"We really enjoyed our stay in the Savoie Excelsior in Trieste.
We did not dine or drink in the hotel, so experience was limited to passing through the foyer and use of our room.
Our stay was to some extent marred by two aspects.
Firstly, the accommodation offered to us on check-in, while being a junior suite with balcony/seaview, was lacking important elements compared to the advertised specification. There was no table and chairs in the room and the shower was incorporated with the bath, which we consider unsafe. The initial response was that specification varied with rooms. However, the specification differed only on the downside in this case and no other Junior Suite was available that did fit the specification in Hotels.com/Hotel Website. It would be better if the hotel was actually precise in its specification at point of booking/purchase so a properly informed decision can be made. The Hotel’s response was an acceptably priced upgrade that did actually meet our needs and then more.
Secondly, the Hotel sought to add on a 5% gratuity to the whole bill - for staff. This is a novel development of the tipping culture. While they did not persist with this, it leads to an awkward situation. It did bring to my attention that an add-on to the rate quoted on Hotels.com of 10% for Taxes and Fees was already being charged, in addition to local city taxes. I would like to get clarification of what exactly is being covered by this 10%.
Fine hotel, well located. Be on the alert"