Non-smoking rooms at Le Meridien (Arandora please help)

We have a reservation to stay at Le Meridien for 7 nights in February. We are considering changing our reservation because the room rate has been reduced since we made our reservation. Our current reservation states that we have a non-smoking room, however, the Starwood website now states that no non-smoking rooms are available. I have e-mailed the hotel asking about this, but have not received a response. Can anyone help - are all the rooms at the hotel non-smoking/ will the hotel be full in February - do you think we%26#39;ll have difficulty getting a non-smoking room?

P.S. Arandora - you are doing a great job on PR for the hotel - they should treat you like royalty when you vacation there.

Non-smoking rooms at Le Meridien (Arandora please help)

We are staying at the Meridian next Saturday for 7 nights at the start of our holiday and have requested a non smoking room. Will try to check out about a non smoking room for next year and post a report when I get back to UK. If there is any other information you want let me know.

Agree about Arandora! particually when the hotel do not reply to e-mails.

Pete

Non-smoking rooms at Le Meridien (Arandora please help)

Thanks guys, I keep trying but no special privileges - yet! Since my contact at Le Meridien left for a new job, I%26#39;m not receiving replies either! I%26#39;ve Emailed Starwood (since after last stay I enrolled as an SPG Preferred Guest) and complained about this, and they replied that they had forwarded my complaint to the hotel and I should get a reply direct within 5 days - that was on 27th October. Still waiting. If I do get a reply with a direct Email address I will publish it here.

Shame about this lack of attention ';first impressions being lasting impressions'; and all that, as It is a superb hotel and once there the staff are wonderful (well they were and I know there have recently been a few departures/replacements so new ones obviously still bedding in!)

As for Smoking Rooms, when we checked in we asked for confirmation of our reservation of a Non-Smoker and were told that officially there is no distinction but that unofficially if you%26#39;ve asked for one you will get one. Strange system!! I think Photo-Pete should clarify it on his forthcoming trip - Have a great one Pete!!

As for changing your booking. Yes, the rates have changed. Who did you book with? If you can cancel and rebook at a lower rate safely and with no loss (or at least saving by rebooking would more than outweigh any loss) I would. The less you spend on the hotel, the more to spend on rest of holiday.

Let us know how you get on.

Alan

Thanks for the quick response. We made our booking directly through the Starwood website. Asiarooms does have a slightly cheaper deal for the 7 days, but the difference is only US70 and the cancellation policy is less flexible and so I think we keep our booking through the Starwood website (no cancellation fee if cancelled by 2pm the day prior).

The change to the deal on the Starwood website is that we can now get the %26#39;Passport%26#39; rate which appears to include breakfast for the same rate as we currently have under the AAA rate. Comments in this forum have stated that the breakfast at Le Meridien is relatively expensive and so if we take a package that includes breakfast then this will free up pennies for other activities.

Have a look a rates on www.mykhaolak.de

Although it is a German site you can follow the links to Resorts, Le Meridien and see the rates there. They are PER PERSON per night in Euros and include all taxes AND breakfast. They are the cheapest I have seen anywhere and I%26#39;ve booked through the site%26#39;s travel company My Khao Lak Travel for next March/April. If you Email any queries in English you will get an answer in English. I think you will find it is more than a $70 saving on Starwood price!

Thanks again. We checked the German site - it is cheaper than Starwood%26#39;s website and asiarooms, but we also checked travelocity and Expedia - both have excellent (better than Starwood). Expedia is offering a 20% discount for stays of more than 4 nights for a rate of USD96 per night (including %26#39;full breakfast%26#39;, taxes and service charge). This rate requires prepayment and again the cancellation policy is less flexible than the Starwood terms, but considering the saving we%26#39;ll make - I think switching to Expedia is what we%26#39;ll be doing.

That is an excellent rate but it doesn%26#39;t apply for our dates in March/April. On Expedia.co.uk it would be £700 ($1300+) in total more than we are paying!! Expedia.com quotes an average $121 per night! Starwood seem to be selective in the dates they negotiate ';special offers';.

I sent an email to the hotel directly, and they responded (it took a few days) that they do have non-smoking rooms. You might want to contact them if you make a reservation, and they should be able to accomodate you.

Congratulations for getting a reply as I have been unable to do so either from the hotel or via Starwood. Do you have an Email address please?

Arandora,

Here%26#39;s the email address that I used. The person%26#39;s name who got back to me is Ekarach, and he is the reservation manager. Hope this helps.

Adam

p.s. still trying to decide whether to book here in Feb. Your posts are extremely helpful, please keep them up.

reservations@khaolak.lemeridien.com

Thank you very much,

I will give that one a try. We return next March/April. Hopefully the newe staff will be better trained by then. A few uncomplimentary reports on another forum.

Alan