gyppielou

There seems to be a lot of, and I hate the term, but " No Brainer" questions lately....which room, is the pool open, can I check my bags, what is the weather like...I am dumbfounded that people don't simply call the hotel, restaraunt or concierge....they will always be forethcoming and give you the best answer they can. I have considered concierge level at a hotel, only to talk to the front desk before booking and being told, the views were better in other rooms....Just call!

bookhall

Lou, there have always been a lot of those questions. And those people that ask them often get no answer, an inferior one, or a reply that doesn't answer the query. I figure that's appropriate.

len

Common guys the whole point of Fodors is to share and learn from others travel experience. Calling the concierge will often get you "canned" answers. If someone had an experience with say smelly rooms and torn linen the hotel staff will not likely pass that info on for others to learn from.

gyppielou

Len,
I;m not talking about "smelly rooms" I'm talking about simple answerable questions. Is the pool closed, is the hotel under construction. A concierge will answer honestly, that is their job. I am simply saying, cut to the chase. For many posters, the answer is right in front of them. For other posters, we look forward to offering suggestions and interaction.

jor

Maybe someone who needs a concierge is a "no brainer".

Patrick

There are a couple of ways to look at this situation. I have called hotels and spoken to the front desk or concierge about preferred rooms and usually get the answer, "all of our rooms are good", or simply, "you get what you pay for, the more expensive rooms are nicer." But I've been told to book a Northwest corner room at a certain hotel by a poster here and found they were the largest rooms, something the hotel either couldn't or didn't want to tell me. I have also had a hotel withold information that there was major construction going on, while a reader here may pass on such information.

Of course, I too don't understand why someone would post here with a question like , "what time do they close the pool", or will they offer me room service at 3 AM?" Those questions are best answered with a direct phone call.

I'm also usually amused by the weather questions. Sure you can get an average temperature or average rainfall from a website and maybe the hotel will give you that information. But the bottom line is if you are going to Florida in July it is hot and if you are going to be in Toronto in February it will probably be cold. People who want to know whether they should plan on bringing a sweater or not really slay me. Does anyone think the weather is exactly the same on any particular date anywhere in the world from year to year?

djkbooks

On the other hand, Patrick, folks just as often receive inaccurate second or even third hand information. And, there is no question but that hotel websites, printed brochures, and information acquired by phoning, result in misreprentations. Nothing worse, for example, than to select a place because it allegedly offers a Piano Bar (but for whatever reason, not during your visit).

But, I'm with you, Patrick, on those weather questions. For sure, the weather, where the person inquirying lives, is surely about as unpredictable as anywhere else. And, 70 is the "average" of 80 and 60, quite the difference. And, in most places, average daily temperature is meaningless, when is could be 90 during the afternoon, but drop to 50 when the sun goes down. To me, no matter where or when you go, the significant consideration is whether you'll need your bikini and/or as many layers to be comfortable while out and about as are possible to find and wear at one time.

Curiously, we visited Toronto in late September one year. It was in the 80's one day, and in the 30's the next...(and with total disregard for the 10-day forecast at www.weather.com - so there!)

And, then, there was the time we visited the White Mountains in NH during the first weekend in October two years in a row. The first year, we were so grateful to have our down parkas along. The next, it was in the 80's and sweltering.

"Construction" is another of my pet peeves. We recently stayed at the Royal Sonesta in Boston/Cambridge, where there was no mention whatsoever of the complete renovation of their lobby underway.

sleepycali07

I personally have asked a question on this board where i could get the answer from the concierge and as a matter of fact, djkbooks replyed to it. I think though the questions as to capability, whether getting a time for the pool or if there is an elevator should be handled by concierge but people's opinion and their view on say how big a room is or if the view is worth it means more than what the hotel wants to tell you. This is a message board and while I know people respect and value opinions, they don't depend on answers saying if I don't get an answer here i'm in trouble.

Also, I know if I needed an answer I would make as many phone calls as I need to for an answer. Unfortunetly some people lack the common sense and people here are patient and very helpful for them. That's why they come here.

lucienne78

The best questions are - what are the exciting things to do in disney? HELLO?????

soccr

Ease up on the weather questions. If someone says the average in Seattle for a given month is 50 degrees, that often means it really is 50 degrees, day after day after day. But right now in NC, it's 70-75 for 2 days, with nighttime temps in the 40s, and then it goes down to 50 by day and 30 by night, then back up to 75. In the spring it's not uncommon for the temperature at 3 pm to be 40 or more degrees warmer than the 7 am temperature, and it's a challenge to know how to dress even if you live here. If someone wrote asking me about the weather so as to know what clothing to pack, it would be a challenge that goes far beyond telling them to look at the daily averages.

Dan

As a concierge, let me assure you that we get our fill of questions as well. Good ones, dumb ones and everything in between. For many factual-type questions, however (specific hotel room types, policies, etc.) it's usually better to call direct rather than get bad info from an anonymous source online. For opinions, fodors.com is great.

Faina

Just read the answers - you're getting all kind of info, not only an answer to your question - not only "the pool is closed" but also if it worth staying there, where to dine, what to see. It's hardly just "yes" or "no", it's an area guide in addition to the answer to the initial question.