Hotel reaches for 4-star status: Owners plan to transform Portland's Fifth Avenue Suites into sophisticated luxury lodgings

[egrguy]

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/i....xml&coll=7

The Fifth Avenue Suites will be getting quite the makeover with the effort to make it a 4-Star hotel. Not that the star rankings mean much other then something for the hotel to brag about, however, Im surprised this will potentially be only the 2nd 4-star hotel in the Pacific NW. With such strong business/tourist area, one would think there would be more.

[Inkdaub]

The 5th Ave is already nice. I hear you about it being strange that there are not more four star hotels in the NW. There are hotels that deserve the rating, though. Mobil did get a bit more strict about three years ago so that might have something to do with it. Also, while a star rating is a decent basis for judging quality it isn't completely accurate. The star ratings are based on a combination of facilities and services and service itself. You can have a beautiful, clean hotel with gorgeous artwork and antique furniture and plasma screen televisions and a great restaurant and fantastic service...but if it doesn't have a pool(just a for example) it can only go so far up the star rating ladder. So a three star hotel can be as nice or nicer than a four star and simply be lacking in some area.

Another thing is the rating depends so incredibly hevily on the mood of the auditor and the experience the auditor has at the hotel. One thing goes wrong and the auditor can deny a star. I have personally dealt with auditors that didn't even do what they are supposed to do(they are supposed to utilize all services...valet to room service to in house amenities to...etc) and still rated the property. It can be a pretty arbitrary thing.

[City_of_Lakes]

Thanks Inkdaub! Now I know what I want to do for a living. Only kidding... Anyway, interesting insight into how and what an auditor does, or lack there of, when deciding on star designation.

I wonder if an ocean has the same leverage as a pool?

[Inkdaub]

I'd love to be a travel auditor for Mobil...haha.

The coveted five star rating is even more intricate which is why there are so few hotels rated that high. Hotels sometimes become too wrapped up in that rating stuff I think. I worked at a hotel that had been rated a five star for many years and then dropped to four star. It was like armageddon had descended. It was all the management could talk about.

I think an ocean...if it was open 24 hours and was kept clean...would be a decent substitute for a pool.

As far as the Hotel Monaco Portland...sounds cool. Hotel Monaco is a great brand and Kimpton is one of my favorite hotel companies. Pretty much all their properties are great whatever rating they achieve.