SethLevy

This is my first trip report. However, given that I have benefited from the many trip reports on FT, I wanted to at least share my experiences. As with other trip reports, I will post as I travel. My itinerary is as follows JFK-LHR-TXL-HEL-BKK-NRT-JFK. All flights are in J Business class.

Thursday, May 6, 2004
AA104 JFK-LHR
Type of Plane = 777
J Class Seat 10G

I left my office at 5:15 pm and arrived at the airport at 6:15 for my *:00 pm flight to London. Check-in at terminal 8 at JFK took about 10 minutes, despite the fact that no one else was waiting in the business class check-in line. The three J class agents were busy assisting the Y class check-in agents. The line for coach was extremely long at least 100 person deep. I should note that I opted to use the J class check-in given that the F check-in counter was also busy. At JFK, I believe PLT, EXP as well as F can use the F check-in. After I check-in I glanced over at the F check-in again-no line now with 3 agents.

After check-in I went to the Terminal 8 Admirals Club. The agents were very pleasant and it was nice to see a familiar AA faces. Seems the staff of the AC at JFK never really changes, which is great. I watched CNN as I enjoyed the two beers I had obtain with my 2 free drink coupons. Sadly, other than pretzels and some cheese, no other food is available at the AC at JFK (except for sandwiches for purchase). The lounge was surprising quiet however I believe both the 2 earlier flights to LHR, the 6:15 to CDG and the 5:30 to ZRH had already departed so only passengers for LHR @ 8pm and some domestic passengers were in the lounge. At 7:15 I proceeded to the gate prior to the AC announcement of the flight.

Security was tight as usual and although there was a special line for premium passengers, the economy class X-ray stations were closed so all passengers were forced to use the 2 open one, usually reserved for premium passengers. Nevertheless, I was through security with 10 minutes, the folks in the other line were not so lucky as an entire crew cut in front of them.

Boarding began just as I arrived at gate 9. FC and BC were called. Coach was 100 % full, so there were a lot of passengers blocking easy access to the boarding door. On board I was greeted rather briskly by the FA wanting to see my boarding pass, so she could tell me how I got to seat 10G. BC had 12 open seats including all the middle of the middle seats. I was happy I did not have anyone sitting next to me. However, I was somewhat disturbed given that I had tried to change my flight from the 11:30 flight to this flight bout three weeks prior and could not do so. It was only 3 days before that AA released the seats, obciously, their computer is not able to really predict load.

Take-off was fine and about 25 minutes into the flight they started the food and beverage service. Menus were passed out and five minutes later dinner selections were taken following the FEBO method. I opted for the veal. Here is the menu:

Champagne
Perrier-Jouet “Belle Epoque” Vintage Champagne

White Wines
Guenoc Winery Guenoc Valley Chardonnay
Kenwood Sonoma Country Sauvignon Blanc

Red Wines
ChteauDuhart-Milon Rothschild GrandCru
Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot Noir

Sherry
Emilio Lustau Sherry

Dessert Wine
Graham’s Vintage Port

Dinner

To start

Warm roasted nuts to accompany your preferred cocktail or beverage

Appetizer

Antipasto tartelette, with Kalamata Olives, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and ham

Salad
Fresh seasonal greens with a creamy Romano Cheese Dressing or Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Bread Basket
Assorted Warm Breads

Entrees
Veal Osso Buco
Cannelloni
Hunter-Style Chicken
Shimp and Scallops with Rosotto
Vegetable Plate

Dessert Fresh Fruit and Cheese
Triple Caramel Ice Cream

The veal was OK and I skipped the desserts.

After the meal service lights were turned out just after individual bottles of water were handed out. I watched movies on my personal computer until I fell asleep. FAs walked up and down the aisles several times during the night to see if you needed anything. Also, contrary to reports the FAs on this flight ate and slept very well in the FA cabin, which had only 3 passengers. As of flight departure time, aa.com indicated that no F class award seats were available on this flight, hummm?

About 50minutes before landing, a light breakfast was served as follows:

Continental Breakfast
Fresh seasonal fruit with yogurt, cereal and assorted breakfast breads

We landed exactly on time and parked at a remote stand. FC and BC deplaned first and we had our own bus. Passport control was a mess. Fast Track took about 15 minutes, while it looked like coach passengers were in for at least a 2 hour wait to get through the controls. Bags were coming out just as I reached the baggage claim area. No preference was given to priority tagged bags.

