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!