There’s no one answer. The 5-Star hotel and restaurant standards varies for different people depending on personal requirements and expectations. There’s no question that some part of a 5-Star ranking is subjective. But here’s a summary of a few musts and there are additional criteria.
1 – Service that makes people feel like stars and important. It’s when the staff gives you the feeling they love their work and it’s not simply a job — that’s 5-Star. They genuinely want to please guests and if it means going out of their way and doing something extra, the client won’t know if it’s an imposition.
2 – Hotels where the staff is impeccably dressed and caters to clients’ needs and wants. For example, high tea being served using silver and perfectly white pressed linen. Cocktails should be served on a tray accompanied by cloth cocktail napkins and well-presented hor d’oeuvres.
3 – Cleanliness and décor are big 5-Star factors plus total attention to detail. There’s nothing like a room with a wonderful view where the bed linens are ironed and there are flowers. The bathrooms should be elegant and you shouldn’t have to grope for the soap or be confronted by scratchy towels. Noise from the hall or adjoining rooms should not be heard.
4 – Five-star service requires an effort on the part of the staff to understand the individual being served and to specifically tailor the service so that he or she feels completely at ease.
5 – The 5-Star service is uninterrupted by negotiation or by the customer having to explain or educate the personnel about their expectations. A five star establishment has already calibrated its service to the highest level.
6 – Every 5-Star restaurant is flawless when it comes to food and service. A large staff serves the courses but they’re choreographed to make it seem as though only one person waiting on you. There is no noise or bumping into other dining room personnel as wine is poured or during the meal. Guests aren’t rushed but when they ask for the bill, it should be processed in a timely manner.
7 – With 5-Star service the staff is more than gracious, always smiles, is willing to go more that all out to please clients, anticipates their needs and follows up. For example, I was bowled over when I returned to one hotel after a two-year hiatus and it had a VERY soft pillow in my room when I arrived. Plus, there was a yogurt waiting for me each night because I take a medication that requires it at bedtime. I didn’t have to ask because it was entered in the hotel’s data bank. I call that impressive since how could they know I’d ever return. And even more amazingly, I was treated as if I were a regular.
Now it’s your turn to add what makes a hotel or a restaurant a 5-Star experience for you.
Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, I thought you were writing about the AAA 5-diamond requirements. In either case, what makes a hotel five-star for me is having something I cannot experience anywhere else but there. The decor has to be themed, down to the uniforms. Any employee, regardless of position, must be highly knowledgable of the property, the surroundings, and anything I need. I should never ask twice, or even once in some cases.
I agree completely that it’s the little touches of luxury that make a hotel worth 5-star status…
Back in January, I went to Mexico City for the first time, and stayed at the JW Marriott down there. (Caveat here–I have been Platinum Elite with Marriott for 3 years now.)
My flight from Houston to Mexico City was delayed taking off by approximately 25 minutes due to problems with passenger communication (which could lead me into a completely different rant, but I digress). Right after I cleared immigration and before I could get my luggage, I received a call from the hotel asking me if I was ok, and where I was, as their driver was waiting to pick me up. (Mexican Immigration had actually been relatively efficient, and I was only about 15 minutes past my scheduled pickup at that point). That was a pleasant surprise.
Upon arrival at the hotel, I was actually taken right past the front desk, and my check-in was done in my room via a concierge. My room had very obviously been made up based upon my Marriott preferences (extra pillows, extra towels), but the surprise was a case of Diet Coke and a nice assortment of sugar free snacks (I am diabetic, which is NOT in my profile, but I have asked about refrigerators for medication and healthier options for eating in the past–so apparently, Marriott keeps track of those things).
The staff there bent over backwards to make things nice–any time we needed anything, we either had the item or a way to get the item in a matter of minutes. If we wanted restaurant recommendations, we always got an excellent list. In fact, we went to dinner one night at a recommended restaurant that ended up being several miles from the hotel. The car service from the hotel took us there and then was there when we finished (!), with no cost to us.
THings like that, in my opinion, make a 5-star property! I would not hesitate to call the JW Marriott Mexico City a 5-star hotel.
I wouldn’t know, since I’m apparently so unsophisticated that a decent two-star or three-star hotel suits me just fine, thank you. I don’t know who the intended audience for this article is, but I suspect that for the majority of readers who pay for lodging out of their own pockets, the sort of accommodations you describe are but an “impossible dream,” especially in this economy.
Hapgood–
you would be surprised at what you can find with some of the travel deals going on right now. My “concierge level” room at the 5-star JW Marriott Mexico City was $129 US a night, and that was even back in January.
I’ve booked ‘luxury’ rooms in Vegas for $29 a night, very nice 4- and 5-star properties in San Francisco for under $100 a night, and even a hotel in NYC for $129 a night. It all depends on where you’re going and how much you’re going to spend.
Being honest, if I can stay at a ‘budget’ hotel for $70 or a ‘luxury’ hotel for $100, I’ll pick the $100 every time–I know what I’m going to get there, and usually won’t be disappointed.