Hotel Reviews

I have stayed in some wonderful places. It's the contrast that makes the stays interesting. At a five star hotel, I don't need to specify my requirements. At a four star hotel, I do. They are usually as follows:

• high floor
• quiet room
• no adjoining door

(no-smoking floor, of course).

New - need a place to stay in London?

Le Bon Journal Newsletters, Volume 1 Issue 8: If hotels were where the heart is

Related diary entries:

3, 4, 5 star hotels

You get what you pay for

In search of the perfect hotel

Different types of hotels

Bed and Breakfast

Fog over Amsterdam

an interesting way to complain about the Double Tree Hotel in Houston (266 kb powerpoint presentation)

Hot List 2001
my next destinations in 2002

Grand Hotel Duomo
Milan, Italy
the Beatles stayed at this five star hotel built in 1860

Hotel Le Plaza
Brussels, Belgium
friendly waiters welcome you to play their grand piano under chandeliers of another time.

Arabella Grand Sheraton
Frankfurt, Germany
a five-star grand hotel with full conference facilities

The Royal Albion
Brighton, UK
one of the oldest hotels, newly renovated, but still falls very short of its four star rating

Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky
Amsterdam, Netherlands
a centrally located 5-star Golden Tulip hotel with several excellent restaurants and a Yamaha grand piano

The Avalon
New York City, USA
a private, boutique hotel serving business guests; a stone's throw from Penn Station in central Manhattan

Roger Williams Hotel
New York City
Madison and 31st, private hotel, minimalist designer feel

Candlewood Suites
Houston, Texas
1-888-CANDLEWOOD
local calls free, two lines, one bedroom suites $109 per day; $89 if you stay a week; studios are $69 per day. friendly staff. free rental of CD and videos.

Hotel Okura, Amsterdam
two Japanese restaurants on the ground floor served by Japanese chefs and staff. A French restaurant on the 23rd floor. High quality health club, featuring 18 meter indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, separate saunas, combined sauna, turkish bath (steam room). excellent conference facilities, with two Yamaha grand pianos well-tuned.

My rating: A for best, B, C, F for failure/flunk

The Oriental, Singapore - A

ANA Hotel, Tokyo - B

Furama, Hong Kong - C

Millenium Hilton, New York - A

Doubletree, Houston - A

The Conrad, Brussels - A

Renaissance, Amsterdam - C

Mariott, Washington DC - C

Silver Cloud Inn, Seattle - C

Westin Stamford, Singapore - A

the Queen Anne, San Francisco - B

The Warwick, Houston - C

Sofitel Bercy, Paris - B

Kempinski Bristol, Berlin - B

Le Meridien Grosvenor House - B

Hyatt New Orleans - B