Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Accor

  • Ibis Styles – No Longer Serving Free Breakfast

    Ibis Styles – No Longer Serving Free Breakfast

    I forgot to write about this a few months ago, but it’s relevant (or slightly relevant…) to the next post I’ll be making.

    Last year, Accor decided to change the brand image of their Ibis Styles network of hotels and remove the need for them to offer a free breakfast. It had been a little bit clunky for years though, some offered a basic continental breakfast only (which I liked, Ibis Styles Croydon did that) which was free, and some offered a paid-for cooked breakfast on top as well. That set-up was never really viable as it seemed to just annoy customers who thought they were getting free bacon and eggs, but had to fork out another £5 or so.

    That meant that an Ibis Styles hotel could offer a free continental breakfast, which would be fine for me, but they disappointed people who wanted a fully cooked breakfast. I asked at Ibis Styles Kensington earlier this year why the change had been made, as I worked through numerous breakfast bags during my many visits there and then they suddenly stopped. They said that Accor recognised that the free breakfast wasn’t meeting the demands of the customer and so hotels were given flexibility on what they offered. Apparently this process started before the health crisis, so must have been an ongoing problem for a few years.

    I like the differentiation of Ibis Styles, their branding is often quite fun and different, with a theme to each hotel. In a few locations, some of the themes are quite half-hearted and I can’t see why a hotel has picked to become an Ibis Styles over a simple Ibis. Anyway, the breakfast situation was clearly muddled, with hotels paying quite a lot of money out when there were two people and two kids in a room, and it’s not hard to note the guests who pinch stuff for their lunch and the like. Whether or not they should be doing that, it comes at quite an expense to the hotel.

    So, it was probably the right decision from Accor, although I’d like them to start offering the hotel deals which include breakfast again, I liked those. They were stopped during the last couple of years as breakfast rooms are already at, or near, capacity, but it’s definitely time for them to return.

    I mention this now as next door to the hotel I’m staying at, Ibis Styles Barnsley, is a Toby Carvery and so I went there for breakfast this morning instead. As it seems did a fair few other hotel guests, but that’s a different matter.

  • Accor Hotels – London Mercure

    Accor Hotels – London Mercure

    For my three loyal readers who have been following my London Heathrow Mercure debacle, I’m pleased to say that it has been resolved by the hotel. I’m distinctly unimpressed by Accor’s customer service, which seems to have messed their Mercure hotel franchise around just as much as me.

    Anyway, resolved, which means I can stop moaning on about it now.

  • Leicester – Ibis Leicester City

    Leicester – Ibis Leicester City

    This is the sort of centrally located (it’s very central if you’re at the railway station, more like 10 minutes away from the city centre) Ibis Hotel in Leicester. It has 94 rooms and is part of the Accor hotel and I’m pleased to add that I no longer need to start posts with a mention of problems with their customer service (since my long standing issue seems to have now been resolved).

    Guests entering on the ground floor see this little reception type area, although the main reception and all of the staff are on the first floor. The check-in process was all efficient and the staff member seemed very keen to be helpful, a kind and warm welcome.

    The Ibis room, which is pretty much like all the others in the chain around the world, although the television was a little small (not that I ever turn them on anyway). I wouldn’t say that the room was spotlessly clean, but it was sufficient for me.

    The view out of my window of the railway station. I was pleased that the window opened, the sound of trains was quite smoothing. Well, the sound of what sounded like a freight train braking at 3am was less exciting, but it’s all part of the character of the area.

    The welcome drink of Boddingtons, which I consider to be an acceptable option, so that keeps everyone happy.

    I had a look at the reviews of the hotel, and it’s pretty much in the middle of ratings, it’s managed to upset a fair few people, but also pleased quite a lot. Alongside some of the ridiculous reviews, such as an angry guest who was annoyed that the hotel wouldn’t put balloons in their room, there are more worrying ones such as one which says a previous guest had been smoking in the room and the hotel didn’t resolve the smell issue, with another guest mentioning that the light switch was hanging off. If there’s a smell of cigarette smoke then I’d refuse the room, and I’d expect that the hotel would find another room even if that was in another hotel. The hotel is within its rights to charge the previous guest for their costs. Anyway, I’ve digressed again.

