Some time ago, Mrs. Muttrox and I splurged on a high-end hotel for a night. We went to a $500/night hotel, and it was interesting to compare it to our usual hotel experiences. (By the way, Hotwire is amazing. We’ve consistently gotten incredible deals.)
Business people vs. Personal Rich: The Muttrox family is doing just fine, but we are not in the “rich” category. (Yet!) Our people-watching found two obvious clusters of people. There are people who are rich, have been rich for a while, and damn well know it. They are, to put it bluntly, jerks. They are rude to everyone in sight and expect the things they want to materialize out of nowhere instantly. Their teenage daughters are fun to look at, but are clearly Paris Hilton worshiping bitches. The other group was the business people. They are fun. Some feller in town for the state industrial paper products meeting is having a great time. Everything is new, he’s enjoying living the good life and has more in common with the staff than the other guests. I like these people.
Included Price vs a la carte: At most hotels the amenities are included. You get your continental breakfast, access the gym, etc. At upscale hotels, it is just the opposite. Every little thing costs extra. Parking? Extra. Internet? Extra. Food? Extra. When the base price is so high, you would think these things are included. It’s the exact opposite of what I would expect. I would think a discount hotel would lure people in with low prices, then hit them for every cheap thing. High class hotels want to deliver an “experience”, and when you are being nickel and dimed for every little thing it’s hard to believe in the experience.
Scale on the light side: There was a bathroom scale. I firmly believe that they calibrated it a few pounds under the truth. I was in a good mood during our stay, I thought my exercise regimen was going well. It was not. But I was in a good mood while I was at the hotel!