Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Accor

  • Warsaw – Mercure Warszawa Centrum

    Warsaw – Mercure Warszawa Centrum

    I’m still working around the last few Accor hotels in Warsaw that I haven’t been to, although this is the last new one of this trip. There’s some odd naming of Accor locations in Warsaw, this one is central, but nowhere near the Ibis Styles Warsaw Centrum or the Ibis Budget Warsaw Centrum, but it is vaguely near (but not close) to Ibis Warsaw Centrum. Anyway, now that’s clear.

    Copyright: Accor Hotels

    For reasons unknown, I forgot for the first time in a long time to take a photo of the room. So, here’s the Accor photo of a similar room…… They didn’t tell me that they’d upgraded me at reception, but they had, this is called an Executive Room I think.

    I did remember to take a photo of this impressive picture above the bed though.

    The view from the hotel room of the neighbouring offices and the Złote Tarasy shopping centre.

    The welcome gift of a large chocolate and fruit, all nicely wrapped up.

    I always like a nice selection of Nespresso coffees, adds a touch of decadence to arrangements.

    And some complimentary drinks in the fridge, and I liked that there was a sign pointing out that they were free, otherwise I’d just worry.

    This signage is a sensible idea as I assume plenty of people have complained about the air conditioning, but essentially, it stops working when the hotel key card is removed and the window is opened.

    My go-to welcome drink of Żywiec Porter in the hotel’s restaurant. I liked that the staff pointed out at check-in that I could have 10% off in the restaurant and put a menu in the room, which was all quite tempting.

    The hotel is well-reviewed on-line and I can find nearly no negative reviews that seem reasonable or are even about the right hotel. And if I sometimes think I’m picky, there are reviews such as this:

    “I am again and each time it gets worse and worse, no disposable slippers, where they were always in the wardrobe before, no cold drinks in the glaciers, before that there was always apple and orange juice in a glass bottle, only one water was left in the room where two people were checked in still for two people, for two people there are two tiny shower gels, so one person can take only one shower in the evening and no gel in the morning. The wardrobe also lacks a set of needle and thread where it has always been.”

    I’m not sure I’d leave 1/5 on a web-site review after a series of positive experiences because of things such as not enough shower gels/shampoos (there would have been four) and no needle and thread, all of which reception could have fixed. Or the very angry guest who arrived at 13:30 and was furious they couldn’t access their room before the quoted time of 15:00, apparently that deserved 1/5 too. I have no idea how hotel managers cope with this nonsense. Anyway, I digress.

    This was another excellent Accor hotel and up there amongst my favourites in the city, although I like nearly all of them to be fair. Friendly staff, clean rooms, well designed building and all really rather lovely. The hotel room was also nearly free as I used up some more of my reward points from the recent Accor offer.

    And more about the hotel and to book it…..

  • Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Airport

    Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Airport

    I’ve never stayed in this Accor hotel which is, as the name suggests, near to the city’s airport. It’s also about a one hour walk from the city centre, or it’s easy to get a train, bus or tram into Warsaw as well. The welcome was efficient and polite, although they seemed a little under-staffed on the reception desk.

    I didn’t get an upgrade for the first time in a while for a Polish Accor hotel, but that was likely my fault for choosing a themed room and the hotel probably thought that was the one I wanted. This is the surfer room, which I thought might make for slightly different photos to my normal quite dull photos of the room interior. Incidentally, I got lost going to my room which wasn’t entirely ideal, and I’m blaming the poor signage.

    Certainly quite different, with that board thing on the wall. The white cupboard arrangement on the left appears to have survived from a previous room layout, that did feel quite dated and I’m not sure was part of the renovation.

    Oh, and deckchairs. Probably not really entirely functional, but it added some character to the room.

    This looked quite odd though, I’m not sure I liked that nailed to the wall.

    My welcome gift, similar to that I’ve had recently, some very delicious chocolate coated things.

    The view from my window, made the hotel feel like it had extensive grounds, although it didn’t.

    The free welcome drink, once again I went for Żywiec Porter. As an irrelevant aside, the table was very shaky, but fortunately there were no drinks spills.

