I used to stay at the Westin Seattle fairly frequently, but hadn’t been there in nearly three years until a one-night stay a few weeks ago. It’s still pretty much as I remember, of course. Rounded, two towers, some decent views. I prefer the location of the Sheraton usually, and also the W, within the Starwood space. And I love the breakfast at Hyatt Olive 8. So I don’t make it back often at to the Westin. Still, it works just fine. It’s an escalator ride upstairs to the large lobby. I’ll never forget Wandering Aramean opening about half a dozen bottles of wine in the lobby after the bar closed. Years ago there used to be a Roy’s restaurant off the lobby, but that’s long gone. I have no beef with the rooms, they’re…
Hotel Report
Tag Archives for Hotel Report.
Grand Hyatt Tampa Was a Fantastic Venue for Frequent Traveler University
The Grand Hyatt Tampa was host to last month’s Frequent Traveler University. I’ve written about some of the sessions there, like the session on putting award booking ‘theory’ into practice, with a live call to Delta to book business class awards to India. This was probably the nicest venue for a frequent flyer educational gathering yet. Nice and convenient only minutes from the airport, with free parking, and within a few miles of multiple CVS stores that stocked scores and scores of Vanilla Reload cards — plenty of people were taking field trips off-site in order to stock up on frequent flyer miles. (There were even Reload cards up at the cash register.) Since I wasn’t going to spend much time in my room, I didn’t try to compete with the 60+ Hyatt Diamond members…
Hyatt Regency Coral Gables Revisited, and Still Pretty Good for What it Is
I reviewed the hotel just last month but thought I’d mention it again because I had such a similar experience that I can say that it’s a good property for its purpose and for the money, and my earlier experience was not a fluke. The hotel is perfect for near the airport, I arrived in Miami around 10pm and didn’t want to make a lengthy drive until the morning. So I’ve used it twice now for one-night stays and it’s suited me perfectly. (It’s not an airport hotel per se and has no airport shuttle, but since I’m picking up a rental car and it’s close it works well.) Elite recognition it good, both stays I’ve been assigned a junior suite without using any sort of confirmed suite upgrade instrument. There was a semi-separated bedroom…
Review: Hyatt Regency Maui
Yesterday I wrote about how I wound up staying here, and why my Deluxe Ocean Suite was free. I was originally booked at the Andaz, an the opening date for the hotel was changed so my reservation got split — one night at the Hyatt Regency, two nights at the Andaz. The Director of Rooms promised me a suite upgrade as an apology Then the opening date for the Andaz changed again, so I had to get moved twice. So they comped a stay at the Regency instead — and since that’s clearly a downgrade, and I was to be in a suite at the Andaz, they gave me a suite at the Hyatt Regency Maui as well. And since Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond members aren’t even charged the resort fee there, I was going…
The New Hyatt Place Would Be the Best Hotel at LAX If Only I Could Be Confident in Their Airport Shuttle
Basic principles. You want the airport hotel connected to the terminal if there is one. Otherwise you want the one that’s newest or at least most recently renovated, since airport hotels disproportionately accommodate one night stays and wear faster. Beyond that a decent on-site restaurant is nice, especially when the property doesn’t have nearby walking options, and price is going to influence choice — the Grand Hyatt DFW is an exceptional hotel but it’s often so much more expensive than other Dallas airport hotels that it becomes tough to choose. Historically I’ve picked the Sheraton LAX for a Los Angeles airport overnight. It’s certainly showing wear but the rooms are decent, the restaurant is pretty good, and there’s a Starbucks in the lobby. There’s a (mediocre) club club and a nice pool area. But the…
The Andaz 5th Avenue — and How Hotels Choose What Room Types to Use for Upgrades
Another blogger emailed me for my thoughts about upgrades at the Grand Hyatt Tampa, a property I’ll be visiting in September for the first time for Frequent Traveler University. He was frustrated because the hotel confirms upgrades (using Diamond confirmed upgrade certificates or points) to a room type that is better than the base-level suite. There weren’t any of these rooms available during his stay. There were lesser suites, he would have been happy with one, but they weren’t initially made available to him. He pushed and apparently an exception was made. Nonetheless he felt that the hotel was being less generous than they should be, not allowing confirmed upgrades into their base suite (which are more plentiful than the room category they do assign). I thought this was an interesting take, and one which…
Review: Grand Hyatt Singapore (Upgrade to a Duplex Suite) and Hotel Pickup #FAIL
Last year I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Singapore and really enjoyed it. If you want to be on Orchard Road it’s a great option. Singapore is a very tough hotel town, lots of good hotels but only a few that are close to great — and even the good ones can be pricey. So the ability to leverage elite benefits or points can be a strong benefit. I booked a discounted paid rate and confirmed my upgrade in advance. Hyatt allows Diamonds to confirm upgrades to suites at time of booking (subject to availability) 4 times per year for up to 7 nights each time. And they allow all members to use just 6000 points to confirm an upgrade of up to 4 nights if paying the ‘Hyatt Daily Rate’. The standard upgrade here…
Review of the Andaz San Diego: Stylish, Needs Improvement
I checked into the hotel at nearly midnight. There were a couple of guests hovering around the front desk and there was a bit of a party scene as well. One thing I’ve noticed about San Diego’s Gaslamp region is that it is a going out town — the women get dressed up to party, and the guys with them look like they rolled out of bed in what they’re wearing out (shorts, flip flops). They wouldn’t get into clubs anywhere else. I’ve tried to figure out the economics of it — is there a surplus of women relative to men, so they have to impress but the guys do not? — but I lack the data to develop a coherent theory. The Andaz San Diego has a traditional front desk rather than roving check-in…
Review: Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport (SFO)
I’ve stayed at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport four times this year, and have liked it less and less each time. But while some people have their preferences for Bay Area airport lodging, there’s not actually any hotel option that I’d put down in the ‘really good’ category so I rationalize that I’ve picked up reasonably priced stay credits and progress towards a few Hyatt Gold Passport promotions along the way — all without sacrificing comfort relative to other options by the airport. It’s a big, busy hotel that always seems to have a conference or convention going on in the lobby when I’m there. The basic exterior facing rooms are perfectly fine, and I’ve gotten a good night sleep after a long haul flight here. My best stay was my first one back…
Does the St. Regis Bali Have the Best Breakfast Buffet in the World?
I probably like the cooked to order menu service at the Park Hyatt Maldives and room service at the Andaz 5th Avenue more. The highest quality ingredients I’ve had for breakfast were probably at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris. And the buffet (which I understand is no longer as good) that I had at the Le Meridien Chiang Rai several years ago was probably better as well — it wasn’t more extensive, but there were more and more interesting things that would be brought around by servers for you to try over the course of a meal that weren’t on the menu. (The most extensive buffet title probably belongs to one of the many top end hotels in Kuala Lumpur.) But I imagine that the breakfast buffet at the St. Regis Bali is the…
