The Leading Hotels of the WorldReviews of lhw.com

A Leading Hotels of the World member that failed at basic hospitality Membership in The Leading Hotels of the World creates expectations. LHW describes its member hotels as delivering “superlative service” and evaluates them against demanding quality standards. Measured against that public commitment, the Baglioni Hotel Regina failed miserably during our stay. The hotel is beautiful, its location excellent, and its food very good. Its service was another matter entirely. We stayed for our tenth wedding anniversary, following exemplary hospitality and service aboard our cruise and in the restaurants we visited during our sixteen-day vacation. The Baglioni became the conspicuous disappointment. Our suite was unavailable at the confirmed 2:00 PM check-in time, with no advance warning—even when we dropped off our luggage that morning. We had organized our afternoon around that time, allowing us to change before an appointment and then on to our anniversary photography session. Instead, we had to carry our luggage downstairs to a tiny room in the spa, unpack and change there, then carry our luggage back upstairs. This disruption forced us to cancel the appointment preceding our photographs. On our last evening, we simply wanted to enjoy the complimentary champagne the hotel had provided. I requested ice for the champagne so that it would be chilled before dinner. It never arrived. Such a simple request, yet it went unfulfilled. When I asked the front desk about this, the response was, “I told them to do it!” A gracious gesture was undermined by the inability to complete the most elementary accompanying service. On departure morning, we followed instructions to telephone for luggage assistance. My wife and I called repeatedly. No one answered. We carried our luggage downstairs ourselves, only to discover that maintenance work on the lobby floor prevented us from exiting the elevator. There was also a water interruption, which I accept may have been beyond the hotel’s control. After the water was restored, my wife barely had time to shower. I had no time at all. While my assessment does not depend on this incident alone, it certainly made our experience more frustrating. The preventable failures in communication, responsiveness, and follow-through were sufficient on their own. These were ordinary requests and expectations with foreseeable responsibilities. None required exceptional ingenuity. However, we eventually lost enough confidence in the hotel due to their fumbling and bungling that I arranged our airport transport myself rather than risk another complication. The general manager subsequently acknowledged the service deficiencies, offered gracious apologies, and said the team would learn from our experience. I accepted his apology. However, we booked a distinguished luxury hotel expecting it to have already mastered the fundamentals of hospitality. Though we received a beautifully written, carefully crafted apology from the general manager, the care evident in that correspondence should have been evident during our stay. We paid a premium for what we thought would be an experience commensurate with LHW standards. What we got were courteous apologies for our Hotel 6 experience. A prestigious affiliation raises expectations; it does not excuse failing to meet them. What was apparent at the Baglioni is that if you want to experience even the most elementary components of hospitality, you must pursue them repeatedly. Based on our experience, dependable service at the Baglioni is questionable, and I urge travelers—particularly those celebrating a special occasion—to consider many other Rome hotels first.

During my stay at The Florentin hotel in Frankfurt, I encountered several serious problems that, taken together, completely changed my view of the hotel. It started with an incident in the SPA. Clean and used drinking glasses were arranged so unclearly that my wife accidentally drank from a glass that had already been used by another guest. I tried to point this out so the problem could be fixed, but instead of listening, the SPA employee repeatedly interrupted me, raised her voice, touched my shoulder without permission, discussed me with another guest, and several times outright refused to call a manager. The following day, I approached the main front desk three times asking for someone from management to contact me. No one did, despite the fact that we were still staying at the hotel for several more days. Later, the hotel claimed that they had tried to contact me by email. I never received that email. When I asked for technical proof that it had actually been sent, none was provided. Instead, I was shown a screenshot in which 3 August 2026 was shown as a Wednesday, even though that date was a Monday. I asked either for proper technical evidence or for an explanation of this obvious inconsistency. I received neither. At that point, the issue was no longer just about the original SPA incident. It became a question of whether the hotel’s explanations could be trusted at all. The General Manager later offered partial compensation. In my view, after such a chain of events, a five-star hotel that genuinely values its reputation should have refunded the full stay without further argument. More importantly, by that point the issue was no longer only about money. I wanted clear answers: why had the SPA employee refused to call a manager, why had management failed to contact me after repeated requests, and was the disputed email ever actually sent? Because I could not get a transparent resolution from The Florentin, I escalated the matter to Althoff Collection and LHW. They acknowledged shortcomings in how the situation had been handled and that there had been a justified loss of trust on my part. Yet the central question about the email still remained unanswered. For me, the main failure of The Florentin was not the initial incident itself, but what happened afterwards: no manager when requested, no follow-up from reception, no clear answers from management, and no technical evidence for the email the hotel relied on. The hotel is beautiful and expensive. In my experience, the service and complaint handling were not five-star.

