Index: Introduction, Positioning Flight to New York, and the Hilton JFK British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York JFK – Hong Kong The Pier First Class Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Ho Chi Minh City Park Hyatt Saigon Lunch at Pho Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Airlines Business Class, Ho Chi Minh City – Danang Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa Vietnam Airlines Economy, Danang – Siem Reap Park Hyatt Siem Reap Angkor Wat and Other Temples Dragonair Business Class, Siem Reap – Hong Kong Turbojet, Hong Kong Airport – Macau and the Sheraton Macao Hotel The Venetian, Fernando’s, and the Ferry to Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Harbor View Suite Bo Innovation, Hong Kong Amber Restaurant, Hong Kong Cathay Pacific The…
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Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau and Hong Kong Trip Report: Introduction, Positioning and the Hilton New York JFK
Index: Introduction, Positioning Flight to New York, and the Hilton JFK British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York JFK – Hong Kong The Pier First Class Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Ho Chi Minh City Park Hyatt Saigon Lunch at Pho Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Airlines Business Class, Ho Chi Minh City – Danang Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa Vietnam Airlines Economy, Danang – Siem Reap Park Hyatt Siem Reap Angkor Wat and Other Temples Dragonair Business Class, Siem Reap – Hong Kong Turbojet, Hong Kong Airport – Macau and the Sheraton Macao Hotel The Venetian, Fernando’s, and the Ferry to Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Harbor View Suite Bo Innovation, Hong Kong Amber Restaurant, Hong Kong Cathay Pacific The…
Hyatt Place Austin Downtown: Is It “the Best Hyatt Place” As They Claim?
I spent Friday night at the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown for the Austin MegaDO frequent flyer event. I stayed there because it was walking distance from Saturday morning’s event, I could leave my car parked, head back and check out. And because on a one night stay I could use my Hyatt Visa free night. The Hyatt Visa offers a great value with a free night at any Hyatt hotel up to redemption category 4. But the night doesn’t count towards elite status, and it can’t be upgraded to a suite. So I find I push back using it, and it was going to expire at the end of April. Since this hotel is category 4, and it was going for ~ $275++ per night for the one night’s stay, it seemed like a great…
A Quick Jaunt to Southern India: Park Hyatt Chennai, the Best Value Hyatt in the World?
Previous Installments: Introduction and Trip Planning Etihad Lounge, Washington Dulles Etihad First Class, Washington Dulles – Abu Dhabi Etihad Business Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi Terminal 1, and Abu Dhabi – Chennai Business Class A Park Hyatt representative was waiting outside of baggage claim. I walked up and he immediately rang to summon our (complimentary) car to the hotel. The car itself was an interesting experience — the back of the vehicle had tons of room, and was cut off completely from the driver. You could push a button to speak to the driver, though. And since you couldn’t see out the front of the car, there was a large video screen displaying the view from a camera. The drive to the hotel was only about 15 minutes. I was thoroughly exhausted at this point, after…
How I Confused a Hotel into Giving Me a Free Suite Upgrade
An interesting thing happened on a recent stay at the Hyatt Regency Austin. I wound up with a ‘free’ upgrade to a suite with view of Lady Bird Lake and a patio. And I almost got kicked out of that suite! I’m not going to do a full review of the hotel, as I’ve already written about this property here and here (so didn’t feel the need to write about it after several subsequent stays, natch). Hyatt Gold Passport offers complimentary upgrades to Diamond members, but those upgrades exclude suites. Some hotels will give out available suites to diamonds if available anyway, but the program doesn’t promise it. If a Diamond wants a suite, they can confirm one at time of booking four times per year (for up to 7 nights on each stay) using…
Westin Austin at the Domain I Guess is Kinda Sorta in Austin
Westin Austin at the Domain isn’t downtown. If you need to be in Downtown Austin, you don’t want to stay here, you would face a 20 minute drive without traffic and heading into the city at peak business times it would be much more. But if you need to be north of downtown, it’s a good hotel that often prices much less than downtown alternatives. This four year old hotel is at the back of the Domain outdoor walking mall. There are plenty of restaurants, there’s shopping, and the staff are quite nice. In some ways it’s fairly non-descript, with standard Westin rooms. Here was my view waking up in the morning: The parking lot though gets very full, likely juiced by non-hotel guests. (Parking is free for everyone, as is internet.) Many readers know…
Declining Service Levels at the Andaz Wall Street
I wrote up stays at the Andaz Wall Street back in 2011 and also in 2012. I did not write about other stays I’ve had at this property because they were remarkably similar. Every time I have stayed there I’ve gotten the same room type — a large L-shaped room with a piece of furniture in the middle separating bedroom from living room; a junior suite that used to be considered a large room and now is an “Andaz Suite.” In other words, they downgraded the room type that they confirm upgrades into (whether using a Diamond confirmed suite upgrade or using points). And each stay after my first one the breakfast benefit was taken only in the restaurant, no more room service. Nonetheless, I’ve always considered this a good hotel for the location. Some…
The Westin Diplomat’s Views Are Just as Magnificent But It Isn’t As Great as a Gold Than it is as a Platinum
I first wrote about the Westin Diplomat outside of Ft. Lauderdale as far back as the fall of 2005. My blog has been through a couple of moves since then and I don’t have the photos from that stay, but it’s been a property I’ve stayed at many many times since then. Here’s a comprehensive review, with photos. Long before Starwood introduced a free breakfast benefit for Platinums at hotels without an available club lounge and ‘Suite Night Awards’ for Platinum members who stay at least 50 nights in a year, allowing those members to express preference for when they’ll receive an upgrade, I recommended this hotel as probably offering the best Platinum treatment anywhere. That’s because the Westin Diplomat has a lovely club lounge space on the 33rd floor overlooking both the Atlantic Ocean…
In All My Years of Travel, a New Hotel Mistake for the First Time
I’ve stayed at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables several times this year, and I’ve written about it a couple of times here and here. It’s a good solid hotel for what it is, I find it convenient to the Miami airport (it’s not an airport hotel) and friendly staff. They take care of Gold Passport Diamond members well, with good upgrades (the two reviews above involved complimentary upgrades to junior suites) and good breakfast beenfits (they let you take your breakfast benefit via room service if you wish). So imagine my surprise when I showed up there recently with no reservation. I’ve made some booking mistakes in the past. Four and a half years ago I showed up at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok with a reservation for the wrong month. And I’ve turned up…
Hyatt Union Square’s Small Rooms and Super Comfortable Beds
Hotels in New York were pretty heavily booked, there weren’t any standard rooms for points even at the Andaz 5th Avenue where I love to stay. I wasn’t going to spend over $600 for a room there. I couldn’t get a standard room at the Andaz Wall Street, either. But I could burn points at the new Hyatt Union Square. It’s Hyatt Gold Passport category 5, or 18,000 points per night. With room rates a bit over $400 (an tax applying to paid rates but not awards) that seemed a reasonable redemption. And I’d get to try a new hotel in the city. The day before my arrival I received an email from the hotel asking my anticipated arrival time. It was going to be a bit after 3pm. I suspect they were pretty chock…