With my bags in hand, I was on my way to the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then a short taxi ride to the Hyatt Regency, The Churchill.

All in all, this was a nice pleasant flight, especially given that the seat next tome was free. I do believe that AAs FAs are trying harder to improve their image.

Hyatt Regency London, The Churchill
Portman Square, London
Check-in May 7 check-out May 8, 2004
Room 834 on Regency Club level

Check-in was very clumsy in that as a Diamond, you must first check-in at the lobby front desk reception, they will then call up to the Regency Club, however the attendant is not always there. As such, I had to wait in the lobby for about 5 minutes until they located the RC agent. I was then walked up to the RC on the 8 floor. Surprising, my room was ready despite the fact it was only 8:30am.

The RC agent, asked me to fill out a long check-in form, the ones that are usually pre-printed. Rather than accept a business card, they required that you fill in all of the information.

It was at this time that the agent indicated that the record showed I was a Diamond member, but that because the hotel was new, they needed to card to actually verify my status. I told her the card, which for some reason I did bring on this trip, was in my bag which was still with the bellman. She told me to bring it to her when they brought my bags. When I questioned her what would happen if I did not have my card, she indicated that they would either change my room off of the RC level or require that I pay the extra fee for RC access.

Needless to say, I took the card to her when I got my bag. However, I had to go back four different times because each of the first three times, she was not at her desk.
All of this back and forth took about 45 minutes. SO BRING YOUR CARD IF YOU INTEND TO STAY HERE.

My room, 834, was just off of the RC lobby. The room was basic. Very clean but otherwise nothing special. They do have duvets and the bed was very comfortable. The window did open, which was good since the AC was not working. The temp in London was about 65-70.

It took two calls and 45 minutes to get foam pillows from Housekeeping. I believe the manager brought them up with a nice apology.

No Diamond amenity no free bottled water. However, the RC lounge was just right outside my door so I could stock up on beverages. Very nice staff in the RC.

Because they were still serving breakfast when I arrived, I helped my self to a nice continental buffet. Service was great and the room very traditional English. At 10 am, only 2 other guests were in the lounge, with a wait staff of 3.

Evening cocktails were nice, all the drinks you could ask for. Food was not as nice, but hey I was in London. They did not charge me for my guest, who was not staying with me at the hotel.

I checked-out around 6:45 am so I had to checkout downstairs. The RC desk was closed and the lounge must not open until sometime after 7:00 am. I was a little surprised.

There was only one bellman/doorman on duty so I had to carry my bags myself and he only helped when he saw I was having trouble opening the door to go out. At which time he opened the door for me and called me a cab, but made no effort to assist with my three bags, two of which were rather large. Like an American I felt obligated to tip, 2 pounds (for what?).

Overall, I would rate my stay a 7 on a 10 scale, 10 being the highest. For the rate I paid 135 BP plus VAT, I was pleased. However, I was considering returning for stays in July and August, but the lowest rates appear to be 195 and 225 plus VAT. No way. The hotel is not worth those prices.

Finally, I think they need to get better with their treatment of Diamond members. While I was lucky to get a room on the RC level, apparently several other Diamonds were not extended such courtesy as I heard the RC agent apologizing to at least two people for the hotel’s failure to place them on the RC. And they should at least offer Diamonds complimentary water in the room as a Diamond amenity, since they don’t seem to have one.

Seat 2A

Hey Seth!

Great job so far on your first Trip Report. Nicely detailed and menu transcripts as well! I'm certainly looking forward to the rest of your report. Happy travels!

FLYGVA

It seems, that this will be another detailled and interesting trip report. I am looking for the rest of your report.

SethLevy

May 8, 2004
BA 982
LHR-TXL
8:55 –
Seat 1D
A319

My BA flight to Berlin TXL was scheduled to depart from LHR’s Terminal 1. It looks like they have done some serious renovation of this terminal. In any event, while hard to find, there is a new dedicated check-in area for premium passengers including elite One World members. Once I found the area which was almost deserted at 7:45 am, I checked-in for my flight. No one was in line ahead of me, so check-in took all of 2 minutes with two pieces of checked bags.

