"Well this is my second time staying here, and sadly the experience has changed quite dramatically. A few years ago, I came here and they immediately upgraded me to one of their best rooms for being an amex Platinum member. The front desk had the loveliest attitude. The hotel, despite being in a hectic area, felt leisurely and luxurious. This time, I stayed here once again to be near the train station and wanted to be in a place I could feel at peace. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is now chaotic and not at all luxurious. The room itself is mostly fine but had a mosquito in it I had to kill. It also seemed like the water pressure was off and I had to jiggle the toilet flusher a few times to make it stop making this shrill noise. Also, I have US$100 credit with my credit card and when I had checked in we had discussed that the spa would be a good place to use it. Except that the spa was fully booked and not available during my stay. The last time I stayed, they had allowed me to purchase food products from their display cases to spend my money but apparently they've taken that away. When I mentioned that to the woman at the desk (a different one than the ine who checked me in), she had a nasty attitude, didn't believe me and insisted that I had spent my money on the minibar last time. I am perfectly aware of what I did and didn't purchase in the past and I know that I got a creamed pistachio jar out of their case and not anything out of their mini bar- but she did ask her manager after I insisted and apparently now they don't let you do that. I asked about the restaurant and she suggested their bar, which seemed ridiculous because I'm not an alcoholic. How am I spending $100 at a bar? A burger and 5 beers? I did know that they had a fine dining restaurant since I ate there last time. Thankfully the other woman I had checked in with got involved and helped to make sure that I got a dinner reservation, where I guess I am going to be ordering the most expensive glass of alcohol I can find, since I will only drink one glass. I understand they were fully booked and I guess that's good for them, but if people are paying a large amount of money to come into a place and feel pampered, this isn't giving them that experience. While it's a third of the price as the Ritz Carlton, it's also at least double the price of the other "good" hotels in the area. Keep in mind this is not the area you stay to have a good experience, it's where you stay to have access to the train station. And that is all. The only reason I would pay double is to feel like I'm getting something more than I am at the other hotels, but really, I'm not. So honestly, next time, if I need to stay near the train station, I would probably opt for one of the hotels in the 300 Euro range which are probably totally fine, but without frills. But then again, remember, the frills were largely not available to me here. I will say that it is not the fault of the front desk that the hotel is booked. But it is not a great policy to tell people who are paying for an expensive credit card that they can spend it on the spa or on food and then say the spa isn't available and point them to the bar. Part of the issue for my irritation was the particular person I had this conversation with, who could've made things better by having a better attitude in the conversation. It is also interesting that I sent her back to talk to the manager and the manager did not come out to personally speak to me. She could've been polite, apologized that the spa wasn't available and immediately offered the fine dining restaurant, letting me know that they would take care of me. She did not do that. Instead she suggested their bar with a smirk on her face.Thankfully the woman I first checked in with, who got involved again, did have a very pleasant attitude and did what she could. I will definitely be having a conversation with amex to let them know that I don't consider this indicative of what they are calling a "preferred hotel," having stayed at many of their preferred hotels in the past."
