lihue1k

Okay, there are requests for current reviews so I'll go over my experiences for my recent 7 night stay during early October.

First, I have no particular status with Hyatt. Yes, I'm a gold level GP member, but I frankly don't often stay in Hyatts (aside from my beloved GH Kauai). I had no reason to expect "special" service as I would expect at Hilton with my Diamond status.

I had booked a Regency Club room some 7 months before in March. One thing I really do like about the Hyatt website is that the room details are listed specifically. For example my reservation said "Recency Club rooms . . . are located on the 4th or Th floors . . . ".

I made the booking and never gave it another thought until packing up the night before. I was very much looking forward to a golf/spa/pool holiday. Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the entry and found that the golf courses (both of them) were clearly not only closed - but also undergoing EXTENSIVE renovation (think backhoes, dump trucks, lots of heavy equipment). I confirmed with the valet - nope there is no golf here at the moment - "gonna reopen better than ever in just 4 weeks though he says" helpfully. Let's call that strike 1.

I presented myself at the check in desk at 5:53pm and asked to check-in. "No rooms available" I'm told. When will you have one I ask? "Likely not before 9:00PM" is the deadpan reply. By now I admit I'm getting a little flustered - but before I totally lose my cool a colleague steps in and says - hold on, your room just opened up. I was checked into a room on the second floor - to which I reply "I had confirmed a Regency Club room." The reply: "We've upgraded the hotel and now all rooms are Regency Standard and we can grant lounge access to any room."

The Mrs and myself went to the room, which looked out onto what might have been a beautiful golf course view - had their been a golf course. There instead being a construction site I was shall we say - miffed. Let's call that strike 2.

Nonetheless, we ordered up room service after the long drive down from the bay area. The food arrived promptly and was passably good - certainly the best thing we'd had in the hotel to that time. I couldn't bring myself to fight the RC battle any further that night, so we went off to bed. I awoke the following morning renewed for the fight and absolutely unwilling to compromise. I presented myself to the duty manager at 6:00 AM and started our conversation by asking her to confirm that my 2nd floor room was indeed considered RC - to her credit she immediately confirmed it was NOT. I then produced my reservation. I also read hear the property description including the long praise offered for the on site gofl - I asked whether she thought it might have been reasonable to expect notice of the closure of the golf courses at some point during my 7 month reservation - again she agreed that was not an unreasonable expectation.

She went to work making things better at a record pace; first offering to move me to a suite (later in the day when they were cleaned) and finally to a one bedroom villa on the spot. I felt uncomfortable taking the villa, that being so much more than I had reserved - she insisted however and so we spent the following six nights in a very nice room in a block with 3 other villas. The room as obviously quite nice - however there were some negatives. I learned that villas are often used as centers for corporate parties - several nights during our stay the adjacent villa served this (noisy) function late into the night.

The villa was well furnished - but not truly over the top. More or less what I'd like to have at home had I an unlimited replacement budget and a little decorating help. "Butler" service was also included though we used this primarily for getting ice which was not available via self service. Certainly others made use of a great variety of personal services including cart rides to the parking lot (which really was quite a hike) and extensive delivery of room service. I'm sure you could easily get used to such services if you allowed yourself!

I realize that all of the above suggests a bad visit. May I add however that there were quite a number of great experiences as well. Notably:

The single real eatery in the hotel is the Santa Rosa Grill. We never took breakfast there (the RC breakfast was more than enough). We did go for dinner twice, dining on the veranda both times. Service was fantastic the first time, slightly less superb the second time (still well above average however). On both occasions the food was FANTASTIC. I especially suggest their risotto. ^

Service at the adult bar was truly amazing. We spent several hours here each afternoon and the folks working the bar were some of the most attentive we've experienced anywhere. There's nothing I would improve. There are a number of private cabana's available for rent near the adult pool - these include a television, two lounges, and several other small amenities. We rented one for one afternoon but didn't find it so superior to being on the pool deck that we were compelled to repeat the experience. ^^

Spa and exercise services were very good, no real complaints.

