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#71
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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
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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
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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
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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 $$$ to stay in an expensive hotel? Would people prefer to stay in a hostel given that hotels should only b eused to sleep in? Everyone's circumstances and preferences are different. I know one person who would book a 5* hotel at the end of trips, just so she enjoys some luxury before heading home. |
#75
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Worth staying in a classy hotel?
We do the same. Average hotel for most of the trip (3-4*) then 5* for the
last few days. We've done the flea pits and now we can afford it it's nice to have a few days of luxury. Not everyone's choice but that's what we like to do. We discovered the Bangkok Intercontinental (they upgraded us to exec club) last weekend and that was a wonderful end to our holiday in Thailand. "Peter L" wrote in message ... "J Asking" wrote in message om... What are readers thoughts on travelling to Asia and spending big $$$ 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
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"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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