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Worth staying in a classy hotel?



 
 
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  #71  
Old July 17th, 2004, 05:44 PM
ggg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Worth staying in a classy hotel?

PTRAVEL wrote:
"ggg" wrote in message
om...

(PTRAVEL) wrote in message


. com...

I'm sorry, but you're completely and totally wrong. The 5-star hotels
I've described ARE hotels of the country in which they're in -- they
are run by nationals, staffed by nationals, decorated by nationals,
and stayed in by nationals. They are NOT Americanized. The
restaurant at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong, which is acknowledged as
one of the best in that city, serves their meals with chop sticks, not
knives and forks (as does room service). If you want western
utensils, you'll have to ask for them.


Not that that determines whether they are "Americanized."



The JW in Hong Kong isn't.


I wasn't talking about the JW when I responded to the relationship
between utensils and being Americanized.

My wife is from the PRC and I'll go by her
opinion as to whether a Chinese restaurant is good and authentic.


Well, lucky you and me (my MOM's Chinese albeit not PRC), luckier still
if she skims the local magazines for new places to eat. English
language guides and recs aren't as current.

Some are, some aren't. None of the JWs are.


The crappiest HK eatery I've been to was a YMCA and there were no
Chinese patrons.



You've clearly never eaten at the JW's restaurant. It is mostly Chinese
patrons, and many of them are not hotel guests.


You're right we've never patronized a Marriott. What does that have to
do with the Y? We went in for a lark and found missionaries. Next
time, I'm going to talk to a missionary in HK.

Which restaurant are you talking about?
  #72  
Old July 17th, 2004, 05:44 PM
ggg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Worth staying in a classy hotel?

PTRAVEL wrote:
"ggg" wrote in message
om...

(PTRAVEL) wrote in message


. com...

I'm sorry, but you're completely and totally wrong. The 5-star hotels
I've described ARE hotels of the country in which they're in -- they
are run by nationals, staffed by nationals, decorated by nationals,
and stayed in by nationals. They are NOT Americanized. The
restaurant at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong, which is acknowledged as
one of the best in that city, serves their meals with chop sticks, not
knives and forks (as does room service). If you want western
utensils, you'll have to ask for them.


Not that that determines whether they are "Americanized."



The JW in Hong Kong isn't.


I wasn't talking about the JW when I responded to the relationship
between utensils and being Americanized.

My wife is from the PRC and I'll go by her
opinion as to whether a Chinese restaurant is good and authentic.


Well, lucky you and me (my MOM's Chinese albeit not PRC), luckier still
if she skims the local magazines for new places to eat. English
language guides and recs aren't as current.

Some are, some aren't. None of the JWs are.


The crappiest HK eatery I've been to was a YMCA and there were no
Chinese patrons.



You've clearly never eaten at the JW's restaurant. It is mostly Chinese
patrons, and many of them are not hotel guests.


You're right we've never patronized a Marriott. What does that have to
do with the Y? We went in for a lark and found missionaries. Next
time, I'm going to talk to a missionary in HK.

Which restaurant are you talking about?
  #73  
Old July 17th, 2004, 11:57 PM
PTRAVEL
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Worth staying in a classy hotel?


"ggg" wrote in message
...
PTRAVEL wrote:
"ggg" wrote in message
om...

(PTRAVEL) wrote in message


. com...

I'm sorry, but you're completely and totally wrong. The 5-star hotels
I've described ARE hotels of the country in which they're in -- they
are run by nationals, staffed by nationals, decorated by nationals,
and stayed in by nationals. They are NOT Americanized. The
restaurant at the JW Marriott in Hong Kong, which is acknowledged as
one of the best in that city, serves their meals with chop sticks, not
knives and forks (as does room service). If you want western
utensils, you'll have to ask for them.


Not that that determines whether they are "Americanized."



The JW in Hong Kong isn't.


I wasn't talking about the JW when I responded to the relationship
between utensils and being Americanized.


Well, then, I misunderstood since your response was to a paragraph I wrote
about the Marriott.


My wife is from the PRC and I'll go by her
opinion as to whether a Chinese restaurant is good and authentic.


Well, lucky you and me (my MOM's Chinese albeit not PRC), luckier still
if she skims the local magazines for new places to eat. English
language guides and recs aren't as current.


Well, yes, we're lucky, but the point was that the JW Marriott's restaurant
is considered good by Chinese standards, as opposed to western standards.


Some are, some aren't. None of the JWs are.


The crappiest HK eatery I've been to was a YMCA and there were no
Chinese patrons.



You've clearly never eaten at the JW's restaurant. It is mostly Chinese
patrons, and many of them are not hotel guests.


You're right we've never patronized a Marriott. What does that have to
do with the Y?


Well, again, your post was in response to mine which was about staying in
5-stars, generally, and the JW Marriott in Hong Kong, specifically.

We went in for a lark and found missionaries. Next
time, I'm going to talk to a missionary in HK.

Which restaurant are you talking about?


I don't recall the name of it. It's downstairs from the lobby -- there's an
escalator that takes you to it. Reservations are recommended -- I've had
trouble getting in before.