The golf concierge was the single most useless individual I met at the hotel (even below the initial check-in team who botched my room). Given that their golf course was closed, I supposed the concierge would help with alternate tee times - and he was only too willing to do so. The catch was he wanted a credit card number in advance and said he could only provide rate information only AFTER booking tee times. I was still game to go (so to speak) so I asked him what range of $$$ I should expect to be spending to which he replied "I really have no idea until I start making calls". Huh???? Isn't this your JOB, don't you do this EVERY day, surely you must have some vague idea what the folks who played today paid. All of this brought nothing more than a blank stare from the gentleman who never retracted his "credit card" hand. I elected to go it on my own, with a little help from a knowledgeable bell man who steered me to several local favorites no of which ran more than $60.

Ultimately, I found that I really liked the hotel - despite all of the service gaffes. We've actually talked about going back next fall. I do find myself comfortagle suggesting the property to others - with a strong cavet to make sure you know what you're paying for - and expect the hotel to attempt to cheat you out of it in every small way - if you let them.

I'll answer PM's with more specific details if needed.

peteropny

lihue1k - That certainly sounds like a mixed stay - The initial check-in clerk was definitely unacceptable (they should have indicated that RC rooms weren't available then but they would be happy to move you the next day and offer some compensation since you actually paid for a RC room and not simply upgraded like Diamonds would be); however, you did the right thing by following up with the Manager On Duty the next morning who did the right thing by upgrading you (beyond what was reserved). While the hotel may have renovated all rooms recently, standard rooms are nothing like the RC rooms which are basically junior suites. Also, you arrived well past check-in time of 3PM and to be told that it would be after 9PM before a room would be available is definitely unacceptable (this would be a "walk" the guest situation where they send you to a comparable property at their cost - you are comped for the night).

The golf course issue is also unacceptable since many guests go there to golf specifically so this would be akin to a Beach Resort property with the beach and all the pools closed. The closed golf course issue was made a lot worse by the inept Golf Concierge, you would think that especially with "their" course closed, they would have some sort of an arrangement with nearby courses and their cost (of course specific times would be upon booking).

holtju2

But I do believe that they have a problem at this specific property. I was there for a one night in October and I decided that I rather use the self checking machine next time than try to get help from the front desk. (first stay)

I waited about 5 to 10 minutes before anyone showed (second stay) up to check me in and then they couldn't find my reservation. I blankly told them to cancel whatever they had reserved for me and went to Hilton instead.

gregorygrady

I think they certainly dropped the ball at the start. My guess is that you just got a couple of very new front desk agents or something at check-in. Trying to put you in a ripped up golf-course view room when you reserved a RC room is unacceptable. Luckily the M.O.D. the next morning quickly realized that and made sure to go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure you were happy. I'd say an upgrade into a 1-bedroom Villa (which BTW normally goes for about 3x as much as an RC room) was very nice of them to do. I personally would be happy with that resolution.

The golf guy, that's a different story. If his title is "Golf Concierge", he should definitely know the prices of the various courses around the area ESPECIALLY seeing as how the Grand Champions course was under construction. That is pretty poor, and then worse is the fact that he would book you a reservation with your credit card without even telling you how much it costs. One would think the standard here would be if he didn't know the cost/info for a certain golf course, he would call them and find out and get back to you with that info ASAP and then book it for you if you decided to go through with the reservation. But honestly I doubt I'd waste my time getting too worked up over that either, if it were me I'd probably just chalk it up as an obviously inexperienced Golf Concierge and I count my lucky stars that I live so close to such a fabulous property (GH Kauai) where they DO know how to do everything properly.

Steph58

Stayed here Dec. 7 & 8 on a last minute Travelzoo rate of $139 which included RC access. Super deal, as I'd been watching the price for several weeks and it was over $200 for a standard room. TZ rate only showed king beds, but took a chance & booked it (3 people). I was able to get 2 beds at check-in. Had a nice view of the golf course, room with sofabed & separate living room area (don't know if this is a standard room or an upgrade). Very large and nice bathroom. Looked to be recently refurbished.

