It is a wonderful beach house, with amazing views. A modern minimalist decor with all of the five star trimmings. High tech gadgets such as centrally controlled mood lighting and automated blinds all added to the experience. The main bedroom suite with sunken bath and rain shower is worth fighting over. Access to the adjoining resorts facilities, which included a swimming pool and tennis court, was a great added benefit.
We visited this house for a special occasion with some of our closest friends. The place had a real wow factor and made for a special week.
Here is the link to their web site http://www.byron-bay.com/vue4/. The owner Jennifer Barlow is very helpful and efficient.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Dont waste your money on the Novotel Collins St Melbourne
I wanted to highlight a very average experience I had staying in the Novotel in Melbourne.
I was lucky enough to go away with my girlfriend on a business trip to Melbourne. Her company paid for the hotel, so I just bought a flight and booked another hotel (The Park Hyatt see separate review) for the weekend. We stayed at the Novotel from the 14th of July 2009 until the 17th. The hotel has a fantastic central CBD location on Collins St and very convenient for restaurant, bars and other attractions.
Her company paid around $260AUD per night for a King room excluding breakfast, and I noticed there are not many significant discounts on this price available online.
Things started well when they upgraded us to an Executive suite on arrival, but this was soon overshadowed by fact they told us the pool was out of use and the gym facilities limited due to a refurbishment. I noticed this is not mentioned anywhere online, so beware before booking.
The executive suite is disappointing, a slightly bigger than normal room with a sofa in it. The carpet is bland, the room drab with no real natural light, as the windows look out over the atrium of a shopping center. There is a decent sized desk and a flat screen TV on the wall above, however the in house movies are not far off $20 a pop.
The bathroom looks more like something out of a Formula 1 hotel than a 4 star hotel. The shower is inside the bath, which is far too narrow and shallow for a decent soak. If you are paying $260AUD a night you want a bit more than this.
The hotel decor is very business hotel, and looks tired and unexciting. The entrance off Collins St is slightly unusual with a small concierge area, and lifts that take you up to the main reception area where the bar and restaurant are located. When these lifts broke for a day it became a real ordeal to get out of the hotel.
The bar is overpriced with a pot of Heineken selling for $8. Breakfast at Michelle's restaurant is $33 for full and $28 for continental. Whilst the selection is o.k this is once again well over priced for what it is. I think this hotel relies heavily on people on business trips with expense accounts.
The service is not much better than the hotel. On my first day I went to the concierge and asked about visiting the QVB markets that morning. He highly recommended it, so I set off for the 15 minute walk up there, only to find it was closed on Wednesdays. Surely knowing this is the ABC for a concierge. I decided not to use that service again. The reception staff were little better than this. When the lifts broke down to road level for nearly a whole day, they would let you walk right past them and up to the sign on the lift telling you it was out of order, you then had to turn around go back to reception and ask how to get out of the hotel. Why not just stop me on the way through? Equally when I checked out they didn't even ask me how my stay was, or thank me for my business. This hotel did not exceed my expectations in any area. In fact it disappointed me in most.
In conclusion this hotel is a rip off. If it was priced around the $100 to $150 mark it might be worth it. The rooms are poor, the service is unremarkable, the services are overpriced, and the concierge will probably know less than you about Melbourne. Don't stay here if you are paying, and ask your company to book you in somewhere else if you can.
I was lucky enough to go away with my girlfriend on a business trip to Melbourne. Her company paid for the hotel, so I just bought a flight and booked another hotel (The Park Hyatt see separate review) for the weekend. We stayed at the Novotel from the 14th of July 2009 until the 17th. The hotel has a fantastic central CBD location on Collins St and very convenient for restaurant, bars and other attractions.
Her company paid around $260AUD per night for a King room excluding breakfast, and I noticed there are not many significant discounts on this price available online.
Things started well when they upgraded us to an Executive suite on arrival, but this was soon overshadowed by fact they told us the pool was out of use and the gym facilities limited due to a refurbishment. I noticed this is not mentioned anywhere online, so beware before booking.
