Thai Airways lags as Centara Grand emerges Thailand’s strongest brand

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, geisha said:

Emirates was once very good, used them for years,  I changed in the last two years as once I had an older plane, and the next time the food was inedible. No idea what happened, but I put it down to too much  success .

The accountants took over.... trim expenses, leave prices alone!

[747man]

On 7/7/2023 at 4:17 PM, h90 said:

I never heard of Centara Grand......

Have You been DEAD Long ??

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

On 7/7/2023 at 11:22 PM, sharksy said:

Maybe you haven't been to Asia.  It's the equivilent of Hilton etc.  I presume you've heard of Hilton....?

I think that's a bit of a slur on Hilton Brands. Well managed Thai owned hotels are rarer than hen's teeth. They just don't 'get' hospitality, just can't seem to go the extra mile, and are closed-minded when it comes to employing international talent (Thais first mentality, or slaves from Myanmar at 6000 Baht per month). This would be fine if they were developing talent in-house, or the schools and universities were churning out a competent workforce, but they're not. . . . and what good/qualified local staff DO exist are sucked up by the international chains, who give them proper career development, training, opportunities and decent pay.

 

My advice, stay at Hilton/Marriott/Accor/Intercontinental whenever possible, unless you're fine with mediocre everything. Centara don't even come close. I'll give you an example, I stayed at Centara Grand in Hua Hin a couple of years ago. It's now a shadow of it's former glory under Sofitel, stained ceilings from water leaks, the beautifully cultivated and sculptured gardens just ruined, the formerly 5 star beachfront restaurant now just mediocre at best, the breakfast buffet a flop, food you'd find in a 3 star roadside motel. Tragic, and this is supposed to be their flagship hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Led Lolly Yellow Lolly

[still kicking]

On 7/7/2023 at 4:03 PM, cowellandrew said:

Who in there right mind would fly thai !

????

Me! Have done for many years never had a problem but unfortunately Perth/ Bangkok is not available anymore, I did choose Singapore Airlines same price same everything but no direct flight.

[sharksy]

5 hours ago, Led Lolly Yellow Lolly said:

I think that's a bit of a slur on Hilton Brands. Well managed Thai owned hotels are rarer than hen's teeth. They just don't 'get' hospitality, just can't seem to go the extra mile, and are closed-minded when it comes to employing international talent (Thais first mentality, or slaves from Myanmar at 6000 Baht per month). This would be fine if they were developing talent in-house, or the schools and universities were churning out a competent workforce, but they're not. . . . and what good/qualified local staff DO exist are sucked up by the international chains, who give them proper career development, training, opportunities and decent pay.

 

My advice, stay at Hilton/Marriott/Accor/Intercontinental whenever possible, unless you're fine with mediocre everything. Centara don't even come close. I'll give you an example, I stayed at Centara Grand in Hua Hin a couple of years ago. It's now a shadow of it's former glory under Sofitel, stained ceilings from water leaks, the beautifully cultivated and sculptured gardens just ruined, the formerly 5 star beachfront restaurant now just mediocre at best, the breakfast buffet a flop, food you'd find in a 3 star roadside motel. Tragic, and this is supposed to be their flagship hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

Fair enough, it was 15 years ago I stayed at Centara Grand at Siam Square, that was a fabulous experience in every way.  Got Silver with Hilton, admittedly, Waldorf is in a different league, but many of their hotel brands are mediocre at best.