The 7000 ticket was Mel-Sin-Fra. The seat was defective only Sing- Fra

Really hard to trust the Chinese anymore post covid.

The Grand Suite was a very nice room and I liked it but that wasn’t enough to put all the other issues aside. Especially as this hotel requires so many touch points with employees and you can’t quickly go from the lobby entrance to your room.

ExpressVPN did not work at all and I cancelled the service immediately using the satisfaction guarantee. After that a friend set me up with a WireGuard connection through their EU-based data centre. Too bad because it worked quite well in the past.

1080++ so the difference isn’t that big. I guess some corporate accounts are as low as 850++ now from what I’ve seen.

For sure, especially compared to 10-15 years ago. I think Chinese companies simply make a calculation that it’s not worthwhile to have English-competent staff to deal with a tiny subset of customers. Providing service to foreigners in China is a nuisance for them and not worth investing many resources in. The hospitality industry still being a bit different for obvious reasons but even the five star hotels with international brands have lost their shine. Park Hyatt, Conrad and the ShangriLa were still very good except for the ShangriLa Bar where I had an incident.

The suite was clean and furniture in decent condition aside from the metal beams being quite filthy. Not sure about the regular rooms. It is very clear however that this property needs an urgent renovation and a proper hiring strategy, probably paying better salaries to attract more competent staff. Any international hotel should have English speaking staff no matter what country you’re in. The “problem” with the hospitality industry especially in China is that anyone who speaks good English can find better jobs as even manager positions pay rather badly.

The EU actually has laws that mandate compensation in such a case. Not sure where you get these ideas from. A credit card company will not approve chargeback action because of broken seats and customer service issues, they are payment processors not litigators and that’s not a clear cut case.

A chargeback in such a case would almost certainly be denied even by Amex. It’s not as clear cut, service not provided would be denied boarding or cancellation but a credit card company will not take action because of a broken seat.

Messy check-in, missing towels, bathrobes, and other amenities. I solved the issue with the manager, who reimbursed one night of my stay.

Are you sure that your Frankfurt to Nice ticket was 7,000€. I think you added an extra “0” . I would of thought you meant 700€.
The airfare from Frankfurt to Sydney is 7,000€ return?

Sorry were you describing BA/AY/AF/AZ ?…………………. I could go on ….
All of them have lost the plot, some for many years – and long before the BS of 2020.
BA were ruined by that Spanish idiot, AY are awful both in the air and on the ground, AF in the air service can be acceptable, but ground staff, especially at CDG are generally horrid. AZ, a basket case since Leonardo Da Vinci took his first flight …………

I have a suggestion, and not wishing to be ageist here, but I am sure there are some senior older types here who might agree with me ……………. service in general in every sector has become appalling over the past years, whether we talk about Banks, Telephone Co’s, Utility Suppliers, Gov’t Departments — all big companies have thrown away that mantra that existed earlier in my lifetime, that ‘the customer was always right’. I know, I know ‘rose tinted spectacles’ and all that, but the idea, the main thrust was that.
Also, Gen-Z today have too many excuses NOT to do their jobs properly with all their ‘rights’ that they demand and get given in today’s screwed up (Western) societies …….

Just a thought on my part …..