8 Questions You Should Ask Before Staying in a New Luxury Hotel

Photo: Everett Collection

Luxury hotels and brands continue to expand at a breakneck pace. Hotel Chatter has identified over 150 openings scheduled for 2015. A few on the list already have lines drawn through the projected opening date. Delays show from a month or two to a couple years! But what does being open mean anyway? In some cases, it can mean disappointment for you. Soft opening, an industry term, translates that you can check-in, but not all the facilities are ready. Depending on your expectations and how finicky you are, I suggest reviewing my list of eight questions that will uncover what you will find when you arrive.

1. When are you opening or did you open? Was this the original date? Were there delays?

It’s not unusual for openings of new hotels to be delayed, however, beware of multiple delays.  Google is your friend. There are typically articles in the trade press or local media when a new luxury hotel has pushed back its opening date. Sometimes these articles are more accurate than the hotel website and provide some insights into what's going on. Speaking to the hotel directly makes sense as well, but it also pays to do a bit of your own homework. TripAdvisor is a good source of early reports from the field.  As one top general manager told me, "If you throw out the best and worst reviews, you have a pretty good overview." You also get to see how management responds to fellow travelers with complaints. Opening a hotel is complicated, and things do go wrong.  You don't want your vacation to be part of it.

2. Is it a soft opening?

Few luxury hotels open with everything ready, although some do. What’s missing during a soft opening may not be the fault of the operator or the developer. I’ve heard about furniture delayed for months because of a port strike. The key is to understand what you are getting into, and what you will be missing out. Many times you can get a great deal during the soft opening period. And if you don’t plan to use the spa, the fact that it’s still an empty concrete shell won’t bother you.

3. When is the spa opening? Will it be fully finished?

Spa is a fast growth segment of travel. The hospitality industry has picked up on this and concocted all types of ways to help you relax, some of them costing more than your nightly room rate. I’ve found the big revenue a spa can generate typically means it is up and running at the beginning, but not always. If you were looking at the website and dreaming about the private couples’ spa villa overlooking the ocean, you might be disappointed to find out that part of the facility has not been completed. To avoid this, I recommend speaking directly to the spa director. This person is typically responsible for recruitment and training. If there are delays, they should be in the know. A reservations agent sitting in a windowless office a half mile away may not be up to speed.

4. When is the fitness center opening? Will it be fully finished?

This one can be frustrating for fitness enthusiasts. Hotels and resorts have really upped their game with state-of-the-art equipment and all sorts of exercise classes that enable you to maintain your regular routine or try something new. Suppliers of equipment don’t always make the deadline, or construction runs behind. I’ve been to too many hotels where the first several months the gym is in a converted guest room or meeting room. It’s definitely of a bummer if you were expecting to hit the steam room or sauna after your spinning class. Again, I would never rely on a reservations agent or front desk person to provide accurate information. If the hotel is currently open, just ask to be transferred to the gym. You might be surprised what type of answer you get.

5. Which restaurants, lounges and bars will be open? Are they all open now? What is the planned opening schedule?

For ages, luxury hotel restaurants and bars conjured up stuffy images of first class dining on the Titanic. The emergence of lifestyle led luxury hotels means the hottest dining spots and bar scenes are where you are staying. As celebrity chefs, mixologists and DJs proliferate at a speed comparable to Starbucks , chances are you have on your list a particular restaurant, hot dining concept or sexy lounge. The concierge is a good go to person on this one, particularly if there are multiple restaurants and bars at the place you are planning to stay. Again, Google local media, review sites and visitor guides to see if there are any critiques that would indicate the place you want to go is open. I often think the more restaurants and bars on offer, the more management believes if they have a couple of them open, that’s good enough. It may be, unless the place you were longing to try isn’t.

6. Will all the rooms be completed? If not, will there be construction? Will I be able to hear it?

If your room is ready, what does it matter if other rooms are not? Most hotels I have seen open entire floors, meaning you don’t see a half completed work in progress. That's good. However, it will impact you if banging on the floor above or below you starts at 8:30 a.m.

7. Are all facilities and services open now? If not, when are they planned to be fully operational?

Depending on how much money you are dropping, and how fussy you are, it is worth an email the general manager, hotel manager or resident manager. I see more and more luxury hotels have the names and contact information of top managers on their websites, a trend that is relatively new. I would typically do this after I had already done the research above on facilities I am most interested in. If the spa won’t be open, and the spa director already told you this, there is nothing the GM can do. Keep in mind, even after you went through all of the above, there still can be things that are not done, anything from landscaping to parking garages. While at first blush you may think some of this is a bit crazy, remember most of the time those beautiful palm trees are shipped in, and that pretty lake is manmade. You probably weren’t planning to wake up, touch the bedside button to open the electronic curtains and see construction equipment still digging. If you are using a travel agent, ask your agent if they have visited the hotel, and if they have booked the hotel for other guests? Sometimes being number one is not a good thing.

8. Will there be any large groups at the hotel when I am there?

This again is a good question for the GM or hotel manager. Meeting planners typically stay away from openings, unless they are getting a really sweet deal. If your hotel is only partially open with limited facilities, a large group can provide some serious competition for what is available.