Okijames

I was looking forward to our 3rd stay in 18mo at the Andaz Maui this week. Our first visit was the best by far despite a few hiccups expected of a newly opened property, the second was a little less impressive missing little niceties like comp flip-flops and a slip in service level, now I am to expect letter-of-the-law Diamond benefit enforcement as an excuse to nickle and dime guests. I've canceled my reservation and staying elsewhere.

FWIW...

-I have qualified as a real Diamond for the last several years straight, and real Platinum years before that, not faking it.

-Looking back, on-property spend averaged $400/day, so I'm not exactly freeloading.

-I believe servers do the same work regardless of the meal being comped or not and deserve a gratuity, paid by the customer. IMO the meal is comped, the labor is not. Tipping can be awkward with comped meals, especially when a bill is not delivered, as was the case at the Andaz. I always made sure to leave a cash tip, even if that meant running back to the room for cash which I tend not to carry when on property. So again I'm not looking to freeload.

Trying to give the benefit of the doubt here. If guests skipping out on gratuity is part of the issue driving management to devalue elite benefits, how about this... Deliver a bill showing the full regular cost, less the comp benefit, and zero balance. This allows people to 1) recognize the dollar value for gratuity calculation purposes, and 2) pay the gratuity via room charge and earn points.

In the mean time I'm staying elsewhere, I'll give you another shot in March.

hailstorm

OK, I acknowledge your splendiferousness. You are a superior person, and a beacon of hope for the human race. IKWYA!

It's just a shame that I can't comprehend how any of that is germane to a discussion of Diamond benefits at the Andaz Maui.

mattolo

They did give us a letter, but it is more general about the resort mixed with a few statements about the benefits for Diamonds. I would prefer a more specific letter stating EXACTLY what we will receive. And the problem is that at least for the spa access, our letter is not consistent with what diamonds who stayed in the previous few weeks our reporting. Those who stayed >1 month ago reportedly got spa access complimentary every day. For those that stayed ~ last week it was spa access for one day per person. Now in our letter it says "As a valued Diamond member, we will be providing a 10% discount on your spa experience". So either 1) the Diamond benefits are constantly being downgraded, 2) they are offering different Diamonds different things, or 3) the benefits are just not being explained clearly enough.

Our breakfast experience at first was very confusing. I did not really know what was included with the free pantry breakfast. For instance, when we sat down my wife immediately ordered us two cappuccinos. But wait - cappuccino is not included on the list of options for the pantry breakfast, so will we have to pay for those? Therefore the breakfast was a little stressful for me, although my wife told me to relax (and rightfully so - it's really not worth stressing out about this while on vacation.)

The pantry breakfast is definitely better than what we would get in the lounge at GH Kauai, yet the extra options included with the more expensive buffet were always taunting me as it seems everything I like (pancakes, bacon, breakfast pizza, omelet, etc.) was on that part. And in the back of my mind I know that just a few weeks ago this would have been included for free. My wife however loved all the fresh fruits, smoked fish, etc that was part of the free pantry breakfast. She convinced me to relax and just do what I want for the rest of the week - which will probably be getting the upgraded breakfast for me and her getting the free option. So really breakfast was still good, but just confusing and a little disappointing if you've been following this thread. And BTW we weren't charged for the cappuccinos . Gratuity was however, another question. It was not added in and I was unsure how much I should (could) tip without going over the allowance (if there is one?) and getting charged for it. We fully expect to have to go over the final bill very carefully here when we checkout.

Overall our stay is good, and this is not meant to be a negative review, but just my honest thoughts about our experience so far. The staff has overall been very helpful and friendly. I will try to post more updates as we experience more of the resort.

MikeFromTokyo

I prefer to tip in cash in most cases. That way the money goes entirely and directly to the intended recipient. In most cases staff prefer to receive cash.

hailstorm

Doing that should be trivial (the Hyatt Regency Waikiki is an excellent model for how to do this) The hard part appears to be getting all of the staff on the same page. Answers to simple questions tended to be quite different depending on who you asked.

And I would prefer the hotel to pay the staff a decent wage so I don't feel pressured to subsidize their lives.

Colin

.....

hailstorm

That still won't be the end of it. There were three additional mistaken charges that were not on my folio that appeared as charges on my credit card later on that needed some additional attention to get taken off. This left me with an approximately negative $350 balance on my Hyatt credit card, which is somewhat inconvenient.

Is that really an option? Seems that they would anticipate us freeloading Cubic Zirconias having one person order the full breakfast and then splitting it among the rest of the unwashed masses in the group, and thus make the upgrade an all-or-nothing deal.

biosurfer1

Of course they do, so they can skip out on paying taxes.

mattolo

No it doesn't feel like the servers are being breakfast police at all. As someone else mentioned, the people on the ground are very friendly and accommodating, but the nickel and diming decisions seem to come from higher ups.

I would say about 50% or more of the guests at breakfast seemed to be ordering from the "deluxe" buffet. I wonder if these are people who money is not an option, are Diamonds "upgrading", or if they are guests on a breakfast rate that includes the deluxe buffet (I think this still hasn't been answered - if booking a breakfast rate gets you the limited or full buffet). I'm guessing very few FTers would book on a breakfast rate at this property

peteropny

I'm asking that we discontinue the discussion about the new breakfast policy, unless there is new developments to the situation. It is certainly disappointing and doesn't make much sense but speculating about who is eating the pantry vs experience breakfast or discussing the tipping won't change the situation. We've been primarily discussing the breakfast for about 3 weeks.

Let's refocus the discussion on the property itself.

Thanks!!

Peteropny - co-mod - Hyatt

LIH Prem

Since I never got a post-stay survey, this is the feedback I wanted to provide:


If they are going to limit the standard Diamond breakfast, the choices should include eggs of your choice made to order (omelettes included) plus a side dish. I was offered that and accepted it, but I'm not sure if I was just given a nice comp or not. I did appreciate the flexibility I was shown, either way.

Also limiting the juices seems like a silly move. The property has a juice master who does nothing but explain the juices he's chosen for the day to people. He's getting paid regardless if we can order the fresh juices or not, isn't he? Is the property really saving that much by limiting the juice selections?

"Running out of" smoked salmon seems to be developing into a theme. Smoked ono, etc should compliment the smoked salmon to provide more choices, not less IMO.

There was and still is (?) some uncertainty if the property participates in the Amex Open savings program. Last time I checked it was not in the property list but other FTers upstream have reported that they got the Open Savings credit on their Amex Open cards when they used them here. I'd like to see that list updated and the people at the property should get some training about it, because when I asked GPC to check for me, they came back and said they didn't know what it was. I also got the same reply at check-in. (Did we ever get a definitive official answer about it?)


-David

ThreeA4Me

Anyone use the complimentary car service in Wailea area? Seems like a great solution to going out to dinner, no?

asher13

Yes we had them drive us / pick us up one night for dinner. Not sure if there are specific times it operates but we didn't have to wait more than 3-5 minutes on either end (they have multiple Escalades they use at the shuttles). They give you a card with the hotel's number to call when you are ready to be picked up.

747

Can you park for free at the shopping village or golf club and use the shuttle service to go to your car as needed ?

Maui4me1

You are joking right?