Honestly, this stay was a huge disappointment. I booked a high-end sea-view room at a steep price, but the service felt very perfunctory (was it because I'm a mainland Chinese tourist?). In hindsight, I shouldn't have passed on the Sheraton just because the room was too small, or the Grand Hyatt because of its less-than-ideal location. Even paying double the price for the Peninsula would have been a much happier experience.
As someone who travels frequently for business and leisure, I often stay at similarly-ranked Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton, and Westin hotels. In the past 10 years, whenever I've arrived early and the hotel had an available room, they've always allowed early check-in, and this applies to hotels both in mainland China and abroad. I understand that the 3 PM check-in time is standard contractual practice, but I also believe whether a hotel accommodates early check-in reflects its attitude, especially since with limited transportation options and times, who can guarantee they'll never arrive early? On the day of my arrival, at 1 PM, the weather in Hong Kong was bad with heavy rain expected in the afternoon. I was with my child, and under those circumstances, I had to go out and kill two hours.
Despite clearly indicating that children would be staying, no children's toiletries were prepared in advance, something I've never encountered at any high-end hotel before.
Then, the room key card wouldn't open the door after multiple attempts.
I also requested a high-floor room when booking, but was still assigned a low floor. This trip made me realize that being a Ctrip Gold Diamond member carries little weight at this hotel. If that's the case, why does the platform bother recommending it to people?
In short, I won't be returning. I don't love those who don't love me; why spend money where you're not valued? Perhaps some might say I didn't ask for early check-in? My decade-plus of hotel experience has taught me one thing: I won't ask for anything. If they don't proactively offer it, it reflects the hotel's attitude. And this is the Shangri-La, once lauded as the pinnacle of service!
To be fair, though I'm not a fan of their decor style, the sea view from the room was indeed excellent, and the room itself was quite spacious.
Original TextTranslation provided by AI