First, let me say the Stbeeman Family loves this property, and we will be back. We've stayed at the property three times this year, and each has been very enjoyable. Our most recent stay was New Year's Eve 2009 on FFN credits. We booked early through the Hyatt Diamond Line, requesting 2 adjoining rooms (one King, one with Doubles) and zero feather products in the rooms (Mrs. Stbeeman has a violent go-to-the-ER allergy). Incidentally, "feather-free" is part of my profile (will be significant later). Once the reservations were confirmed, I called the hotel to speak to the Director of Rooms, Mr. S-- who I had met previously, to try and work out a few special details for the stay. His assistant was wonderful, super helpful, and ensured we had adjoining rooms with a view of the Tower of the Americas where the evening's fireworks display would be. On New Year's Eve I called the Hyatt and spoke to a front desk manager to ensure all the details were correct. They lost the record for "feather free" so we spoke about correcting that, and confirmed the view, etc. About five hours later we drove down to check in. That's where the problems started.

First, we couldn't get to the hotel. While 250,000 people converge on San Antonio's Hemisfair Park for the event, that was not the problem. The GH valet simply could not process cars quickly enough. The police had to block one entrance to the hotel with a cruiser, resulting in a completely different traffic pattern. Normally, we exit I-37 on Commerce Street, make a left on Bowie, and head straight into the property - a 5 minute exercise. In this case, it took over an hour, because the valets couldn't keep up and the police kept directing folks to circulate. Once we did get onto the property, there were 2 valets there, 20+ baggage carts, and no bellmen. No wonder they were backed up!

Check In went great through the Diamond VIP position. I confirmed with Ms. G-- that we had adjoining rooms on 12th floor (1263, 1265) and that they were free of feather bedding. She arranged for Mr. S-- to greet me, and the two of them offered our family a series of additional amenities since we did not get dessert at the Grand Club on 23 (it was closing as we arrived). The personal attention was outstanding, and both were very apologetic about the valet issue (this has been a problem on 3 of our four stays at the property, 2 this year).

After greeting the bellman at our room (who did not offer any assistance with ice, etc. in spite of a $20 tip), Little Beeman and I headed over to the Grand Club just in case it was unlocked: I needed coffee, and Mrs. Stbeeman wanted a bottle of water. It turned out Ms. J- was on duty, who recognized me from our prior stay and went to the kitchen to get out cheesecake, cookies, and snacks that were already put away. She gave us a handful of waters, some coffee, and some sodas and helped us take it back to the room. Absolutely wonderful service and WAY beyond the call of duty!

By the time we got back to the room, Mr. S-- had sent up a bottle of Canvas Merlot, two scotches (a fine Oban 14 - yes they know me there!) and a sample of cheeses and fruits. The gentleman who delivered everything filled our ice buckets and wished us a Happy New Year. Much toasting, snacking, and such ensued while we waited for the fireworks display. When midnight struck, we were treated to the finest display I've ever seen, including Boston's and DC's. Sitting almost adjacent to the fireworks was simply awesome, and doing it in the comfort of a wonderful hotel room with snacks and booze was A-OK!

Then it was time for bed (0100) and we found - dah da dum! - the bedding was all down and the pillows were feather pillows. We called the front desk immediately to ask for assistance correcting the situation and the Housekeeping Manager, Mr. E-- came up and personally rectified the situation. I explained to him (after he asked) that we had made the request a week ago, confirmed it same day, and been assured the room was feather-free at check in. He was aghast, apologized, and within 5 minutes our room was made up all over again. We slept great - even the party crowd in 1250 didn't affect our rest (they invited me and Lil' Beeman to come over, but he's only 8!) as the walls are thick and the doors fit tightly.

Breakfast came via room service the next morning...after an hour wait! When it arrived, the order was wrong but a call to room service had a corrected order at the door in about 10 minutes ^^. The food was decent, but not outstanding, and the bill was $71 for eggs & bacon for 3.

Upon checkout, I did mention the problems (valet, feathers, wrong breakfast) to the front desk. They offered to comp our entire stay, which I told them was unnecessary. Every problem we had was rectified, and it was taken care of quickly by caring, super professional and friendly staff. New Year's Eve is a tough night on a property in this location, and they handled it pretty well. Plus they offered us lots of extra service (extra Grand Club access after closing, personal assistance, extra amenities, etc.). ^^ Plus we had a great time! ^ So no need for compensation. I did ask them to work a bit on the attention to detail in the kitchen, but that was it.

I do believe there are some issues with attention to detail at the hotel, and staff training for the Valet is definitely in order (a consistent problem at this property is inability to get in/out due to backups in Valet). I know Mr. S-- is in discussion, as is the GM, with the City to get some help with traffic lights and patterns, but the real problem (as I see it) is insufficient staffing. There are never enough people on duty to keep up with the traffic flow in/out of valet.

We would highly recommend this property, both for business travelers and folks on vacation. The location is great, the property is new and modern, and the gym/pool are incredible. Food is average, but the Riverwalk is right around the corner as are a dozen great restaurants (PM or email if you want tips) - no need to eat at the hotel unless you want to. Most importantly, the staff are great: very caring, very supportive, and they go out of their way to work issues when they inevitably come up.