"Mystery guest" in Crowne Plaza Hotel

Crowne Plaza Hotel,  owned by a Turkish  businessman, is located on Kirova street just opposite Dynamo stadium. It is one of few 5 star hotels in Minsk but it looks that its service lacks some essential things which are required for hotels of such level. For example, hot water in the morning...

Review of Crowne Plaza hotel 

Onliner.by continues its investigation of Minsk "star" hotels. As usual, a correspondent of Onliner.by stays at a hotel as a «mystery guest» and shares his impressions. "Minsk", "Garni", "Yubileinaya" and "Vicroria" hotels have already passed an "aptitude test". The next hotel is the five-star  Crowne Plaza".

Hotel building at the intersection of Kirov and Volodarskogo for its 75-year history has changed its name several times. It was also known as "Belarus" and "Svisloch". Crowne Plaza opened its doors in June 2008, and during that time it has become quite famous among the citizens of Minsk. The hotel belongs to the hotel chain Crowne Plaza, located across the world. Crowne Plaza is proud of the level of service that provides for guests. Let's see how it corresponds to the reality.

Checking into the hotel took no more than 10 minutes. As the accommodation was paid not by card, but in cash, at the reception I was asked to deposit at the hotel an amount approximately equal to $100. The receptionist said that money will be returned if I don’t command additional hotel services. As a result, the cost of staying at a standard room with breakfast (buffet) was 2 million 440 thousand rubles. Another 764,000 was put on deposit. When we complied with all formalities, I got a card key. Hotel staff referred to me only with "gospodin".

The room makes a nice impression. Its only drawback – the room is small, and almost all space is occupied with a huge bed. However, it's an advantage for some. Rooms are furnished with certain luxury. A set of information leaflets should be noted separately. Some of them were really useful, some - just nice. Hotel guests are provided with free Wi-Fi, and connection speed is fine.

The windows look out on the courtyard.

Despite the 5-year-old "length of service" of the hotel, all the furniture looks almost new. The room is equipped with a working air conditioning and three phones - one of them is on the desktop, the others are near the bed and in the bathroom. Also there are wine glasses, glasses, tea cups, single-use tea bags, coffee bags and hot chocolate bags on the desktop.

TV in the room broadcasts about 30 channels. It was irritating that almost all of them were interspersed with inner channel of the hotel, telling about the benefits of staying at Crowne Plaza.

Traditionally, we asked to bring two cups of coffee and water in the room. The waiter knocked at the door after 7 minutes. Two cups of americano cost 50 thousand rubles, "BonAqua" (still) is free of charge in any quantity for guests. I must say, the coffee was so fragrant that we drank it and forgot to take a picture.

The hotelier seems to be very kind to the little things. While seeing cabinets and chests over, we found everything that is needed for cleaning clothes and shoes, sewing utensils, iron and ironing board, Minsk telephone book and the Bible.

Like each high-end hotel, the Crowne Plaza equipped rooms with individual safes. The safe in my room works well.

Now let’s take a look at the bathroom. In contrast to the living room it is quite spacious. There is a white robe on the wall. On the table near the washbasin you can see a full makeup kit: soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, shower gel and shower cap, body lotion - all items are stacked in disposable packs with the logo of the hotel.

In addition, there are a set of towels, hair dryer and a separate shaving mirror in the bathroom. All plumbing equipment is in perfect condition.

It is time to dine. Approximately then restaurant Dolce Vita made a call in the room and invited to dine. But, being true to the traditions, I asked them to bring the food to my room. I ordered a burger and "Fatush" salad at Crowne Plaza. My order was brought in 20 minutes; I gave to the waiter 260 thousand for dishes and 20 thousand tips. To be honest – salad and burger were very tasty.

Actually, here we must interrupt a stream of positive things and, unfortunately, tell about some negative moments. After dinner I turned attention to the mini-bar, located in the room. I was pleased with the range of drinks, and even more I liked the fact that there was my favorite beer "Alivaria White Gold" in the mini-bar menu for 15 thousand rubles for a bottle - the price for a hotel of such level is truly democratic. Ordering in my joy as many as 3 bottles in the room, I have prepared 45 thousand rubles for beer and 10 thousand tips.

To make it clear, I point out what the star near the price means:

I had to wait for a beer for 40 minutes long, and it was brought only after one more call to room service. Then it was a new surprise - the waiter said that the bottle of "Alivaria White Gold" costs not 15, but 45 thousand rubles. I gave him a banknote of 200 thousand, and he went away. I was waiting for a change within an hour and eventually I made a call to the room service again, deciding to ask, why prices in the menu and on the fact are so different. I was politely informed that they will sort out the situation and call back... After waiting one more hour (it was nearly midnight), I went down to reception and repeated my request. Only after that the phone rang in the room, and I was told that these mini-bar prices for beer, which I ordered, are valid until the 7 pm. After that, orders are processed via the restaurant's menu. It is noteworthy that in this menu, which also can be read while sitting in the room, "Alivaria White Gold" was not listed.

65 thousand rubles of change were returned two hours later, after my demand to give the change. Of course, my mood was not so good, but I did not know yet that in the morning I will have new surprises. Before going to bed I checked cleanliness of pillows and bed linen - complaints on this issue did not arise. I can confidently say: hotel staff keeps a strict watch on it.

In the morning I was awakened just in time I asked. I had to take a shower shivering with cold, as water was barely warm. Hotel employee said that the accident occurred on heating systems, and promised to call back and clarify when the hot water appears. He did not call back, but after one and half an hour hot water appeared.

Shortly a breakfast was brought. When order a breakfast into the room it needs to be paid separately, in principle, it is a common practice. Like dinner, breakfast was beyond praise and cost 116.000 rubles.
When I left the hotel, 764,000 rubles, put on deposit, were returned. Summarizing, I can say that today Crowne Plaza is indeed one of the most upscale city hotels. Guests can highly appreciate room décor or restaurant service level. Of course, all this costs considerable money.

However, it should be noted that sometimes the wait staff at the hotel works disgusting. Lack of hot water in a five-star hotel is also puzzling. And finally, the difference between prices in the menu and real prices are absolutely not tenable. By the way, the hotel staff promised to correct this mistake. I hope the next guest in Crowne Plaza will be lucky.

Onliner.by