Firewind

My experience at the Monterey Hyatt tracks closely with those of NOLAnwGOLD. Multiple errors (reservation vs. front desk) were ultimately cleared up to my satisfaction, by the end of my stay. And the facilities --especially the rooms and stairways (yes, the stairways) -- leave a lot to be desired, re-model issues aside.

Time was when staying at the del Monte was a mark of status. Not for a long time, despite the criticism here and elsewhere. Caveat emptor.

Nice that the Highlands Inn is as fine as ever.

365RoadWarrior

I had a short communication with someone at the hotel that mentioned that the first remodeled rooms will not be available until September (whereupon I cancelled four reservations for June and July). Just passing the word.

wilma

In my experience, Monterey is usually pretty bad: horrible lines at check-in, no Regency Club, charges a resort fee when it's not really a resort, clueless staff, some really horrible rooms next to the parking lot, etc. As a diamond, I always have to ask/plead for an upgraded room, breakfast certs, and I'm glad that the amenity now includes points because I rarely received the wine/cheese as they never delivered it or sent it elsewhere??? I sometimes stay here for diamond requal nights during FFN, but always reluctantly. Fortunately, all Hyatts are not like this!!

NOLAnwGOLD

So looking at my AMEX statement, they've charge one of the rooms not to my friend's credit card but to mine despite the change at checkout.

Has anyone ever gotten anything after writing a letter to the general manager or making a complaint to hyatt.com???

Plus I've only gotten credit for one room instead of 3 to my Gold Passport account....

UGH

I'll stick with SPG and Hilton!

dhuey

This place is pretty bad -- at least it was when I was there a couple of years ago. It seems like Dr. Frankenstein created the hotel out of a group of neighboring apartment buildings.

When I stayed there, it look a long time to register, and then we had to walk in the rain with our bags about 1/4 mile to our rooms. When we arrived at the room, the keys didn't work!

I'm generally not a complainer about such things, but this hotel is high on my list of least favorites.

FlyMan

I checked in the hotel. It's actually not that bad.

I used 1-800 Check-in, and the registration was smooth. I just had to remind of Diamond Welcome Amenity and breakfast vouchers. I was pre-blocked to one of their renovated golf course view rooms (w/balcony).

My room is close to the main building. I like the room deco, bathroom, flat TV, and iPod stand. There are a fridge and 2 bottles of water (complimentary).

Breakfast - the restaurant has nice setting. It has buffet service (which they replenish very often), but they make your egg dishes as well. The voucher I was given covered everything. Their cinnamon rolls are awesome! The servers were very attentive.

lswcih

Just checked into the Hyatt Regency Monterey today. Was upgraded to a Regency Club Suite. The Regency Club is now located in Building 5 with the Regency Club lounge is located on the first floor. The even numbered rooms face the back swimming pool area. The odd numbered rooms face the freeway side. There is a 24 hour Stay Fit Gym on the first floor of Building 5.

Pictures of the suite: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lswcih/...7605044445736/

Firewind

Looks like quite an improvement. The shower even reminds me of the Vendome's a little bit.

bob95409

Thanks for the pictures. Looks great. Now if I can just find a decent rate for a 3 day stay and take advantage of the 12,000 bonus points.
Bob

wilma

We spent 3 nights at Monterey this past weekend, the rooms are definitely much nicer. Was given a Monterey suite without asking for an upgrade (1st time in over 15 stays) and access to the Regency club. The check-in person knew nothing about a diamond amenity and didn't know how to check to see if the bonus codes (G2, 12K for 3 nights, and the diamond 1W) so I had to call later because a huge line was forming behind me. The room was spacious and overlooked the pool, but the carpet was already stained and had burn marks. The carpet had been installed strangely and it was bunched up and we often tripped on it; the floor is also uneven. The walking on the floor noise from the upstairs neighbors was quite loud. The shower was nice with a large overhead rain effect. The Regency club is pretty lackluster. The evening snacks were pretty lame with a few diminutive/bite sized quiche snacks and some cheese but no crackers. Nothing hot. Someone asked the attendant for some crackers and she was busy surfing the net and responded that there were none on the cart from the kitchen. She made no attempt to find any crackers and went back to her net surfing. The young man in the morning was even more clueless, also checking sports news on the internet and had no idea how to get cream cheese for the bagels. There was cereal, fruit, bagels, lox, and cheeses. Clearly the Regency Club needs better food offerings and some trained staff. The pool and hot tub were pleasant and much nicer on Sunday afternoon after the children left. It is an improvement over the tired old Monterey Hyatt but it still needs some work. If you can get it for a good rate it's not bad, but I wouldn't pay more than $150/night.

VFF1000000

Check in was horrible. Clerk didnt know about the diamond ammenity, I had to ask for two AAA certs for breakfast, didnt updgrade me, I had to request access to Regency Club lounge, etc.
Regency Club door access was not functioning for many guest-needed to walk in the open back door (which lets flies into the Club)
Food in the Club was probably too warm (veggies were wilting)
NO AIRCONDITIONING-this was really bad during the heat wave (no rooms in the hotel have air conditioning! The third floor was really warm and uncomfortable.
Hotel isnt very convenient to downtown
On the plus side, the breakfast buffet was very good.
Unexpected room charges from the bar that werent mine
My Diamond amenity was delivered to wrong room
Only one bath soap, not a hand soap
No newspaper was delivered in the morning.
Bell desk person wasnt around during ck in, although I rarely use them, this time I had two large suitcases (brought my scuba gear) and due to the configuration of the hotel, I could have used some assistance. The elevator for building five is in a building about 75 yards away. Unusual configuration.