    I had forgotten that my room rate included breakfast, so that was a pleasant surprise at reception when I checked-in. It’s quite impressive that I managed to forget this since I only booked it three days ago, but there we go…… Plenty of choice and it wasn’t particularly busy. I mostly went for the cold cuts and bread, all of which was of a suitably decent quality.

    The hot food section, which was effectively a create your own hot dog arrangement. There was an egg section where I think staff make omelettes, although I don’t much like them and I didn’t see anyone try and get anything cooked when I was there. There was also a waffle making machine for those who wanted it, although again, I didn’t see anyone use it.

    Desserts, which are an important part of the breakfast arrangement as far as I’m concerned. There were also cereals as well and milk was available (I mention that as my friend Nathan has announced that cereals shouldn’t have milk on them, although he’s obviously wrong).

    I did wonder at first if there might be noise problems as they had a drunken group charging around the hotel and there was also some crashing about from the floor above. However, they were both one-off noise issues, so there were no internal or external noise issues, so all was well.

    The hotel is reasonably well reviewed, although there are an odd amount of clearly fake negative reviews all about a staff member not giving a customer a blanket. Anyway, the room rate including breakfast was just under £40, which was funded nearly entirely from the latest Accor offer, which all seemed reasonable for me even if I was paying. I suspect that the room prices are a little muted at the moment because of the lack of passenger traffic from the nearby airport, they are likely usually higher. But, I’d happily recommend this hotel to others, although I prefer the Novotel in the city centre.

    For anyone wanting to book or find out more…..

  • Warsaw – Ibis Budget Warszawa Centrum

    Warsaw – Ibis Budget Warszawa Centrum

    I’ve stayed at this Ibis Budget before, although it was a few years ago and before that Ibis Styles (which I’ve also stayed at) was constructed. I stayed here this week inbetween my Sofitel and Novotel visits, so it was a little less decadent. The check-in process was efficient and well managed, so I felt welcome which is always positive. It’s about a twenty minute walk away from the centre of Warsaw and around a forty minute walk away from the Old Town, so it’s not exactly in the heart of the action. There are though buses that depart from nearby to the hotel, although there are no nearby trams or underground trains.

    There’s a bit more colour in the room than in most Ibis Budget hotels, with everything being clean. There’s also soap and shower gel provided, there’s normally just the former in this brand. I didn’t have breakfast on this occasion in the hotel, but it’s a cheap and cheerful arrangement which offers reasonable value for money. It’s best though to check that the Ibis Styles next door isn’t too much more expensive, as the breakfast is included there and so can sometimes be better value and also provide a better room.

    The view from my room of the road and river, and I’d be quite happy if they tore this road up to make the riverside area feel a bit more appealing (and also so I had a nicer view if I’m being selfish).

    Given that it is a budget hotel, the reviews are surprisingly positive in the main although there’s inevitably perhaps some grumbling about how the shower opens out into the room. For me there were no internal or external noise issues and with the room price being under £20 per night, I had nothing to complain about (not that I go around looking for things to complain about). All really rather lovely and although very different to the Sofitel, it has its own charms.

    And here’s a link to find out more and book.

  • Accor Hotels – 6,000 Points Bonus

    Accor Hotels – 6,000 Points Bonus

    Well, that was lovely. This is an offer that Accor were running a couple of months ago, where they would give 500 points for a two night stay, 2,500 points for a second two night stay and then 3,000 points for a third two night stay. I achieved this and so the 6,000 points have been added to my account. That’s €120, which is enough to pay for three nights in a decent Accor hotel in Warsaw, which is very handy, so my stays for three days are all funded by that. It’s a very generous offer and well worth looking out for and signing up to.

  • Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Centrum (Repeat Visit)

    Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Centrum (Repeat Visit)

    I’ve visited the Novotel in Warsaw several times before, including last year during the period between the lockdowns. The service then, as with my previous stays, was excellent and so I was in the city for my birthday this year, I thought that I’d stay here. It later occurred to me that this might have been a mistake, as there’s nothing like previously high expectations being dashed. However, all was well, and indeed the service was as impeccable as ever.

    On the morning of the booking I received an email from the hotel saying that I’d been upgraded. I’ve never had a hotel tell me this in advance and it seems a really quite clever thing to do, as the guest gets a warm glow of knowing the room will be better than paid for several hours ahead of their check-in. The check-in process itself when I arrived at the hotel was efficient and the staff member was personable and welcoming, and I appreciated the happy birthday comment.

