Category Archives for Hotels.
Marriott’s long-running embarrassment in St. Croix — the Carambola Beach Resort, stripped of its Renaissance flag and notorious for filthy conditions — may finally be heading for a shutdown. A government-backed, roughly $50 million redevelopment plan is moving through the U.S. Virgin Islands legislature, even as the hotel remains bookable and the deal still isn’t fully final.
A viral check-in video from a Sheraton in suburban Atlanta shows a manager refusing to honor a guest’s reservation because she arrived with a dog she says is a service animal. When police arrive, the hotel keeps repeating “no pets,” and the officer has to explain the basic point: service animals aren’t pets under disability law, and a blanket no-pets policy doesn’t end the conversation.
Hyatt Place properties are usually boring but functional — not this one where a recent guest review describes widespread black mold, broken basics, and a hotel that won’t even let you charge purchases to your room—then reports that a front desk employee explained the incidental deposit is “in case you poop on the floor or rub poop on the walls.”
Hyatt’s latest points devaluation means fewer outsized redemptions at top properties—here’s precisely how I’ll shift my strategy to keep getting the best possible value.
A Hyatt hotel is telling top-tier guests that the elite breakfast at its beachfront food truck is reserved exclusively for Jewish customers—sparking confusion, hilarious jokes, and comparisons to a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.
The World of Hyatt program will expand its award charts from three to five price levels per category, creating 78 possible redemption prices across their standard and all-inclusive charts. The most expensive points redemptions can cost up to 67% more points than before. While the lowest tier prices actually fall on some properties, the new structure lets Hyatt charge far more at peak demand, potentially changing how members will value and redeem their points in significant ways.
A viral travel hack suggests running your underwear through a hotel room coffee maker with boiling water—then blow-drying it and making coffee in the same machine the next morning. The clip has reignited long-standing warnings about what really happens inside in-room brewers—and why many travelers refuse to use them at all.
A Manhattan hotel guest who paid $149 for a one-night stay at the historic New Yorker Hotel invoked a little-known rent law to argue he was entitled not just to a room — but to ownership of the entire 1,000-room property, filing deeds, contacting lenders, and attempting to seize control before an eight-year legal saga ended in a fraud conviction.
Hyatt is reportedly preparing a major overhaul of its loyalty program that could arrive as soon as next week, including higher award prices at top properties and the launch of a new $795 premium credit card designed to fast-track elite status. If accurate, the changes would expand the award chart to new higher tiers while making free night certificates more flexible—reshaping how members earn and redeem points going forward.
Guests at a Ritz-Carlton property were warned about Legionnaires’ disease contamination—but shockingly, the luxury hotel provided no offer of refunds or relocation assistance, leaving customers expecting to either risk their health or absorb the loss.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
