bbbb

That sounds just like the suite I got there on my last stay. Very large with a great water view. I hope to get it again next month. ^

divaof travel

I am currently at the hotel burning some points on a suite. Haven't stayed here much in the last 10 years, as we lived in San Diego for most of that time. They gave me a conference suite, which is large but the furnishings are unimpressive. The bedroom is a standard king (connected) with standard bath. It would be nice to have a suite with a more luxurious bathroom, like the one I stayed at in NYC last weekend!

The staff is competent, but this is a huge hotel, and always seems very busy. The location is OK for San Diego, but it is really a convention center location. San Diego culture, restaurants, nightlife, etc. remain primitive. (I feel I am entitled to say that after living here for eight years.)

I would add that this is the best gym that I recall having ever used at a Hyatt (and no cracks about how it must be my first !)

UNITED959

I have to agree with this. Just stayed there Saturday night for a weekend getaway...the common areas are very nice -- the lobby is exceptionally impressive.

The room was very average...nothing more than a doubletree at best. Not something I'd expect for the "Grand Hyatt" designation.

Service was HORRIBLE: Drinks at the pool took 45 minutes, extra towels took 45 minutes...and when I called valet, they said they were too busy and wouldn't take call-ins.

I've stayed at the Omni down the street, and that hotel was just as nice...minus the price premium.

SEA_Tigger

The older Harbor Tower does indeed have very dated-looking rooms, even on the Club levels. The new Seaport Tower's accomodations are much nicer, but still won't be confused for an Asian GH or even the Seattle GH (which is furnished in the Asian style).


My friends report the same, which is why we now stay at the Marriott Hotel and Marina up the street. I myself have never had bad service at the Manchester, but I will note the Marriott is always superlative with their service.

acalispice

I think this is a decent property...Always seems to be busy. The RC is nice. The property being adjacent to Seaport Village is convenient. THe rooms are what make this property decent rather than spectacular. I, too, was not impressed with the suites I have stayed in.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Preface: At Hotel for five nights. Third stay at Hotel. Room, tax and internet paid by corporate.

Rate: Negotiated corporate rate. Out of our block I knew I had a Regency Club room as a guarantee. The rest was all about status for this stay also.

Transportation: SanDiego1k and her hubby were great and met me at SAN. We had lunch together before being taken to the Hotel. This morning with all going on I decided to take a cab before the shuttle service our group arranged started running.

This year as in the past I did not rent a car. The parking is expensive so to speak and you can walk around the area so dining. Cabs are very reasonable. We did take the bicycle cab and this was a rip. What is a $5 cab ride is $30 for three on a bicycle. Something to avoid.

Check-in: This was a difficult process. Upon arrival I was told I had been upgraded and in addition to my Regency Club room given an Executive Suite connector. The connector was ready but the room was not. With regret the guy who occupied the room did not check-out. When I returned later in the evening I was advised he decided to stay another night. I was given the keys for the Presidential Suite on 31 in the Seaport Tower. The tram running below and the noise of the train made this Suite a non starter. I was so exhausted with the noise I turned the keys in at 5:30 AM to the front desk the following morning. Forturnately I could retreat to my Suite connector room and wait out the guy holding the bedroom portion. He left and all worked out. As a courtesy and for the inconvenience I was given a significant amount of HGP points which I think already hit my account. Thank you. I was offered an amenity card and picked points. My rooms were on 32 in the Harbor Tower.

Perks: As noted. The Club has been remodeled making room for a little more people. I used the Club for a couple brief meetings but other than that did not have any of the offerings. The staff there is very helpful. Please note near the check-in area is a kiosk for getting boarding passes. A very nice touch.

Room: As my room was on the Club level it had upgraded so to speak amenitites. The room did not have slippers. Plush robes. My Executive Suite connector room was smaller than last years suite parlor combination. I enjoyed this Suite more than last year. It seemed to have a more elegent feel. You have a double door and enter onto carpet. There is a very small closet to the right and a bathroom with shower to the left. This wall also has your connector door. You walk into a living room area. The entertainment cabinet has a cd/dvd player. You have a large comfy chair, sofa desk with chair and another chair in this area. The room is divided by a piece of furniture with a lamp. The other side has a dining table with chairs which will seat up to eight. The kitchen has a frig and sink with lots of cabinets. I hosted drinks in the Suite for three evenings and everyone enjoyed the views. Very comfortable.

Communication: HSIA was $9.95 for 24 hours. I was able to use wired and wireless in the rooms. With regret the system does NOT work in the meeting room areas. This is a separate charge. A flaw in my opinion.

Gym: A good sized gym. $5 is you are NOT a Gold Passport member. Just let the attendent know.

