Not your typical Four Seasons
My husband and I just spent 4 nights at The Four Seasons Austin. Like others in the chain, it is a beautiful property and it has a great location. The rooms and hallways are small however. Our mattress was not great, leading to several uncomfortable nights sleep. The staff will do whatever you ask, but you have to ask them to do everything. (Soup served without spoons, rooms without slippers, a sluggish shower drain: all cheerfully fixed upon request. This is amateur stuff.)
I was fairly astonished that there was no attendant at the pool, and the spa/fitness attendants need to spend more time and attention maintaining the lockers and the single non-handicapped shower facility. The recently-updated fitness center seems poorly thought-out in that there is little variety of machines, and the clock in the fitness center looks like it came out of a 1960s kitchen. (I don't really care how the clock looks, but it would be nice if the face is readable.) The lobby coffee promised until 10am vanished at around 9:30. We were given a free coffee coupon to a shop around the corner, but we didn't feel that we could hang out there and there were no refills. And no free wifi in the hotel? Really?
When I spoke to the GM and the front desk manager, they pulled out all the stops to make things right, but you have only one opportunity to make a first impression. I chose this hotel over many others downtown because the Four Seasons is a known quantity to me, not because I wanted to catch the staff off-guard and conduct a class in remedial hospitality. For hotel faux pas, I can stay at a lower-end chain. I stay at the Four Seasons (and pay their rates) because I like (and expect) a certain level of service. 
I really appreciate the efforts of Mr. Marlon Davis, who went the extra mile to comp us and our guests for dinner. His ownership of his management position is inspiring: if only everyone felt as he does. Marisa in the fitness center was so sweet to find me a fan for use with the cardio machines, and Olya Johnston at TRIO sent us a lovely fruit plate, and thought to ask if we had any dietary restrictions prior to sending it to our room. 
But would we stay here again? Given the current economic climate and the availability of deals elsewhere, I'm not sure. Customer loyalty is a curious phenomenon in that we seem to forget that there are more of us then there are of them. Who needs whom more?