RC concierge was the best I've ever encountered (from my former days as a Diamond). Eric was outstanding and made our stay much more positive than it might have been (below). RC club & food were very nice, at the top of list of RC's I've visited. Eric suggested we order dinner via room service & have it delivered to RC as restaurant was closed for remodeling. It was late, around 8 p.m., no one else was present in RC, so we did just that--very enjoyable. Eric is a long-time Hyatt employee, and came to Grand Champions a few years ago from Monterey. I'm sure his charm & talent will be better appreciated at Grand Champions. He gave us all kinds of info, help & suggestions.

Now the annoyances. There's an $18 resort fee, which is a bit hard to swallow in the winter when it's 50 degrees. I could have swallowed it if they didn't charge an add'l $22/day to valet park. We were perfectly happy to use the free self-park option, but there was not 1 available parking space due to holiday functions both nights and non-hotel guests coming to the resort. Had to argue with the front desk when checking out about the parking situation, which I didn't appreciate. She told me we should have parked "somewhere else". When I asked if that would be on Hwy 111, she finally relented and reversed the valet parking charges.

Then we had the events of our neighbors in the room next to us on the second night. Midnight a whole group arrived to party, so loud we had to call security. Security arrived and the group quieted down. Then at 5 a.m. awoken by a huge domestic violence-type fight next door. Listened to a man yelling obscenities for 20 minutes, talking about going to jail for murder. Got scared he might harm the woman, so called security again. They came right away, neighbors went from yelling to arguing loudly for another few hours. Don't know if the soundproofing is that bad or these people were that loud. But obviously the neighbors' behavior wasn't Hyatt's fault and they did respond right away when we called. I mentioned it at check-out and she said the neighbors were from a group, management was aware of it and addressing the issue. So a little more annoying that she gave me a hard time on the parking issue.

I stayed here a few years ago in June so was able to use the pools then, which are nice. At that time I was Diamond and we were upgraded to a beautiful suite. I would definitely stay here again if a good rate was offered.

shinbal

I believe there is a new GM at this property - the former EAM/Rooms from the Century Plaza, LA. It'll be interesting to see what changes he brings about. I know that he arrived there only within the last 45 days. CP guests were none to fond of the "no suite upgrades if you want regency club access" rules.

777 global mile hound

'm a Diamond Level AT the Hyatt - and STILL got the following treatment there.
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Dec 3rd, 4th, and 5th – was awaken at 6am every morning by the “resort” grounds maintenance. Gas powered blowers, lawn cutting (at the pool area), and gas powered tree/bush trimmers. Even though I complained every morning to the front desk “manager” and the resort manager, it wasn’t until I called the resort manager back and let her hear the tree trimming noise at 6am that she said she would get right out there to have them stop. Every day before that I was told by the front desk manager that they had to talk to the grounds crew manager (outsourced company) and that they couldn’t reach them (for 3 days).

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Golf course – towels provided are WAXY – apparently they give you towels in your cart to wipe your clubs and grips down when they’re wet or dirty, but they’re the same towels as the ones which they wax the carts. My right hand (and now grips) are like glass (the hand got better, but the grips did not).

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Golf course –We paid $130 a piece to play the Celebrity Golf course - only to have the sprinklers turned on at 3pm and to play in the rain soaked course! Our feet were soaked and we were freezing.

