NeilGoBlue

I finalized my activities with the destination host yesterday..earlier in the week I realized it was Mothers Day on Sunday (I know, I know). Sunday is the day we arrive, so I called the Destination host and he's going to two huge boquets of flowers with notes that I wrote waiting at the house for my mom (who's traveling with us) and my wife..

There is a lot of talk in this board about the costs/dues/deposits..etc.. all of these conversations are valid.. but the service that you get is second to none and makes all the difference for me...I dont' think it's discussed enough on this board.. so I will go out of my way to point out the service side of my experience...

Next post.. sunday when we arrive..

Kagehitokiri

enjoy.

neil, vineyarder, etc - what are the best four seasons / ritz carlton / etc that youve stayed with?

and what kind of in-villa service, if any, have you taken advantage of during DC trips?

also, does anyone know how DCs recruited property support staff and/or local hosts?

TravelGuy

Neil,

Thanks for the info. I look forward to reading about your adventures in South Baja.

I had a similar DC experience with last years visit to the High Country Club Turks & Caicos property. They arranged for a rental car with Grace Bay Car Rentals and the owner met us at the airport. HCC arranged for him to drive us from the airport to the villa in our car and then drive us back to the airport in our car on departure day. Although I drive "on the wrong side" several times a year, I prefer that the adjustment period not be while navigating the chaotic airport parking lot and access roads. The rental car company owner also spent about 20 minutes with us making notes on a map of some of the better kept secrets of the island. We also received info from the on-site HCC concierge but it was great to get more info from this "man about town"!

Looking forward to your next post!

NeilGoBlue

I'm writing this from my patio deck, sipping on a margarita, overlooking the infinity pool and the ocean, (though i haven't figured out yet if it is the sea of cortez or the Pacific) The locals seem to argue about that also...

We got in yesterday.. the Destination Host, Gabriel, picked us up at the airport in the rented suburban and took us for a tour of cabo on the way to the house.

When we got to the house, the chef was there making dinner, he served us a cheese plate along with margaritias ..the bouquets of flowers for my mom and wife were simply spectacular! Gabriel was the man.. attending to every detail..

1) my father forgot his ubs cable to download pictures, gabriel brought us one
2) we forgot a blank dvd to burn pictures onto..he brought us one..
3) our home was stocked with the grocery list that we filled out.. etc

Today was massage day.. I wanted a thai yoga massage and gabriel made a reservation for me at Las Ventanas..(awesome resort) meanwhile, Suzanne Morel (massage company) came to the house and my wfie, mom and dad all received massages at the house. They loved it! They even came early to 'setup' I assumed this meant get the tables ready...well they also set it up like a total spa..rose petals on the floor... decorations, etc... my parents were blown away...

We're leaving now to go into town look around and do dinner at "the office"' (dinner while your feet are in the sand)

Tomorrow is golf on the ocean course...

NeilGoBlue

Forgot to tell you about the house... 4500 sq ft..infinity pool with a wading pool. Outdoor jacuzzi.. 4 outdoor tables to eat or drink or lounge at... 4 bedrooms 4 1/2 baths..2 master suites 1 bedroom with queen size and downstairs a bedroom with queen and an additional family room with bunk beds..

There are jacuzzis in both master baths and an indoor/outdoor shower..(the shower is indoors, but there is a door to open so you can take a shower and the breeze comes in.. very cool...

Very open floor plan..every possible amenity sp?

The house is simply amazing...my only complaint is no tv in the main family room...(they are shutting down the house for two months for renovations...and this is one of the things they are going to fix)

NeilGoBlue

I haven't stayed at any... I have a hard time paying $1000 a night for a hotel room...lol..

I don't know.. gabriel says this is almost a full time job for him and the last destination host we were with was also a realtor.. she managed several homes in the restort community..

Kagehitokiri

good info on the in-villa services neil :thumbsup:

NeilGoBlue

I forgot to add that I told gabriella to please child proof the house and to provide any kids toys etc that he could...