Prior to check-in I had used the on-line check-in feature and secured my seat 1D. However, I should note that my ticket was booked in January. At that time I had requested seat 5C. Due to a change in my ticket, with respect to an AA flight, I inquired whether I still had seat 5c. the AA agent told me in Feb that no seat was assigned, she then requested 6C. When I went on line to print my itinerary off of the aa.com website, I noticed my seat had been changed to 3D. I called BA and they told me that I should not use AA to assign seats rather I should do it through “manage my bookings” on BA’s website. When I logged into the BA site, it indicated no seat was assigned, so I took 5D. I noticed there was no 6D. 2 weeks before the flight, I checked BA’s site to see if a seat further up was open, I was surprised t o see that I had been moved to 3e a middle seat on the three seat side, there was no more a row 5 and all other seats were taken. When I used the online check-in I found out that I had once again been moved to 1D and that there were now only three rows in J class. Lesson to be learned, monitor your seat assignments on BA and remember they are apparently not final until you use the online check-in feature.

The BA lounge was very nice and there was a very good selection of snacks, including continental breakfast, cereal, pastries, croissants, rolls, jams, etc. There was a nice beverage selection as well, many red and white wines. Nice juice selection. The only drawback of the lounge is that the seats are organized in a maze like fashion making it a challenge to maneuver around the various areas.

They did not announce the TXL flight for some reason so I was surprised to see on the board that it was in its final boarding (because they were using a bus shuttle to the plane). I made it to the gate and boarded the bus, it was raining out and passengers were stuck in the rain as they waited for passengers to enter the plane via the rear stairs. The front door was not used for boarding so I had to walk the entire length of the plane to get to 1D. The flight was full.

We left right on scheduled and except for a passenger who wanted to sit with her friend in J class, despite having a coach ticket, boarding and departure were fine. The FA handled the situation very well indicting that unfortunately she was not allowed to give upgrades on the board that the Gas handle all upgrade requests.

Shortly after take-off a hot breakfast was served with rolls and beverages. I did not eat, but it looked like an omelets with ham and sausage. There was fruit and yogut as well.

The rest of the flight was nice and we landed right on time. It took about 15 minutes for the bags to be delivered, which no attention paid to the priority tags. Hard sided bags came out first, then soft bags.

Grand Hyatt Berlin
Pottsdamer Platz, Berlin
Check-in May 8 and Check-out May 9, 2004
Room 529

After a rather quick taxi ride, I arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Berlin (Pottsdamer Platz). I have stayed at this hotel before. Along these lines, the last time I stayed here as a Diamond, my room was not ready until well after 3 pm, past the normal check-in time, I was not offered a room on the RC level (Grand Club at this property) nor was I provided with access to the Club or a complimentary breakfast. I did not receive a Diamond amenity and 5 call to housekeeping for an iron and board were ignored. When they finally brought the iron up, they neglected to bring a board. Moreover, they failed to give me my requested wake-up call. All in all not a very good stay. As a result, the manager offered me a free night at the hotel. Thus, this was my free stay.

Check-in was pleasant and quick. Again, my Diamond status was not recognized, I was not offered a room on the Grand Club and no complimentary breakfast was offered. To the hotel’s credit, I was offered a 6 pm late check, which was great given that I had a 7:10flight the next evening. I did not receive a diamond amenity.

The room was clean and comfortable and the AC worked very well. I noticed that I did not receive a complimentary newspaper the next morning. Overall the service was fine, but absolutely no recognition for Diamond status. I did receive a nice card from the manager welcoming me back to the hotel.

While I could not really ask anything more given that this was a management comp stay, one would have expected that they would have made a special effort given that service failures were what originally prompted the free night stay. Nevertheless, as far as free nights go, I was satisfied. However, I doubt if I will return to this hotel, given the opening of the new Ritz Carlton just down the street.

May 9, 2004
TXL-HEL
AY 918
A320
Seat 2C J class

I arrived at TXL at 6:00pm for my 7:10 flight to HEL. Check-in was at gate 12, however no agents had arrived. There was a line of about 25 passengers waiting for the agents to open the check-in gate. Once open, there was confusion as there were 2 signs for J class. However the passengers in line did not care, they checked-in at the Business class stations and refused to move for J class passengers, eventually, I was able to get the attention of the agent, who immediately checked me in as a business class passenger and directed me to the BA lounge by gate 15.

The BA lounge was nice and airy and had a good selection of drinks. The food included chips and cheese. About 6:45 I proceeded to the gate, where after a short security screen, I took my place in line for boarding. Coach was full, so I waited until all passengers had exited the boarding area. Nevertheless, there was a long wait on the jet-bridge. Once inside, the plane, I took my seat, 2C. There were only 8 J class passengers so 2A was empty and I moved over.

