So I took the "S" down to Savannah this past weekend for a little kid-less RnR with the wife. We were staying at the Westin. When I pulled up and unloaded my luggage, the valet lady asked me if I was going to valet my car. I looked at her sideways and asked if the valets knew how to drive.....she paused. In my mind, that discussion was over. I was just going to park it myself in the self park lot 500-600' away. But the valet followed me out and told me to hold on just a moment. She motioned to the circular turnaround in front of the hotel and said "You can just park it right there". I was sort of dumbfounded and asked "for the whole weekend?". She confirmed and I went to park my car. On the way back, there were 2 different attendants standing at the stand sort of looking at me funny when I returned and I thought it best to just confirm...since it was really a no-parking zone. I asked "The other lady said I could park there, is it ok?". They declined and told me to move the car. A little irritated I turned around and went to move it. Just as I reached the car, they started yelling at me and told me to come back. As I returned to the stand, they stated that they thought I was in one of the pickup trucks and didn't realize I was driving the Porsche. I was told it was fine and throughout the weekend, came and went parking right in front.

I have seen alot of reactions to driving the Pcar and I have to say this was one of the nicest so far.

 

Wow, glad you're looking at it positively but what a communication nightmare! It's always hard to feel out the valet situation - I hate letting others drive my car but it's nice to have it parked VIP-style where someone is keeping an eye on it.

I went to the Mansion at Forsythe Park about a year ago also in Savannah and they let me park it right up front myself but requested keeping the keys in case it had to be moved for some reason - standard valet procedure. This was for a short duration though, not the whole weekend!

Isn't the Westin where the Porsche Parade will be in August? Can't imagine everyone will get the same treatment when there's 500+ of us!

 

I always call ahead to any location/venue to see if there's self parking If not, I'll pay the attendants to "bribe" them to let me park myself

 

^This. $10 or 20 spot can I park it myself in front or close by. Of course, 911s are so ubiquitous here it's nothing special to the valets.

 

The way my conversation usually goes (for the same end result) is: "Hi, if you don't mind, I will park it myself, but I am happy to still pay the valet fee and tip" They have always happily waved me to one of the up-front safe spots. They know how we are about our cars.

 

I'm kind of surprised they treated you so nicely after your "can they drive?" question. I get your desire to avoid entrusting some stranger with your car, but IMO there are less rude ways to go about it.

And in terms of 911s impressing valets, the answer there is location, location, location. Where I live in Columbus Ohio, my 911 almost always gets the spot right in front of the door at nice restaurants. Last week I parked a Bentley Continetal GT at a restaurant in Naples, FL and the kid was completely nonplussed and parked it way out in the back where the embarrassing cars go. Front was only for Ferraris, Lambos and Astons that day.

 

Politeness is key, these guys are doing a job and eeking out a living. Respect commands respect.

Yep. It's not like OP was driving a Veyron, two of which secured the prime valet stalls at Fontainebleau Hotel in SoBe when I stayed there last year. After the LP560s, F430s, and DB9s I think the 911s were parked in the back lot.

 

Sure they'll let you park in front. You just upped their image.

 

DSHURETT:

Something similar happened this past summer at a military air show in Ohio..I pulled the Porsche into general parking (all there was) and started down the line to find a spot. The military was handling the parking lot and one of the officers spotted me and directed me to a protected spot right up front... The only way that car could have gotten hurt is if an A-10 fell out of the sky and landed on it... Felt like a million bucks.

 

DHURETT

did you sign up for the PCA meeting this summer in SAVANNAH?

 

I am all for courtesy and respect for EVERYONE regardless their position. I do not think it is rude to ask that question of the young lady...she responded honestly and processed it correctly, because it simply communicated a concern about ANYONE driving his car except him. The outcome was perfect, and, let's face it...there are valets that do not know how to drive a manual trans, for example. We also know that somewhere...there are the "Ferris Beuhler's Day Off" characters.

I had a Honda S2000 WRECKED inside a car wash because the guy was incompetent. They fixed it to my satisfaction, and the poor guy still had a job because I didn't ask for punitive damages. One does not get Promoted at a car wash because they can drive ANY car...I assume he was a good worker.

WE cannot be too careful. My bottom line: Noone drives my P-car except me (I let my 37 year old son drive it the last five miles after the pickup...just to get it out of his system!).

 

Hotel valets work mostly on tips and a VIP space ups their hopes to get a nice one. Some hotels charge nightly fees ; even if one self parks so a VIP space can make parking expensive and it's still not ideal . They can watch the car but how can they supervise it non stop with all the people entering and exiting a hotel ?

I wonder if that hotel hires their own valets or if they have a contract with a valet company that is a separate entity. That's what a lot of places here do so if the valet screws up good luck trying to collect from the insurance . The hotel isn't accountable . The valet company is . In fact the hotel might not even comp you a free night .

Most valets can't drive my Turbo (stage 3 clutch and no power assist) and even my PDK car is not a toy.
I would feel more relaxed on a vacation with no car worries . I would take the M3 to a hotel and use the self park.

 

I used to work in the Merc Exchange building here in Chicago, needless to say the garage was filled with some very high end cars. I did as others and told the guys I prefer to park myself ("only" had an Audi at the time) and they were fine with it. It's not that I think valets will pull a Ferris Bueller on my car, but I have witnessed valets back into other cars/posts when they can't judge the depth of a car. However, I never get nervous having the guys from my local shop drive my car, as I know they're all car nuts like us.

 

I'm 20 years old and I actually am a part time valet at quiet a nice hotel, its not a bad gig for a kid in college. At the place I work at, I have never seen anyone miss treat the cars. When we have really high end cars come in we use one guy to spot for the person driving, and we park them right where we can see them from the desk. But I've grown up around nice cars so driving them is really no big deal to me.

One time I drove my dads car because mine was in the shop. When I was leaving I parked by the desk to clock out. Some lady thought I was stealing the car and called the cops. So about a mile down the road I get pulled over and had to explain that it was my dads car, showed him the registration and whatnot. He even called my Dad to see if i was telling the truth, cause lets face it, how often do you see a 20 year old kid driving around in a new 911. After that my Dad and I decided it would probably be a good idea not to drive that car to work anymore

 

Most valets can do the job of parking the car . Some are extremely talented and I can even think of one garage in NYC that the valets parked like pro drivers . After 8 hours a day of parking and 10 years in the job many had skill far beyond the average driver .

The problem though is as follows :

1) The moment a person hands his car keys to a stranger (valet) he takes a risk .
Every aspect about that car ranging from basic cleanliness , damage potential, liability , dimished value, theft of the car itself , theft of the contents .. is replaced with a little paper stub . Not only that .. he has to pay for it .
Most people don't even want to ruin their own cars but to risk having a total stranger ruin it for him makes no sense . I even feel this way about a rental car or a cheap car. Why take the risk ?

2) It's the few valet horror stories which make the job harder for the qualified valet .

3) You are right. Most people don't see a 20 year old driving a 911 but at least that car belonged to a family member (your dad) . A valet on the other not is not a family member . He's not even a buddy. He's not even an employee . He is basically a service that has been foisted on him by a hotel, business, or condo . In some cases they won't even permit the car owner to park his car.
In my opinion it is an inconvenient convenience.