    Incidentally, the hotel doesn’t advertise car parking as they have five spaces which aren’t accessible spaces, but they’ve had several guests turn up, park in a neighbouring car park and complain they’ve been fined. Sounds like an interesting drama to listen into at reception….

    There were minor internal noise issues on one night, although nothing that troubled me. Others might not have liked the noise of the railway and road outside, but I like such external distractions so all good. There wasn’t air conditioning available in the room, just a centralised air warming and cooling system. However, with the window opening, it wasn’t difficult to regulate the temperature.

    Anyway, all good and reasonably priced. I’d suggest that this is likely a reliable option for anyone wanting relatively inexpensive accommodation near to Leicester city centre.

  • Accor and New Craft Beer Concept

    Accor and New Craft Beer Concept

    Much as I’m still annoyed by Accor Hotels at the moment, one of their hotel managers has told me about a new concept that is being launched which is the rolling out of Charlie’s Corner, offering craft beers and a relaxed cafe bar style dining option. The name seems a bit random, but if their bars can actually offer something unique and exciting in the way of craft beers, then they’d have a selling point which would make them interesting for non-guests to go to. They’ve got one at Ibis Bristol at the moment, but they’ve also launched it at the newly opened Ibis London Sutton Point.

    I’ve emailed the Ibis London Sutton Point hotel today to see what the concept is like and to see if they’ll send me any photos and beer lists.

    [update, I emailed the hotel and also the general manager as another hotel gave me their email address, but as of 48 hours later they haven’t replied so I can’t add yet anything to this post which is rather a shame. I’ll amend this if they do get chance to reply though as I’m very interested in this whole concept]

  • Glasgow – Ibis Budget

    Glasgow – Ibis Budget

    I had one night earlier in the week at the Ibis Budget in Glasgow, where I stayed with my friend Liam a few years ago en route to his stag week event (which was very well organised, but that’s a different matter). It might be one of the most basic brands within the Accor set-up, but they’ve got some excellent ones such as Ibis Budget Whitechapel.

    The welcome at the front desk was exceptional, with the staff member being full of enthusiasm. The greeting didn’t feel scripted or automated, so my first impressions were very positive. The room is the standard old-style Ibis Budget set-up, one which is entirely functional but not overly glamorous. There are rooms with a bunk bed, but since I was on my own I didn’t feel that I really needed bunk beds. They’ve put a bit of glamour into the toilets by putting fake brickwork paper on the wall (that seems the only change from a few years ago), but everything was clean and tidy.

    The reviews of the hotel aren’t great, but this mainly relates to the room rather than the staff or the cleanliness. That shower in the middle of the room is not ideal for some guests, although the modernisation at Whitechapel resolved that problem, so perhaps it’ll be addressed in the future. Looking at the Google scores, this hotel receives 2.9/5 for the rooms, 4.5/5 for the location and 4.8/5 for the service, so they’ve clearly got a competent and friendly team there. The hotel doesn’t have tea and coffee facilities in the room, but they provide it free of charge at reception.

    My view wasn’t the most inspiring (I mean the front bit, the view of the rest of Glasgow was better) and I’m not sure what’s going on with that fake facade on the left hand side. However, I had no problems with my stay, with no noise issues either internally or externally. There was another staff member at reception when I checked-out, but she was also friendly and helpful. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the city centre, so I’d happily recommend this hotel to others (but until resolved, I have to keep mentioning my on-going problem with Accor Hotels).

  • Glasgow – ibis Styles Glasgow Centre George Square

    Glasgow – ibis Styles Glasgow Centre George Square

    I have to begin by mentioning that I’m still having problems with Accor, so it is probably best for me to recommend that people book using a third party agent.

    With that little bit of negativity out of the way, I have to say that this hotel in Glasgow seems to be run to an incredibly high standard. I don’t know who the manager here is, but I’d suggest that they’re doing a great job and this is the best Accor visit since my little trip to Whitechapel Ibis Budget a few months ago.

