dtwdoc

Thought I'd share my $0.02 cents for those planning a trip in August.

I will refrain from the usual details on food, service, and overall beauty of the island/resort as these are well described in prior posts. I agree with everyone that it is truly aremarkable and special place, and despite some unfortunate experiences (described below), my wife and I are planning a return sooner than later.

We spent 5 nights here on points late August 2014, paying for an upgrade to an OTW villa for nights 2-5. We arrived late (midnightish) night 1, so couldn't justify the upcharge that evening. We were given a pool villa on arrival and in hindsight may actually prefer this to the OTW villa.

Days/nights 1-4 were great. Not a cloud in the sky. Did some snorkeling off our OTW villa which was nice and convenient. Did the usual snorkeling, lounging, etc.

Unfortunately, it rained the following day and into the night. The water became VERY rough, with large waves actually shaking the villa throughout the night. Some persons transfers were cancelled. We spent much of the night awake because of the loud noise from the storm and villa's shaking. I understand the hotel is not at fault for this, and is just a reflection of the season/climate. I would include pictures but am not sure how. I'll edit this post if I figure it out.

However, water entered our villa around the doors/windows, soaking the floor, soaking a rug, and subsequently wetting bags which were at least 4-5 feet from the glass doors adjacent to the television. As such, I'd recommend avoiding the villas during rainier parts of the year.

One thing which disappointed - our bags becoming wet did not become apparent until the next day on our transfer from the island as we had pre-packed in anticipation of an early departure (earlier departure was recommended because the water was so rough). After a >24 hour transfer back home, some documents in a leather bag had become ruined, and there were areas of mildew in the bag/on documents. I sent pictures of all this to the FDM, requesting a refund for the final night as although weather is not avoidable, I expect a secure water-proof room at a 5 star hotel. This request was declined, but compensation for cleaning bills/damaged goods through the hotel's insurance was offered. I eventually escalated it to the hotel manager who agreed to refunding the upgrade fee (though not the points). I felt this should have been handled differently.

Olip

In the Hyatt GP Program award nights do not count as eligible nights for GP status.

How is it, when I book the PH with points (not C+P) and then pay with real cash to upgrade the villa?
Do those nights then count as eligible nights for the status renewal?

Maybe a question for the Hyatt Congierge?

m0hamed

Still 0 nights.

nsmn4945

If you're still looking, hyatt check certificates can be had for 10% off on their site, using the promotion code GPGIFT14.

luckyg777

Thanks! Had been waiting for this promo for a stay in early January. Just picked up $2k in certificates for meals, etc.

Does anyone know how long they take to process at FoH? I bought in $250 denominations.

poisonsag

Can you shed some light on me? Why buy certificates? you do get 3% cashback if you use hyatt credit card.

peteropny

There are occasional promos for gift Certs and gift cards for 10% off - one was just announced - see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...l#post23795849. Be careful though, if you plan on using them outside of North America, make sure you choose Certs since cards are not accepted outside of theses areas because there is no mechanism for the property to verify funds.

poisonsag

So in a nutshell:
Calculating $2000 with the offer and shipping it will cost you $1814 = savings of $186

And If you use Hyatt cc you get 2000*3=6000 GP points

Correct? am i missing anything else?

Also, can i use my Hyatt card for these certificate purchase and be eligible for 3x?

Sykes

FoH = front of house?

It was pretty quick for me. It took a minute or two for the staff member to split the bill in two (one with exactly my gift check amount and one with the remainder), but overall he was far more adept at processing the certificates than staff members I have experienced at many other properties (who often give me a puzzled look when I initially pull out the certs).
It's $6 shipping in the US, so $1806. If you use an American Express OPEN business credit card you'll get an additional 5% rebate making the total cost $1,715.70 for $2k in certs. (I use the Starwood card to get the Starwood points on top of that. I haven't tried it with the Hyatt Visa because the 5% OPEN rebate + Starpoints is more valuable to me.)

rdchen

Has anyone used Hyatt gift certificate at PHM before? What was the exchange rate used to convert the cert into local currency? Thanks

sam_goh

It works fine here as everything is billed in USD to begin with anyways. Unlike other foreign properties where you get hit with double bill conversion.

rdchen

Thanks!

kawaii

Do the Hyatt gift certificates work for the airport transfers? I'm considering picking some up @ 10% off for my stay at the end of the month (if anyone else is going to be there Nov 28 - Dec 4, would love to meet up and say hi).

Sadly, I literally /just/ missed out on the Diamond challenge (I hit Marriott gold with 50 nights two weeks ago and just didn't think to get my Diamond challenge in time - but at least I have Platinum....) so any other cost-saving tips for the stay would be greatly appreciated!

(Also, what's a recommended amount to purchase? I understand the airport transfers are about $900 or so for 2, so I'm likely getting at least $1500, but am I likely to need more just for food/drinks? As this is now our "babymoon" before my wife is due early next year, a lot of the other activities that I had planned when I first booked this vacation are now off the table. :P)

powerslide

From the PHM, via email:

Dear Powerslide,

Certainly, we do accept Hyatt Check Certificate and you may settle with it for incidental charges except, transfer and boutique shop sales.

kawaii

Ah, alas. Well, at least it'll be good for F&B. I assume they'll charge the transfers to my folio and I can use my Chase Hyatt on that and get 3x points at least.