I spoke with the front desk manager about several issues and he comp'd the room for the night. He was very kind and I didnt even ask for the comp. He processed it before he met with me. When the front desk rep asked how my stay was (I had to stand in line to ck out so I could remove the bar charge error and obtain a copy of my bill-they didnt slide under my door) I replied it was an inconvenient stay and I wouldnt be back ( I then mentioned a few of the service inconsistencies I experienced). Oh, I forgot, I asked for a 1pm ck out and my door lock didnt allow me access at 1215pm. I was standing in the hall for 15 minutes with all my scuba gear waiting for assistance to open my door....

Wilbur

I am posting from the Monterey Hyatt right now. It is an eclectic mix, and everything posted about it in 2008 is pretty accurate.

Newly refurbished room, but already starting to show carpet wear.

Pleasant folks at check-in, but a little clueless on GP issues, etc.

Spyglass pool is out of commission for refurbishment. The other, little pool by the conference center is therefore overrun with guests, and I have had to call for towels every day.

Nice breakfast at Toscana with the AAA breakfast rate. Good service, very attentive, decent food.

Parking is pretty tight with the 150 classic (1930-1953) MGs here for the North American MG Convention. On the other hand, the cars are great.

Regency Club very basic - two rooms turned into a single club with limited interest.

Lovely views of the golf course.

Lots of road noise from the 101.

Lots of noise from upstairs guests.

Lots of noise from next door guests.

Housekeeping didn't replace the soap, I just heard from SWMBO.

No newspapers in the morning.

lswcih's flickr pictures are absolutely correct for our room, as well. It is what I think of as the "Hyatt Place" design motif.

Web check-in didn't work.

No Diamond amenity.

Stay-Fit gym very basic - three rooms cut out of building 16 overlooking the pool with some running machines and weights.

Lovely gardens throughout - whoever is looking after the plants is very good, and since we do a daily march from our building five to the little pool at 16, we see most of the property.

Good overhead fans in the rooms.

Nice pillows, good beds.

T-Mobile signal strong enough to read and post to FT, as well as get some serious work done via VPN before the family gets going.

Great fireplace in the gazebo for surreptitious marshmallow roasting with the aid of dry-cleaning hangars.

outbound10

Let me start by saying the rooms received a really nice upgrade over the last year or so. We had a nice suite on the first floor. The room had multiple ceiling fans in the room, but this did nothing to cool off the room. We had two sliding glass doors in the room which may have cooled off the room more with the outside air, but we did not open during the night time due to safety concerns on the first floor. Parking lot was full with several events taking place.

RichardInSF

Currently typing this from the RC at this hotel, where I am staying for the first time since the remodel. The hotel was kind enough to upgrade us to a first floor suite which sounds very similar (identical?) to the room the last poster had. We did not feel the need for a/c at all, but then we are here in the fall instead of the summer.

I would say both of the above two posts are quite accurate, except the gym is actually in building 15 (not 16). Both pools are open now and it appears like another building of rooms is being constructed towards the northern portion of the hotel.

We too had problems with in-room amenities not being replaced. We did not hear any road noise, and I believe that is true for all rooms not facing SR1, but we did hear kids running around overhead in the morning (I guess that is structural and would have been too expensive to have been fixed in the remodel).

Overall, judged by the standards of a HR, I would say this hotel is quite OK. No, no one will confuse this with a fully functional PH but, unlike the former PH in Carmel, it doesn't claim to be. I would stay here again now, and prior to the remodel, I wouldn't have.

thesilb

We stayed here for the first time on December 21 for a one night pit stop on our drive from Marin County to the LA Area.

This is a very nice property, and there was not the slightest fault. Diamond status clearly recognized: we were upgraded to a Monterey Suite connecting to a deluxe room (604 and 606, the building right next to the lobby, facing the golf course). Rooms were newly refurbished and showed no wear. Very clean. Donald at the front desk was especially helpful and deserves praise for helping us out, in the midst of a flock of not so quiet children we had in tow.

One very big highlight of the stay was our dinner at Tusca. We had the Monterey Calamari to start, it was extremely fresh - possibly the best calamari I have ever had, and I eat it frequently. Then on the server's suggestion, we each had the white bean soup. Excellent. I had the wild boar as my main, which was perfectly cooked medium as requested and absolutely delicious. Paired with a nice Cab again on server's recommendation. My wife had the butternut squash ravioli which she reported as A+. All in all, this was a memorable meal, especially nice since we were never expecting it. We returned to Tusca for a full breakfast the next morning, which was also very good. Ms. Nguyen deserves special credit, for helping us with our young ones and just being generally very nice. We even got some advice from her on the Park Hyatt in Vietnam where we have been considering a stay.

Another thing which was very nice, the diamond amenity I guess in their book was not really "prompt" (it came about 1 hour after check in). I was fine with the delay. Anyway, the gentleman delivering it apologized for how busy he was and said he had upgraded our wine. Yow - a full 750ml of a 2000 Napa reserve cab. It was great! We are wine lovers, so this was really appreciated.

I took a walk around the golf course and the property. It was very cold when we were there but it looks beautiful and in better weather would be a great place for outdoor activities. There are tennis courts. The new spa was still under major construction (must be a little delayed, since the signs said "opening December 2008" and it was December 21). Will add a nice touch when completed. BTW, some posters have mentioned highway noise. As long as you are facing the golf course, I can unequivocally say this is a non-issue.

This was an excellent stay, with many nice Hyatt people and a beautiful, well maintained property. Absolutely no service failures of any kind. We recommend this place. ^