Jane, if you check current 5 star listings on RACQ's website you'll find the only 5 star resort in Palm Cove is Angsana Resort and Spa. AAATourism's inspectors award the ratings using incredibly detailed criteria. For a $239 a night room, I think Sebel was quite generous in offering the meal which was obviously for at least 2. A free trip as compensation would be just a little over the top - a reef trip for 2 would have cost the resort around $200-$350 and a Kuranda/Skyrail trip with Palm Cove transfers about $160.

Jane, you wouldn't get too many backpacker temps working around Palm Cove - they couldn't afford to stay there. There's an excellent government funded training school for housemaid staff run by Phoebe who also co-owns Garden Room Restaurant, 8 km out of Cairns city. Several regular contributors to this board have described her food as the best they had in Australia. Phoebe puts as much care into transferring un-trained and virtually unemployable people into efficient workers with the same attention she gives to her marvellous food.

To date I have maintained a dignified silence in the face of considerable provocation - in part the result of having spent the weekend at beautiful Jervis Bay, on the New South Wales south coast, at a wonderfully ratty beach house with some old friends with whom we got roaring drunk at at one point staggered out to watch a pod of moronic dolphins swim past in the pristine, turquoise waters. Or it may have been a couple of seagulls - who cares?

Having returned to dry, frosty but spring-afflicted Canberra, complete with yellow wattle and pink prunus blooms (a lousy match, if I may say so), I have to pronounce that this thread and its relatives are generating way too much aggro. The original offence was trivial, the reactions have been over the top. Andrews whatsisname may be a pain, but as far as I'm concerned he's entitled to put his large boot into whatever overpriced property he was foolish to book in to. Go Andrews!!

And the rest of my compatriots, for God's sake stop being so sensitive! Our correspondent may be a jerk, but are you really trying to send a message that trip reports on the Australia/Pacific forum (unlike trip reports on every other board) are only allowed if they say nice things about us cuddly little possums, or wombats, or whatever noxious marsupials they breed up Liz's way? Lord, what sort of sensitive, fluttering little flowers are we? IS THIS THE FIGHTING ANZAC SPIRIT?? (er, well, yes, it might be ... we did get thrashed by the dastardly Turks that time...)

Actually - I have to say that without any response from andrews this thread has now become rather boring. I had rather hoped he may try and defend his actions with the Maitre d' or at least give some indication of how mouldy and chipped the tiles were to warrant a 3 course dinner but it seems no amount of provocation has brought him out to answer. Does andrews really exist - or is he the invention of the competition hotel in Palm Cove's mind? One would really love to know. Come on andrews be a sport - come out, come out, please!

If Neil was as 'Brahms and Listz' over the last few days as he says he was then perhaps he is the phantom Andrew 123987. It is something that a dear old wizard would do just to stir us commoners into action to amuse himself while he watched his turquoise dolphins play in the moronic waters off Jervis Bay before embarking on the long haul home to the pink wattle and yellow prunus.
Also he knows darn well what kind of noxious nocturnals are up my way, I see them quite often after closing time. However I must admit that I am glad that Neil did enjoy his latest liver cleansing diet & I trust that tommorrow he will feel better for it - if not in body then in mind.

<<IS THIS THE FIGHTING ANZAC SPIRIT?? (er, well, yes, it might be ... we did get thrashed by the dastardly Turks that time...)>>

Since there's some question that Neil might be the elusive Andy19374645 and his drinking weekend has ended with the sobering thought that the pummelling of Andy19374645/Neil should stop, I have to agree. He's too nice a fellow.

So let's send Neil on his trip to China later this week armed with his Fighting Anzac spirit that he'll need to cope with the millions of Chinese on the move during their national holiday.

Bon Voyage! Come home safe.

Isn't it nice to see a bit of traditional Canadian courtesy? Thank you, michi.

Ancora buon viaggio a Neil e famiglia

A/D

And a voice from the hospitable American Southwest! Xie xie, Andrew.

Liz, you'll be pleased to know that there's a structure in Beijing's Temple of Heaven called the "Hall of Abstinence", and I do plan to pay a visit. I might need to fortify myself with a couple of Tsingtao beers first, though - abstinence is thirsty work.

