An insult to historic ocean liners
by TripAdvisor Member Ralph1955
I am a travel agent, and decided to give the Queen Mary Hotel a try for one night on my way back from Hawaii. I was truly disappointed in the total lack of customer service. Since this is the original QM ship, I pictured an experience as if I would have cruised on her in the heyday.
It was anything but. There was nobody to help me with my bags at 10pm when I checked in. The clerk was at best distracted and totally uninterested in helping me. I booked the smallest and cheapest room so I wasn't expecting much. As far as preservation goes, the QM herself is excellent. The bath contained the original fixtures although they had installed modern equipment for use. The bed was okay, not anything to write home about. Carpets were filthy. I wanted to go on guided tours of the ship the next morning. I had to ask 3 different people where the ticket desk was, and not all the tour times are posted. There arent any signs so you never know where you are supposed to go. The tour guides themselves couldnt answer basic questions about the hotel's or tours operation schedule. The gift shops lacked anything interesting. After paying for my night aboard, I wasnt motivated to spend any more money.
The dishes at the Promenade Cafe were dirty and the service there was lackluster. It is a real shame that the staff do not take pride in working on board. Their lack of enthusiasm is a total insult to the QM's legacy.
Art Deco Splendour
by A TripAdvisor Member
I read the reviews on this site before going about the noisy rooms.
Yes, there is a bit of noise between the rooms, but that's about the only drawback to a wonderfully majestic old ship. We used the earplugs given to us on the 'plane flight to the US, and together with a bottle of wine from the Promenade Cafe, these ensured a good night's sleep! To spend a night on the beautiful old Queen is to take a step back in time to an era when service mattered, and no expense was spared in the construction of a ship. The art deco rooms, furnishings and ambience simply cannot be described, and the huge variety of woods used in the fittings defy belief. Such a ship simply couldn't be built nowadays as most of the wood is protected hardwood, so take the tiny bit of noise in your stride and enjoy something totally unique!
Glad we stayed
by TripAdvisor Member nipper23
We just returned from a night on the Queen Mary. Yes the hotel is old and the lighting is dim, but the deluxe room we booked was perfectly adequate. We did hear some noise, but nothing major. The Sunday brunch was wonderful. We also ordered room service for dinner and the food was great and delivered promptly. My only complaint is that the elevators are horribly slow. My husband is in a wheelchair and we had no choice but to use the elevators and they were slow and once they did arrive were more often than not totally full. I probably would not stay here again, but I am glad I stayed at least one night.
Photos
Queen Mary, Long beach, California
The Bridge, Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA
The Queen Mary Hotel
The Queen Mary "Hotel"