footastic

Hey does anyone know if there is an up charge for a 3rd person on award stay here ? I don't see it mentioned anywhere but I have heard of a 100€ fee at some other park hyatts on award stays.

Thanks !

igneous

I booked my 2 free nights here from the chase card, in the city harbor king room. I'm just a lowly platinum status member, do you think theres a chance I could get them to upgrade me one of the opera house view rooms? Theres a eStandby upgrade link in my reservation email where I can do it for $75 AUS, but I really dont want to spend an extra $150 to do this. Hell I'd be happy to get that room for 1 night, but I dont know how possible it would be

peteropny

Harbor City King category - you can see the opera house but not staight on - unless there is a big cruise ship docked at the International Terminal outside - then you might not see much.

I doubt you would get upgraded - this property is not known for being very generous with upgrades. Also, consider yourself lucky you were able to book the Harbor City category - the Park King category is usually what awards book into (these have no view - but from reports, these rooms are allocated as a last resort especially if you have any status with Hyatt - you're likely to get the Harbor City category).

777 global mile hound

I would spend the money.This is a very special property and even Diamonds don't always get the upgrade.
Don't chance it if its important to you do it. Though through the decades the hotel has been especially good to this Diamond
This is one hotel to splurge at if you want to make it a highly memorable experience.
Cheers

igneous

Thanks yeah I was quite surprised myself. Maybe it had to do with me calling to book it? I tried to book the 2 free nights through the hyatt website and it wouldnt let me. I remember seeing that park king room show up as an option online, and I think thats the room they stuck that "pointsguy" blogger in at first from his recent post, it didnt look too impressive.
Yeah I'm thinking about it. Its the start of a really long trip for me though, and I've getting all these points and free stay options to cut costs a bit. Will definitely be thinking about it more

m0hamed

It's amusing you don't want to pay $75 p/n for an upgrade you're not entitled to, on two free nights at one of the most expensive hotels in the Hyatt chain, and certainly the most expensive average room rate in Sydney.

igneous

I was just asking if it was possible, never did I imply that I was entitled to it. This forum is amazing, but christ the elitists are endless.

m0hamed

As are those who want everything for nothing.

RichardInSF

Seemed like igneous asked a reasonable question to me. I would join those who say you should go ahead and pay the extra at this hotel, $75 isn't that much and while there are no guarantees, it does have the possibility of turning a nice stay into a memorable one.

Duke787

Just checked in here after moving over from the Sheraton on the Park and have to say I agree entirely - while the view from the City Harbor Room is decent (I can see 1/2 the opera house while sitting here on my balcony and the whole of downtown) I think it's important for those on CC or award stays (I'm on a 2 CC + 1 award @ 22k stay) to temper their expectations.

Certainly it's a nice property I just think it's important for those basing their experiences on the pictures and trip reports they've seen to temper their expectations.

I will have to wait and see through the end of my stay whether I think it was worth moving vs. booking all 5 of my nights in Syd at the Sheraton on the Park (which would've been 48k w/ the 5th night free vs. 24k for 2 nights + 22k @ the PH + 2 CC nights @ the PH) but certainly I had much higher expectations here and feel as though they are slightly below that while I had lower expectations for SOP and thought the place exceeded my expectations (I think the SOP location is actually better than PH - obviously the views for the PH are better but the SOP is better located in CBD).

I will say the service is pretty good for the most part. There were a couple snafus to start and one of the ladies here dealt with them swiftly. First my internet did not work and when she came up to bring my welcome wine she looked at it and immediately brought me a new modem for my room. Second the chairs on my balcony were soaking wet from the rain this morning. Yes I know rain happens but if you've got a guest arriving, especially a Diamond one, you would think you'd make sure the chairs were dry. I literally sat down without thinking and found myself sinking into a puddle of water. She also called someone and had a new chair brought up immediately.

On the negative the assistant front desk manager, who walked me to my room, failed to even mention breakfast options until I asked him as he was exiting the room.