Hi, Neil!

Hall of Abstinence.... that sounds like a description of Canberra!

Have a great holiday.... I envy you, but as consolation I'm off to India in five weeks. When will you return to Australia... and the forum?

Thanks, Alan, but I've never thought of Canberra as a centre of abstinence. Don't forget we play host to the nation's legislators, the Press Gallery and the diplomatic corps (not that the average Canberran sees much of any of them, apart from dodging the occasional erratic car with a 'DC' numberplate).

I'll be back on Election Day, 9th October, in plenty of time to wish you well on your voyage of exploration to India.

DON'T YOU PEOPLE EVER WORK?


green w/ envy

Neil, while you are abstaining in China I will think of you whilst I am imbibing the wonderful liquid gold and ruby red of the Perigord region of France. I am not going to be here for the election HORRAY!!!!!!! and depending on the outcome I may never come back.
What do you mean AD when you say "don't any of you work"? We are all to bloody old to work!
Alan you have a nice time in India and

You've opened a can of worms Neil by talking about the Temple of Heaven and abstinence. There's more to abstain from than drink. Read on:

<<Before each ceremony, emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held a three-day fast during Spring, Summer and Winter. The emperors spent two days fasting in the Forbidden City and completed the three-day fast in the Hall of Abstinence.

During the three days, the emperor could not drink wine. He could only eat vegetables, but not garlic or onions. The emperor couldn't have any entertainment, nor could he handle any state affairs. Also, he had to be away from women. Naturally, such restrictions could be difficult for any emperor who was accustomed to all these luxuries.
>>

Wow! With restrictions like that in the Forbidden City, I think I'd be demanding a free reef tour AND a three-course meal as compensation! Was the emperor 6 foot 8, do you reckon?

you guys haven't a clue about the worst of it ! Andrews demands for a comp meal are nothing compared to the insane demands i see everyday in my job ! I work in a european reservation centre, we have a customer service department that deals with customer complaints and difficulties etc .....
we are constantly amazed at how greedy, opportunistic and unrealistic some people are - demanding their whole stay free and THEN SOME for incidents totally beyond the control of the hotel.
Andrews demands, while they were deemed outrageous to some, seem totally reasonable to me.
one of our recent letters from a client - stayed in a resort on the red sea and was bitten by a scorpion, on the hotel grounds, the staff acted quickly and supplied a doctor foc yet the client demanded his entire stay free and threatened to sue ! Like we can control the wildlife, an insect no less ?!
now, i'll also add, that for every unreasonable guest out there, there are plenty of stupid hotel operators- if the room was not up to scratch, admit it - give the man his free meal -why alienate him further by arguing over 10 bucks - as others have noted, word of mouth can make or break a business. How Andrew approached the manager is neither here nor there, the manager had an obligation to deal with the complaint efficiently and for the benefit of the propertys ongoing good name. If you want to be 5 star - make sure you are ! No mouldy tiles, no damaged fittings, no arguing with guests.. It really is that simple.

Alan, Liz, Neil, and anyone else who is lucky enough to travel in the next month....have the grandest time!

Leisa, your point reminded me of my cousin...who works in conference and catering at the Ritz Carlton hotel. The level of service they demand from their employers is wild. If they pass a fellow employee, they MUST make eye contact and say "good morning, afternoon, or evening." If they are in a rush and trying to go through the hotel to get something done, and a guest stops them and asks for something, they are to drop everything and help that person, no matter what. It's such a high level of service that employees have been known to avoid guest areas and "take the long way" so that they can manage to get their work done in time.

Guess why the Ritz is the Ritz.

crazymina - nice idea - greeting all your colleagues eye to eye - now that reminds me of the first time i traveled on business to stockholm, at a dinner we all raised our glasses to 'skal' , all my swedish colleagues looked everyone at the table in the eye before we drank. i thought that was great and insisted on doing the same with my friends at home - i swear it has deepened our friendships - that moment of recognition amongst good friends.

but back to the point - so many hotels are offering the same product, so what makes the difference is the staff, and yr quite right, what makes the ritz the ritz is professional staff.

