Originally Posted by
James 1077
To be honest I find 90% of the American 4/5 star hotels that I've stayed in a little bit rubbish. They seem to be very dull and samey with no real character or life to them.
Depends on who is doing the ratings. AAA (which actually uses diamonds, not stars) tend to be much little stricter with their stars than Expedia (and others). A 5 diamond hotel (AAA) has specific requirements (like a 24 hour door man); these are typically Ritz/Four Seasons level hotels. A 4 diamond hotel would be a
nice Hilton/Hyatt...a run down Hilton or Hyatt would get 3 diamonds. A run down Hilton or Hyatt usually gets 4 stars from Expedia, so I see where you're coming from James.
To the OP: There seem to be several different classes of hotel ratings; there are 5 star backpackers in Auckland, and anything with "City" in the name seems to be on a different scale...maybe someone who understands what a 5 star backpackers is can explain it. Anyway, I'd give both Mercures (Auckland) a low 3 stars. I found the Rendezvous slightly better; the Hyatt a little better than the Rendezvous. I like the Quadrant quite a bit, possibly because it always seems cheaper than the other 4. None of them are bad hotels, you're just not getting a bargain on a grand hotel.
I wish they all could be California girls.