Asking what you pay for in luxury hotels?

[Teadrinker11]

This is probably a very stupid question, so I apologise for being an idiot. I am wondering why luxury hotels are able to charge such minted prices? I was looking at the London Savoy recently and it's nice, but why are they so expensive? What are guests paying for other than a bed, shower / bath and toilet and pleasant staff? What the hell validates the crazy prices?

Two rooms for our family in the Valley Wing of The Shangri La in Singapore - incredible food, luxurious rooms... And an overwater bungalow @ Soneva Gili in The Maldives - divine... worth every penny

I think the calmness & quiet is noticable in more luxurious hotels after a stay find busy more hectic atmosphere on other hotels.
Presume they can achieve that by having lot of good staff.
Service so good it doesn't get in the way always notice bad service faster.
Fixtures, furnishings, decor ECT helps but the atmosphere is what makes it.
Can really relax feel like living the life with the calm atmosphere of an exclusive hotel.
Not something I experience often enough 😜

I get why there are top-end hotels, but what boggles my mind is the extremities it's taken to. A £5,000/night room is already going to be (or should be) glorious. So what more could you possibly get in £25,000/night rooms? There's a point at which it becomes silly, IMO. I don't care how many extras they throw in, I don't go to a hotel to get a monogrammed silk robe.

@PartyPlan

Priced to keep the riffraff out which preserves the exclusivity.

This is one of the drivers. Agreed.

Spa
Sauna
Pool

In more costly hotels

It’s the riffraff for us.

Personally, i don't think a GOOD hotel is reflected by the number of stars. The stars reflect services and facilities available. But I'd 100% prefer a good and well-run four star to a bad five star (and yes, there are bad five star hotels)

What I hate about the luxury hotels is the way they treat customers like ATM machines. Yes, you can get amazing service but then they charge you for EVERYTHING. I disagree with the PP who says it's a false economy. Absolutely not. Room service is ridiculously over-priced, breakfast (if not included) - stupid money, minibar will be stupid costs, if there's a spa it'll be overpriced, drinks by the pool - hugely inflated.

And the idea that the staff are all so well-paid. Well, yes, some of the front desk staff may be well-paid. But I suspect that housekeeping, kitchen hands etc are on shit wages.

I'm going on holiday soon and have chosen a 4 hotel with amazing reviews and recommended by word of mouth over a 5 with good reivews but not as glowing. Price difference for the room itself wasn't great in this case so that wasn't the main motive but I know that all the extras, especially the hotel restaurant, will be cheaper as well and that add up. I hate that feeling of constantly being diddled with the over-pricing of everything.

@FarangGirl

Personally, i don't think a GOOD hotel is reflected by the number of stars. The stars reflect services and facilities available. But I'd 100% prefer a good and well-run four star to a bad five star (and yes, there are bad five star hotels)

What I hate about the luxury hotels is the way they treat customers like ATM machines. Yes, you can get amazing service but then they charge you for EVERYTHING. I disagree with the PP who says it's a false economy. Absolutely not. Room service is ridiculously over-priced, breakfast (if not included) - stupid money, minibar will be stupid costs, if there's a spa it'll be overpriced, drinks by the pool - hugely inflated.

And the idea that the staff are all so well-paid. Well, yes, some of the front desk staff may be well-paid. But I suspect that housekeeping, kitchen hands etc are on shit wages.

I'm going on holiday soon and have chosen a 4 hotel with amazing reviews and recommended by word of mouth over a 5 with good reivews but not as glowing. Price difference for the room itself wasn't great in this case so that wasn't the main motive but I know that all the extras, especially the hotel restaurant, will be cheaper as well and that add up. I hate that feeling of constantly being diddled with the over-pricing of everything.

Not all 5* hotels do that.

We went to Gleneagles up in Scotland this August and stayed for three days.

Rooms were very expensive (£1000+/day range) BUT the cost of the restaurants and extras (spa and the various external activities) was very reasonable.

