by editorial office, ch
Anonymous quality check conducted by trade magazine ‘Top hotel’ reveals significant shortcomings
The latest hotel evaluation by ‘Top hotel’ at Ritz London surprised even experienced hotel experts, for in obtaining an overall rating of ’satisfactory’, the ‘Leading Hotel of the World’ fared unexpectedly badly in the anonymous quality check conducted by the experienced hotel critic. “The Ritz in London could be a jewel, but many members of staff turn it into a bauble,“ the conclusion states.
The critic was particularly disappointed in the guest room: smelly, dirt beneath the bed, and several other sources of annoyance. “A look behind the facade reveals not only scratches, but massive cracks, guest room 105 being a prime example,“ the test report says. “Furthermore, several areas are plagued by a sloppiness that is much too often on the verge of negligence. Housekeeping is not the only example. A large part of the male staff has yet to understand that a uniform by itself does not guarantee a good appearance.“
Still, there were also positive reports from the Ritz. Reservation by telephone, for example, scored an ‘excellent’, and gourmet restaurant ‘Ritz’, too, managed to satisfy the critic. These were, however, offset by various negative instances, such as the breakfast buffet and breakfast in the room – both rated ‘inadequate’.
The hotel critic was gravely disappointed, given that an overall evaluation of ‘excellent’ was to be expected for this elite and costly establishment. “The fact that only the public toilets scored the top rating of ‘world class’ renders all further comment unnecessary.“
An overview of the test results (max. 100 points per criterion):
Reservation – 91; check-in – 47; room 105 – 14; bathroom – 67; message transfer – 84; room service – 38; afternoon tea – 41; breakfast buffet – 21; „Restaurant Ritz“ – 80; „Rivoli Bar“ – 40; banquet – 89; breakfast in the room – 37; housekeeping – 32; security aspects – 80; halls/lifts/stairs – 96; exterior – 60; spa/fitness – 41; shoe shining – 84; check-out – 31; lost & found – 81
Overall impression – 52 (100-81 excellent; 80-61 good; 60-41 satisfactory; 40-21 inadequate; 20-0 poor)
The entire test report will be released in the April issue of ‘Top hotel’, and an on-line version may be viewed at www.tophotel.de. The service checks are always conducted anonymous and at the company’s own expense. The reports provide constructive criticism and are held in high esteem among the international hotel management and experts of the industry. The most recently tested hotels were The Westin Leipzig (58 of a maximum of 100 points), Kempinski Hotel Gravenbruch Frankfurt (36 points), Hotel Fährhaus Sylt (67 points) and Vila Vita Hotel & Rosenpark Marburg (62 points).
‘Top hotel’ is the renowned trade magazine for the German hotel management. The magazine is issued ten times a year by Freizeit-Verlag Landsberg, an affiliate of Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt (VHB), with a circulation of some 20,000 copies. Other publications issued in association with VHB subsidiary Lebensmittel Praxis Verlag (LPV) include ‘Die KÜCHE’, ‘Catering inside’, ‘Convenience Shop’ and ‘Lebensmittel Praxis’.
More information at http://www.tophotel.de / http://www.lebensmittelpraxis.de.
