at Johnny Rockets, Ben and Jerry’s, a bottle of wine, free drinks, discounts on the Spa and at the Photographer – this is a true value that should be SOLD to past guests of Royal Caribbean.

My family and I had a wonderful experience, highlighted by a terrific physical product (the Voyager of the Seas) and SERVICE worthy of accolades at resorts and cruise ships that enjoy a luxury reputation.

Brad

West Palm Beach Marriott

June, 2008

Above and Beyond

• The West Palm Beach Marriott standard room is incredibly comfortable with a great bed, more pillows than one dreams, about and a couch and seating area that is just terrific.
• The room also includes a great large screen TV that swivels so you can watch from the bed, desk or seating area in the room.
• The desk is conducive to working with a shelf made for a laptop or keyboard at a comfortable typing height.
• The room comes equipped with a coffee maker and Starbucks coffee – included in the rate.
• There is a refrigerator without the overpriced mini-bar.
• The hotel includes two bottles of water in the room rate.
• The bathroom is stocked with plenty of towels and there was a comfortable bathrobe hanging on the door.
• The fitness center is open 24 hours with your hotel room key(see Needs Improvement).
  

A Matter of Taste

• The lobby is spacious, open and indigenously tropical for a Southern Florida hotel
• I did not use the Internet Access, but they offer it for $12.95 per 24 hour period – a rip off – but they include unlimited local and long distance calls in this rate. This is something that most travelers do not need as cell phones do not charge for domestic long distance.
• The bathroom is small, but comfortable and equipped with a nice assortment of bathroom amenities. The shower head is a nice size with decent pressure and the shower has the curve bar allowing for plenty of room without the shower curtain brushing up against your body.

Needs Improvement

• My one complaint about the West Palm Beach Marriott is the fitness center.
• The equipment is old – it looks it and feels it.
• The hanging TV’s are only for visual effects as the equipment does not have the audio tie in, so when someone is using the equipment, you can’t here the TV. A Marriott of this caliber should have the new equipment with the individual TV’s.
• The fitness center was barely equipped with water and towels. I was one of the first to arrive on a particular morning so I was able to get one of the two remaining waters and one of the 3 remaining towels.

My Conclusion

I spent a night at the West Palm Beach Marriott on business. The hotel is conveniently located just east of I-95 and just west of CityPlace in West Palm Beach – a great complex of stores, restaurants and residential living.

The hotel is a vintage Marriott – meaning my expectations were for a very presentable hotel and it met these expectations.

I did not experience the food and beverage facilities at the West Palm Beach Marriott.

I would definitely stay here again. I hope they improve the fitness center.

Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel

February, 2008

Above and Beyond

• I found the front desk staff incredibly pleasant at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel.
• The room size is very comfortable with a little seating area.
• The bedding is very comfortable.
• The shower does have two shower heads which makes for a very pleasant experience. Both water pressure and water temperature were great.
• The flat screen TV is a nice size.
• There is a safe in the closet and it is large enough to store a laptop. The drawer space and desk space is plentiful.
• They do have internet access, which they charge for. It works perfectly.
• Lastly, they do have a very nice single serving coffee machine with Starbucks coffee supplied and included in the rate. For coffeeholics like me, this is very nice.

A Matter of Taste

• The Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel is functionally OK. The lobby and restaurants are pleasant to dine in. I had a cup of coffee but did not experience the food.

Needs Improvement

• The Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel is in need of cosmetic surgery.
• The carpeting in my room was dirty.
• The elevators are old and there are chips all over inside them.
• They did not fill the bathroom towel racks to make it look plush with towels. I found the amenities weak relative to the price paid. Again, you get more amenities at a Hilton Garden Inn and pay half the price. They did have shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer, but many hotels have a lot more today including shower caps, mouthwash, cotton swabs, etc…The soap bars supplied were sub par. They looked cheap. There is a telephone jack in the bathroom, but no telephone.
• The fitness center at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel has outdated equipment. The room is a narrow room and the TV’s are mounted high on the wall. It is impossible to see these TV’s from most of the equipment, which includes all the treadmills. They do have a filtered water cooler in the fitness center, but they stock it with the “cone” style cups. Try putting a cone style cup in ANY piece of fitness equipment. One other big negative to the fitness center is one has to walk outside to get there. Now, it rains often in Southern Florida. You will get drenched getting there and not have much of a workout. I imagine their fitness center is empty during poor weather.
• The Westin Fort Lauderdale does have a decent size pool area. Unfortunately, it backs Interstate 95 and is very noisy.
• One ridiculous thing is that the Westin Fort Lauderdale hotel charges for parking. This is almost unheard of outside of a city hotel. Shame on them for doing this. The lobby and restaurants are pleasant to dine in. I had a cup of coffee but did not experience the food.

My Conclusion

This is a mediocre hotel. I tell it like it is and this sentiment is more reflective of the quality you get for the price you pay. Just to compare, I think you get a lot more for your money, and similar quality, when one stays at a Hilton Garden Inn then at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel.

You won’t have an uncomfortable stay at the Westin Fort Lauderdale, but you will say you overpaid for the hotel.

Mandarin Oriental New York

February 2008

Above and Beyond

• I found the service at the Mandarin Oriental New York City to be spectacular. I had a minor problem with the toilet on arrival and it seemed the service was there before I hung up the phone.
• I stayed in a superior king bedded room at the Mandarin Oriental New York City. My room was on the 54th floor and afforded me great views of the Hudson River. Being in the travel industry, I loved seeing a Norwegian Caribbean ship (NCL) docked at the pier and watching it pull out traveling down the Hudson.
• The room has both great closet and drawer space.
• This is the second hotel that I have stayed in this week that has a great safe. The safe is both large enough for a laptop and other material as well as having an electrical outlet in the safe to charge the computer.
• The bathrooms at the Mandarin Oriental New York City are spectacular. First, they are large. They come with two sinks, a beautiful tub and separate shower. The shower has both a traditional head and a ceiling mounted head they call the “rain shower”. I found the shower pressure a little weak and the temperature not getting as hot as I would like in a shower. The bathroom comes with a small swivel TV that is very convenient to use while in the bath or using the sinks. There is a huge mirror in the bathroom as well as a full length mirror in the room. I know I am raving about the bathroom, but it certainly is one of the better ones in a standard hotel room. In addition to supplying you with plenty of towels, because of the design of this bathroom, the towel rods and bathrobe hooks are very convenient for use. Robes and towels are not stuck behind a door but rather hung where it makes it convenient to use.
• For those of you who read my hotel blog, you know how important the fitness room is to me. The Mandarin Oriental New York City has a great fitness room. Although the posted hours are 6 AM midweek and 7 AM weekend, they were quick to point out that security will open the room anytime I need it. Bravo Mandarin Oriental New York City.

A Matter of Taste

• The desk is more than adequate and this is another hotel that recognizes that the traveler today needs electrical outlets that are plentiful and convenient. I like a desk with drawer space, especially if I am staying several nights. The desk also has a great lamp that makes working very pleasant.

Needs Improvement

• I found the flat screen TV a little small relative to the quality of the hotel and the room they have to put a larger TV.

My Conclusion

Think Luxury when you think of the Mandarin Oriental New York City. This hotel is located in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle. It is located on floors 35-54 of this building.

Treat yourself to a stay at the Mandarin Hotel Oriental New York City. Have coffee, tea or a drink in their lounge on the 35th floor overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park. The views are great and the service is wonderful.