Kristina R.
Yelp
I have to praise Amanda, the food and service manager. She was the one reason this staycation didn't completely deplete my public school teacher patience level, which is incredibly high. She was just lovely, and had a wonderful attitude and personality that created an environment that was both welcoming, apologetic, and genuinely caring. She is well-worth a trip to this Four Seasons.
I have never really wanted to book elsewhere. I love staying at Four Seasons hotels, anywhere we go, and have had hit or miss experiences at only a few. Our trip to L.A. was awful, because of the Four Seasons experience we had years ago. That was quite possibly the worst stay we've ever had at a Four Seasons Hotel. However, I understand how things can go south very quickly in the hospitality industry. I once worked in hotels I have been yelled at by guests before, and know how it feels. That will never be me.
From the moment we came to the hotel, things were off. The amenities were missing from the room, there were mistakes when the amenities were brought to the room, the phone did not work, internet did not work, our room was not as expected.
All of these things were addressed, in due time. There were mistakes, there were miscommunications, and all of them were within my understanding of how pandemics can affect staffing and how the hospitality industry has been struggling to keep their hotels at the quality of their guest ever-exhaustive expectations with far fewer employees than they are used to having.
In fact, they had upgraded our room, which is why we were confused. I was very thankful for the thoughtful upgrade, but they were very happy to put us back into the room we requested.
We had been to this particular hotel before, years ago, and it was definitely showing its' age. In the room itself, there was evidence of some slight wear and tear here as well as some reminders of hotels long gone (ie: older amenities, such as a motion sensor mini bar, which my kids promptly knocked over and I had to explain to the front desk at checkout...and a Holy Bible in the bedside drawer.) However, because we were more interested in the pool and gym, we were not put off by it. Some may be, however.
We had a hard time settling in, as we started receiving amenities and extras after second calls to the front desk. As some point, I started feeling awkward calling and repeatedly reporting miscommunications or missed items.
Turndown service was requested, but it was very late and my kids were very tired. Someone did get to the room and start, but didn't return to finish, so another call was made. Now I was just feeling sorry for the front desk for having to field my calls.
I opted on a bath instead of a shower because, to be honest, I couldn't figure out how to work it and kept soaking myself while fully clothed. The bath was by a window, which is what I had asked for, and it was super comfy and relaxing.
Room service was a big hit with the kids. The menu was limited, unless you chose to go to the restaurant, which had a more expansive menu with lots of choices. We opted for meals in the room, and I was expecting more, but was still happy with the overall taste and service of the wonderful staff. The pool menu wasn't offered, but we assumed it was a seasonal thing and only offered during hot summer days. That was a bummer for the kids.
We attended the "Apres Chalet" movie night, and watched Mulan while eating fondue and smores. It was cold, but also a fun experience. The kids snuggled under blankets in front of our fire pit, and we had lots of treats offered to us, free of charge.
Amanda tended to every need, every concern and problem, and did her very best to take care of it while also running the hotel in the evenings. She sent up kids amenities and gave us more treats than we could carry. My kids were completely sold on this hotel at this point, and they were pretty much in love with Amanda and looked for her when we left the room.
I had reserved the room with a "Winter Getaway" package, which included $250 resort credit per night, for a suite, but it did not show up on the receipt. Not a huge issue, because I used their app and did a chat and it was fixed very quickly, with an apology.
My kids and I have not taken a trip outside of our city for three years. It wasn't so much a sacrifice than an accommodation to live with the current state of health and safety in a pandemic. I saved up for a Disneyland trip for years, and we put it aside for the Covid-safe future.
So as a fun weekend, I wanted a quick trip that would be fun, unique and also close to home. Aside from the mistakes, it was all three.
Thank you, Four Seasons and Amanda. With the lack of staffing and the pandemic making work so challenging, they did a wonderful job making us feel like we were important to them.