jimdepalermo
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- Apr 15, 2008
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I've been through the "20 Questions" routine with friends in hotels as well as apartments. One even phoned me from the concierge desk at the Plaza complaining she couldn't understand the attendant's English.
ApartmentsBA.com has an English-speaking concierge service by phone. When they check guests into their apartments, they explain how everything works in the apartment, show them maps of the area and local restaurants (including lists of places that deliver), answer all the guest's questions, and then provide a card with the number to call for a concierge.
Some visiting aquaintances had read the nonsense about always phoning for taxis and used the apartmentsba.com concierge from all corners of the city to phone for a taxi. (Apartmentsba also provides local cell phones for their guests.)
The fact is that good hotels - what I would consider international 4-star or better - are very few in this city, and they charge the same rates as comparable places in Paris or London. For much less money, visitors can experience the city in a real neighborhood, enjoy lots of space, and have more-or-less the same level of service they would find in a decent hotel.
Of course, there are folks who can't travel with access to an in-hotel spa and 24-hour room service, but they won't find these amenities in boutique hotels here either.
ApartmentsBA.com has an English-speaking concierge service by phone. When they check guests into their apartments, they explain how everything works in the apartment, show them maps of the area and local restaurants (including lists of places that deliver), answer all the guest's questions, and then provide a card with the number to call for a concierge.
Some visiting aquaintances had read the nonsense about always phoning for taxis and used the apartmentsba.com concierge from all corners of the city to phone for a taxi. (Apartmentsba also provides local cell phones for their guests.)
The fact is that good hotels - what I would consider international 4-star or better - are very few in this city, and they charge the same rates as comparable places in Paris or London. For much less money, visitors can experience the city in a real neighborhood, enjoy lots of space, and have more-or-less the same level of service they would find in a decent hotel.
Of course, there are folks who can't travel with access to an in-hotel spa and 24-hour room service, but they won't find these amenities in boutique hotels here either.