The executive suite is disappointing, a slightly bigger than normal room with a sofa in it. The carpet is bland, the room drab with no real natural light, as the windows look out over the atrium of a shopping center. There is a decent sized desk and a flat screen TV on the wall above, however the in house movies are not far off $20 a pop.
The bathroom looks more like something out of a Formula 1 hotel than a 4 star hotel. The shower is inside the bath, which is far too narrow and shallow for a decent soak. If you are paying $260AUD a night you want a bit more than this.
The hotel decor is very business hotel, and looks tired and unexciting. The entrance off Collins St is slightly unusual with a small concierge area, and lifts that take you up to the main reception area where the bar and restaurant are located. When these lifts broke for a day it became a real ordeal to get out of the hotel.
The bar is overpriced with a pot of Heineken selling for $8. Breakfast at Michelle's restaurant is $33 for full and $28 for continental. Whilst the selection is o.k this is once again well over priced for what it is. I think this hotel relies heavily on people on business trips with expense accounts.
The service is not much better than the hotel. On my first day I went to the concierge and asked about visiting the QVB markets that morning. He highly recommended it, so I set off for the 15 minute walk up there, only to find it was closed on Wednesdays. Surely knowing this is the ABC for a concierge. I decided not to use that service again. The reception staff were little better than this. When the lifts broke down to road level for nearly a whole day, they would let you walk right past them and up to the sign on the lift telling you it was out of order, you then had to turn around go back to reception and ask how to get out of the hotel. Why not just stop me on the way through? Equally when I checked out they didn't even ask me how my stay was, or thank me for my business. This hotel did not exceed my expectations in any area. In fact it disappointed me in most.
In conclusion this hotel is a rip off. If it was priced around the $100 to $150 mark it might be worth it. The rooms are poor, the service is unremarkable, the services are overpriced, and the concierge will probably know less than you about Melbourne. Don't stay here if you are paying, and ask your company to book you in somewhere else if you can.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Park Hyatt Melbourne and the lost jumper
I will begin with a great experience I had staying at the Park Hyatt Melbourne last weekend.
I booked a room on wotif.com and was able to work out that the Park Hyatt was offering a deal under the mystery deals option, for $199AUD per night nearly $100AUD less than the normal rate on the same website. You can normally, with a bit of research work out the mystery hotels on this site and lastminute.com, I have been right 3 out of 3 times so far. This hotel is currently the 2nd listing under Melbourne hotels, the 3rd is the Grand Hyatt if anyone is interested.
In terms off decor the hotel has got it just right. The lobby and public areas are a statement in deco opulence. The rooms are wood paneled and give a feeling of being on board a luxury ship. The King beds are adorned with high quality Egyptian cotton linen and too many pillows to count; so comfortable you won't want to get up. The Italian styled bathroom included an oversized bath separate shower and a bath side television. We stayed in a junior suite (park king suite) due to an upgrade I was owed from a complaint I made while staying at another Hyatt. This room had a small separate lounge room with an extra LCD TV. I did however get to look at a standard King room and they were equally luxurious and included all of the frills including the television in the bathroom.
The location is in the leafier Eastern end of Melbourne CBD, not too far from the centre of the action and close to the 'Paris end'' of Collins St.
The maid service is done with a care and attention to detail that you don't expect. Little things like the way they put all the shoes we had left out round the room on to the shoe rack in the closet all added to the experience. Every night the bed was turned down and water was placed by the bed side; this was greatly appreciated after returning from a night on the Melbourne bar scene.
The concierge and reception staff were impeccable remembering my name on every visit. When looking to book a restaurant they carefully found out my requirements and offered me a good range of appropriate options. They actually listened to my needs rather than assuming them.