When we got here there was a corner in the family room that had a kids table, a couple of chairs and toys for my daughter...she's spent hours at that table..

vineyarder

Kage - Sorry for the delay in responding. Keeping in mind that since we live at the beach, most of our Ritz and Four Seasons stays are in metropolitan destinations, here are the best we've experienced:

Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza - Booked a FS Executive Suite and was upgraded to Presidential Suite; almost 2000 sq ft plus another 400 sq feet on two terraces overlooking the Nile, with the pyramids off in the distance. Gifts all over the suite; the usual fruit baskets, flowers, and personalized cookies for the kids, plus a beautiful coffee table photo book, several platters of pastries, coloring books and educational books for the kids, stuffed animals (camels) for the kids, etc. They arranged a private tour of the Egyptian museum, personally conducted by the Assistant Minister of Antiquities, including King Tut artifacts normally not on exhibit, as well as tours of tombs in Giza, Dahshur, and Saqqara that are usually closed to the public. Every restuarant in the hotel was superb, and the service was simply the best we've encountered. We flew from Cairo to Paris and stayed at the FS George V, and it seemed like a Marriott Timeshare by comparison!

Four Seasons Dublin - Again booked a FS Executive Suite and was upgraded to a Premium Suite; about 1800 sq ft. In addition to the usual flowers, fruit and cookies, also welcomed us with a litre of premium Irish Whiskey, and a platter of Irish cheeses, and several other little gifts for the kids. Sent a limo to pick us up at the airport instead of the standard towncar, and had our room ready for us for a 7am arrival at the hotel.

Four Seasons Buenos Aires - Booked a FS Executive Suite and was upgraded to a Club level Executive Suite - about 900 sq feet, but the club lounge served as our 'extra living room', with free internet access and all-day food & beverage service, including some very fine Argentinian wines (one of the complementary Malbecs they served was $90 at a wine shop in BA). Lots of little gifts, and they arranged several memorable day trips. With an 11pm departure, they let us stay in the suite until 8pm on the day of departure with no extra charge, and the GM treated us to dinner on our last night!

Four Seasons Shanghai - Once again I booked a FS Executive Suite, and was upgraded two levels to a Premium Suite on the 34th floor; 1350 sq ft with a panoramic view of the skyline. Lots of gifts in the suite, and fabulous restaurants and an excellent spa with very reasonable massages. They had arranged a car & driver for us, and they added an english-speaking guide at no cost. Fabulous tours, and impeccible service.

Four Seasons Sydney - Booked 2 "Full harbor View" rooms, and they upgraded us to a Full Harbor View Executive Suite with a connecting Harbor View room, plus they comped us access to the Club Lounge, with all day food & beverage service. The views were stunning, both from the suite, the room, and the lounge. All the usual goodies & gifts (flowers, fruit, wine, chocolates, cookies, backpacks & stuffed animals for the girls, etc.). Every excursion that we'd requested was booked with excellent tour guides, etc. Less 'formal' than other FS but stellar service.

Ritz Carlton Boston Common - Booked a regular room with an automatic upgrade to an Executive Suite, then was upgraded two more levels to a "Large Park View Suite" - about 1100 sq ft, newly renovated, with floor to ceiling views over the Boston Common. Fabulous club lounge; only one I've been to with menu service at lunch; you just ordered whatever you wanted, and room service brought it up to the lounge at no charge!

Ritz Carlton San Francisco - This was several years ago, so I don't remember what room category we booked, but we were upgraded several levels to a very large suite with club lounge access. We wanted chinese food but the kids were too tired to go out, so the club concierge arranged for a valet to go pick up takeout at her favorite restaurant in Chinatown; she ordered a feast for us, and even arranged for a server to come up to the club lounge to serve us, refresh our drinks, etc.

The very best hotel suites we've stayed in, however, were neither FS nor RC...

#4) The Danielli, Venice - A Starwood Luxury Collection property. Booked two connecting rooms (using points), and despite being only a Gold member, we were upgraded to a huge two-bedroom suite, with 6 (yes 6!) balconies overlooking the Grand Canal. Special little gifts every single night, and excellent service.


#3) The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore - A luxury jungle resort on the edge of the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. We were in two luxury "tents"; 800 sq feet each, with finely embroidered canopies, luxurious bathrooms, mahogany flooring and private walled gardens. Fabulous spa, and priority access to the private game drives. The GM arranged a complementary private cooking lesson with the executive chef, who spent about 4 hours teaching us how to cook our favorite Indian dishes. The GM also arranged for us to have cocktails with the Prince of Rajasthan, a definate highlight for the kids! Magnificent service, and I love the 'no tipping' policy; at the end of your stay you can leave a tip that goes into a general pool, but no individual tipping is allowed.


