blase

This is long, so please bear with me.

Last Xmas, I told my mom I was going to take her to London and Paris in September. Using my miles and hotel points, I planned on taking her on the cheap. We initially were only going to do a few nights at each property, but then our wish list grew and we decided to stay 5 nights at both the Churchill London and PH Paris Vendome.

I encountered several "shortages" though in my planning, so my mom offered to help me out using some of the awesome credit card bonuses that are out there now. So we both got the Hyatt card for a total of 4 free nights, then I had enough Hyatt points at the time to only book 3 nights at either one of the properties. Oh, one other important point - I am not Diamond anymore , but should be again by the end of August.

So my 5 nights in London (9/14 - 9/19) are booked like this:
* 2 nights using MY free Chase nights - since I was diamond when I earned these, they will be in a suite.
* 3 nights paid (648 gbp total) using senior rate. I plan on using a suite upgrade for these. So hopefully altogether we should be able to stay in the same suite all 5 nights.
I got in on the $900 Hyatt gift checks when they were being offered for 52500 points through the Cap One Venture, so I will use these upon checkout.

The 5 nights in Paris (9/22 - 9/27) I *thought* were booked like this:
* 3 nights using points (66k total)
* 2 nights using my mom's Chase free nights
So we won't have a suite here, but you never know what could happen, they may upgrade me due to being diamond (although I am not holding my breath).

Having said this, I switched around the reservations several times, enough that I got myself confused and somehow, didn't reserve 9/22!! Only reserved 9/23 and 9/24 using points. And once I realized this error, of course I went to check availability for 9/22 - not only are there no award nights, but it also says the hotel is completely sold out. However it says due to being Plat (I think), they are guaranteeing me a room at their lowest rate, which is 630 euros!! Unfortunately, I can't afford that!!

So I am at a loss as to how to proceed at this point, and if anyone can think of any solutions for me, I would be forever grateful. I do have a bunch of Hyatt points that I've earned since then (about 150,000), so that's not the issue, it's just that I can't use them - unless there's a way to use more points to guarantee a higher class room, or something like that?

The one good thing is that I have enough PC points for the Intercontinental which is right down the street... if worse comes to worse, we can book 9/22 there and then switch over to the PH on 9/23. But being ladies with luggage, and as my mom is 65, I really don't want to make my mom move hotels if we don't have to (it's one thing to switch rooms within one hotel, completely another thing to move hotels entirely!!).

Any ideas?? I am up for the most farfetched of ideas at this point!! My mom is a little irritated at me for screwing this up.

Mary2e

I would book the I/C for 9/22 as a fail safe and call daily to see if something opens up at the Vendome.

4aks

I assume you can leave your bigger bags at the Vendome a day early when you arrive in town, just take a day bag over to the other place for a night.

limelight

hmm.

looks like things changed at le vendome even as you were writing. a quick search for a one-night stay on 9/22 now shows suites at hyatt daily rate, and park queen (base award room) available in a 'culture' package @ 850 euros.

so they're being a bit cheeky and holding the queen room back from award inventory, though it's actually available.

option 1: give gold passport a call, explain the situation, and get them to call up vendome... ask them to release that queen room for award booking, for that night. i've done this with success before. like i said, they're being a bit cheeky. + as you already have a reservation there... seems quite likely. if no luck, try again in a day, with a different agent.

(once you've got the room, you can talk to vendome, and get them to switch it to a twin. enough persistence, + they'll do this.)

option 2: book a backup room at the ic, and check back. almost always, even with hotels that show sold-out up to a week in advance of one's preferred dates... cancellations happen, and last-minute (7 days to 24 hours) award rooms open up. keep an eye on vendome, and you'll very likely get a last-minute award room, in my (limited, truly - but always found this) experience.

have the best of times in paris and london...

SanDiego1K

I have found the staff at the Vendome extraordinarily helpful. I would write directly to them, explaining the problem, and asking if they can notify you if a room becomes available for the night in question. They have always gone beyond anything I have a right to expect when in a somewhat similar situation.

blase

Thanks. Any special email I should use, or will the contact email on their website suffice?

RichardInSF

I second this. Same goes for the Hyatt Churchill too, by the way. You might consider calling the front desk at the hotel directly and explaining your situation, preferably during normal business hours in Paris. Using Skype this will cost you less than $1 most likely and very possibly get things resolved right away.

blase

Another issue for me right now is that since I am currently a platinum, and still need 12 more stays, I'm banking a lot on being able to upgrade my London room to a suite once I requalify for Diamond status. Is there a minimum # of days in advance that I need to request this? I probably won't requalify til the end of August and I arrive in London on Sept. 14th.

Also, I'm mattress running for the status. :hide: So basically I'm spending about $70 a night at 12 nights to get breakfast and *maybe* an upgraded room. Some people would say I was crazy (most of my friends think I am), but i have my reasons. For one, I want to make this upcoming trip as nice for my mom as possible... who knows when/if we will be able to travel like this again. I know the free breakfast at PH Vendome and Regency Club access in London will make the trip more special for us, as well as whatever room upgrades we get. In addition, DH and I are planning on doing Hawaii next year and hopefully Australia in early 2013, for which the diamond status will come in handy.

So I don't mind spending the +/- $1000 I need to requalify, although with no promos or G bonuses now, it really sucks with no bonus points (I plan on getting the WN bonus with the next five stays; at least that's something!).

I tried earlier in the year to get a Diamond challenge, but they emailed me back and said I was ineligible as they matched my status back in 2009.

RichardInSF

I don't think the Churchill allocates rooms much in advance. Also I don't think Diamonds are guaranteed an upgrade to a suite, just to club level, but this hotel has been pretty generous in that regard, according to the thread in this forum.

hautecouTours

You're not crazy... I stayed at the PH Place Vendome in May and the breakfast was amaaazing and at 48euros/p would cost you more than half of what you'll spend doing your Diamond challenge anyway. Plus, you'll be Diamond until 2/2013 and likely use your benefits again and again. Call GP and explain that your dilemma, that it's a special trip for your aging mother, etc. etc. etc. I was put in a Park King Suite even before I became Diamond probably because I said I was staying there for my birthday. It was. Really. My Birthday.

price123

At the Churchill you could try using points to upgrade to suite. I know you're paying senior rate but I have been successful with that. Booking.com has cheaper rate than daily rate (same as senior rate) so you could get them to match it (be persistent but don't expect the extra 20% off) then use points.

Diamond status will last until feb 2023 so is worth doing a run for that price

DeltaFlyingProf

Did you mean 2013?

price123

yeah 2013. Problem with using an iPad without glasses on!

stephem

I'd second the suggestions that people have made for getting a backup room for that night.

But I would constantly check, or as others point out call the hotel and see if they can help you by giving you first dibs on anything that opens for that night (I've never tried this). I have had good luck with this property, last year I started building out 2 rooms for 6 consecutive nights with FFNs and although it took a lot of work I finally got it all cleared so that we had a completely free stay. Toward the end we had a couple of expensive paid reservations tucked in, but given the overall value of the entire stay we were prepared to pay. At the very last minute, those 2 nights opened and we used FFNs and cancelled the paid reservations.

stevens397

Give any thought to going to the HR Madeleine instead? Not the PH but not too shabby and also a nice location.