It thought it was a good pricing strategy. The high price of the rooms is the price of entry (reduces the riff-raff), but the reasonable price of the extras make you feel like you are not being constantly fleeced. And the service there was fantastic. Not pushy at all.

I avoid higher end hotels in London because their extras are also extortionate. You do like you are being fleeced, which then takes away from your enjoyment of the venue.

I've always felt I wouldn't be comfortable staying in a really expensive hotel because I would feel that I was wasting the experience by sleeping.

On the other hand, I have a few times been lucky enough to find absolutely fantastic places that didn't cost a fortune. Many of the benefits of expensive hotels, particularly pleasant staff who care that you are comfortable and enjoy yourself, can be found in much less expensive surroundings.

@shivawn

I'd never normally choose to stay in a luxury hotel in UK because I just don't see them as being worth the money at all. I do splash out on really fancy places abroad though, the types of places that have your own private pool, incredible sea views, overwater villas etc...

I agree with this! Why splash out all this money on a grey weekend in London?

@FatOaf

I’m sure one of the restaurants has a Michelin star.

So you pay extra to sleep in a room that's in the same building as a Michelin-starred restaurant?

No. When you stay at The Savoy, it’s lovely to be able to just go downstairs to the Michelin starred restaurant for dinner. No going out in the rain or getting a cab necessary.

I stayed in one in Sydney a while ago. We asked the concierge where was good nearby for cocktails and he took us across the road to what looked like a department store, but it was really the downstairs lobby to an incredible hidden cocktail bar. We would never have known it was there! The beds were also insanely comfortable and the buffet breakfast was a thing of absolute beauty, I thought the eyes were going to fall out of my sons head. They even had their own honey from the beehive on the roof. We had access to the club lounge which had champagne cocktails on tap and incredible appetisers. The whole thing was a massive treat. I don't mind a premier Inn or equivalent but 5 star is a different ball game!

I also remember staying in the American Hotel in Amsterdam many years ago for work. It was 5 star at the time, and it was pretty rubbish, apart from the location. The rooms were large but the decor was tired, and it was really noisy and busy. I think they refurbed it soon after. but it really was pretty average, I was glad I wasn't paying for it!

Location, location, location. The privilege of staying somewhere that probably has sky high lease costs due to the cost of land.

A great hotel makes you feel special. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive. My enjoyment would start to erode after a certain price point but then I guess I’m not the target market for a £1000s/night hotel! The feeling of being treated as though our needs are important coupled with attractive surroundings is enough to make me happy. Ostentatious wealth generally makes me feel uncomfortable. Staying anywhere too expensive and I’d be worried about making some sort of faux pas because it’s just not my comfort zone!

We’re away right now at a fairly luxurious 4 star and they do manage the feeling of care and attention. No bath butler but our fridge did have oat milk and vegan brownies in it as I’m not eating dairy - I’m easily pleased! The bed and room are both huge, stylish and comfortable and there are thoughtful touches to the place - perfect for us!

Location has nothing to do with stars. You could have a youth hostel in the most stunning location - city centre, seaside or countryside.

Location = price (usually) for the number of stars

@felulageller

What I've noticed in more expensive places: Much bigger bedrooms with nice comfy chairs, tables, plenty of storage. A bath in the bathroom. A pool on site. Nice tea and biscuits Fancy toiletries Daily maid Bigger fluffier towels possibly also robe and slippers. Extra pillows and blankets Actual beds for DC's instead of sofa bed. Big TV Decent hairdryer Good bedside lamps Variable lighting. A great view. No noise from other rooms A fabulous breakfast Well spoken well presented staff who are available 24/7. Problems fixed immediately Great restaurant on site Bar on site with a wide range of drinks, lots of comfy seats, roaring fire etc Someone to carry your bags Room service Mini fridge Plenty of sockets Super king sized bed with high end linen and 13tog duvet. Immaculate - no stains, rips, signs of wear and tear etc.

I stayed in a chain hotel near an airport last week for work and got pretty much all that, it cost my employer less than £100 a night.