  #74  
Old July 18th, 2004, 05:56 AM
Viviane
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Worth staying in a classy hotel?

We do the same. Average hotel for most of the trip (3-4*) then 5* for the
last few days. We've done the flea pits and now we can afford it it's nice
to have a few days of luxury. Not everyone's choice but that's what we like
to do. We discovered the Bangkok Intercontinental (they upgraded us to exec
club) last weekend and that was a wonderful end to our holiday in Thailand.

"Peter L" wrote in message
...

"J Asking" wrote in message
om...
What are readers thoughts on travelling to Asia and spending big $$$
to stay in an expensive hotel? Would people prefer to stay in a
hostel given that hotels should only b eused to sleep in?


Everyone's circumstances and preferences are different. I know one person
who would book a 5* hotel at the end of trips, just so she enjoys some
luxury before heading home.





  #75  
Old July 18th, 2004, 05:56 AM
Viviane
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Worth staying in a classy hotel?

We do the same. Average hotel for most of the trip (3-4*) then 5* for the
last few days. We've done the flea pits and now we can afford it it's nice
to have a few days of luxury. Not everyone's choice but that's what we like
to do. We discovered the Bangkok Intercontinental (they upgraded us to exec
club) last weekend and that was a wonderful end to our holiday in Thailand.

"Peter L" wrote in message
...

"J Asking" wrote in message
om...
What are readers thoughts on travelling to Asia and spending big $$$
to stay in an expensive hotel? Would people prefer to stay in a
hostel given that hotels should only b eused to sleep in?


Everyone's circumstances and preferences are different. I know one person
who would book a 5* hotel at the end of trips, just so she enjoys some
luxury before heading home.





  #76  
Old August 30th, 2004, 03:32 PM
RRaabe
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"me" wrote in message ...
"As I've said before, most people of all stripes and backgrounds are
nice. But you are right that among some backpackers there is an
attitude that being poor somehow makes you superior(????). It bothers
me whenever one of them posts that unless you live on $5 a day you
can't experience the local culture. That, of course, implies that
everyone is poor and that any local who has any level of financial
success automatically loses his culture."

You've got that right. What the backpackers fail to realize is that there's
a big different between them living on $5 per day by choice is a lot
different that the locals living on $5 per day (or less). The backpacker is
only able to go off trapzing around a foreign country because he comes from
a comparativley priveledge background. The backpcker runs out of money and
all it means is that he has to either have Daddy send him some more money or
else go back to Europe. The local runs out of money and he and his family
rot in squalor. There's hardly enough equivalence between the backpacker
and the local for the backpacker to be in tune with the local culture, the
locals have just as little in common with the backpacker as with the the
tourists staying at the Marriot, either type of toursit is just plain rich
by local standards. That the rich kid spends only $5 a day doesn't make him
enlightened, if just makes him cheap.

"Tchiowa" wrote in message
om...
"PTRAVEL" wrote in message

...
"Tchiowa" wrote in message
om...


Couldn't agree more. My favorite is JWM in Bangkok.

I've stayed at the Marriott which is down the river a bit, but never at

the
JW. The river resort was pretty nice, with spacious, beautifully

furnished
rooms. The JW in Bangkok must be spectacular.


To steal a line from a movie "it doesn't suck". :-)

I travel a lot on
business, so my boss gets to foot the bill. That keeps me Platinum for
Marriott. I get upgraded to an Executive Suite whenever I'm in Bangkok
and it makes all the difference in the world (as compared to a cheaper
place).

Nice! I once had to spend a month in Hong Kong for business -- my hotel
bill was over $10K but, of course, paid by the client. That year I made
platinum -- usually I'm gold, though last year my travel dropped
dramatically and I'm only silver for this year.


But, as you pointed out (and I have pointed out before), it's a matter
of taste. Some people don't care. I have a hard time understanding
that, but to each his own.

What I always find interesting is that people like us, who prefer nicer
hotels, have no problem respecting the choices of the super-budget
travelers. However, it's usually the super-budget travelers, like the

OP,
who insist on criticizing those of use who don't enjoy shared baths and
dormitory-style rooms when we travel.


As I've said before, most people of all stripes and backgrounds are
nice. But you are right that among some backpackers there is an
attitude that being poor somehow makes you superior(????). It bothers
me whenever one of them posts that unless you live on $5 a day you
can't experience the local culture. That, of course, implies that
everyone is poor and that any local who has any level of financial
success automatically loses his culture.

All of that is, for the most part, rationalization.

What people experience living like that is not the culture of the
country, but rather the culture of the poorest of the poor of that
country. It's kind of like saying that unless you sleep in the doorway
of a department store and urinate all over the BART entrances and eat
in a soup kitchen you can't experience the true culture of San
Francisco.



On the off chance that this thread still is about finding decent
accomodations in BKK for reasonable price (doubtful, but I am an
eternal optimist), I booked the Swiss Park Hotel, a 4 star venue for a
stay next month for $26.00USD a night through www.aisavoyage24.com
 




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