All posts in “Hotel Reviews”

Hotel Kesselspitze Obertauern Review

The Hotel Kesselspitze in Austrian ski resort Obertauern recently received their fifth star. Enough reason for us to stop by and check it out ahead of the upcoming ski season.

Obertauern is part of Salzburg state and lies on the top of the Tauernpass. With ski lifts and slopes running around the town on all sides it offers an incredible amount of ski-in, ski-out accommodations. Thanks to its high elevation it has gained a reputation as one of the resorts with the highest snow guarantee in Austria.

The hotel Kesselspitze is located right next to two chair lifts; the Achenrainbahn and the Schaidbergbahn. Both are part of the ‘Tauernrunde’ – a ski lap of the Tauern mountains which can be completed in clock- and counter-clockwise direction. The town with its popular apres-ski bars is a 10-15 minute walk or short ride away from the hotel.

Obertauern & The Beatles

In 1965 the Beatles came to Obertauern and produced part of their film ‘Help’ in the ski resort. During their stay they performed in a hotel in town, their only ever concert in Austria. Until today the visit of the Beatles inspires international visitors to come to Obertauern for ski- and apres-ski action.

Rooms & Suites

The Hotel Kesselspitze has 66 rooms and suites including 5 new rooms and one apartment in chic country style. Highlight is the 70m2 presidential suite with a private sauna and panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Each room class features a distinct style but all share a high standard of finishing including flat screen TV, mini bar and modern bathrooms.

Restaurant & Bar

The hotel has one restaurant called Jagdstube serving a daily gourmet menu with extensive buffet of salads and starters. The food is excellent and included in most room rates. Across the lobby from the restaurant guests will find the Einhorn-Bar with a slightly chintzy but cozy lounge and bar area.

The Spa

The spa at Kesselspitze was renovated in 2016 and features everything from an indoor pool, outdoor whirlpool and aroma steam bath to several saunas and a sole rock cave. It is a nice place to relax after a long day on the slopes and watch the snow flakes as they swirl down outside.

Conclusion

The Hotel Kesselspitze is a very nice place to stay if you are looking for a ski-in, ski-out hotel in a resort with some of the best snow in Europe. Comfortable rooms paired with a quality spa offering and excellent food round up a very good offering.

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November 12, 2019 / Comments Off on Hotel Kesselspitze Obertauern Review
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The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong Review

My ears pop as the elevator shoots up from the 9th floor entrance to the 103rd floor lobby 425 meters above sea-level. I’m at the highest hotel in the world – the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. The hotel occupies the top 17 floors of the 484 tall ICC tower in the Kowloon area of this intriguing city.

The hotel is easily reached from the airport with the clean and efficient MTR express train to Kowloon station. Club guests enjoy a complimentary limousine service around Kowloon. Hotspots on Hong Kong Island can be reached with a taxi, ferry or underground.

The 302 rooms and suites are spread are located on floors 104 through to 117 with the incredible 2,800 m2 presidential suite taking up a large part of the 117th floor. All rooms offer spectacular views of Hong Kong and the South China Sea with the view of Hong Kong Island being the most desirable one.

I have booked a club room giving access to the Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge on the 116th floor. Here it is also possible to check-in, so on the 103rd floor lobby I head straight to the guest elevators taking me up to the 116th floor. The Club Lounge is the perfect all-day hang-out and meeting place. Even though the hotel has 302 rooms and runs close to full occupancy the club lounge is fairly quiet most of the day.

My deluxe queen room 115-20 is on the 115th floor with perfect views of Hong Kong Island and parts of Kowloon. A little bench below the window allows guests to sit and just take in the world down below. The hotel is so high up that helicopters and small airplanes pass by below. The street more than 450 meters is so far away that you feel disconnected from it all.

The room itself is well equipped with a desk, large double bed and large bathroom with double sinks, a large marble rain shower, separate toilet and bathtub. I could spend all day relaxing in the room and taking in the jaw-dropping views but there is so much more to explore in the hotel and Hong Kong that I end up spending hardly any time in the room.