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Room/Regency Level:
Fireplace in room didn’t work (non-functioning)
Towels are so old they look dirty
Refrig. For guest usage didn’t work (non-functioning)
Electrical in room poor (took overnight to recharge devices that normally recharge in a couple of hours)
No doors in dress room and no locks (not even a working latch) on one of the bathroom doors (that was just a painted hollow board to close the door (with a one sided latch).
Club lounge food, appetizers poor. I’ve been in normal Hyatt's with better and more appetizer selections. (i.e. Reston Hyatt, VA)
Restaurant (with advertised wood fired pizza’s) under construction and not available.
Golf course – no club house (under construction).
No information given on any SPA services that “might” have been offered.
No mouth wash in rooms.
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Hotel check-in/out:
We had to wait about 1 hr for our bags after checkin – due to the conference attendees checking in at the same time.
We had to wait in line behind about 30 folks checking in – due to another conference checking in at the time we were trying to check out (when I called down in the morning asking why my bill wasn’t under the door, they said they couldn’t do that anymore and I could come down to get my bill). No where were options communicated to me of TV checkout or phone checkout (learned of these after I complained upon checkout).
Guest parking seemed to be considered secondary when a conference was in.
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Not enough hotel parking - especially when there were conferences (all but 1 of our days there).

gregorygrady

I stayed there a week or two ago during the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament. It was pretty nice there. The pool was heated, but still a little cold. The Regency Club was the same as it's always been, but seemed a bit more crowded than normal, which was probably due to high occupancy. They built a bunch of new villas since the last time I was there (about 1.5 years ago). There's like a whole village of separate villas now in the back.

I was actually quite happy with my stay this time as I was upgraded to one of the Penthouse Suites, of which there are about probably 40 or so in the hotel. I think all the rooms on the 5th floor might be Penthouse Suites. They've got double doors, 1.5 bathrooms, a separate living room and bedroom, and nice large spacious balcony with sunchairs. I enjoyed the stay and was very happy with the upgrade as all the previous 5 or so times I've stayed there I've never been upgraded to a Suite (even though they have a ton of them). Maybe they were sold out of cheaper rooms or something so they had to upgrade people so they started with Diamonds on short stays. That definitely could have been the case since it was extremely busy with tennis fans & players there. I went up the same elevator with Jelena Jankovic this time (she's ranked about #3 or 4 in the world currently) to extend my streak of elevator rides with famous top female tennis players.........................I also rode up the PH Vendome elevator with Maria Sharapova when I stayed when I was watching the French Open. ^

luxury

Just completed an overnight a few days ago on the tail end of a week long conference I had to attend.

Booked through Virtuoso for a deluxe room and was upgraded to a Pool View deluxe for about $220.00 a night which included lunch for 2 once per stay, full american breakfast each morning and a guaranteed 4 pm late checkout. We enquired about upgrading to a Villa and was quoted $350 to upgrade. We decided to take the upgrade as the nightly rate for the villa that night was $850.

The Villa was spacious, perhaps in the 1200 to 1400 sq ft range with a dining area, living room with 42" plasma tv, and fireplace. There was a wetbar and guest refridgerator which contained 6 bottles of water and 6 cans of soda complimentary. There was a stereo with iPod dock which connected to the villa's built in sound system. The bedroom was of good size and the master bath had separate stall shower, tub, dual vanities, separate WC, and a skylight. From the bedroom and the living room was access to a private walled in patio/garden with a outdoor 3 person jacuzzi. Our villa had a view of the fitness centre in the distance but with the stream in the foreground. The Villa also comes with a gas barbecue which you can use to cook your own food as the wetbar area is stocked with china and silverware.

To get to the villa was inconvenient as we needed to call a bellman to either pick us up or drive us there on a golfcart.

Service was patchy due to some events being held there including one very large conference. Overall, the stay was good and we enjoyed the Villa.

365RoadWarrior

Resort Fee = $18/day

365RoadWarrior

I just did a second four-day stay here. Haven't seen an upgrade or any of the villa-special amenities, but the rooms, gym and Regency Club are all fine. When those conventions roll through, parking can be a bear (and, in the 113 degree heat, it ain't no polar bear!)

One nice (IMO) thing about the Regency Club: no children in the evening.