    My room was on one of the top floors and I had hoped before booking that it would overlook the Palace of Culture, as those views over the city are some of the finest from any hotel that I’ve stayed in. Richard had booked into the hotel the day before and had been upgraded to a larger room which was also rather lovely, so he was equally pleased with the whole arrangement.

    I was delighted to see this view from my window and, perhaps rather sadly, I enjoy watching all of the trams, cars and buses shuttling about.

    The same view at night.

    And the hotel had gone far beyond what they needed to, with a slice of birthday cake (which was delicious) and some welcome gifts and a letter. It’s fair to say that this was really rather lovely and touching. As an aside, the cake seemed to have just been placed there, and I suspect that the call made by the receptionist to someone during check-in might have been them arranging for it to be brought to the room or at least checking that it was there. Either way, this is a nice thing to see when arriving.

    These were absolutely delicious, suitably decadent and they went well with the provided Nespresso coffees.

    The Żywiec Porter which was my welcome drink from the hotel. The member of staff in the bar was polite and helpful, bringing the drinks over to the table for us. Richard had saved his welcome drink up from his check-in the night before, and apparently was pleased with his wine option.

    The room was a little expensive by Polish standards, coming in at £55 per night without breakfast, but I very much like the welcome and comfort of the hotel so I think it’s very good value for money. And as a choice for my birthday, I was very pleased with the entire process, all really rather lovely and I appreciated the e-mail on the morning of check-in telling me I had been upgraded and they were looking forwards to welcoming me back. I think I’ve been to something like 100 Accor hotels, and the Novotel Warsaw is as far as I’m concerned the best managed of any of those locations. Really quite marvellous.

    And here’s a link to book and find out more.

  • Warsaw – Sofitel Victoria Warsaw

    Warsaw – Sofitel Victoria Warsaw

    I’m not normally decadent enough to stay at the Sofitel brand within Accor Hotels, but I had two expiring suite upgrades and thought that this might be a useful place to use them. Although I didn’t stay at this hotel on my birthday, as I wanted to be at the Novotel, it was a little treat to myself to stay here for a couple of days earlier on during the week.

    Richard had checked into his little room earlier on in the day, but I guessed correctly that my suite wouldn’t be available and hadn’t even tried. I tried to check in at 15:30, but the room wasn’t yet ready which wasn’t ideal, but wasn’t a problem. The staff member was polite, although she gave me a drinks voucher to apologise for the wait, although it transpired that this was the voucher they would have given me anyway as a welcome drink. I thought this whole element was botched by the hotel, who could only provide the room over an hour after the standard check-in time.

    There was then a problem that the hotel couldn’t find payment in their systems, even though they agreed that Accor had stated that they had taken it. There was some discussions about what had happened by staff members, but I thought best to just resolve it on check-out, which transpired to work well as I switched to a currency commission free card which saved me some money compared to if they’d used the card on file.

    The hotel’s water feature in the lobby, which kept making me think that it was raining when walking into reception. The hotel was built between 1973 and 1976 on the site of the Kronenberg Palace which had been destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War. There was lots of dithering about what to do with the site and the remains of the structure weren’t removed until the 1960s, and then there was talk of building an embassy here. It’s a large hotel, with 359 rooms and around 50 suites, and other than the Raffles over the road (also Accor, and too decadent for me) it’s the grandest accommodation option in the city.

    As another aside, there has been some drama here, with this paragraph coming from Wikipedia….

    “On August 1, 1981, the hotel saw an attempted assassination of the Palestinian Abu Daoud (nicknamed Mohammed Oudeh Daud), suspected by the Mossad of involvement in the attacks in Munich , who occupied the presidential suite.”

    I obviously feel the need to comment about the drinking options and there was a poor selection of beers available, this is a generic Żywiec in the Victoria Lounge. The whole set-up here felt quite dated, neither on-trend nor classy, and I thought this was the weakest area of the hotel, something more inviting could be done with the bar area.

    At this stage, I wasn’t thrilled with the hotel as everything seemed botched and muddled, but I arrived at my room with sort of high hopes.

    The suite’s living room area, with my first impressions being positive. I don’t usually watch television in hotels, but that’s one of the largest that I’ve seen in a room.

