5-Star Hotel- Part 1
Dear Family and Friends...before I begin my reflection on a 5-star hotel, please email John your inquiries about us living in India. He would like to make his next Blog entry semi-interactive. Please email him at jneiswender@hotmail.com and in the subject line, please type in "Fulbright". Thank you. It does not need to be long. It can just include a question about anything you are curious about as you take this journey with us on our blog.
The Fulbright Conference was at the Le Meridian in Kochi which is a 5-star hotel. In general we do not stay at 5-star hotels. We have splurged on our anniversary and only abroad. I decided to take this opportunity to do a side by side comparison of a 5-star hotel and an Airbnb and conclude what our overall style is in terms of "hotels". This will be a 3-part series.
The Le Meridian offers first-class service in rooms, food, and amenities. We stayed in a room with 2 double beds which was very hard to get. Normally with a family of 4, they have 1 king size bed and a cot. I was surprised by this. I could not believe that it was so difficult to comprehend that we would prefer 2 to a bed rather than 3 to a bed.
The room was nice and overlooked the pool. In our room, we loved the bathroom the most. It was so nice to have a bathroom where the shower is separate from the toilet and other parts of the bathroom. Most bathrooms in India are a big area that include a shower, toilet and sink and there is no separation so when you take a shower, everything gets wet. We enjoyed a complete western bathroom and a hot, hot shower. We also enjoyed air conditioning and black out curtains. Certainly perks of a 5-star hotel.
Other amenities included a pool with bar service, boat rides (of course for an extra charge), beautiful veranda with chairs and games for the kids (my favorite place in the hotel), a gym, and buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner (meals were an extra charge and was super expensive). Plus, I really do not like buffets. The first 2 days I ate so much and wanted to try everything and then I finally came to my senses and picked one or two things to eat at a meal and enjoy them. The kids on the other hand, loved it. They had a system. They would start at one end and look at everything and then go back and pick what they wanted to eat. I do not know why I did not follow their lead.
If we wanted to go out of the hotel for other things it was a chore and would take 15- 20 minutes. They really make these hotels all inclusive so that you do not have to go anywhere. Of course they had several spa packages. Which we did not indulge in.
And lastly there was music in the elevator. Definitely felt pampered in an uncomfortable way. Everyone was so kind and greeted us so warmly and was willing to help us in anyway possible. I could not help but think, how much of what I paid for the room and food was actually going to the workers. There was so many of them. I talked to the person who worked at the pool and he said he works 10 hour shifts 6 days a week and goes home every night. Are they getting paid a fair wage? And what is a fair wage here? Or is about the big corporate Marriott Hotels that gets the big bucks? Sadly, I think we all know the answer to that question. Then I think, if they are hiring so many people, then isn't that a good thing? I am so conflicted.
The Le Meridian offers first-class service in rooms, food, and amenities. We stayed in a room with 2 double beds which was very hard to get. Normally with a family of 4, they have 1 king size bed and a cot. I was surprised by this. I could not believe that it was so difficult to comprehend that we would prefer 2 to a bed rather than 3 to a bed.
Other amenities included a pool with bar service, boat rides (of course for an extra charge), beautiful veranda with chairs and games for the kids (my favorite place in the hotel), a gym, and buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner (meals were an extra charge and was super expensive). Plus, I really do not like buffets. The first 2 days I ate so much and wanted to try everything and then I finally came to my senses and picked one or two things to eat at a meal and enjoy them. The kids on the other hand, loved it. They had a system. They would start at one end and look at everything and then go back and pick what they wanted to eat. I do not know why I did not follow their lead.
If we wanted to go out of the hotel for other things it was a chore and would take 15- 20 minutes. They really make these hotels all inclusive so that you do not have to go anywhere. Of course they had several spa packages. Which we did not indulge in.
And lastly there was music in the elevator. Definitely felt pampered in an uncomfortable way. Everyone was so kind and greeted us so warmly and was willing to help us in anyway possible. I could not help but think, how much of what I paid for the room and food was actually going to the workers. There was so many of them. I talked to the person who worked at the pool and he said he works 10 hour shifts 6 days a week and goes home every night. Are they getting paid a fair wage? And what is a fair wage here? Or is about the big corporate Marriott Hotels that gets the big bucks? Sadly, I think we all know the answer to that question. Then I think, if they are hiring so many people, then isn't that a good thing? I am so conflicted.
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