Jerry and Susan’s Excellent Adventures

Yikes. Where do I begin? The property is beautiful down to the last blade of grass. It has a pool that’s like a small water park and lovely outdoor spaces, rooms with all the proper amenities, including my “must-haves.” Reading lamps, charging ports, bathrobes, conditioner, magnifying mirror, balcony with windows that open for fresh air.

But value for money? Wow. No. Just, no. It’s a nice room but it’s a fairly standard hotel room. For $1399 + tax per night (and that’s . I’ve stayed at the Peninsula Hong Kong and New York. Raffles in Siem Riep. The Chesterfield Mayfair and the Connaught. None of them charged a rate that high.

The bell staff greeted me, but failed to hold the door, which is not convenient when you’re dragging your rolling suitcase. 

The front desk help was VERY courteous. Props for that. In fact, all the staff were incredibly courteous. That’s a plus.

There was a private event the first night I stayed, so there was incredibly loud live music and flashing lights. The show went until 10pm. This is challenging when you’ve just rolled in after a long day of travel, complete with jetlag. I suppose I could have requested a room change, but that would have entailed a lengthy, fraught process with the front desk, and more schlepping. 

The on-site restaurant is just okay. They make a pretty good Cuban sandwich, but the “paprika fries” are cardboard. You get better fries at a fast food joint. 

The room service menu is a QR code on the tv screen, but when you use the code, it comes up blank. There’s no decent convenience store on site, so to get small needs, snacks, etc., it’s a ½ mile hike to the 7-11 (no sidewalks, so watch for traffic). There’s a snack shop on site but it was always closed. The offerings weren’t inspiring anyway–tiny overpriced packets of nuts and pringles, which fails to satisfy if you’re craving a serious bag of chips.

Internet is an issue. It’s an unsecured network, which means many laptops and devices simply won’t connect. The front desk offered to message a tech support person to come to my room and make it work, but really? A stay at a luxury hotel is supposed to be relaxing. Dealing with tech support on connectivity issues is not relaxing. I ended up using my phone as a hotspot. 

Oh, and it’s not included with the room. It’s an extra 9.95 or 14.95 per day depending on which speed you choose. 

Also not included: Breakfast. It was really delicious, though.

Also not included: Parking. $30 a day. 

Bottom line–lovely property but I simply don’t see the value for the money paid.