Front desk staff hasn't yet gotten my keys right the first time (to give access to my room, the elevator and the RC). I always ask before leaving the desk, but end up going back anyway

gregorygrady

Continued my "elevator streak" last month at the US Open. I wasn't in the hotel/room much as there was so much to do and see in NYC, but I went up the same elevator as Mario Ancic at the IC Barclay. I moved to the GH NYC the last night I was there and went up/down elevators with a bunch of younger looking players that I didn't recognize. I later found out that the GH NYC was the headquarters for the US Open Juniors tourny.............

lihue1k

Given my prior post (#78) some might be surprised that we've followed through on the threat and gone back during the first week of October.

In between I did in fact contact Hyatt corporate, received nothing in return beyond a basic "thanks for your feedback". Still we liked the property overall and decided to give it one more try - hoping the prior gaffs wouldn't repeat.

So far, so good. Unlike last year, there's actually a golf course here this go around. The check-in agent confirmed our regency club level room and assigned us a room on that floor, overlooking the golf course. Quite lovely. During check-in it was clear that someone had paid some special attention to our reservation - the agent was very careful to make sure everything was "just so".

I don't miss the villa we were assigned last year as compensation for our trouble - it was very nice, but also very remote, I much prefer staying in the hotel itself.

RC remains quite nice (I'm not sure I'd say "one of the best") but quite nice. I agree it is nice that children are not allowed during evening hours, although, as you might expect this rule isn't strictly enforced. Evening snacks were great: cheese platter, antipasti, lots of veg, a few hot things. Breakfast remains a bit basic: fruit, a couple of types of cereal, a few muffins and bagels. Lounge staff is very attentive.

The adult pool area has undergone a modest upgrade since we were here a year ago. Chairs (or at least chair pads) have been replaced. The old movable umbrellas have been replaced with fixed installations . . . this makes it a bit of a challenge for those seeking shade - rather than moving the umbrella around you have to move / switch chairs to seek shade. The barside conversation over the weekend was about the "new bar" which apparently will be constructed near the main pool in the months ahead. Will not replace the adult pool bar, but will give folks with kids somewhere to watch the game or grab a quick beer without leaving them unattended (main pool bar service is currently handled from a back bar attached to the cafe).

Main restaurant is newly named (now Lantana) and has a new menu. We ate there for dinner mid-week and had a very nice meal. I did have the impression that they are trying a bit hard with their menu. The vegetarian special of the day was a risotto which was good, but very different. Prices were mid $20's to mid $30's per entree for dinner - at the high end of reasonable for what serves as the breakfast place from 6 - 10AM IMHO.

Poolside food was the usual burgers, nachos, a few salads. Nothing special.

The spa is full service: machine room, several daily classes, massage, hair etc. It is separate from the main hotel building and does try to attract outsiders as well. Exercise facilities are open 24 hours to this effect. I had a nice, but not memorable massage. One odd thing about the spa is the absence of a pool - nothing more than a small plunge pool over here.

Hey, there actually IS a golf course here (unlike last year when there was not). Rates were already winter high the first week of October, worse yet only one of two courses was open and it was going to overseed on October 13. After paying, but before teeing off we were warned "there's a lot of dead fairway out there, we stopped watering a few days ago". Indian Wells is far from alone in moving to winter rates for a few days PRIOR to going into overseed - but it's a peeve of mine to get charged full winter freight for a course which is intentionally being killed by lack of water. The course would on another occasion have been very nice, but for nearly $200 I felt ripped off. My advice - confirm course status before booking!

Service around the hotel was uniformly good - more than a few staffers would be rated as great. Our stay at the Hyatt Grand Champions met all of our expectations.

FD1971

RC is indeed nice, especially the big balcony opposite from the entrance.

Staff at the RC is amazing, especially Eric.

Sweet Willie

Love it when there are adult only pools, thanks for the info.

Is the RC still in a hallway ?

Looking forward to a good burger in PSP, lots of good restaurants, I try to find the ones NOT on HWY 111

Is the resort fee charged to Diamonds ? Charged for FFN stays ?

Nice, are bikes still available, is there a cost ?

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