Thanks. Did they give you a complimentary upgrade? They totally nickel and dime me. It was our son's birthday and we were told that we had to pay $175/daily for a water view suite and $100 for a city view. We got a terrible room, 328. I called AMEX and tried to switch to Fine Hotels and Properties. I was on the phone with AMEX and the hotel for 2 hours. The hotel was completely stingy with the upgrade. They finally figured out that the deluxe water view with the $100 daily upgrade was the best rate. It was so stressful and completely ridiculous especially if it's disparate treatment.

We had so many complaints with the room. They offered to move us to the 4th floor with a city view, 2 days in. There was no way that I was going to convince my husband to move our stuff up to another floor with the same crappy view. We were over the marquise. The light was blaring in our room. It was a nightmare. It was also really loud. (one front desk person gave me ear plugs as a resolution) And the air-conditioning was not hitting one side of the bed. Thank goodness the engineering dept was on it right away and creatively fixed it. So anyway, they asked me what they could do, so I said, "comp our valet parking?" and they did.

Then we had a terrible experience with the concierge, Jack who totally profiles guests. We were validated by front desk staff and some of the other hotel crew. Jack is not liked. I also heard from some guests at the pool. They thought he was very unpleasing. Although we had a great initial conversation with Lyn, when I brought up my incident with Jack and how I felt like it was profiling, she cut me off and she defended Jack. I was so upset. I was shaking. I went back into the lounge and she followed me. I asked for space and she wouldn't leave me alone. I was so triggered. I felt like she was totally white'splaining to me (I'm a 39 year old asian woman) and she would not respect my boundaries. I did not want to create a scene. She eventually sent me an apology and a plate of fruit. I sent an email to the managers. I didn't want to rehash the whole thing. I thought they were pleasant. They asked what they could do. I said that I would talk with my family. The whole incident ate up my afternoon. My family came up with creative ideas. All I wanted was a massage. My husband wanted some stuff shaved off the bill and my kid wanted to basically live there and never leave. Well, the next day, they said that they would remove the $100 upgrade fees for the 4 days and they mentioned that they "already took off the valet." I clarified that it was because of the lousy room and not the incidents with Lyn and Jack. I graciously took the money since i didn't want to cause a scene since the rest of our trip was glorious (the staff is amazing sans the front desk apparently).

The did let us check out at 7pm instead of our guaranteed 4pm AMEX check out because I was getting a massage. That was very accommodating.

I just feel like chumps. Like they were totally treating us differently than other guests. It really upsets me.

We just booked the St. Regis for our annual new years' visit. Even though St. Regis doesn't have a pool, I figured I would give it a try since I have such a bad taste in my mouth. We had originally booked the Ritz Carlton and then we were going to stay at MO and now we are going to stay at St. Regis because the location is better than the Ritz.

By the way, I saw your review because someone asked me a question on my initial review. I feel like such a bozo for writing such a complimentary review without including this whole incident. The property is gorgeous and the rest of the staff are heavenly. It's a shame that the front desk and the managers treated us so lousy and took advantage of us.

Oh for full disclosure, the front desk comped a meal for me and my husband because we thought that the pad thai was adequate and the soba noodles were underwhelming. They had asked if we liked the vegan options on the In Room Dining and we said that we did not. My son loved the kids meals.

By the way, we aren't a bunch of complaining freeloaders. We have had very excellent trips where we didn't get comps etc. (e.g. St. Regis Bal Harbour, Four Seasons Maui, Ritz Carlton South Beach, Ritz Carlton Philadelphia, The Rittenhouse Philadelphia....)

Was there a cost for parking?

Which is the closest airport?

Hi! I loved your review of the Mandarin. I plan on staying there with my husband &10 yr old b/g twins in mid October because of your review.

  My daughter is autistic and has some sensory issues. Was there a room/floor that you would recommend that was quieter. We plan on staying Fri-Mon. During our stay we will be celebrating our Anniversary with kids in tow. Are there any restaurants that were kid friendly that you would recommend? Thanks again for your wonderful review! You were very helpful. I plan on taking full advantage of the spa ;-)

What is the nearest upscale Sports Bar within walking distance?