This is a delightful grande dame of a hotel, located within easy walking distance of most of central Oslo. It was built in the 1930s and looks like it. The entrance lobby is welcoming in dimension and has a very unique bar off of the main space. The staff were very helpful when challenged to be so. I would advise never to be on the #87 side of the hotel. It faces the street with a nice view during the day. But this street side also is home to a loud bar that pumps music out till about 0300. The 504 side is really perfect. I would definitely return.

OK. i have been here before. when i walked into the lobby the memory of the last room came back. the only good thing about this hotel is the pool which has a veranda around it which is large and comfortable to sit and work with robust wifi. The service is miserable. it is an older hotel with the potential to be something special – it must have been once before. but the luster has gone the same way with the care for the meaning of hospitality.

there is a Westin across the street. that is the place to go if at the convention centre. otherwise one of the dozens of small hotels would be a better bet. The Cullinan is off my list.

https://www.southernsun.com:443/SSH/VHB/25383cf8de46a010VgnVCM100000650114acRCRD/43/47

eery once in a while i get a room that takes my breath away. OK. it hardly ever happens so that when it does, wow! I am on the 55th floor of the Tomorrow Centre in central Shanghai. my room is sort of a corner and it has a view that is phenomenal. it is really a perfect room. this is do not often find. i look out over the national museum to the river and the central business district beyond. the city spreads endlessly out around me. thousands of high rises merging into one massive carpet of thin square tops. my desk is against the large window.

5561. i would defiantly stay here again.

great location. internet connectivity equaled the speed of a tortoise. unbearably slow in the room. wireless ripped in the lobby. told that it was due to an in-room TV upgrade coming in February. other than that, the room was great. great desk. comfortable bed. bathroom just the right size. staff super friendly and service orientated. i would definitely go back.

wow. let me say again. WOW. this is a hotel that i ignore the mould in the corner of the bath tub. a wonderful moorish rectangular edifice parallels the beach. the Westin Excelsior is one i would pay to go back to. there is something magical about arriving at a place by water. a short tunnel under the road brings you to the large entry. first, you need to check in at the desk. then you take a little card across the hall to the concierge to get the digital room ‘key’. the hallways are broad. the lifts tucked away from any room. my room faced the beach. it was large, but not too large. green, but not too green. desk of a good size to work. I arrived quite late so had no idea of the view that i had. pity i only had one night.

room 234.

This place was tired. I was going to be there for five days so i really was looking forward to a nice room in the centre of downtown. the first room 700 something was across from the elevator. i went in to check it out anyway so i could see it. then went down and asked for another room saying i would happily pay for an upgrade if i needed to. So, i was promptly sold a new class of room on the 12th floor. two doors down from the elevator. went in. all the same furniture as the ‘normal’ room. the only advantage of the extra $70/per night were fancy soaps and ‘free internet’. AND, black mildewed caulking in the shower/bath. i did not last long in the room. went back down for another try. this time, they called over the customer service manager who apologized, offered to buy me a drink at the bar later and gave me a new room next to the old one. and took off the extra charge. the entire place really needs a refit. there must be much better places to stay in such a lovely city. would suggest i would find a different one next time.

the only thing Grand about the Grand was the size of the bathroom. it was really big. even had a built-in TV for those who like to sit in a tub. shower stall with room for three, easy. separate WC as well. the bed was just fine. the desk a joke. the only electric outlet hidden under the back skirting of the fake Louis IVX spindle legged thing. probably was fine when one only wrote post cards. not sufficient at all for todays world. I only had time for a short dinner in the bar/lounge. food was prompt and just fine. crabcakes and a ‘wedge’ with blue cheese dressing. plenty. actually one portion would have been fine for two. or a family of six in Chad. the ubiquitous large screen TV was showing the monday night gridiron match. reception staff need to learn about the valuable pleasures of a smile. would have made a lot of difference. there are better places to stay in the city. 2008.09

travel in russia is a challenge. you cant read a thing and most folks simply do not speak english. result of many years of deep animosity, i suppose. the hotel is fine. the neighborhood seems tired. but then again, most of the city that we saw on the ride in seemed tired. i am on the third floor. there is an interior atrium that begins on the third floor. when checking in i was told very nicely that i had been upgraded to a ‘family room’. i smiled and said thanks with visions of a room in which a family of four could hang out. the room is simply the ‘wheelchair accessible’ room. As with so many others of similar ilk that i have stayed in, it is so poorply deisgned that i get really annoyed. there are no surfaces to put anything in the bathroom. if one is in a wheelchair, or similar disability, does this then mean that you no longer need to put a toothbrush or kit anywhere? no light at the desk and the electric outlets are all a crawl away. and this is a new hotel. hmmm. Room 301.

a place of peace and tranquility after three days in a hotel that was more like a prison than a place of hospitality. i would come back here. more later.

it is hard to beat the top of the hill overlooking the city of zurich as a spot to place a hotel. the old Dolder Grand Hotel just went thru a multi-year, multi-millions facelift/addition. i stayed in the old one the week before it was closed courtesy of the Ecole Hotelier Lausanne. this time it was courtesy of the Swiss Steel Industry. Room 8309 is in the Spa wing. it barely has a view of the lake. very roomy. design willfully expensive. it was hard to find a corner in the room. everything is slightly curved. worktable is small, but sufficient for a laptop…just. in-room technology the latest B&O everything. light switches really hard to find on the walls. huge bath rooms. tub for two, or one large person. same for the shower room. so many nozzles that i was intimidated. and that takes allot. the staff were really fantastic. after checking in i was taken to the room -which is good as it would have been impossible to find otherwise – and given a tour of how the room worked – which again was good as it would have been a mystery without. wireless internet was fast and easy.

i would go back.