Seating configuration on this A320 is 2-3 with 3 rows in J class. Pitch was tight. Just before take-off hot towels were passed out and menus given.

For such a short flight I was surprised to be handed a printed menu. The menu was in three languages, I only recognized 2 English and Finish. The menu read as follows:

Salmon Tartare in pink peppercorn sauce with rye bread crumbs

Roast Veal Wrapped in Serrano Ham with sage sauce, sun-dried tomato and parisienne potatoes

Blood Orange Mousse with coffee and cognac and chocolate rosette

Coffee, tea

Suffice it to say the food was not good. They actually hand you the tray with everything on it. All items still had their covers, including the foil over wrap on the veal.

The drink selection was good and abundant.

The rest of the flight was smooth and we landed right on time in HEL.

Very nice airport.

Carfield

Thanks for the wonderful report so far!

It is great... about AY, the menus are part of AY new European business class improvement program beginning in May.

Look forward to the rest of your report!

Carfield

SethLevy

HEL-BKK
AY 97
May 9, 2004
MD-11 J Class
Seat 1H

As I stepped off my AY flight into the HEL terminal I was very impressed with how clean and modern the place appeared. It was a short walk to passport control, which is just between the domestic and international gates. As I was walking to passport control a man wearing a t-shirt and jeans approached me, showed me a card, which he claimed was his airport ID and asked to see my identification. He said he was airport security. I questioned him as to why he was not wearing a proper uniform and he state he was undercover. I again asked to she his ID and he produced the card again. I must say, anyone could have made up this card and of course it was not in English so I had no idea what I was reading and his picture was not on the card. In any event he asked to see my passport, when it was clear he was not going to let me leave until I produced my passport, fearing he would grab it and run (I am usually not a paranoid flyer, but this was a very unusual situation), I told him to step back and I would hold up the card for him to view. I also told him that we would need to go see a uniformed officer if he need to handle or hold the card. He looked at my passport and said thank you and goodbye and he walked away. I am not sure who he was and do not know if he works for the airport or not. What I do know is that assuming he works for the airport, such behavior and appearance are unprofessional and should be rethink by airport official. Given that he was inside the security checkpoint, I must assume he really did work for the airport.

I approached passport control, there were two very pleasant looking male officers, both in very official looking uniforms. The one I approached had his sleeves rolled up so you could see he had two very extensive tattoos up and down his arms, he looked mean, but gave I warm smile as I handed him my passport. I tried to ask him about the man I had just encountered but he had no clue as to what I was saying or just did not care, he just looked at me and smiled as he waved me through.

Not much was open, save for a snack bar and regular bar and Duty Free store. I went to the AY lounge just next to gate 31, apparently they is another lounge Fresh something that was also open, but I had been advised to go to the one by gate 31. The agent was very pleasant, they were maybe 5 flights left to leave sometime between 11 and midnight so not many people were in the lounge. They did have a cold buffet, which was rather picked over, it consisted of salad with a variety of dressings, some salmon and chicken skewers they was a selection of various of other antipasto as well. The dessert consisted of some custard filled pie. All in all not very impressive, especially given that they serve such a light meal on the flight to BKK given the late departure time. However, there was a wide selection of drinks including beers and wine. No champagne.

At about 11:05 (flight time was 11:35) I left to lounge to have a quick look at the Duty Free shop, alas it was closed so I walked to the gate where boarding was almost complete. Apparently they do no not announce the flight in the lounge or I missed it.

There were 2 lanes for boarding on for coach and one for business class, both were empty. As I boarded the plane I was a little surprised that the plane looked rather old. However, it had a warm feel to it as the lights were dim and the cabin (albeit old) glowed. I was assigned seat 1H which was right in front. They was ample leg room. Seating on this MD-11 was, with respect to the first 2 rows of J Class 2-2-2, thereafter 2-3-2. The two middle seats were empty but aside from 2 other empty seats the first section of J was full. The person sitting next to me was reading a Finnish newspaper so we never said anything to each other. While I do not usually like talking to my seatmate, I am finding that many people don’t even acknowledge the person sitting next to them. Oh well. FAs offered pre-departure drinks of OJ, water and Champagne. The drinks were served in rather nice heavy glasses.

Before take off we were handed two large menus, one for supper the other with wines. No amenity kits or bags were handed out. However, socks and eye shades we distributed by the FAs from a basket. Toothbrushes and razors were in the bathrooms.

