Well, I’ve been an RA now for about 3 months and I’m finally getting around to posting my RA experiences I’ve had over the past 2 months. I feel like I’m now a member of “The Club”. ^ Please be gentle on me, for I was an IC virgin just a year ago. And this IC LA stay was only my 2nd IC stay ever. But after tasting a bit of the RA lifestyle, I would rank RA status at least on par with, BUT PROBABLY ABOVE, all 3 of my other top-tier hotel statuses (Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, and HH Diamond).

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?

Yes. I’ve stayed at this property previously when it used to be the Park Hyatt LA and it was interesting to compare how I was treated as a Hyatt Diamond vs. IC RA. As I mentioned above, this was my first IC stay as an RA. I wanted to try out the IC Beijing when I was there a few months ago, but my RA referral cert took longer to process by IC than I expected and my RA status didn’t post until my third to last day in Beijing so I opted for the St. Regis Beijing instead, which ended up being a good call as I got a nice large Statesman Suite there anyways. ^

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?

I booked the cheapest available room which was called a “Superior Room” at an AAA rate of $207 per night. Since I still had my Amb signup BOGO cert I used it here for the second night since it was about to expire. I got the same room upgrade as an IC RA that I used to get as a Hyatt Diamond member, which was to a Jr. Suite. The weird thing is that even though this room is a Jr. Suite (IMHO), it is called a “Deluxe Room” on the IC website. It was only a one category upgrade and although it is not technically listed as a “Suite” on the IC website, I was happy with the room.

- How are the rooms?

It was about 600 Sq. Ft. is my guess with a separate sitting room (with couch, chairs, desk, table, etc) separated by French doors from the bedroom. You can access the bathroom (with separate tub and shower) from both the sitting room as well as the bedroom. Also, there are two different balconies (one can be accessed from the bedroom and the other from the sitting room). Oh yeah, there are two TVs also.


- How is the exec. lounge?

They don’t have an Exec. Lounge here unfortunately.

- What was good and what was bad?

Since this was my first time experiencing the free IC RA minibar perk, let’s just say……….^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. I felt like a kid in a candy store!!!!! I drank a little bit the first night and then I had them replenish the sodas and beers and a couple of the mini liquors the second day. The fruits and water were also a nice touch I thought, and I asked for a cheese/cracker platter for my amenity and they brought me that.
The only bad thing about this hotel is that the parking went up $5 since it was a Hyatt, now its $35 a night, quite pricey IMHO, but there is no street parking around like there used to be on that street right between the hotel and the Fox Studios so you’re basically stuck paying the $35 with no other option. Oh yeah, the free breakfast for Diamonds at the old Park Hyatt was certainly a nice perk as this hotel used to have a fantastic breakfast buffet, one of the best of any of the US Hyatts. Too bad IC doesn’t have free breakfast for RAs, but that free minibar perk more than makes up for it IMHO. Plus I was a little hungover after over-indulging from the minibar the night before so breakfast wasn’t actually missed much at all………..

- Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?

Excellent value for the money, especially with the BOGO factored in and all the free booze I had!! ^ I would definitely return to this property. Oh yeah, one other great thing about this hotel: Even though I only technically paid for one night (I used a BOGO cert on a 2 night stay), I still received the hotel’s “Triple Bonus Points” promo (ie, an extra 4k PC points) which requires a 2-night minimum. ^ Thanks IC LA!!