Hyatt Gold Passport - Best choice for Europe trip?

I'm going to Europe from June 23rd -> July 2nd to see 4 concerts...should I stay at the Hyatt in the following cities?

Does anyone with Gold/Platinum Hyatt status know if there is reward availability in any of the following cities? I have 50k Chase UR's to xfer to Hyatt to use...I've listed the concert venue as well in case there may be proximity issues to the hotel/etc or they have a better suggestion for a closer hotel.

Birmingham, UK June 24th and 25th. Concert venue: O2 Academy
Manchester, UK June 26th. Concert venue: Apollo
London, UK June 27th and 28th. Concert venue: Brixton Academy
Paris, France June 29th, 30th, and July 1st. Concert venue: Le Zenith

I have 2 free night certs coming from the Hyatt Visa which I suspect I'll use for the Paris hotel (which one should I choose?) since those properties seem to be the most expensive (even with Hyatt Points they run the most points)...

Thanks for any advice :)

I'm going to Europe from June 23rd -> July 2nd to see 4 concerts...should I stay at the Hyatt in the following cities?

Does anyone with Gold/Platinum Hyatt status know if there is reward availability in any of the following cities? I have 50k Chase UR's to xfer to Hyatt to use...I've listed the concert venue as well in case there may be proximity issues to the hotel/etc or they have a better suggestion for a closer hotel.

Birmingham, UK June 24th and 25th. Concert venue: O2 Academy
Manchester, UK June 26th. Concert venue: Apollo
London, UK June 27th and 28th. Concert venue: Brixton Academy
Paris, France June 29th, 30th, and July 1st. Concert venue: Le Zenith

I have 2 free night certs coming from the Hyatt Visa which I suspect I'll use for the Paris hotel (which one should I choose?) since those properties seem to be the most expensive (even with Hyatt Points they run the most points)...

Thanks for any advice :)

From what I know there is no Hyatt in Manchester.

Park Hyatt Paris is the best bang for your buck, but some prefer the Hyatt Regency in Paris over the Park Hyatt in terms of location.

You can check availability of award redemption online @ "redeem god passport points" tab instead of the "find rate" tab.

Hope that helps.

From what I know there is no Hyatt in Manchester.

Park Hyatt Paris is the best bang for your buck, but some prefer the Hyatt Regency in Paris over the Park Hyatt in terms of location.

You can check availability online.

Well, when I try to make a reservation under the 'Redeem Gold Passport' button, it says "As a Gold Passport member, you need at least 5,000 points to make an award reservation.". I don't have any points in my Hyatt account yet, because I don't want to transfer any UR's over if I can't get a room...

maybe I'm misunderstanding, and all rooms are 'open' for redemption with points? Unlike airlines where only a few seats are open?

Well, when I try to make a reservation under the 'Redeem Gold Passport' button, it says "As a Gold Passport member, you need at least 5,000 points to make an award reservation.". I don't have any points in my Hyatt account yet, because I don't want to transfer any UR's over if I can't get a room...

maybe I'm misunderstanding, and all rooms are 'open' for redemption with points? Unlike airlines where only a few seats are open?

Nope you weren't misunderstanding things. Most rooms are 'open' for redemption with points. But it also depends on availability in my experience (e.g: booking a last minute room when there is a major public holiday or major event).

I like to book for trips early so I almost always have availability. The other thing you can do to check is to call up HGP and ask them about availability. But if you check and take 2-3 weeks to make the points booking after, you may find availability down as everyone is starting to plan their summer travel now.

This is very interesting and very misleading, when I go to book a paid night at say London Churchill or Paris Vendrome, I can choose Twin/Queen/King to pay for it. But no availability for Award (Chase Hyatt nights) or Points.

I called and questioned this and the CSRs act as if that's how it is. I said if the room is open for a PAID Twin/Queen/King night, then it's available for an award night as there are no "blackout dates". Transferred to Supervisor who checked with the hotel and same story, the paid rates differ from the award nights. That doesn't seem right, in the marketing for the award nights it specifically says any worldwide Hyatt with no blackout dates. If the Twin/Queen/King room is available to be purchased, then I should be able to use my award night(s).

That said, playing around on the website, this screen popped up after a few award night searches changing dates around.

http://i.imgur.com/KWMtL.jpg

So it's telling me I can't book my award night, but I can gladly pay for a night with guaranteed availability.

This doesn't seem right at all...

This is very interesting and very misleading, when I go to book a paid night at say London Churchill or Paris Vendrome, I can choose Twin/Queen/King to pay for it. But no availability for Award (Chase Hyatt nights) or Points.

So it's telling me I can't book my award night, but I can gladly pay for a night with guaranteed availability.

This doesn't seem right at all...

Yes it's exactly right. That's a guaranteed availability rate which is provided when the hotel is technically sold out. The simplest way is to search for a normal reservation to see if the base room is available. The base room is usually listed at the top of the list under room types on the hotel's website.

Edit: I checked the Hyatt London for 6/27-6/28 and there are base rooms available for the Hyatt Daily Rate so they should show up for points. I've had this issue recently with the Hyatt Maui and the gold passport concierge was able to rectify the issue for me. Unfortunately I too found that the phone agents were not very helpful and the basic answer was (if my computer won't let me do it, it must be right).

Yes it's exactly right. That's a guaranteed availability rate which is provided when the hotel is technically sold out. The simplest way is to search for a normal reservation to see if the base room is available. The base room is usually listed at the top of the list under room types on the hotel's website.

So if you see those base rooms under the Hyatt Daily Rate they should be available for point redemptions. If you're seeing other king, twin, queen room types or those rooms under a guaranteed availability you're out of luck. Alternatively, just list the dates you're looking at and I'm sure some more experienced Hyatt folks wouldn't mind checking them out for you and letting you know why it's not available or if it should be available.

Like I said, both properties have rooms available on the normal rate too.

Could you please PM your reservation dates to us, along with your Hyatt GP number? We'll be happy to see what we can do to assist you.

Sincerely,

Nick B.

Could you please PM your reservation dates to us, along with your Hyatt GP number? We'll be happy to see what we can do to assist you.

Sincerely,

Nick B.

Thank you, I messaged you. :)

To answer one if your earlier questions, I have stayed at both the PH and the HR in Paris. They are normally both 22,000 points per night, but the PH wins hands down. Not even close. They are only about a 15 minute walk from each other.

To answer one if your earlier questions, I have stayed at both the PH and the HR in Paris. They are normally both 22,000 points per night, but the PH wins hands down. Not even close. They are only about a 15 minute walk from each other.

Thanks. I did read that the Madeleine property isn't that great, but I'm not *that* picky, of course I would prefer the Vendrome property tho. But Hyatt is playing games getting rewards rooms booked at both properties. A Twin, Queen, or King room is a Twin, Queen or King room even if it's a "Guar" or "Welcome" rate, a twin is a twin is a twin. Just because they put it as a Welcome rate doesn't make it a different room.

Thinking about transferring my Chase points to Holiday Inn Express points, can get 3 nights in Paris for 45k points + $150 USD, so 1k more points + $150 USD but I get an extra night...of course it's not a Hyatt, but should do just fine...

Well just like magic, the minute you complain suddenly a room is available and able to book with points! :rolleyes:

Got Madeleine booked for 2 nights, Saturday and Sunday.

Not expecting too much, hopefully I don't get a closet of a room, but I'll have to take it as it comes.

Need to find a paid room for Friday night though somewhere....hmm!