We left about 30 minutes late because of “refueling”. Announcements were made in Finnish, English, I believe German and Thai. However announcements could have been clearer.

About 25 minutes after take-off the in-flight service began with drinks and crackers. They give you a very small bag of crackers with your drinks. Drinks were abundant and the FAs very pleasant. After that they wheeled out the meal carts.

The menu read as follows:

Supper

Smoked pike-perch and smoked salmon mousse
And/or
Chef’s soup

**

Pike soufflé with crayfish sauce
Or
Roasted lamb with balsamic sauce, gratinated potatoes

**

Raspberry sabayon

Breakfast
Fresh fruit salad
Spinach-filled crepe with cheese sauce

Wine List:

Champagne Champagne Comte Audoin de Dampierre Family Reserve Grand Cru 1998 (not the best)
White Wines
Chassagne-Montrachet 1998
Illivio 2000 (Italy)
Red Wines
Chateau La Pointe 1999 (Pomerol)
Kevin Arnold Shiraz 2002 Michael Ian (South Africa)
Sweet Wines
Chateau Guiraud 1997
Niepoort 20 Years Old Tawny, Port Portugal

The wine list was in 10 languages. The dinner menu in 6.

I opted for the soup, which was a creamy onion. Very tasty and the lamb which was surprisingly filing. I passed on the dessert.
They bring you a tray set up that includes the appetizer and dessert they then bring the hot item. They use real silver, including knifes.

After the meal service everyone settled in to sleep. The seats are not very comfortable and do not fully recline, in fact, recline is limited. Foot rests do not extend all the way.

After about 5 hours of sleep, breakfast was served and then we waited for our on-time arrival in BKK.

After a short walk to passport control, bags were waiting in the priority area.

All in all the HEL-BKK is a very quick way to get to BKK from Europe. However, the meal service, lounge quality and seat comfort are just not comparable to BA or QF out of LHR. Had the flight been any earlier or during the day, I would have been very uncomfortable.

opushomes

Seth:

Many people enjoy reading reports such as yours. Also we sometimes visit after every post to see what has been said. I suspect that each visit gets logged by the new boards.

Personally, I only post on those threads that I feel I have something to contribute. Speaking only for myself, I think it is often gratuitous to post a one-line "atta-person" (must be PC) for a thread. Some of us like to read about others experiences but really do not feel it is necessary to tell the posters that it was a good experience or chime in to raise our post count. Based upon your post count I suspect you fit into this category.

Post as you please, but be assured that some of us appreciate what you have to say without hopping in and writing platitudes.

FlyingDoctorwu

So was this a RTW trip- seems good but the allainces aren't matching up it seems- looking forward to hearing more... especially about NW NRT-JFK- I'm interested in their new WBC on the 747- so if it's got it I'm very interested.

jpatokal

Interesting report! But a few comments:

Welcome to Finland Finns don't much go for small talk and it's not unusual to (say) walk into your own office in the morning and not say a single word to your coworkers -- or not reply if one of them does greet you.

The third language was in all likelihood Swedish, which happens to be the second official language of Finland.

And you're right, AY's C product is less than stellar, but you should see their long-haul Y. Many Finns basically refuse to fly AY, partly because of the poor quality (compared to most Asian airlines), partly because of the poor value for money -- being the only direct option from Finland to basically all of Asia (incl. NRT, BKK and SIN) , they charge a significant premium for the privilege. Finnair's FFP is also notoriously stingy...

SethLevy

Conrad Bangkok Hotel
Check-in May 10, 2004
Check-out May 14, 2004
Room 29051 (Executive Floor Suite)

As I walked through customs, I looked for the Conrad hotel sign, no problem he was right there waiting for me with the usual Thai smile. Just a short wait while he called for the car and off I was to the hotel. My flight arrived at 1:30 and I was in my room by 2:30.There was no traffic in Bangkok. Upon arrival at the hotel, I was promptly escorted to the Executive Floor 29, where I was meet by several smiling Thai women and one Western woman, Julie, the Manager of the Executive Floors.