    This messaging works for me, I love the slight irreverence. The welcome at the reception was genuine and authentic, with the staff member being engaging and helpful. Nothing felt scripted, it just seemed to be a personable greeting, so my first impressions were very positive.

    One of the worst hotels that I’ve visited was Ibis Styles Seven Kings, which I won’t whinge about again here. This hotel though nailed it though for me, the decor was modern, on-trend, bright, functional and everything was spotlessly clean. There was a desk, chair, sofa and thought had been put into the design elements here. I like the nod towards the cone statue as well, given that it’s just over the road.

    It’s hard to say this without sounding entitled, but I like to receive little gifts like this to acknowledge that I seem to spend half the year in Accor hotels. I’m a fan of Irn-Bru and Tunnocks, so this was a lovely welcome for me, something really positive that didn’t cost the hotel much. This is a time to acknowledge the rather lovely carpet in the room as well.

    It’s not possible to walk along the balcony, but I liked it being there.

    I was on the top floor, so there were some decent views over Glasgow. As a bonus, there was air conditioning in the room and it worked perfectly at nicely chilling the room as I wanted (it’s too hot in Glasgow at the moment…).

    I don’t know who wrote this, but they’re a good communicator. This fits entirely with the Ibis Styles brand, all nicely done again.

    I very much like the local nod towards Tunnock’s.

    They’ve even been creative with the carpet design, so someone has given massive thought to the decor at every customer touchpoint throughout the hotel. If I’m being honest, the lift arrangement wasn’t ideal, as they seemed to struggle with the number of customers. However, it didn’t reach the point of being annoying and guests seemed to be very cheery about everything, so all was well.

    Brave to do this so that it doesn’t look like graffiti, but they’ve pulled it off. It’s a better look in the lift than in the photo to be fair, but I was trying to avoid my reflection being in the photo.

    The restaurant and bar area, all spotlessly clean again.

    And my free welcome drink. I’m going to credit this Ibis Styles with making an effort to provide a range of beers and they had around six, although draft options were off due to a gas supply issue that was outside of their control. Entirely acceptable to me, as being offered a choice of Corona or Budweiser isn’t ideal, although I accept there are greater things in the world to worry about.

    I experienced no problems with this hotel at all, with no noise issues either internally or externally. I liked that they have WhatsApp if I needed to contact them and the staff were so friendly that this was the sort of hotel that I’m fairly confident would have fixed any issues if I had them. I tried to think of some things that the hotel could improve on, but there really aren’t any. The desk in the room looked a bit like it would collapse if someone jumped on it, a sign not of any problem with the hotel, but just how I couldn’t find any fault.

    The reviews of the hotel are generally very positive, not that this surprises me in the slightest. I’ve had a look at some of the negative reviews, and some seem to be a little aspirational, such as the guest who was unhappy that the hotel reception didn’t deliver them milk to the room when they phoned. Another negative review said simply “No fridges…what hotel has no fridges and no netflix”, although the answer to that is actually most of them.

    As a hotel, this is brilliant and I hope to come back here. All very nicely done. This is absolutely the reason that I like Accor hotels and why Ibis Styles used to be my favourable brand within the chain.

  • London – Brent (Borough of) – Wembley – Ibis Wembley (Repeat Visit)

    London – Brent (Borough of) – Wembley – Ibis Wembley (Repeat Visit)

    Before writing this, I feel the need to say that the Accor customer service seems to be in a difficult place (or they just dislike me, which is fair enough, although I’d rather they said that as it’d make for a decent blog post on its own), so it’s probably best to book using a third party booking agent.

    I’ve been to this Ibis hotel in Wembley on a few occasions before (1, 2 and 3 before I stopped writing about it) and it has always been reliable. I wasn’t going to write again given the number of previous posts, but I particularly liked this visit.

