We have mixed feelings about our stay at Bannisters. The location is STUNNING, and the hotel is beautiful. The rooms are great, though they could probably use a refresh. The restaurant is wonderful, and the staff were welcoming.
We didn't feel like the hotel offered much value. I'll go as far as to say it was overpriced, and some things actually felt a bit petty. To start, if you book through Expedia, you do not get the included continental breakfast. I called the hotel before booking to ask questions about the different rooms, and was told there was no difference between booking on their website or through Expedia. When I told this to them on checkin, we were told we could purchase the continental breakfast for $25 per person, per day.
After checking in to our room, I did was most of us do and connected to the "free wifi". I was a bit annoyed to find out that to use the wifi, you have to agree to receive marketing emails from not only Bannisters, but a fairly vague "our partners". This reads to me as "we're going to sell your email to marketers". I begrudgingly agreed, only to be taken to another step where I had to share a check-in on facebook.
This is all fine for a mall, or an airport, but it just felt cheap at a 4.5 star resort. We spent more on this hotel than anything in our past, and both agreed that you're paying that premium exclusively for the location, and nothing more. It's a 3-4 star hotel minus the location.