Photos from UK Business Trip

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Location: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Phone: (809) 731-0000
Website: www.hardrockhotelpuntacana.com
Price: n/a (part of timeshare)
Credit Cards: All major

Rooms: 9
Service: 9
Value: 9
Amenities: 9

Length of Stay: 7 nights

Last year, I thought Beach Palace in Cancun was the best hotel, but Hard Rock was actually slightly better. The room was probably about the same sq. footage, but had a more original design. Everything was laid out on a diagonal and there was a step down to the jacuzzi and porch. Furniture and bath area were the same high quality that's probably characteristic throughout all Palace Resorts properties.

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There's no contest when it comes to services. I've never had any as good as this hotel. Everyone was super nice. The rooms were kept clean... almost too clean in my opinion. Housekeeping would come by at least 3x a day. I think once is enough! Occasionally a worker would mess up because of language barrier, but I didn't sense any hesitation from a single staff member when I came to helping people out. Everyone was polite and patient. Our tours, spa credits and photographer credits were allocated properly and I didn't feel at any point that we were being ripped off. I had suspected that in Cancun.

This resort is a truly self sufficient ecosystem. There's a comfortable amount of space for the amount of guests staying there. There are enough pools, dining areas and other services to go around. The fitness center is state-of-the-art in contrast to the tiny ones in Cancun. Phone calls to the US are included. Wi-fi has good coverage. It's only lost out in the beach, but that's understandable.

If this is Palace Resort's ultimate accommodation, then I'd rather come back to this one every year rather than go to another destination!

Beach Palace Wyndham Grand Resort

Location: Kukulcan Km 11.5, Zona Hotelera, Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500, Mexico
Phone: 011 52 998 891 4110
Website: www.wyndham.com
Price: n/a (part of timeshare)
Credit Cards: All major

Rooms: 9
Service: 7
Value: 4
Amenities: 7

Length of Stay: 4 nights

The best hotel room I've ever stayed in has to go to Beach Palace. I expected a typical hotel room, but it was surprisingly spacious, even with 2 full size beds stuffed into it. There was a lot of breathing room between beds and other furniture. The balcony w/ outdoor futon was essentially another bedroom. All furniture and room items were made of high quality material right down to the garbage cans. Only the shower door had a design flaw... there was a large crack that allowed water to get out when the door was closed.

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Most of the services were good. The cleaning staff and restaurant workers were hardworking and polite. The front desk was helpful and efficient for the most part, depending on which guy you talked to. Some were a little spacey. Other services were a little annoying, like the pool entertainment. The guy in charge of that was desperately trying to get guests to participate in his lame activities. While I thought the service was good, I don't think it was better than Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern in its 2007 unfinished state.

With the value, I'm a little biased against all-inclusives. It does work out well when you put prices on all of the individual items separately, but when you compare it to services outside of the resort, the all-inclusive will look like a ripoff. I can never give an all-inclusive a rating higher than 4 (5 being average).

The amenities were OK. The in-room jacuzzi, balcony area and huge pool area brought this rating up. The pool area is so large it never really gets crowded even with all the guests at peak hours. The weak points were the small fitness center, TV and phone. The fitness center is no larger than someone's home setup in the basement. It's just tiny in proportion to everything else in the resort. The TV, although HD does not get an HD signal and is an older 720p model. Channels are limited to basics. The phone is unusable as the hotel charged for all calls despite falsely advertising free calls to the US.

Cathy & Lu's Road Trip

I got a call from Cathy yesterday saying that she and her family were on a cross-country road trip and they would be in NYC today (for 3 days). Coincidentally, I had the day off as I always take the day after Father's Day. Lewis was also not working, so we were able to do a little SCAD reunion. Ning was missing though as she was heading out to Singapore.


We just spent the day catching up since it's been about 2 years since we last saw Cathy and over 10 since we last saw Lu.

Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern BETA

Location: 49 Annapolis St. Greenhills, San Juan, Philippines
Phone: (632) 744-7878
Website: www.greenhillselansuites.com
Price: Standard Room ($50)
Credit Cards: All major

Rooms: 6
Service: 8
Value: 8
Amenities: 7

Length of Stay: 6 nights

Swire Élan Suites is a condominium conveniently located in the heart of Metro Manila, across from the Greenhills Shopping Complex. The lobby and first few floors were recently converted into a hotel, Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern. I labeled this establishment as BETA because portions of the hotel are still under construction.

The rooms were laid out nicely and have a Japanese/modern look to them. Some items weren't complete though. A couple of the lights were missing bulbs and the broadband Internet wasn't "live." The bed was comfortable. The minibar and bathroom were very complete. The AC was efficient and cooled the area quickly.

The hotel is run by some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Everyone is very polite. Any problems that came up were taken care of right away for the most part. I didn't give it a "10" because there were a few areas of inexperience. Keep in mind that this is still in BETA. In a little while, I'm sure this would become a "10."

The elevator system was a little strange. The doors closed way too quickly and have no sensor to tell you that someone is halfway in. The gym, located on P2 along with the recreation room was in bad shape. The equipment itself was all there, but many of the machines were not completely assembled. This floor could use a full time staff member. Internet service was spotty and overpriced. It was 150 Pesos ($3.50) per hour or $600 Pesos ($14) per day. Internet access at the business center (6th floor) was 60 Pesos ($1.40) per 15 min.

Related: Review of Élan Café, Swire Élan Suites

Peony Wanpeng Hotel

Location: 19 Huyuan Rd., Xiamen, China
Phone: (86) 592-2662888
Website: www.peony-hotel.com
Price: Standard Room ($50)
Credit Cards: All major

Rooms: 8
Service: 7
Value: 8
Amenities: 8

Length of Stay: 3 nights

China has some of the best hotels at the best prices. Peony Wanpeng Hotel is just one of those in the Xiamen area. The rooms were a little on the small side, but built with high quality material. The closets, minibar and desks were equipped with everything I could think of. They even had umbrellas and a safe in the closet. The window was huge and offered a great view through the front of the hotel.

We didn't really use the services much here, but the front desk was very helpful. They gave us a pro-rated price on one of the rooms when we needed it for storage a few hours after their standard checkout time.

I didn't stay long enough (3 nights) to check out all of their facilities, but the business center looked very complete. There's a 2-floor restaurant taking up the 4th & 5th floors and a cafe on the first floor with breakfast buffet. Internet service in the rooms was stable, fast and most importantly... FREE!

About Hotel Ratings

Rooms: The quality, condition and design of the rooms.

Service: This item rates the professionalism of the staff. Part of this is based on politeness and the other half knowledge & skill.

Value: This means "bang for buck" basically. It doesn't mean cheap or expensive. An expensive hotel that has great service and amenities can have a great value.

Amenities: Number and quality of amenities in the establishment.

Length of Stay: I think this is worthy of mention because more weight can be given to my opinions for longer stays.