Hi guys, I'm torn between my two choices. Either I rent an apartment then hire a personal concierge, or I stay at a hotel and make use of the concierge there. They will both have roughly the same costs.
This is so that I don't have to research everything by myself, and get me reservations for everything and inside passes to unannounced events.
Anyone had a good experience because of a great concierge? Which hotel had the best?/Who was the best (personal)?
Erick....a personal concierge! Wow....that sure out of my budget range. But I would suggest that, from a psychological point of view, you'd get better value out of a person who's working directly for you, and being paid directly by you, than one who is dealing with hundreds of other people as well.
Having utilized concierge services on business trips, I'd suggest a hotel. IF there's a problem with a personal concierge, you have no recourse but to fire him. With a hotel concierge, you can complain to the management.
Of course, to find a decent hotel concierge, you need to stay in at least a 5-star hotel or a very good 4-star one.
On this website, you're going to find people who like to do their own work, stay at smaller, less exclusive hotels and don't necessarily need the pampering.
I'd suggest you might do better on the Fodors and Frommers forums.
I concur with Frank II, Erick. RS travelers tend to gain much pleasure from actually doing the research and reading and studying and planning on their own, with help from this site and RS books, as opposed to hiring a personal concierge. I would even hazard to guess that most members of this virtual community stay in hotels abroad without concierges...small, family-owned places with personal service and minimal amenities. To me, it wouldn't be worth a nickel for such support, but that does depend on one's available time for planning, resources, and preferences.
Where are you planning to travel? It won't help you if we recommend something/someone in London if you are going to Rome.
Thanks guys, just wanted to make sure if it was worth my time and money do to so. I guess I won't be hiring one then.
@Doug
Thanks for the site. It's just what I needed.
Good points. I don't plan on depending on them (I know where I want to go). As I said, it's more of the 'reservation' and 'unannounced events' bits.
Hopefully a 150 euro hotel can provide that, because if I rent an apartment, I won't have somebody making reservations and recommendations for me(hence my question if a cheap personal concierge is worth it).
And I guess hiring a personal concierge isn't going to work if I'm traveling to 5 areas(Paris-Rome-Florence-Venice-Vienna), huh?
Is it possible to get a personal concierge in my own daily life? I need one because I spend too much time on this site fantasizing about trips to Europe.
A hotel costing 150 euros a night will have a nice desk clerk that could help you out,, maybe, if he/she feels like it.. LOL but, I would not count on any special assess to insider events.
As noted for that type of concierge service you will be staying in a higher end hotel..
Many desk clerks will help you make dinner reservations,but not all, some will be too busy,, and others will not regard it as a service they must provide.
How do you know that the "unannounced events", if they exist, are anything you'd want to attend, anyway? And if they were unannounced, who would be attending them?
Erick - I doubt you'll find the level of personal service you're asking about at the price you want to pay for a hotel.
And, no. It doesn't make sense to hire someone for the five cities you mention. The whole point of a concierge is the relationships they have and it's unlikely one person could serve those five cities.
I suggest going to timeout.com for the latest on happenings in each of those cities.
Karen, maybe I could be your "personal concierge"--I do live in the same state as you--and that might help me pay for my travels;-) But then that wouldn't help you pay for yours :-(