Spa: I booked a couple treatments for ladies in our group. In the morning when the newspaper arrives at your door it has a cover on it produced for the Hotel. In the lower left hand corner is a 15% spa discount certificate. Used that!

Eating venues: We had drinks, lunch at Sally's and found the service to be timely. I thought Sally's was pricey for lunch. No one in our group reported slow service at the pool.

Local markets: I never made it to the market myself. Spouses made out liquor runs to replenish stock. With the new TSA rules we left tons in the frig.. Apparently there is a small liquor store very near the Hotel. There is also a Ralph's within easy walking distance.

Location: Excellent.

Nagatives: The soap in the bathroom and shower in the suite had been used. It took a call and a follow-up call to get it changed. My brief stint in the other suite had a opened Scope. The inability to use HSIA which we were paying for in the meeting areas was bad. This morning checking out the system was not available. I was also not able to view charges on the tv my entire stay. The front desk also did not have any change.

Closing: I once again have never been so happy with status. Stuff like this puts retaining status with Hyatt back on the list. Now if we could just get a FFN promo. The negatives were minor and the room inconvenience were more than made up for by the Hotel. EXCEPTIONAL!

peteropny

We just had a bad stay at this property - the following letter explains the problems encountered:

Mr. Ted Kanatas
General Manager
Manchester Grand Hyatt
One Market Place
San Diego, CA 92101
[email protected]

Dear Mr. Kanatas:

I had made a reservation for 2 rooms for the above stay since June 2006 (or thereabouts). During the stay, starting with checking-in, we ran into numerous service and staff problems which made the stay bad enough to qualify as my worst Hyatt stay ever (and I’ve been a Hyatt Diamond for 4 years – so that’s quite a few Hyatt stays). The problems are as follows:

1. The reservation was made for two rooms which I was paying for. The name of the occupant of the second room was added a few weeks prior to the stay so that in the event that we did not arrive together, our friend could check-in. After checking in, we found out that the second room was not on the RC floor (which is not a problem); however, the keys also did not access the RC. We went back down to the desk to get rekeyed for access. The young lady at the front desk went and got Crystal, the original check-in clerk who refused to grant access saying that the hotel was full, the room wasn’t on the RC floor, didn’t want the RC to be too crowded and I wasn’t even on the record for the second room (but wrote down the above referenced Reservation Number). These arguments are pretty ridiculous especially given that the convention that was in town (which caused the hotel to be full) is not a group that is likely to have a lot guests that are entitled to RC access (and certainly true since during the entire stay I did not see anymore than 10 people in the RC at any time) and during our last stay at your property, our room was in the Seaport (other) tower with RC access. Also, it is common practice with Hyatt properties to grant Diamond status perks to more than one room when the reservation is made by and paid for by the Diamond member. At the HR Atlanta, two suites were pre-blocked and both rooms given RC access, at the former PH Los Angeles two suites were pre-blocked and breakfast certificates were given for both rooms, and at the PH Toronto both rooms were upgraded and breakfast certificates given for both rooms – all completely pre-prepared and no request necessary. While at the desk, I called Gold Passport Diamond Customer Service who agreed that RC access for both rooms should be given. Crystal, however refused to budge and the whole time displaying a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
2. Regency Club hours were indicated in room literature to close at 10PM, however, we tried to get some bottled water at 9:10PM only to find that it’s closed at 9PM. A call to guest services was met by the attitude of “what do you mean 10PM, it’s 9PM”. A request for a call from the management was not met during the stay. Also, the RC offerings were the worst seen at any Hyatt property in our experience. Morning offering was only 3 types of cereal, dried out smoked salmon, small amount of tomatoes & mozzarella cheese left, limited selection of pastries, and juice. That said, the RC attendants were the most pleasant staff members encountered during the stay.
3. On Sunday, 5/20, morning no newspaper was outside the door at 9AM. Guest services responded to the call stating that I had not requested a newspaper. I have never been at any Hyatt where you had to specifically request that the “generic” newspaper be delivered. This is contrary to the information stamped on the upper right of the newspaper which was finally delivered, that you can get a credit on the folio if you request that the newspaper be NOT delivered.
4. Signage (both on the external part of the garage and also immediately upon entering the self-parking area in the middle of the garage) for parking indicates that handicapped parking entrance is to the far right of the parking garage; however, I was repeatedly harassed for parking in the handicapped area (with a valid handicapped parking card) saying that area is valet only. Now, isn’t handicapped valet parking an oxymoron?
5. On 5/24, housekeeping knocked on the door at 8AM asking if we were checking out that day. I realize the need to turn rooms over but isn’t normal practice for there be some report given to housekeeping of departures that day and if they were wondering about timing, shouldn’t they contact the front desk to determine if a guest has checked-out?
6. Each day after housekeeping service, the HVAC setting would be adjusted up and turned off and window opened causing the room to become stuffy and uncomfortable everyday. Also, turndown service was always very early and consisted only of replacing towels and drawing the drapes.