I found the same thing as far as raising your glasses when I was in the Czech Republic. We were out with some local Czechs and some expats. When the time came to raise our glasses, you made eye contact with EACH person in the group as you clinked the glass, AND you were not allowed to criss cross over the table when someone else was toasting (considered rude)...making it a bit time consumin in a big group. But I thought it was quite nice too. Seemed to add a more personal touch to it, then just raising your glass and shouting "cheers!"

AndrewDavid

I think I must be the only person left working here - and I'll be here for bloody election day! :(

There's is absolutely NO JUSTICE!

WaaahhhH!

I once attended a conference at the Hyatt Sanctuary Cove (not a million miles from LizF when she's at home) and remember being impressed by their service ethic. One night a few of us ended up playing cards in someone's room at an ungodly hour and when one of our number decided to move from beer to coffee was puzzled to find no instant coffee makings in the room. He got on the phone, whereupon it was politely explained that people wanting coffee ay the Hyatt ordered the real thing from room service, and paid accordingly. Our friend, not normally a habitue of the better class of hotel, voiced his disapproval of this money-grubbing approach and in protest decided to return to beer. (Needless to say we'd stocked up in order to avoid paying the bloodcurdling mini-bar prices.)

The nest thing the duty manager was on the blower, expressing his concern that we'd had a less than satisfactory experience and offering FOC coffee all night if we wanted it. Obviously the service philosophy there was that the staff had the authority to mollify an unhappy guest as best they could. It may not have been the Ritz, but their approach was fully commensurate with the prices they were charging.

...and Liz, I may think of your sybaritic lifestyle as I down yet another Tsingtao.

michi, I approve of the ruling classes getting a self-imposed taste of their own medicine (Henry II submitting to a scourging over the killing of Thomas a'Becket was even better) but I see no reason to emulate the emperors.

and Liz, I may think of your sybaritic lifestyle as I down yet another Tsingtao.
Obviously Neil having been an Argonaut with the ABC when I was 6 went to my head!

I plead not guilty, Your Honour.

Dear Margo,
After working hard to make your election safe and sound, you can head over here for some R&R and watch our bad joke of an election

A/D

Margo

Either Fodors forums were down or the editors no longer wish to print my post of this morning. Andrew/David got ahead of me.

I wanted to tell you to expect Andrew/David for your election day to vote on Neil's behalf since he takes great pleasure in voting in other people's countries.

A great number of us here in Canada watch the proceedings south of our border with great trepidation. Perhaps the Australian forum gang should vote in the US election.

Cheers.

Dear Michi,
If you get down here before Oct 3 you can register as resident in our guest bedroom. However as a masquerading asian american you (as well as hispanics and blacks) may be challenged at the polls, And believe me no one is worried about Republicans being disenfranchished, but they live by different rules than the rest of us poor slobs now adays

AndrewDavid

I hope you don't want us Welsh to vote too, I suppose we should as its our fault you have elections in the first place in USA,probably Oz too.
However we are far too busy looting in London now all the police are otherwise engaged with all leave cancelled; encircling Parliament and Buck house.
After all it wouldn't be right for the pro hunt lobby to escape especially after the cops beat two shades of sh*t out of them the other day, and who would have guessed that Batman would need a ladder to scale the fortified walls of BP.All my illusions are shattered. And where was Robin when he needed him.
Muck

Excuse my ignorance after all these posts but what is a boffin? It's not in my Australian slang book.

I know we're trying to wind this down but don't do it before you tell me what it means.

A boffin is an English word for a scientist in particular one that carries out Military research.

Muck

Sometimes used when speaking about "ones who control things behind the scenes" the "nameless, faceless ones in control of something".
Its not used much anymore in any form but loosely used as I did in a slightly unkind way.
Picture this:
Two greying, older type of men, hunched over a couple of computers deciding which post to delete or whether to edit something that may be politically incorrect to some degree, probably saying " humph, huh, fart, hmmmm I think that Alan is over the top this week, shall we pull his thread"? The other one says " oh no, lets see if he can suck in LizF or that crazymina for a fight as this is our only fun for the week"

hehehe Liz. That's funny. I actually pictured two young, no-life computer geeks. But the rest of it would be just like you said!