Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Monday 27 October 2008

ADSL: Hotel Panoramic, Sancerre v Relais Vignale, Chianti


I’m staying in the Relais Vignale (www.vignale.it) in Radda in Chianti – the heart of the Chianti region. It is interesting to compare the broadband (ADSL) pricing policy of Vignale with that of the Hotel Panoramic in Sancerre. Although 30 minutes is €2.50 and an hour is €4, you can get a week for €12 – a tarif the Hotel Panoramic in Sancerre ought to consider as they charge €5 for an hour and €8 for two. The Panoramic has no daily rate. (See post of 9th September 2008: Hotel Panoramic: ADSL hors de prix.)

I can see little justification for hotels charging more than a nominal amount for WiFi access. If the hotel needs an internet connection for their business they incur no additional expense if their guests hook up to the net. There was no justification for high telephone charges, there is even less excuse for punitive internet access charges.


2 comments:

Alex said...

Jim - I agree! I've just spent a weekend in London where almost everywhere (including the 4* hotel we stayed) wanted to charge extortionate rates for internet access (let alone Wi-Fi!).

I suspect that part of it is knowing the area - as here in Leeds I can identify quite a few places where free wi-fi is available without even trying - but none of them is a hotel!

Jim's Loire said...

Alex

It's a rip off that needs to be exposed more and it often seems the more expensive the hotel the higher the prices they charge. That was certainly my experience in New Zealand in November last year. Sometimes in the motels it was free, while smart hotels always charged.