Some of these problems may be acceptable for a brand new property or one that had undergone a major renovation. However, it is not acceptable in an established property (signage issues especially). The attitude displayed by most of the staff is never acceptable in any hotel especially an upscale Grand Hyatt. I’ve had better service at some of the basic hotel chains like Days Inn and La Quinta Motels.

While I’m still a loyal Hyatt customer since I find most of the properties to be superior, I would be extremely hard pressed to justify a return visit to the GH San Diego. I also feel that compensation of a significant number of Hyatt GP points (12k-15k would be reasonable) is justified for the problems with this stay.

I may be contacted at xxx-xxx-xxxx or peteropny for any additional comments.


Sincerely,

Cc: Karen Smith – Gold Passport Concierge @ Flyertalk.com
[email protected]

peteropny

As a follow-up - Consumeraffairs forwarded the letter back to the property and I just received a call from the Front Office Manager apologizing for the problems and agreed to compensation - so kudos to them for responding very quickly - within an hour.

bbbb

I have had to call the Diamond desk a few times my self from this hotel. They think they can do what ever they want at the Manchester Grand. That said I have also had some of my best upgrades and stays at this hotel. Was any thing done or said by consumeraffairs about your second room not getting RC access?

peteropny

The Front Desk Manager of the property itself contacted me, not consumeraffairs. However, the Diamond Customer Service line indicated that the 2nd room should get RC access when I called from the property at check-in.

Explore

We had a good experience at the Manchester Grand Hyatt recently. Calling the GM's office before our stay, we had a 34th floor Harbor Tower suite blocked for us, using a suite upgrade cert on one paid night (cheap rate) and one award night. When my mother protested the high elevation and floor-to-ceiling glass corridor wall, on account of her vertigo, front desk clerks found us an 8th floor suite overlooking the spa pool, the marina, and the Coronado Bridge. When the neighbors across the corridor made noise, security was dispatched and the problem ceased.

Housekeeping promptly supplied extra robes, and the flowers I ordered through the concierge were delivered. When I needed front desk service during queue conditions, and the GP position was unstaffed, the line facilitator, or another agent, promptly summoned someone from the back office.

The Regency Club staff was excellent. Good hors d'oeuvres and continental breakfast with cold meats, salmon, chopped egg, and blackberries. When the latter ran out, the staff ordered more. Sunday NYT, WSJ, and local paper available. Fantastic views from here and the Top of the Hyatt.

Staff in Lael's Restaurant also very pleasant and responsive near evening closing time.

Great San Diego historical photos in the Seaport Tower lobby. Excellent hotel location near Gaslamp Quarter and martitime museums, and across the street from a trolley stop.

Bostom

Headed west tonight. We haven't stayed there for a while but on two prior stays - one of 'em via Priceline - we were offered nice, high-floor, newly-renovated rooms. I'm Gold Passport w/o any exalted Hyatt status.

Any advice on how to score an upgrade? It's a quiet time of year, the property shows wide-open availability now, and the website shows a corner room that looks nice. Is Regency Club a possibility or a waste of time asking for? A suite? The place is huge and if memory serves I've read reports of some parts/towers to avoid. It's only three nights but we'd just as soon be comfortable.

All advice greatly appreciated.

SanDiego1K

Last year, same period, they had closed the regency club due to lack of staff. It was being reopened past Christmas when they were hosting one of the Holiday Bowl teams.

The hotel has some rooms with stellar views over the water. If you don't like what you get in the first room assigned, ask for another. They are likely wide open pre Christmas.

Warning: The A staff was all off pre Christmas last year. I swear I was down to the C team checking me in and out. It was not a great experience.

shyabrasive

I was there last Saturday night as part of a Christmas party.

I had already used 1-800-CHECKIN, but the front desk was not working well. Same thing when I needed to confirm parking around 3 PM. I sat as the only person in the GP line while they all worked the normal queue.

Checking out on Sunday I learned that 95% of the rooms were going to fill up with Navy for the Poinsettia Bowl. I can only hope they were geared up for that. The GM was working the front door as part of the Bowl committee.

Hard to predict...

ziggystardust

I'm a little concerned about some of these comments we are booked to stay here for four nights in July, unfortunately there is a 'comic book' convention going on when we arrive and avaialbility in hotels around the downtown area is limited. We wanted to stay in the Downtown area as we won't have a car.