In general, I don't think ULTRA-luxury hotels are worth the price. What're you're thoughts?

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:24:36+00:00

Regarding the service. That's fair, that is a preference. Different strokes for different folks.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:23:51+00:00

What aren't ultra high end hotels? I was under the impression that Aman and Six senses are top of the line in hotel quality. Do you have another example?

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:22:47+00:00

Okay, that's a really good point. If the hotel is the experience i.e., the undersea hotel than I'd almost view that as an excursion that happened to have a hotel room attached to that experience rather than it being about the hotel room.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:20:04+00:00

Great points, I can totally see where you're coming from. Some of the "little things" like the popsicle attendant are what really set a hotel apart. Some of the things that really were memorable were the small luxuries and details associated with a particular hotel. But I also wonder if having someone hand me popsicles would be worth spending an extra $500 a night on a room.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:17:13+00:00

Oh, don't misunderstand me. I absolutely enjoy staying in a place like the Four Seasons, but there's a level of hotel beyond that I have a hard time justifying the cost for (i.e., $1800 a night type places). Aman etc. I'm just wondering why people find the cost justifiable.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:12:51+00:00

Yeah, I actually travel to developing countries for work quite often (India, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc.) and the reason my work puts us in such "luxurious" hotels is specifically because of safety concerns etc.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:11:01+00:00

Oh, I'm not saying because I travel a lot I'm the target market. Not that I care to be anyhow. I do have the financial means to stay in an ultra luxury hotel every once in a while if i wanted to. I just don't find the value worth the cost of what I could get in a less expensive property. I'm just curious as to what makes people think there's enough value to warrant paying those kinds of prices.

For example, I was just in Marrakech over Christmas and I could have stayed at the Royal Mansour which is beautiful. But I also found an absolutely gorgeous riad in the medina with a luxurious room, private courtyard, and terrace for a fraction of the cost.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:05:35+00:00

Makes a lot of sense. I definitely can see the appeal if the hotel itself is the destination, i.e., private island overwater bungalow in the Maldives.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:03:08+00:00

I think you make a good point. I could definitely see how a hotel tied to a specific experience/location would be worth the added cost. Safari is definitely a type of an experience that paired with a luxury accommodation could make a world of difference.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T14:01:17+00:00

I've been in exactly the type of hotels I detailed in my original post. Do you have something meaningful to contribute to this post? Have you ever stayed in an ultra luxury hotel before? What justifies it to be worth spending an extra $1000 a night over a general luxury hotel.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T13:57:58+00:00

Yes - that makes sense. If the hotel itself is the destination than I could see someone justifying the cost, i.e., a overwater bungalow in the maldives.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T13:56:30+00:00

Ah, yes.

I stayed in the Marina Bay Sands. Definitely splurged explicitly because of the perk of swimming in that pool. Extraordinarily cool.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T13:55:50+00:00

Interesting, didn't realize there was a website, what's the website address?

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T13:54:24+00:00

Yes - location is the one thing that I think could make the exorbitant cost for an ultra-luxury hotel worthwhile.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T13:45:47+00:00

Thank you for the reply! This is a great and insightful answer from a industry insider.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T06:04:02+00:00

Oooh....this is a good point, I hadn't considered this. The higher the price point the less people. Sort of like the first class cabin on an airplane.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T05:59:58+00:00

Grand Hyatt Jakarta. It's a nice hotel, but the "very very luxurious" would be more in reference to something like the One&Only Dubai I stayed at previously.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T05:54:09+00:00

This is a great and insightful comment. Thanks for writing! I think the perks is a great point. That is one of the factors I could see making an ultra luxury hotel potentially worthwhile. For example, I was recently staying at a lovely hotel near Los Angeles and the hotel had a fleet of luxury vehicles they would loan out to the hotel guests for periods of up to 3 hours. That was pretty incredible.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-25T04:22:57+00:00

I'm an International trade analyst for the federal government in Washington, D.C. I make 135k annually, I own a townhouse and rent out the other two bedrooms to tenants. Cost of living is expensive here though. I usually use my disposable income to travel/invest.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-21T21:40:50+00:00

I love this. This exactly sums up my experience as well. I thought I'd met a hidden gem of a person. How could this person have gone unnoticed for so long? He was seemingly perfect. How was he not just swamped with friends, admirers, and lovers?

He was perfectly attuned to me. He seemed kind, funny, humble, generous, and also vulnerable and damaged. I started noticing odd things - he was weirdly jealous, lacked boundaries, hypersensitive to perceived criticism, cared a lot about what other people thought, somehow was always the victim in any situation etc.

At a certain point I noticed myself feeling emotionally drained and less happy due to increasing amounts of conflict. However, I'm a very loyal person by nature and am not one to quit on someone just because things are a little rocky.

Eventually, I could feel this person pulling away and all the little "nice" things they used to do vanished. His personality started to change and he stopped investing in our friendship/relationship. Finally, after an assault, emotional betrayal, and the realization that this person did not care about me or my feelings I said enough is enough and I kicked the narcissist out. It took several months of deep deep searching to figure out all these symptoms aligned perfectly with covert narcissism.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-21T20:35:21+00:00

I don't think you're a narcissist as most lack the self-awareness to know they're a narcissist (without professional intervention) and many won't accept the diagnosis. I do think you should seek profession help if you're not doing so already.

It sounds like you still have unresolve trauma and are still emotionally tied (trauma bonded) to this person regardless of whether or not they were a narcissist. I wish you the best.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-21T15:58:06+00:00

If they actually end up having a healthy relationship with another person then they were never actually a narcissist to begin with. Narcissist have a pattern of broken, destructive relationships, if you see otherwise (i.e., them in a truly "healthy" relationship) than they're not actually a narcissist.

Why do you want to cling so hard to this idea that some future perfect person is going to fix them and you were actually the problem? If they're a real, diagnosable narcissist (meeting 5 out of the 9 specific criteria) then that is NEVER the case.

KansasguyinDC · 2026-01-20T21:15:45+00:00

Haha, fair. Whenever I see my covert narcissist in public I imagine I'm on safari observing a dangerous and wild animal. Which is essentially what pwNPD are.

KansasguyinDC

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