I am a loyal Starwood customer and will always do my best to stay at their properties. The W Westwood is my favorite hotel on the planet, but due to the popularity, the rates have become too extravegant, so for many of my LA trips, I have stayed at the Hotel Delfino. Great location, good bar down at the Viceroy and you can't beat smelling the fresh ocean air.
This trip, I had a conference in Hollywood so needed something closer. I chose the SLS. I made the right choice. There was a nice hip, cool feel like the W. The attentive staff is ALL about the little things, like learning your name when you pick up your car, having staff open the doors for you, handing your bottles of Evian before you start your day, being friendly and interested in chattting, having the entire place smell GREAT and having rooms that are cool, convenient and fully function. I
n the room, the beds were very heavenly-esque, the plasma TV was ensconsed in a huge mirror and when off, you didn't even know it was there. The "office" was beyond the bed, perfectly aligned with the television. Nice. Stay hot Starwood, i'll be back!
Soho Grand in New York is a chic, trendy spot full of beautiful people, good food, celebrities, style and some service that needs a big kick in the butt.
Here's their description: Hip, modern boutique hotels are one thing. The Soho Grand is a designer hotel that quickly becomes a way of life. Thank interior designer William Sofield, who created the clean, romantically eclectic space with one eye on the street and the other in the heavens, using such neighborhood materials as the glass-bottle staircase, the intricate cast-iron detailing, and concrete pillars—all of which create a seamless leap from outside to inside. We don’t leave the urban thrill on the sidewalk but take it right in with us—like New York itself—staying both classic and cutting-edge. The best taste knows it needs the right environment. The Soho Grand provides it.
Here's my take
Business friendly: D
Low grades on Internet connectivity, work space and accomodation to the business traveler. Their wi-fi (no ethernet connection) was spotty at best. Two of the nights, I couldn't get email. Good news is that they didn't charge me. Bad news is that was un-wired for 8 hours. Although it was nice to be unplugged, it screwed up my meetings.
Experiential: B/C
Feel good place reminding me of W Westwood w/out the LA. The rooms were nice, the smells were organic to the place (vs. W's careful thought through olefactory experience.) No music. Was totally cool that they gave champagne to people checking it, just sucked that I didn't see that till I was checking out. Maybe it was a "wedding package." Within the room, they weren't too small, were well put together and the bed, although not a heavenly bed, was comfy. TV didn't have high def, but radio was Bose and took CD's.
Service: C
Waiters forget about you, hard to place orders and the responsiveness is poor at best. I ordered a plate of cheese with 35 minutes to go before my car to the airport showed up and was 5 minutes late to the car after asking 4 times. Pay attention to your customers!!!! Especially if they order things conditionally and you say, "no problem sir." Overpromising sucks from waiters suck when you are in turn holding other people up. A colleague had a sprained ankle and couldn't get help getting ice. It is the little things that add up to a C.
Location: A
Aside from being close to our cool Six Apart Services office on Greene street (and Andrew Anker's old "stomping ground") Food, cafe's, bars and boutiques are all within walking direction in all areas. Killer location if you don't have to be in uptown or midtown all day.
. Killer location if you don't have to be in uptown or midtown all day.
Recent Comments