    The check-in process was a bit convoluted as I was told that all guests need to show ID. I don’t have my passport as it didn’t seem to be necessary to visit Wembley (although I was in Pimlico yesterday, but that’s an irrelevant reference really) and I don’t have a driving licence. The situation didn’t seem ideal as with the exception of the ever quirky Ibis Styles Walthamstow, I’ve never been asked for ID by Accor in the UK. After dropping out of the queue and finding a photo of my passport on my phone I went back to reception, with the staff member being pleased with this, which was fortunate as I didn’t have any other solutions. He then looked at my details on his device and found my booking, before telling me that I hadn’t needed to show ID. I decided not to question what had gone on here. The staff member was friendly, although I had to ask for the welcome drink.

    Just as I like it, my room was on the top floor and I’ve never had a view of Wembley from this direction. I rather liked the hills (well, what I call hills) in the background, although that building in the front does monopolise the view somewhat.

    This is also the largest room that I’ve had in this hotel, all spotlessly clean and well presented. Its location in the corner of the building also made it incredibly quiet, which was rather lovely. I was also able to open the window so that I could hear life outside, albeit 14 floors down. The room also only had wi-fi in around one half of it which was nearest to the door. It transpired that being in the corner of the building was a problem for mobile and wi-fi signal.

    The bar on the ground floor and the beer selection hasn’t changed from my last visit, with the Goose Island being entirely acceptable to me.

    The prices charged here are generally low (which is why I keep staying here), unless there’s some sort of event on at Wembley. There’s a great deal of hotel capacity in the Wembley area which is designed to serve the events and sports market (the hotel overlooks Wembley Stadium), which has been badly affected by the whole pandemic thing. For me, this is a very good hotel which is well managed, clean and organised. I suspect that I’ll meander back at some point.

  • London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Ibis Earls Court

    London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Ibis Earls Court

    I’ve written about this hotel a couple of times before (Earls Court Ibis and Earls Court Ibis) although I’ve stayed here on around eight or nine occasions now I think. I thought I’ll add this visit just because it’s the first time that I’ve been since the on-site pub has opened, it’s never been busy enough before for them to open. I admit that it’s not hugely breaking news, but it’s something new…. This is a hotel where conferences usually take place, so I can imagine that this gets very busy when these are in full flow.

    This is the former bar, which is just now part of the general reception area. There was quite a queue for check-in, typically when I was in a rush and I needed to be on a Zoom call and had just been stuck on the Victoria line for over half an hour. I tried to look slightly annoyed but there was little point as the staff were working through the queue quickly and they were polite with large smiles. The staff member who checked me in was bouncy and welcoming, mentioning that he had the same first name as me which was a reminder he had been at reception the last two times I’d visited. The reception staff here always seem friendly, it’s a positive introduction for guests.

    All of my previous visits have seen me placed higher up the building (as in on a higher floor, not on the roof), with some rather lovely views, but I was down on the third floor this time. I suspect that they’ve done up the rooms in the higher levels of the hotel with a more modern design, as this is the older Ibis room interior. However, it’s still clean and functional. This remains one of the few hotels that keeps Bibles in the room, something that I haven’t seen for some time.

    I haven’t seen an Accor hotel do this for a while, but these have the dual purpose of being decorative and also advertising other locations from the brand around the world. A nice touch I think, JD Wetherspoon used to do this in their pubs as well to advertise new openings from around the country.

    Anyway, this is the hotel’s own little pub which is located on the first floor. The George and Dragon is designed to look like a traditional British pub and I quite like this, as often hotels go for something with a theme which isn’t local to their environment at all. Without generalising, this is at least something a little authentic for American guests and the like. I say authentic, it’s a hotel bar, but it’s all relative.

    There was a sizeable amount of space inside the pub, although it was also quite busy with many customers getting food as well as drink. It all looked a bit expensive, but since my drink was free I didn’t dwell on this matter for long. They looked a little short-staffed and empty plates started to pile up on most of the tables, but they seemed to be doing their best. These remain challenging times for the hospitality industry, so I’m just impressed that the hotel is still functioning.

    I found myself a high table to monitor proceedings from….

    The beer choice was acceptable, albeit a little orientated towards lagers, but there were at least some choices. I can always tolerate a nice Goose Island IPA for my welcome drink and they didn’t seem to have any limits on what I could pick as my free beverage.

    Anyway, another lovely stay with friendly staff, a clean environment and no noises issues either internally or externally. I shall hopefully stay here again, despite Accor annoying me (which I may have mentioned several times….)