‘where dreams come true’ was the fantastic strap line that the Disney Brothers used when they established their World. And, I must admit, there is quite a bit of magic there. This is a world that one really must experience. I went the first time with great trepidation, but came away enthused and enthralled. The rides were great fun, and I will return again.

The Safari ride and Everest in Animal Kingdom are awesome. Epcot’s great dome welcomes one to a ‘new world’ that is fascinating. Tomato plants that are growing in air and Soarin’ leave indelible memories. But, the best remains the Magic Kingdom. It is so impressive and simply fun.

Yet, there are some things that probably would have disappointed The founders as much as me. It seems that there is lack of attention to the detail that makes the suspension of belief so important…

The signage around the Disney World estate is subtle and in good taste. However, it really lacks in practicle detail; you have to know where you are going in order to be able to get there. It is kind of like, if you don’t know where you are headed, then you shouldn’t be going there. We couldn’t remember which resort we were staying in, but knew the name. we drove around and finally stopped at an entrance security gate to get directions to the other end of the park. he was very friendly. the security guard when we finally found Port Orleans couldn’t be bothered to even look at our papers. she was talking on her phone and just waved us thru. not a very magical moment.

The resort looked fabulous as we drove in. lots of green uniformed folks standing around chatting….mostly to themselves….guests waiting for buses and piles of luggage around. it was busy and fun. got to wait in the first line for about 15 minutes to check in. a very delightful lady was behind the bank teller like bars whom i could barely understand. now, i travel alot and have learned how to discern english under accents. yet, i simply coud only barely understand her. again, she was very friendly and delightful, but we understood nothing of what she explained [a day later we figured out that she was explaining the food plan and how to get around the park]. i inquired about internet access and she indicated that every room had cables but you needed to dial ’56′ to get to it and then i could use my chosen provider. i asked again if this was really only dial-in and her reply was lost in translation with a continual repetition of dial ’56′ and then you will be connected. I found it hard to imagine that Disney, one of the best entertainment groups would only have DIAL-IN in the rooms!, but…. i think it is fantastic that there are all nationalities and types of people there, but at the front desk they really really must speak discernible english.

We walked along an idyllic river scene reminiscent of old new orleans to our building. a simple wood bridge takes one from the services side over to the room side. the buildings are arranged in large Us. we found our room and it seemed fine. i looked for the internet access. it was not to be seen. i began to move furniture. i found the plug behind the bedside table between the two double beds….without any connector cord. and totally diagonally across the room from the only table. Surely this could not be. Was one expected to snake a cable dangerously all the way across the room so that they could connect to the internet?…..well it turns out YES. incomprehensible in 2008. the rooms are fine if you are 60 and/or have no interest in being connected to the internet. maybe Disney’s new business model is to keep teenagers and twenty-year olds out of the resort????

How can Disney not realize that the internet is THE media of choice for young folks? I simply needed to get my mail. We had a four day pass and wanted to go on-line to check schedules AND to take a look at the two water parks all together as a family to decide which to go to. We also needed to use the internet to check weather locally since the resort does not slip a little piece of paper telling us how hot it was going to be. So, i called guest services from the first room and asked about the access point. after a long pause, [again, she was very pleasant] the answer came back that ALL the rooms of the type i had reserved have the access point in the same place….between the beds. I asked if there was another property type we could take a look at. another wait. yes we could. ok. walk back to the central place. wait in the check-in line again. explain the situation again to the person behind the bars. wait while he goes to the back room to fid out what to do. wait some more. wait some more. he comes out with a card key and walks us to another place that is at the other end of this resort……ended up that we went back to the original buildings and strung the cable.

The other thing that kind of bugged me was the lack of attention to the grounds maintenance. cigarette butts in the sand next to the paths. we woke up at about 0600 one morning to a sprinkler head turned into a geyser. called maintenance. they came and turned it off. no one ever said thank you. NOR did they sweep up the mess it caused….even three days later when we left. these are ‘little’ things, but they are what make the difference between magic and mundane.

This place is great. a real winner. it took me three rooms to find the one that was just right. but, top floor has a view out over the wonderful Georgian city of Bath. It was once a college and turned into a hotel. rooms are comfortable and simple. in a good way. the desk is too small to really to any meaningful work, but there are so many other spaces to go sit in around the property that it does not matter. I would return here in a heartbeat.

I asked for directions how to walk to the hotel from a 20 year old at the train station….they have different perceptions of time and space than a 50 year old. it is a walk, but a good walk. not one to be made when in a hurry, but a great walk to make when time is not of essence. the fabulous Putney Bridge. a special place is Bath.