I was given all of the information I needed about the amenities on the Exec. Floor then shown to my room. The room was actually a rather large suite by American standards. It had an entry foyer of which was a guest bathroom, a large living room with sofa, two chairs, honor bar 4 seat dining table work desk and credenza. There were 2 floor to ceiling windows in the living room another in the bedroom, which contained 2 additional seats a sofa in front of the bed another TV. There was a hallway leading to the bathroom off of which there was a large walk-in closet, the hallway had another huge floor to ceiling window, all had nice drapes, the bathroom was enormous and contained a large bathtub by the windows, which had wood blinds and a huge walk-in closet, there was also a 15 inch TV above the bath-tub. The toilet was in a separate enclosed room. All living could be dimmed or otherwise adjusted.

The suite was simply perfect. However, I note that the suites at the Peninsula are more luxurious and usually available at the same rate, except there are no club benefits.

The lounge was exceptionally well appointed and spacious. It served an American breakfast buffet, which I did not go for as well as afternoon tea, and evening cocktails and appetizers. Drinks are available all day until midnight.

Housekeeping was great and really did a good job cleaning the room twice a day. The soap is great and of course I took all of the unused ones so they would leave more and except for one time, they did. They also left bottles of water for you every where. Ice was refreshed twice a day as well. The AC and all other electronic gadgets in the room were in great working order.

A word about Julie. She was great! Great English and always willing to go that extra mile for any guests. She really is a gem and any hotel in Bangkok would be lucky to have her and her very well trained staff.

A small but important comment about the location of the hotel and accessibility to the BT train. Simply put, you will need to take a taxi everywhere. The walk to the train is long and it is very hot outside. And although there is a shuttle, it is not really convenient and very hard to find on your return from the BT station. ON this the Peninsula has the Conrad beat as they provide a water shuttle directly to the train station.

I would rate my stay at this property as a B+, but for the transportation issue it would be rated a A- (suites could have been more luxurious).

Northwest Airlines
BKK-NRT 6:15 am
Date May 14, 2004
747 Seat 73B

Of course I needed to make a decision Thursday morning. To sleep or not to sleep. To sleep perchance to over-sleep and miss my 6:15 am flight to Tokyo on NW. Well I went out, stayed out to 2 pm, so I went with no sleep. I think this was a good decision.
I left my hotel, the Conrad at 4:15 and arrived about 4:45 at BKK. There was a line of about 7 people waiting to check-in at the J desks. Check-in was smooth and I was handed my BP and invitation to use the Tavern Lounge. When I finally found the lounge I was not impressed, I was pointed to the FC side, which was just a roped off area. The lounge staff were brisk and not very accommodating. Bored by the lounge, I decided to stop at the KFC to quell my stomach from earlier that night (OK, yesterday evening). After a quick pass through security I was at the gate in no time. Boarding had already started so I went right on board.

I was struck by how worn the plane looked, including the seats as I entered the plane. Although clean it just looked and smelled old. I climbed the stars and took my seat. I must say that in 38 years of flying, this is the worst J class seat I have ever sat in. It was old, not very comfortable, I believe almost entirely manual, offered poor support. Seating in the upper deck was 2-2 with the old WBC seats. I was appalled.

The FAs both Asian looked bored and only offered the minimum level of service they could get away with. After rushing through the breakfast (everything was crammed onto the tray) they took their seats not to be seen again until the pre-arrival snack. Breakfast was cereal, omelet or fried fish and noodles. Not sure what the snack was. Given the seat comfort I found it very hard to relax and sleep.

Overall, I would rate this flight a D for total experience including set comfort and attitude of the staff. Really for a flight this early, they really need to offer better seats. Shame on NW.

SethLevy

Park Hyatt Tokyo
Check-in May 14, 2004
Check-out May 17, 2004
Room 5103

This is a very difficult report to write on the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Nevertheless, I wanted to communicate the details of my recent stay at this hotel. Suffice it to say I was less than impressed with both the quality of the service and the attitude of the hotel’s staff.

This was my fourth visit to the PH Tokyo. Prior to this stay, I have always been impressed with the quality of the facilities and rooms, as well as the graciousness of the staff and superb service. My stay this time was the complete opposite and at times service was simply rude, which is absolutely unacceptable for a hotel of such international reputation and “caliber”.

My GP award points reservation was made in January for my May 14 arrival. As the reservations were made online at hyatt.com I reserved a Park King room.

