Are club rooms worth it

Club floor rooms, though the same size as the base category in most cases, are priced higher. Neha Gupta Kapoor lists when they are worth the extra spend

At 41 sqm, the Club Millesime room is the same size as the Luxury room, base category of Sofitel Mumbai BKC Hotel. Both room categories are equipped with free wifi, free water bottles, 40-inch LCD TV, iPod docking station, work desk, espresso machine, minibar, in-room safe, iron and ironing board, and a separate bathtub and shower. While all in-room offerings remain the same for the two categories, there is a `3,000 price difference between them. Internet rates for a mid-week stay in October at the Club Millesime room starts from `17,000 per night, and the Luxury room at `14,000 per night. In that case, why would you book the former?

Value for money. Simply put, for the additional `3,000, the Club Millesime room includes a one-way airport transfer (a 21-minute drive), breakfast, hightea and cocktail hours, free meeting room access and all-day free tea and coffee at the Club lounge on the 14th floor. The two meeting rooms can hold five and six people. Club guests may book these in advance, for an hour per day of their stay, to hold meetings with colleagues and associates. They may avail of the printing and scanning facilities too, free for the first ten pages.

As John Nair, head of business travel at Cox and Kings aptly says,“The Club floor is virtually an office.”

PENNY’S WORTH

When a hotel earns incremental revenue by charging you extra for the same 40 sqm space, it needs to justify this with perks. Nair reckons Club floor rooms to be a sensible choice for short-stay corporate travellers with a tight schedule.

When time is of essence, travelling between meetings in traffic-laden cities such as Mumbai and Bengaluru means wastage of precious minutes. “On checking into a Club room, guests can start meetings with business associates almost immediately without having to commute from point A to B,”Nair, a frequent business traveller, speaks from experience. “For instance, in Mumbai, corporate executives waste a lot of time travelling from north Mumbai to south or central Mumbai. So, ideally, when they come to the city, I’d suggest they conduct their meetings at the hotel itself, using the club floor facilities.”

Post sunset, meetings can move from the boardroom to the Executive/Club lounge for the happy hour. As a visitor to the city, one needn’t have to think about where to entertain a work associate. Many hotels allow Club guests to bring a friend to the lounge. While the happy hour menu is included in the extra room rate and exclusive to the guest, they’re charged for “nonresident guests”invited by them.

CLUB PERKS

High-end luxury brands such as The St. Regis have a butler assigned to you. The brand’s Mumbai property has labelled this room as Premiere, and it is the same size as the base category Deluxe room (45 sqm). The butler helps in packing and unpacking, and irons two pieces of clothing per day. These rooms occupy levels 25 to 28 of the tower. There is no dedicated lounge where the happy hour can be enjoyed. However, Premiere room guests are entertained at Luna Nudo between 6pm and 8pm. The meeting room on the property is available for two hours each day, free. The only drawback is that while Club floor guests usually enjoy breakfast at an exclusive venue, here, they join the base category room guests at Seven Kitchens.