#2) The Imperial, Vienna - Also a Starwood Luxury Collection property. Again booked two connecting rooms (using points), and were upgraded to a Royal Suite, 1500 sq feet of pure luxury, with butler service and nightly gifts. This was the same suite where President John F. Kennedy stayed when he met with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev at their first summit conference in 1961. Nightly gifts, stellar service. When we left, our girls were so impressed that they wrote (in crayon) a thank-you poem to the GM; he responded by posting the note under glass in lobby (temporarily removing the guest register with celebrity signatures), and then when we checked in to our next hotel (in Salzburg), there were beautifully wrapped, huge stuffed animals for the girls, as a gift from the GM of The Imperial!


#1) The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra - Booked 2 rooms (the lowest room category) via AMEX; upon arrival we were upgraded to a Two Bedroom Kohinoor Suite - 2400 sq feet with views of the Taj Mahal from every single window, 3 huge terrages (at least 1000 sq feet combined), a living room, a full dining room, a butler and butler's pantry, and a master bathroom with a tub overlooking the Taj Mahal as well as a huge octagonal rain shower that was at least 8 feet in diameter, plus 4 sink/vanity areas, and a walk-in closet. A golf cart whisked us away to see sunset at the Taj Mahal, delivering us straight to the front of the line, and waited to bring us back, while the butler unpacked our luggage, and without even being asked, pressed our clean clothes and had our dirty clothes laundered (at no cost), and greeted us on our return with a glass of wine and mango lassi's for the girls. The next morning a guide with a PhD met us in the lobby, and the staff brought us back to the Taj Mahal before it was open to the general public, so we could see sunrise, and get photos before other people were there to interfere with our shots! Had one of the best dinners ever at Espahan, the hotel's Indian restaurant, which was comped as part of the AMEX program.

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NeilGoBlue

Vine,

Just out of curiosity, what kind of prices (approximately) are you paying for those types of hotels?

I ask because those services are impressive and I wonder how they compare to dcs price wise.

For example, i had my massage yesterday at Las Ventanas...i was blown away at the service.. it was absolutely impeccable. I was talking to the manager as they were pulling my car around and he said the prices were $975 a night for a room. As impeccable is the service was...$975 a night for a single room was very expensive on any level compared to a dc where you get 4 bedrooms for for about the same...

Also, how do you get those upgrades? Centurion?

vineyarder

Here is roughly what I paid:

FS Cairo - $275/nt
FS Dublin - $400/nt
FS BA - $250/nt
FS Shanghai - $300/nt
FS Sydney - $250/rm/nt = $500/nt
RC Boston - $379 - 519 / nt (rate changed during stay)
RC SF - $375 / nt
Danielli - Starwood Points
Imperial - Starwood Points
Oberoi Vanyavillas - $500/rm/nt = $1000/nt
Oberoi Amarvilas - $500/rm/nt = $1000/nt

Most of the FS rates were special rates available to Four Seasons owners, but unfortunately they have discontinued that program! I have found, however, that some properties will still honor the program if contacted directly...

The RC upgrades are via a loosely defined member upgrade program (if you belong to a RC community). The other upgrades (Oberoi, Starwood, FS) were the old-fashioned way; establishing a personal relationship with hotel management ahead of the stay...

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Kagehitokiri

thanks for the posts vineyarder.

NeilGoBlue

Today is thursday...


Gabriel is bringing his family over to baby sit tonight (his daughter is the same age as my daughter) so that'll make for a great play date. Meanwhile my parents and I are going out to dinner..

Most of mexico in this area is kind of ugly...chain linked fences, barbed wire fences.. barren terrain..concrete everywhere..

But, once you get inside the main hwy, on the resorts..it's stunning.. the ocean is blue and it looks great as it crashes over the rocks..

A couple days ago, I played on the 'ocean course' It was the most stunning golf course I've played on...8 holes on the ocean.. It was $350... not sure if it's worth it more than once... but for once it was...don't ask me how I shot.. I seemed to have a knack for entering bunkers where I couldn't even see out of them, let alone hit out of them...

We are off to the glass bottom boat rides... and then tomorrow is ziplining....

LTTravel

NGB:

Which development is the home in?

NeilGoBlue

Cabo De Sol...

NeilGoBlue

A&K has two homes in cabo.. we are going to see the other home on saturday... this home was the bellehavens home, the other home was the crescendo home.. both in the cabo de sol development..