    I didn’t realise when booking that the suite came with two bathrooms, this is the one attached to the living room area. It was probably a little more than I needed since I was in the suite on my own, but it gave me options….

    The suite’s bedroom.

    And the second bathroom, with a shower and bath.

    The coffee machine.

    An umbrella was available should it rain.

    Slippers and dressing gowns were provided, along with a range of other posh toiletries and the like.

    The welcome letter and gift, which I always appreciate (both the letter and the gift).

    These were delicious, chocolate coated orange things, very moreish.

    I very much liked the view of Piłsudski Square from my room and that’s the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the mid-left of the photo. It’s the largest square in the city and this was once the Saxon Palace, until the Germans destroyed it during the Second World War, but there are some quite surprising plans to rebuild sections of it. Incidentally and back to the hotel, the windows don’t stay open, although they’re meant to.

    Anyway, any annoyance I had with the hotel disappeared with the comfort of the room and two of the best night’s sleep that I’ve had in a hotel. The room can be blacked out entirely so no light comes in and there were no internal or external noise issues.

    And here’s a heap of breakfast photos. There was a wide selection of food and drink options, with the only slight omission being the variety of breads seemed quite minimal. But there were plenty of cheeses, cold cuts, yogurts, cereals and hot options. There was an egg section where omelettes and the like were available, with the staff member making me a rather lovely Eggs Benedict. There were plenty of juices, including some detox ones to give more choices. The quality of the food and drink was high, with the choice meaning it’d be hard for someone to complain about the lack of options. The breakfast room was large and spacious, with relatively few other guests, so it was a relaxing environment, not like the Holiday Inn Express set-up I’ve had this year which is a bit more, well, hectic and lively.

    The cost of the suite for two nights including breakfast would usually be somewhere around £300 to £400, but my suite upgrades meant that the cost to me was £187.16 for two nights. However, I gained 1,600 Accor reward points with this stay, which is around £28, making what I consider to be a charge of £160 or so for this rather lovely experience. At £80 per night including breakfast, I’m going to say that this is excellent value for a (very) occasional treat.

    The welcome was a bit botched, but the staff were helpful throughout and the breakfast was excellent. The room was beautifully comfortable, although lacked a large desk and some of the furnishings were a little rickety, but this didn’t impact on my stay. There was definitely an air of decadence about the whole arrangement and a turn-down service was provided on the first night with a staff member coming in to move slippers near to the bed and put a bottle of water on the bedside table. As an aside, I can’t be doing with that sort of thing and as there was no free chocolate, I put the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the second night. Richard didn’t do that in his room, he likes the turn-down service for reasons unknown to me.

    I’d absolutely stay here again and since I have a couple more suite upgrades to use next year, I might repeat this whole experience in November 2022. Absolutely the best breakfast that I’ve had in an Accor hotel and also the most luxurious room, but since I’m really an Ibis Budget person at heart, that’s probably not surprising. For anyone wanting more information, the hotel can be booked here.

  • Częstochowa – Ibis Częstochowa

    Częstochowa – Ibis Częstochowa

    I stayed at the Accor operated Ibis hotel during my few days in Częstochowa, with the price being about £25 per night including breakfast. There’s a Mercure in the city as well, but that was a bit decadent in terms of the pricing, with the cheaper option inevitably being the one I went for. My first impressions were primarily of concern as the hotel looked quite shut and there were signs on the front door, usually signifying a problem. It transpired it was just a sign in Polish saying that the doors were broken and to enter via a side door, so I was considerably relieved that I didn’t have to hunt for another hotel. The staff member at check-in was friendly and helpful, so my early impressions transpired to be positive.

    The room, all to brand standard, although this hotel doesn’t have hot drink facilities in the room which seems unusual for an Ibis. The room was on the top floor away from the lift, which is always my preference. It’s the older style Ibis room design, but I assume it’ll be updated when there’s refurbishment at the hotel.

    The welcome gift of meringue things, all very lovely as Ibis hotels don’t need to give anything.

    The view from my room, primarily of two petrol stations. The hotel has a policy of not cleaning the rooms because of the current health crisis, but it can be requested at reception if required. I checked the wi-fi (my Vodafone data gives me 25GB per month to use outside the UK which should be enough, but I use the hotel wi-fi when trying to back-up photos and the like) and it seemed to be reliable and at a sufficiently fast speed.