Opposite the Club Lounge you can find the Spa with several treatment rooms and men and women dressing rooms with a sauna. From the spa take the elevator up to the 118th floor for a swim in the highest pool in the world with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the South China Sea and parts of Hong Kong Island. There is also a jacuzzi and terrace where guests can do yoga or other sports. On the same level is also a well equipped gym.

Also on the 118th floor, but well separated from the guest-only spa and pool area, is the Ozone bar serving cocktails and tapas. More restaurants can be accessed from the 103rd floor lobby with Italian restaurant Tosca and Chinese restaurant Tin Lung Heen both awarded by Michelin. The Almas Caviar Bar, Cafe 103 and The Lounge & Bar wrap up the wide range of dining options. Club guests can also enjoy breakfast, lunch, high-tea and dinner in the club lounge.

The facilities and dining options are top notch with the occasional compromise due to the limited floor plan size of the tower. The dressing rooms on the pool level are a bit small per example. But one aspect really stands out during my stay at the Ritz-Carlton and that is the effortless and professional service. No request is too much and there are many little gestures (like bringing a dry towel and hot water with lemon without asking when I started coughing after swimming) which made my stay even more memorable and comfortable. Add the incredible views and unique experience to stay in the world’s highest hotels and this is one of the most desirable hotels to visit around the globe.

November 29, 2018 / Comments Off on The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong Review
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Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Review

Often named as one of the best hotels in the world it was time for GTspirit to experience the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok first hand. It is not only the oldest hotel in Bangkok but also hosted heads of state, writers and celebrities from all over the world.

The Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok opened its doors originally in 1876 as the Oriental hotel. In 1976 it united with the Mandarin in Hong Kong to create the Mandarin Oriental group. Russian Tsar Nicholas put the Oriental on the map in 1891. Located on the famous Chao Phraya River the Thai Royal Palace is located a little bit upstream making the Oriental an ideal place to stay.

And although the center of Bangkok moved away from the river over the years the Chao Phraya still attracts a lot of tourists, businessmen and locals alike. The Mandarin Oriental offers a green refuge in the hectic Asian city.

The hotel has 393 rooms including 35 suites located in three wings; the river wing, the garden wing and the old wing where the Oriental was founded. The old wing is also known as the Author’s wing and home to the Presidential Suite which encompasses over 600 m2 and six bedrooms. We stayed in a Garden Room nr 350 with high ceilings and a beautiful view of the river. The interior is very luxurious as you may expect from a Mandarin Oriental and includes all amenities you can wish for. The decorations from the in-house florist makes you feel at home even though the rooms and especially bathrooms are not as spacious as some newer luxury hotels in Bangkok.

Check-in takes place in the room and all floors have a dedicated butler. After our welcome drink we explored the facilities which include two outdoor pools, a spa with 14 treatment rooms, gym, kids club and cooking school. The staff is friendly and plentiful throughout, the only drawback is that the spa and the gym are located on the other side of the river along with the Thai restaurant and cooking school.

The choice of restaurants is extensive with a total of 8 outlets available for lunch and or dinner. Le Normandie, Bangkok’s finest French dining venue; The China House with its avant-garde 1930s Shanghai Art Deco interior; Lord Jim’s, featuring daily talk-of-the-town seafood buffet lunch galore and a la carte menu for dinner; The Verandah Coffee Shop; BBQ Riverside Terrace; Sala Rim Naam Thai Restaurant, revived into a mini palace serving a lavish Thai Buffet Lunch spread daily and set dinner with Thai Classical dance show nightly; the outdoor Terrace Rim Naam featuring a la carte Thai menu; and Ciao, a seasonal outdoor Italian bistro The historical Authors’ Lounge serving the popular Afternoon Tea and The Bamboo Bar, providing live jazz.

The history, rooms, restaurants and facilities alone are worth a stay at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok but there is one thing that sets the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok apart from other luxury hotels in Bangkok and around the globe and that is the exceptional service. With a staff to room ratio of 3 to 1 and over 1,000 employees in total it is the staff that makes the difference. Each and every staff member we encountered was professional yet personal without being intrusive. Each request was handled with care and focus and the staff really went the extra mile to make our stay and that of the other guests we met extraordinary.

September 26, 2018 / Comments Off on Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Review
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