On May 14, 2004, I arrived at the hotel on the NRT Airport Limousine Bus about 5 pm. I was surprised to find that there was not one bellman or anyone for that matter to greet the bus. It was not until I started to carry my bags into the inside lower lobby that someone appeared. He immediately assisted me with my bags. However, he then proceeded to walk me to the elevators and then informed me I needed to go back with him to the bellstand as he could not leave the front. At this point a female bellperson appeared and, although the hand-off was clumsy, she was extremely nice. I was then taken to the 41 lobby check-in area where instead of the usual in-room check-in, I was asked to have a seat until someone could check me in. While I certainly can understand waiting to check-in when there is a line, there were four desks in the lobby area with 4 attendants and only one was checking in folks. After about 5 minutes one of the other agents checked me in. Surprising there was no welcome back this time as I was handed the key to my room and asked if I needed help with my three rather large bags. Even the female bell person looked surprised at such a stupid question, especially since she was standing there holding a cart with my luggage. She escorted me to the room which was on the floor 51. Room 5103 a rather large Park King room. I was impressed that the hotel at least honored the reserved room type even on a free night. However, as in the past, this hotel will never upgrade guests, even Diamond members. There was no Diamond amenity given.

With respect the room, I was a little surprised to see that it was showing its wear as the carpet is in serious need of replacement and the headboard was very worn. Moreover, I assume in an attempt to stop guests from taking the soap, the hotel staff now unwraps the soap before placing it out. On my first night, I was not sure the soap in my room was fresh. However, when I requested another bar of soap from the night turndown staff, it was presented to me unwrapped. While I understand the apparent need to save costs, this was in bade taste.

Throughout my stay, I noticed that the staff were not as friendly as they used to be, I noted that it took the operator several rings before picking up the phone, I was told by two callers that the operator had disconnected the calls to hotel, front door personnel were scarce, room service orders arrived cold, towels not always replaced and the list really goes on. One particular is I had was that the hotel staff (housekeeping in particular) lacked all discretion in deciding when to contact a guest about room cleaning. Because of business needs, I would often work all night sleeping late the next day. Housekeeping would call every 30 minutes to see if they could clean the room. Finally, I gave them a time. Indeed, they arrived right on time but I was not yet ready from them, I told them to come back. Five minutes later housekeeping called, then another 5 minutes later. Finally I said just come, 1 minute later there was a knock on my door and at least five maids were waiting outside to clean the room. I took this as a complete lack of respect for my privacy. The next day the same ritual occurred. It really became absurd. A card under the door inviting me to call when I wanted my room serviced would have been sufficient.

Last straw was the hotel’s absolute failure to allow me a late check-out. The evening concierge told me as I was buying my limo ticket the night before that I must be out by noon. When I called the next morning I was told that under no circumstances would they extend a late check-out. I note, my request was for a 1:00pm check-out, which is not unreasonable. They would not budge. However, when I called for luggage assistance at noon, it took 22 minutes for them to send someone up. The excuse given by the hotel was that someone was booked in my room and they would be there at 1 pm. When it was time to leave the hotel, of course there was no one at the front door area and 3 guests waiting to get their bags and bus tickets before the bus actually arrived. When I told him I needed to claim my bags and pick-up my bus ticket, he rudely responded that he “knew what I wanted”.

The price for a small regular room at this hotel is in excess of $400 plus tax, Park Rooms cost more than $500 and suites could set you back more than $1,000. Discounted business rates bring these room rates down to the $300-400 range. However, with these prices, the service issues I experienced are simply unacceptable. I am not sure why such service issues occurred. Perhaps the hotel is stretched to capacity due to it being featured in the movie “Lost in Translation”? Perhaps the hotel has guests who are willing to accept such services lapses at $500? Whatever the reason, while, I may certainly take advantage of another stay at the hotel on a FFN or GP award stay, sadly I would think rather long and hard about spending actual money to stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo in the future. Given my past experiences at this hotel, this conclusion is both disturbing and sad.

I am sure many people will respond indicating that their stays at this hotel were great and problem free, I urge you to consider that my comments reflect only my experience. However, if you are contemplating staying at this hotel and would have an issue paying $500 a night for poor service, consider my comments and choose your hotel wisely.

Finally, a word about Hyatt service in general. Unfortunately, I have noticed some severe lapses in service at several of the hotels I have stayed at recently, including the PH Los Angeles, GH Berlin, Hyatt London and Hyatt Newporter. I hope this is not a sign of what presumably valuable guests of Hyatt should come to expect in the future. Perhaps Julie, the Hyatt employee who monitors FT, can spend her time not just offering canned apologies, but in really addressing with the hotels directly the service issues highlighted in this report and in the numerous other threads on FT?