    The food menu for anyone interested who is reading this (goodness knows who though). Hotel prices are inevitably towards the higher end of the scale, but they’re not unreasonable (divide by 5 for an approximate UK amount).

    The welcome drink of Żywiec, which isn’t the most exciting, but it was free and so therefore clearly acceptable to me. I’m easily pleased.

    The breakfast options, lots of cold choices along with a few hot options that I didn’t bother with. The meat wasn’t the most exciting in terms of the quality, but there were plenty of options. The coffee in the hotel is all branded from Costa, I can’t recall seeing that set-up in an Accor property before.

    It all transpired to be a comfortable stay with no internal or external noise issues. I’m pleased to note that the windows opened, this wasn’t one of those sterile hotels where everything is sealed up, and the air conditioning also worked. It’s about a ten-minute walk into the city centre and there are KFC and McDonald’s outlets within a couple of minutes walk. The hotel inevitably isn’t the most luxurious, but anyone wanting that can find other options in the city, not least the Mercure.

    And, a handy booking link for the hotel…..

  • Warsaw – Mercure Warszawa Airport

    Warsaw – Mercure Warszawa Airport

    I’m back again in Warsaw and at a hotel that I stayed in last year during my brief sojourn to the city in between lockdowns. It’s conveniently located near to the airport and easily accessible to the city centre, hence why I thought that I’d go for two nights here. There’s also an Aldi opposite the hotel which is handily located and which provided my snacks on the first evening. For anyone coming from the airport, the hotel usually has a shuttle in normal times, but at the moment it’s easy enough to jump on the train into the city centre and then just jump off after a couple of stops (not literally jump obviously) with about a 6-minute walk to the hotel.

    It took me a few seconds to remember where the hotel room numbers are located, which isn’t on the door. This is the one little problem I had at the hotel, which is that the key card was a bit unreliable and sometimes required me to make several attempts to get into the room. To be fair I didn’t bother going down to reception to change the card as it was a bit of a walk and no-one saw me patiently trying again and again to get it to work.

    The room which the hotel had upgraded for me, which was rather lovely. There was a sofa, chairs, a large desk and a fridge, with everything being spotlessly clean.

    The bathroom was the size of a small changing room.

    There was a espresso coffee machine, other hot drink making facilities and two bottles of water. I spent a good few minutes trying to turn the machine on, until I realised there’s a small switch at the back. And then there was espresso coffee….

    And a welcome gift of fruit (which I did eat) and cake, all much appreciated.

    And a welcome drink voucher, which mentioned that I could have any drink, a policy which seems to vary at different Accor hotels in Poland.

    The friendly member of bar staff said that I could have the Żywiec Porter, so I went with that quite happily. I commented in my post last year that the seating in the bar area is a little basic, although I could have gone into the restaurant with my drink and I can’t imagine that they would have minded.

    Back in the room, the windows opened as far as I wanted them to, and it would be possible to walk out on that bit of roofing if anyone was particularly adventurous (I’m not). It’d take an idiot, but I like that the windows weren’t sealed up as some hotels seem to feel is appropriate. Lots of fresh air was accessible to me, although the air conditioning was also very effective for those who don’t need street noise.

    The breakfast arrangement, hot food on the left, breads and fruit on that table in the middle with cold cuts, cereals, yoghurts, cheeses, fish and the like at the back.

    Behind me is the hot drinks and fruit juice area. Another friendly staff member was in the breakfast room and she was busily clearing tables with everything feeling clean and organised.

    And food photos from the two mornings that I was staying at the hotel (I mention that in case it looks like this was just one breakfast, which would have been a little greedy). This is just the sort of breakfast that I like, cold cuts, cheeses, bread rolls and everything tasted of a decent quality. And there’s a certain decadence to having blue cheese in the morning, that’s always a delight.

    The hotel was around £48 per night including breakfast, although I had Accor Rewards points to use up which halved that price. It’s not the cheapest rate that I could have got in Warsaw, but I very much like this hotel and it’s my favourite non-central Accor option in the city. The staff were friendly throughout, the hotel was clean, the restaurant area was organised and everything felt really well managed.

