No-Star to Five-Star Hotels

 

Four in a Bed is a British TV show that I enjoy. Each week they select four B&Bs. Their owners visit each other's places and rate them.  

Bienvenue chez nous is the French equivalent. 

The format is the same:

• Arrival
• Room introduction
• Inspection by guests
• Activity
• Dinner
• Sleep
• Breakfast
• Rating forms
• Payment of what each guest thought the other was worth
• Departure 

In the fifth program, the guests meet around a table, look at the rating forms, challenge some statements others made. The one whose payment is the greatest percentage is the winner.  

The rating sheet graded the B&Bs on:

• Hosts
• Cleanliness
• Facilities
• Sleep quality
• Breakfast
• Desire to stay again  

There are similarities in both the different British and different French personalities such as nasty to nice, competitive, arrogant, genteel, friendly, humorous, the same range found in most of humanity. 

Some cultural differences stand out. 

The Brits go out of their way to find dust, a hair on the sheets and consider breakfast, especially the sausage, important.

The French emphasize the dinner quality and score (one-ten) far harder almost never giving tens. 

I've stayed in lots of B&Bs and hotels with ratings from no-star to five- star.

Now whenever I stay in a B&B or a hotel, I pretend I have the rating form to fill out. I do it just for fun.

Here's some experiences 

Two no-stars a treat 

Surprise! Both were spotless. One was in Coral Gables FL for a month. The owner had moved from Cuba and bought the hotel to renovate only the month before. We started sharing a glass of wine or tea many nights and chatting about my marketing assignment and his reconstruction progress or lack there of. 

Another one-star hotel in Lyon, France also had a lovely owner that was trying to make a go of it while underfunded. His enthusiasm was delightful.

Five-Star non-perfection

Our five-star hotel in Lisbon, Portugal had an elderly doorman who had a walk-on role in a James Bond movie when he was a teen. Our suite was spotless and beautiful. The view spectacular. The Eggs Benedict would make any chicken that contributed an egg swell with pride.

However, on one staircase the banister was loose. I mentioned it at the desk. When we went back the next year, it was still loose. 

We are just back from Zermatt at a spotless three-star. The style was definitely wooden chalet with great art work. Staff was more than helpful and multi-lingual. Breakfast in many Germanic hotels have a little canister on the breakfast table for throwaway anything which I love. Also the wide selection meats, cheeses, fruits, bread, juices, jams and more is great.

The only negatives were two tiles missing from the outside of the shower and an electric plug that didn't work. The list of television stations on a card did not match those of the television. A bit more shampoo would have been nice. Writing all that, two good nights sleep, and all the positives far outweighed the negatives.

As always, I realize how lucky I am in this beautiful country where I live, there are no bombs or drones destroying life around me. My loving husband and dog are nearby. I have what I need or more usually when I want it. A fallen bathroom tile has no importance other than to be part of this blog.