Ordinarily, I would give any Fairmont Hotel a 5-st...

Ordinarily, I would give any Fairmont Hotel a 5-star rating out-of-the-gate; however, my recent experience at this particular (and handsome) hotel was less-than-stellar, thus, the ping down to 4. Here's why. Yesterday, I drove up from San Diego to catch up with my old friend, Mike, a TV/Film producer in Hollywood. He and I enjoy the finer things, and one of those finer things happens to be sweet 'n swanky joints where we can enjoy a tasty cocktail while watching the beautiful people. So, we show up, make our way to the Bungalows that face the main drag (with great views), only to find 20 or so tables which were all Reserved. Yes, complete with "Reserved Signs." Well, except one. Given we're rule followers by nature, we proceeded to snag the single table that did NOT have a Reserved Sign. We then proceeded to retrieve our $20 cocktail and $15 beer, and sequestered said non-reserved table.

We had just gotten into our cool beverages and hot stories when we were approached by one of the staff. He proceeded to tell us we needed to move because the table was reserved. I'll cut to the chase here, as the conversation took longer than you're likely interested in, but it's safe to say, as pleasant as the gent was, he needed us to move. We graciously pushed back, saying we were going to finish our drinks first, given: (a) there were no other places for us to sit, (b) we didn't want to stand among an entire patio of sitting individuals, and (c) for the price of the experience, along with the lack of proper labeling, we felt we were perfectly within our rights to take a little extra time. Oh, especially given there were THREE tables within tossing distance, whereby the reserving-parties-in-question could have happily sat. He said, "I get it guys, and I even agree, but frankly, I don't care enough to continue this, so do as you like." That was a funny moment.

Then, no more than 3 minutes later, a woman--no doubt his superior, approached us saying we had to move. We shared the same conversation, she offered to buy us a drink, and asked us to move. Mike made an "LA STORY kind of joke" along the lines of, "Oh, we can stand over here (showing small space), but not over here (just two inches away)." As he referenced the line from the movie, she pseudo-chuckled and after I very kindly said, "I'm going to finish these last few sips and we'll be on our way," she was on her way. I figured that at 4 in the afternoon, it was the least they could do.

I share this long story to say two things: (1) Put proper signs on ALL tables which are reserved, and if the entire space is such, then put a sign at the door, so we won't waste our time, nor our money on a potentially sub-par experience--especially given this city offers so many options in which to dine or drink. And note that we chose THIS one. (2) in amongst all your "luxurious spaces full of beautiful people," kindly set aside some comfortable spots for the ordinary lot of us who enjoy the experience Fairmont provides. Thank you.

One last thing. Might I suggest you replace your "over-the-counter Schweppes Tonic (Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Citric Acid, Flavors, Sodium Benzoate, and Quinine) with a "truly-unique-and-one-of-a-kind-healthier-alternative" in FEVER TREE TONIC (Carbonated SPRING Water, Natural FRUIT Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavorings including NATURAL Quinine). You'll thank me for it. Thanks for listening (and reading) and I'm sure we'll see you again. CHEERS!