  • The Dangers of Booking Directly with Accor – the Saga of Mercure Heathrow

    The Dangers of Booking Directly with Accor – the Saga of Mercure Heathrow

    As an update, the Mercure hotel themselves have resolved the matter to my satisfaction, but I remain disappointed that Accor managed to ignore the issue for three months.

    And here’s another saga and a story that I didn’t much want to write as I was hoping Accor would come through. What’s below is a mix of rant, annoyance and a reminder I want my money back   🙂   I wish I had the words of Jay Rayner, who completely destroyed a failing Dorchester Hotel. His description of a dish as “it tastes mostly of tomato ketchup and profit” is glorious. I rely on quotes from the Inbetweeners, but I’ve limited myself to just one below.

    I alerted some other hotel companies about the situation over the last couple of weeks (Accor have spurned my loving advances, so I’ll have to find a replacement), who seem to be bemused at what on earth Accor are doing. Although they would say that….. Anyway, that allowed me to get some quotes that I’ll be using over the next few weeks as this debacle unfolds and I throw my affections elsewhere. I’ve also merrily told some Accor hotels about this situation (not many, primarily as I don’t know many) and it’s clear there are some tensions between Accor and their franchisees, which all adds to the excitement. But, let’s not get distracted as this is extra drama for future posts.

    Before I go any further, I’d mention that I’m very aware that there are problems in the hospitality industry, but this situation was meant to be resolved on 2 June 2021 and Accor have ignored every message to their customer support since. Given that we’re now 10 weeks after that date and there has been no request for more time from Accor, I’ve run out of options.

    I think it’s fair to say now that the lovely representative at Accor communications has been helpful (and they likely think I’m an idiot and they wouldn’t be the first…..), but that’s the only part of Accor that isn’t ignoring me. Which isn’t ideal since I’ve got a section on this blog about them and mentioned tens of times about why they’re a pretty good hotel chain (especially in Poland).

    But let’s set the scene and I will accept this isn’t one of the most urgent problems in the world. But it’s annoyed me and it’s my blog, so I feel it’s fair to air my general annoyance.

    On 15 March 2021, I booked three nights at the Mercure Heathrow for £98 from 1 to 4 June 2021. All really rather reasonable and Accor confirms by e-mail that payment has been taken successfully. This is going well…..

    I think nothing more of this as Accor bookings are usually problem-free and on 27 May 2021 I get the pre-stay email from Mercure Heathrow saying they’re looking forwards to me staying. All rather lovely.

    Then, I turn up on 1 June 2021 and the hotel is a bit shut, it’s become a quarantine hotel. I approach a team member who tells me that this is why it’s best to book with Accor directly rather than a third party agent. I explain I booked with Accor. There’s then confusion and the team member confirms the hotel has indeed got a live booking for me and says it’s best to get in touch with Accor so they can fix the problem. They apologise profusely and look very confused.

    So, whilst standing at the outer perimeter of what is now a quarantine area, I phone the Accor Platinum support team, who answer immediately. After some confusion about how this has happened, they confirmed that I have a live booking at a closed hotel and take responsibility. They apologise numerous times, saying that they will fix the issue. The very helpful operator goes to check which hotels they can put me in and she says it’s best for them to replicate the booking for three nights at a nearby Accor hotel, rather than me find one night myself. I comment that I’m happy with the cheapest (secretly I want to be put in the Savoy, but I was expecting an Ibis Budget), but the staff member says that the Novotel Heathrow is the nearest and that this is the best option.

    The Platinum team then phone the Novotel Heathrow who don’t answer, which we agree isn’t ideal. The Platinum team member then says she’s sure it’s fine to book the hotel, but I’ll need to pay for the room and get a refund from Accor. Now, at this point, Expedia and booking.com state they wouldn’t do this, they would take the hit for the new booking themselves. Ironically, if I had booked this Accor hotel with Expedia or booking.com, then I would have had the matter resolved immediately. By booking with Accor, I’m now lumbered with paying for two hotels and making a claim back. But it seems clear, I’ll pay the £255.55 to Heathrow Novotel and Accor will refund that to me, so that I only pay the £98 I was originally meant to.