I am writing to you as a long-time traveler who values true five-star hospitality, and I must express my profound disappointment after staying this summer at two of your affiliated properties: Cap Vermell Grand Hotel (Palma de Mallorca) and Hotel Byblos/Mandarine (Saint-Tropez). The experiences were not only below the standards expected of your network, but outright unacceptable for establishments claiming to represent “the leading hotels of the world.” At Cap Vermell Grand Hotel, the service was a disgrace. Rooms presented unacceptable issues (mold, poor housekeeping, outdated interiors), and the staff demonstrated arrogance rather than professionalism. Basic guest care was absent complaints were met with indifference, management never followed up, and the general attitude of the team was dismissive, even hostile. This is not luxury hospitality; it is negligence masked by marketing. At Hotel Mandarine in Saint-Tropez, the situation was equally shocking. The property itself is visibly deteriorating: paint peeling from the walls, outdated and tired interiors, and a general atmosphere that feels abandoned rather than curated. The supposed charm of this location is overshadowed by neglect, mediocrity, and an absolute lack of investment in maintaining the standards expected of a world-class hotel. What is most alarming is that both properties proudly display your brand association, which is meant to stand for exclusivity, quality, and excellence. Instead, they deliver disappointment, frustration, and a sense of betrayal to discerning guests who trust your name. Allowing such hotels to remain under your banner not only damages their own reputations but severely undermines yours. This is not simply a matter of one bad stay it reflects a deeper problem in how you vet, monitor, and enforce standards within your portfolio. If Leading Hotels of the World is to remain credible, immediate action is required: rigorous quality control, regular inspections, and clear consequences for member hotels that fail to uphold the level of service and maintenance promised to your guests. Right now, your brand is at risk of becoming meaningless a label attached to properties that are luxury in name only. For travelers like myself who expect true excellence, this is both disappointing and unacceptable. I urge you to take action. Both Cap Vermell Grand Hotel and Hotel Mandarine should be reviewed immediately, and if they cannot meet the standards you claim to represent, they should not be allowed to remain under your flag. Your brand is only as strong as the hotels you choose to endorse. At present, these two establishments are a stain on your reputation.

LHW should be a trusted name for luxury hotels. We stayed at Fauchon Hotel in Kyoto, partly due to its LHW membership. The hotel though was unbearable. The ceilings in the bedroom were so low that we could not stay there, it felt so cramped, and not at all like a real LHW. I now feel we can not trust the LHW membership anymore. The Fauchon Hotel in Kyoto room ceilings make the room feel like a closet and the curtains were so low like a doll house. It seems like LHW may not care so much about their members' quality, as along as they get the income, the payment. Too bad, and a real shame, and completely Unethical.

Having earned a couple of these upgrade vouchers by making bookings through the LHW website, you think they are guaranteed when you activate them, rather than the common trick of many loyalty programs of saying "upgrade subject to availability". However, twice when I've activated these vouchers I've been informed long before the stay that the hotel has declined the request! We're currently at the Gran hotel Miramar in Malaga, where they declined the voucher about six months ago and declined again to offer an upgrade at check in yesterday. All rather disappointing. The remaining benefits of booking via LHW are less than booking through Amex or a Virtuoso, so I'll stop using them.

Horrible customer service. Have to track down a human to even respond to an issue. They do not support their program and act as if they are doing you a favor by allowing to use your own points that you earned. No one cares if your hotel stay is poor which makes their points program worthless. They should be ashamed.

NOT TRUE that LHW offers the best (lower) rates for these hotels (FALSE). I tried to book The Rittenhouse for coming September specific dates and rooms annd found LOWER comparable rates at BOOKING.COM I wrote to LWH to point out about their " best rate garantee" and they replied that this applies only to PUBLIC RATES (wheterver this may be). BOOLKING.COM rates are considered by them PRIVATE simply because one has to sign on to the site (at NO cost) to get the best rates. Therefore their garantee does not apply... Further, at AGODA, one can find exactly the same rates as in LHW (sometimes with better perks than with the LHW Club) but withou the requirement of pre payment or NO CANCELLATION, required by LHW site. And if you call the hotel (any hotel) and point out that you are willing to book directly with them instead via LWB, you may get a discount. Above has completely changed my views on the LHW organisation. So should you!!!