    For anyone who wants to book it or find out more, here’s the link.

  • London – Newham (Borough of) – Ibis Canning Town

    London – Newham (Borough of) – Ibis Canning Town

    I’ve worked my around a good number of the Accor hotels in London, well, other than the expensive ones as I’m not that decadent. This Ibis in Canning Town is new to me and is located opposite the Underground and DLR station in the beating heart of Newham.

    The check-in was efficient and what appeared to be a manager was standing near to the reception desk welcoming and talking to guests. I thought that was a nice touch, there was a really warm feel to this hotel in terms of the welcome. They gave me a room on the top floor and the interior was the Ibis brand standard affair, but spotlessly clean.

    Well, that really is very lovely as Ibis don’t have to provide a welcome gift. Some other Accor branded hotels do, although often don’t, so this was another nice little touch. My loyalty is easily bought with popcorn and a drink.

    The extensive view from my window, a reminder of when I got the DLR every day into Canning Town when I lived near here.

    For the welcome drink I went for Meantime London Lager, a perfectly acceptable option for a chain hotel, although I was slightly puzzled when asked if I wanted ice with it. The hotel has done well here with its cafe, as they have a limited amount of space and it was busy with what appeared to be a combination of guests and locals. Hotels often have quite anonymous and quiet cafe bar set-ups which aren’t really much used, something that didn’t happen here. Although the flip side of that was that I couldn’t get any work done as the set-up wasn’t conducive to that as it was a little too loud, so I didn’t linger for long.

    The view from the hotel room at night. The window in the room opened which meant that I could listen to the sound of traffic and activity, something I find quite relaxing (who needs the quiet countryside?).

    I particularly liked watching this, the three levels of Canning Town platforms and the bus station in front of it, there’s quite a lot of integrated transport going on there.

    As another one of my irrelevant asides and a clear sign that I’m spending too much time in Accor hotels, but there has been a switch from the white dispensers to the black ones. This hotel had one of each, but the ‘Rock Your Body’ ones are often broken, such as this one, not really a very well thought through design as around a third of these dispensers I’ve had just don’t work (they’re full, but the mechanism at the top doesn’t do anything). It’s not ideal from Accor, although I accept that it’s not the world’s most pressing issue at the moment…..

    Anyway, I very much like this hotel, with friendly staff, clean rooms, a nice touch with the welcome gift and the views over the River Thames. It’s well reviewed on-line and it’s a quick journey into central London given how near the Jubilee Line station is, and it’s a short DLR journey to get to London City Airport and the ExCeL centre.

  • Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 3)

    Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 3)

    This is my third visit to the Accor operated Ibis in Hull, centrally located and reasonably priced.

    I was able to have a little meander around the reception area when checking in at around 22:30 as the staff were all elsewhere for several minutes.

    The room, which is brand standard and what I expected, although missing a hairdryer but I can cope without that. The set-up is becoming ever more rickety, they’re going to have to refurbish this hotel soon as the rooms are becoming slowly but steadily more damaged and the carpets more stained. Cleanliness was adequate, nothing more, with this being another Accor hotel which isn’t cleaning the room during guest stays. They also hadn’t filled two of the three shower gels in the room, which was hardly a problem, but wasn’t perhaps ideal.

    I slightly suspect a dispense problem here, as the already very average Boddington’s was devoid of any taste at all, almost a junk product. This Accor doesn’t have a very good selection of beers, it’s one of the weakest selections I’ve seen in an Ibis hotel and they should perhaps make more effort here. I can’t overly complain as it was a free welcome drink, but it’s all a bit lacklustre. Also, the chocolate bar they used to give as a welcome gift has gone, perhaps not their wisest move as it’s just a cheap gesture that likely created at least a bit of goodwill (it did with me anyway).

    However, there were no noise disturbances either internally or externally, so I had no issues during my stay. When I asked for more coffee I was given a huge heap of them, so no complaints there either. I didn’t want breakfast here, but I note their old previous offer price has gone, and it’s back to £8.50. I didn’t see anyone having breakfast when I walked by on three mornings, I suspect that the Wetherspoons over the road has stolen nearly all of that trade from them. I shall likely stay here again, but I hope they start a refurbishment programme soon. Oh, and dump their generic beer options, or at least get something marginally more decadent.