Like I said before, most of the 'extras' people cite, I'm either not bothered about or would find really off-puttingly weird, like stuff left on the bed for me, someone coming in to run a bath and preemptive phone calls about pillows and room scents.

I also don't want a 13 tog duvet, most hotel rooms are far warmer than how people keep their homes, I would literally boil in my bed in an Arctic thickness duvet. As it happens the one I had last week was one of the rare ones that was appropriately thin, but there was a second one in the wardrobe if needed. I also don't see the need for daily room service and left the do not disturb card on throughout.

I've had a couple of relatives work in high end hotels and they were both paid NMW, and while they were both personable types who actively enjoyed helping the guests and chatting to them, a big motivator was being tipped, because otherwise, it would be quite a sickening job to earn so little helping people spend so much.

@FatOaf

I’m sure one of the restaurants has a Michelin star.

So you pay extra to sleep in a room that's in the same building as a Michelin-starred restaurant?

Yes. The Hotel will pay (or, more likely, forgo other income) to get a Michelin Star restaurant on site. Ditto a decent bar and a spa. These facilities would probably make more money as rooms, or could get more rent from a less highly ranked restaurant that served more people, but people won't pay the same amount of money for rooms if there isn't excellent food, a bar, room service, spa, etc.

So, yes, part of what you pay for with high end hotels is high end facilities in the building.

@Lockheart

I get why there are top-end hotels, but what boggles my mind is the extremities it's taken to. A £5,000/night room is already going to be (or should be) glorious. So what more could you possibly get in £25,000/night rooms? There's a point at which it becomes silly, IMO. I don't care how many extras they throw in, I don't go to a hotel to get a monogrammed silk robe.

I expect that for a certain type of traveller, privacy and security are top of the list. So things like own entrance/security gates, private chef / personal trainer so you don't need to leave the premises, I'm sure the list probably goes on.

I get why there are top-end hotels, but what boggles my mind is the extremities it's taken to. A £5,000/night room is already going to be (or should be) glorious. So what more could you possibly get in £25,000/night rooms? There's a point at which it becomes silly, IMO. I don't care how many extras they throw in, I don't go to a hotel to get a monogrammed silk robe.

This what I don't get. Beyond a certain point there must literally be no more extras to add!!
Is a £5k/night hotel 10 times better than £500/night, or 60 times better than Premier Inn.

And how much value does a towel fashioned into a swan add?

In a nutshell it's the environment and service.

Big bathrooms with heated floors, luxury toiletries, and a very high level of maintenance. Want to soak in a bath of Molton Brown bubbles while watching a movie? Can't do that in a Premier Inn (and I love a Premier Inn). Open your curtains in the morning to a sweeping view of parkland, nicely kept gardens or an impressive cityscape, not the carpark, a motorway sliproad or some aircon units.
Coffee pod machines, free high-speed wifi, huge and delicious breakfast choice, comfortable lounges to relax in.

I used to regularly visit a v nice hotel in a US city centre as it was 1 block from our offices and for some reason us Brits got a great deal on preferred rates. It made a 2 or 3 day transatlantic trip so much more comfortable. Was there for 2 weeks once and I asked if they'd mind swapping one of the massive beds for a sofa so I could have a bit more space, which they'd done without question when I got back that evening. If they can help you they gladly will, which is the service you pay for.

I miss those days...!

Like I said before, most of the 'extras' people cite, I'm either not bothered about or would find really off-puttingly weird, like stuff left on the bed for me, someone coming in to run a bath and preemptive phone calls about pillows and room scents.

Agreed. Someone mentioned having your suitcase unpacked for you which I would bloody hate.

Also coffee pod machines - we stayed in a hotel in Athens that had one. The place was clean, bright, modern, friendly but not luxury top end. I wasn’t impressed with the coffee from the machine.

free high-speed wifi

This is a peculiar definition of "free". They're justified in charging such high room rates in part becsue they provide "free" high-speed wi-fi? Has it occured to you it might be part of the price of the room?

Most four star places I’ve stayed in have had free wifi I.e no extra charge on top of the rooms.'