The stand out experience was when we visited a restaurant they had booked for us for dinner, and we decided after a drink at the bar that we were not in the mood for a long fancy meal. We made our apologies and headed out to Brunswick St for a light meal and drinks. I received a call 30 minutes later from the hotel informing me that I had left my jumper and hotel key card at the restaurant. I asked if they could call the place and see if I could get it in the morning, but unfortunately it turned out they didn't open until after we had to leave Melbourne. I told them not to worry as it wasn't expensive I would leave it. When I returned to the hotel about an hour later and visited reception to get another room key they politely and without fuss returned me my lost jumper. Now that is great service.
Great service is about exceeding the customers expectations, and can be as simple as remembering their name to really going the extra mile.
Thanks Park Hyatt Melbourne, I will be back.
I booked a room on wotif.com and was able to work out that the Park Hyatt was offering a deal under the mystery deals option, for $199AUD per night nearly $100AUD less than the normal rate on the same website. You can normally, with a bit of research work out the mystery hotels on this site and lastminute.com, I have been right 3 out of 3 times so far. This hotel is currently the 2nd listing under Melbourne hotels, the 3rd is the Grand Hyatt if anyone is interested.
In terms off decor the hotel has got it just right. The lobby and public areas are a statement in deco opulence. The rooms are wood paneled and give a feeling of being on board a luxury ship. The King beds are adorned with high quality Egyptian cotton linen and too many pillows to count; so comfortable you won't want to get up. The Italian styled bathroom included an oversized bath separate shower and a bath side television. We stayed in a junior suite (park king suite) due to an upgrade I was owed from a complaint I made while staying at another Hyatt. This room had a small separate lounge room with an extra LCD TV. I did however get to look at a standard King room and they were equally luxurious and included all of the frills including the television in the bathroom.
The location is in the leafier Eastern end of Melbourne CBD, not too far from the centre of the action and close to the 'Paris end'' of Collins St.
The maid service is done with a care and attention to detail that you don't expect. Little things like the way they put all the shoes we had left out round the room on to the shoe rack in the closet all added to the experience. Every night the bed was turned down and water was placed by the bed side; this was greatly appreciated after returning from a night on the Melbourne bar scene.
The concierge and reception staff were impeccable remembering my name on every visit. When looking to book a restaurant they carefully found out my requirements and offered me a good range of appropriate options. They actually listened to my needs rather than assuming them.
The stand out experience was when we visited a restaurant they had booked for us for dinner, and we decided after a drink at the bar that we were not in the mood for a long fancy meal. We made our apologies and headed out to Brunswick St for a light meal and drinks. I received a call 30 minutes later from the hotel informing me that I had left my jumper and hotel key card at the restaurant. I asked if they could call the place and see if I could get it in the morning, but unfortunately it turned out they didn't open until after we had to leave Melbourne. I told them not to worry as it wasn't expensive I would leave it. When I returned to the hotel about an hour later and visited reception to get another room key they politely and without fuss returned me my lost jumper. Now that is great service.
Great service is about exceeding the customers expectations, and can be as simple as remembering their name to really going the extra mile.
Thanks Park Hyatt Melbourne, I will be back.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Introduction to my customer service blog
Great customer service is rare, and is what makes one business stand out from another.
I want to keep a personal record of the experiences I have interacting with different businesses.
I will highlight the good the bad and the ugly and maybe some of the in between.
I may from time to time try to answer the question of what great customer service is', and provide insights for how businesses can improve their customer's experiences.
I apologise in advance to anyone who may happen to stumble on my rants and raves, and hope that my recommendations or condemnations help you in your decisions of where to eat, stay, shop and so on.
I want to keep a personal record of the experiences I have interacting with different businesses.
I will highlight the good the bad and the ugly and maybe some of the in between.
I may from time to time try to answer the question of what great customer service is', and provide insights for how businesses can improve their customer's experiences.
I apologise in advance to anyone who may happen to stumble on my rants and raves, and hope that my recommendations or condemnations help you in your decisions of where to eat, stay, shop and so on.
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