    On another aside, the IHG comms team have now sent me a message about their refund policy. It’s a bit more nuanced and I’ll return to the details, but, in short, they wouldn’t have double charged like this either. To add some excitement, Travelodge and Premier Inn also told me that they wouldn’t have charged again, they would have found me another hotel within their estate. Accor’s policy is clearly already unusual and perhaps really not fair on their customers.

    I don’t normally take taxis anywhere, but the phone support suggest getting them and sending in the bills. I just walked, I didn’t want to run up anyone’s bills unnecessarily as I don’t normally take taxis anywhere. I was at that stage very pleased with Accor and I wrote about that at the time. I was told this was a substantial mistake for Accor and the Mercure Heathrow hotel and they treated this very seriously, so I would receive a phone call the following day, 2 June 2021.

    I receive an e-mail from Accor when getting off the phone telling me that the request is in hand and including a reference number, so all seems well. And that was that, it’s all that I’ve heard from Accor, who have now started to ignore me. Novotel Heathrow won’t help, although Mercure Heathrow sent some Rewards Points which covered my minimal extra expenses in terms of buses. Amex have also confirmed that Mercure Heathrow have returned the £98 that was taken for this booking. That means I’m still just under £160 down on this deal and I did suggest to Accor that I’d accept this in Reward Point vouchers for future bookings at Accor. They’ve ignored that request as well.

    In fairness, a communications officer for Accor has been helpful and tried to resolve the matter. I won’t name them, but it seems they’re passing on messages and the Accor senior staff are just ignoring them. I can’t stress the communications team any more, this isn’t their problem. This blog post is unlikely to get more than 2,000 views which makes it easier for Accor to ignore, which in fairness is what they’re doing without much concern.

    To quote Will from the Inbetweeners:

    “Why don’t we at least attempt to have a sophisticated conversation? I know it’s a tall order, and I’m not expecting sparkling, but let’s give it a go, eh?”

    The real difficulty here is that the legally responsible party are Mercure Heathrow, operated by Crimson Hotels. It was their hotel that was shut, the booking was with them and they gave permission for Accor to deal with the matter. That means I’ll have to take them to the small claims court, an entirely ridiculous matter given Accor could have quite easily fixed this. I hope yet that Accor decide that they will fix this little issue before I have to commence legal action against Crimson Hotels. If Accor had asked for a few more weeks to look at the matter, I would have been entirely happy, but they’re just merrily entirely ignoring me…..

    As it stands, and I really don’t think Accor could disagree with this in the circumstances, it is currently safer to book hotels using a third party aggregator site (hotels.com from Expedia or booking.com) as booking directly with Accor comes with the very real chance of being left financially worse off. I’m not a fan of Trustpilot, but Accor seem to be having problems in a similar vein from other customer, https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/all.accor.com.

    I shall update if Accor resolve the matter and I can put this down to a slight oversight….. Or indeed, I’ll update with my continued complaining at Accor, so either way, I suspect my limited blog readership will have to read about this on far more occasions than they’d want to. And I need to find a new hotel chain to pour my affections on.

  • IHG – 10,000 Points for Every 10 Stays

    IHG – 10,000 Points for Every 10 Stays

    This is a clever tactic I think from IHG, a new project they started a couple of months ago which gives 10,000 reward points (which is often enough to get a free hotel room in a Holiday Inn Express) for every ten nights stayed. On the 40th room night, they give a bonus of 30,000 reward points, all in addition to the usual earnings. I’m going to struggle to get to that total, although I’m on course to reach Platinum so I might not be far off. I have though received my first 10,000 bonus points from this campaign.

    I thought that Accor would do something similar to this, as otherwise there’s not much additional incentive to stay further nights once a rewards tier has been reached (and I can’t reach any more without hitting Diamond which is their only tier which can’t be achieved by nights stayed). I’ve had a few problems with Accor this summer and none from IHG, so my loyalty is starting to waver a little. Accor do though have some excellent hotels that I really rather like…..