THE EDIFICE
THE ROOM
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
I had high hopes for the Mercure Hotel Sapporo.
Firstly, it's an Accor hotel. I had such an awesome time at the Sofitel in Macau, which was my first-ever experience with an Accor property.
Secondly, the Mercure Hotel Sapporo was supposed to have been built just recently. New everything! Fresh everything!
Thirdly, it has got an unbeatable location in Susukino, Sapporo's entertainment district. Our primary reason for coming to Sapporo was to see the Snow Festival in Odori Park, and that's just a 5-minute walk away from the Mercure. Sweet.
Of the three, the Mercure delivered only on the third.
Sevice was unfailingly helpful and polite but woefully inadequate. We requested a late check out which was declined by our receptionist - unless we paid additional fees. We had three rooms booked amongst the five of us; we had stayed 4 days, 3 nights. That alone would have been pretty good grounds to accommodate our request. When I said that this would never have happened at the Sofitel in Macau, I was told that the Sofitel is a 5-star property and the Mercure is just 3-stars.
Greg made a good point when he said that he would have understood if our request for a late check-out were declined bacause they had to turn the rooms over based on volume of check-ins the next day. But to get back to us with additional charges instead just left a bad taste.
The day of our departure, our request for a late check-out was thankfully approved. But it was too little, too late. Flexibility should have been exercised from the very beginning so unnecessary arguments could have been avoided.
Still, mad props to the staff at the Mercure for never having lost their nerve. It's never easy dealing with gay guests who have been everywhere and are used to having their expectations exceeded.
Secondly, rooms didn't have WiFi. I was instantly agitated because I need WiFi for blogging. Anybody who travels with me knows that I get distressed when I can't find WiFi. Isn't WiFi a bare minimum yet, especially for recently built properties of big hotel chains?
It didn't help that we were assigned rooms on a smoking floor after we clearly requested for non-smoking. These were the only available rooms, we were told. The smell of cigarette smoke hung heavily on the drapes, the pillows and mattresses, even trapped in the bathroom and dresser. Chris couldn't sleep. We were reassigned a non-smoking room the next day - but with two single beds instead of one queen. I sighed with defeat. "Let's just take it," I said.
At the very least, the Mercure sits securely within the beating heart of Susukino. Cabs, tram, train, boutiques, bars and restaurants are all within easy access. There's even a shopping mall built into the hotel.
On our first morning in Sapporo, Chris and I were up and about before Peter, Allen and Greg. We bravely ventured out to find breakfast because the hotel buffet didn't look particularly inspired and was exorbitantly priced, besides.
When we thought we had found a place we liked, we realized we had to drop coins into a vending machine to get meal tickets. We didn't have coins; we didn't understand the menu on the vending machine, anyway. We walked away, very possibly entertaining the reality of a breakfast at McDonald's.
Happily, we found something familiar but still decidedly Japanese before our feet started heading towards the direction of the golden arches:
Yoshinoya.
Of the three, the Mercure delivered only on the third.
Sevice was unfailingly helpful and polite but woefully inadequate. We requested a late check out which was declined by our receptionist - unless we paid additional fees. We had three rooms booked amongst the five of us; we had stayed 4 days, 3 nights. That alone would have been pretty good grounds to accommodate our request. When I said that this would never have happened at the Sofitel in Macau, I was told that the Sofitel is a 5-star property and the Mercure is just 3-stars.
Greg made a good point when he said that he would have understood if our request for a late check-out were declined bacause they had to turn the rooms over based on volume of check-ins the next day. But to get back to us with additional charges instead just left a bad taste.
The day of our departure, our request for a late check-out was thankfully approved. But it was too little, too late. Flexibility should have been exercised from the very beginning so unnecessary arguments could have been avoided.
Still, mad props to the staff at the Mercure for never having lost their nerve. It's never easy dealing with gay guests who have been everywhere and are used to having their expectations exceeded.
Secondly, rooms didn't have WiFi. I was instantly agitated because I need WiFi for blogging. Anybody who travels with me knows that I get distressed when I can't find WiFi. Isn't WiFi a bare minimum yet, especially for recently built properties of big hotel chains?
It didn't help that we were assigned rooms on a smoking floor after we clearly requested for non-smoking. These were the only available rooms, we were told. The smell of cigarette smoke hung heavily on the drapes, the pillows and mattresses, even trapped in the bathroom and dresser. Chris couldn't sleep. We were reassigned a non-smoking room the next day - but with two single beds instead of one queen. I sighed with defeat. "Let's just take it," I said.
At the very least, the Mercure sits securely within the beating heart of Susukino. Cabs, tram, train, boutiques, bars and restaurants are all within easy access. There's even a shopping mall built into the hotel.
On our first morning in Sapporo, Chris and I were up and about before Peter, Allen and Greg. We bravely ventured out to find breakfast because the hotel buffet didn't look particularly inspired and was exorbitantly priced, besides.
When we thought we had found a place we liked, we realized we had to drop coins into a vending machine to get meal tickets. We didn't have coins; we didn't understand the menu on the vending machine, anyway. We walked away, very possibly entertaining the reality of a breakfast at McDonald's.
Happily, we found something familiar but still decidedly Japanese before our feet started heading towards the direction of the golden arches:
Yoshinoya.