RTW1

It's really all about having reasonable expectations..... But internet not working ( and having it fixed instantly) and a wet chair on a balcony should not be major snafu's for anybody. And the location couldn't have been a surprise either :-).

peteropny

+1 - I think that expectations for this property has been running too high - due to rates and the iconic property that it is. While expectations should be higher than say a run of the mill city HR in the US, its probably to the point that few stays will ever meet the expectations of many. Also, I think that the culture is Australia is a little more laid back than say in NYC.

SeaRaptor

Just completed a couple of stays here that were quite memorable (for all the right reasons). We book-ended a cruise out of Sydney with nights here, and love the property.

We burned our two free CC nights before the cruise, and were upgraded to a Harbor Deluxe room with a stellar view of the opera house (room 343, near the southern end of the building). The concierge desk took great care of us, helping arrange tickets to see "Noises Off" at the Opera House and setting me up with a local barber for a quick shearing before we sailed. They also were incredibly awesome providing restaurant tips and recommendations. I had arranged for some goodies to be in the room to celebrate our anniversary, and they had taken care of those without any issues.

The highlight of the stay was definitely a Rocks tour offered by the concierge on our second day there. It was a walking tour listed at 90 minutes; we just made it back from the Opera House tour in time to go, only to discover that we were about the only folks who had signed up! We were met briefly by one of the guest services managers who told us that this was a new program they were introducing and that he would like any feedback we had, then we set out. The tour was conducted by a member of the concierge team who had grown up in the Rocks, and knew the area quite well. Rather than give us a history tour, this one was mostly focused on interesting places to visit, eat, or grab a drink. We had a great time and spent well over 2 hours out and about the Rocks, and were greeted back at the hotel by the aforementioned guest services manager and a glass of champagne. We dropped him an e-mail later that evening with some minor suggestions and high praise for his staff, and when we got back from our play later that night they had framed one of the pictures from the tour and left us a thank you note. When we went to check out the next morning, rather than cabbing it over to the cruise terminal with all our bags, our friends from the concierge desk put us in a hotel car. It was a short hop -- only a 3 minute drive -- but it was still greatly appreciated.

When we returned after the cruise, we were on a C+P booking. At check-in, I was offered an upgrade to a Harbor Deluxe room like we had previously for $120 extra per night. I took it, given that this was a special trip for us and the extra space would be welcome. We ended up in room 145, which had nearly the same view as before, just a little more constrained by a large tree on that end of the building. We didn't mind too much. Had another great stay. When I went to check out, it didn't appear that they had charged me for the upgrade. Win-win, I suppose; I would have been happy to pay it.

Every member of the staff that we interacted with was professional, helpful, and polished. The property itself has an excellent location and is in good condition after the renovation. This was our first experience with the Park Hyatt brand. They've set the bar pretty high, in my mind, and we are looking forward to a return visit.

Duke787

After a full 24 hours here I'm ready to alter my statement in some ways and accept any flames that result.

I stand by my comment that anyone booking on points or CC nights must temper their expectations. Even if you're a diamond you're almost never going to get the rooms with the unobstructed opera house views. For me the problem was reading and seeing those had me expecting that so I was letdown when I didn't and let what in the grand scheme of things were minor issues cause an immediate negative impression.

However the service here in the past 24 hours has been unbelievably good. The concierge has gone above and beyond numerous times already including searching for alternate options when the originally suggested place was closed for a private function tonight.

Even more impressive - the guys and gals who I've interacted with picked up on my love of wine and when I returned to my room this evening I found a complimentary bottle of Shiraz (not the welcome bottle mind you) with a handwritten note that mentioned they'd picked up my love for wine and they wanted to give me an Australian Shiraz to enjoy tonight and it's not just some run of the mill bottle - it appears to be a ~$30-35 bottle of Shiraz.

Feel free to flame me on my OP - I'm willing to accept it was a bit dramatic and unfair - but it would be even more unfair of me not to come back and report the incredible service here

SeaRaptor

I'm glad to hear your experience has improved; it's more in line with my recent visit and impressions of the property.

We must have been pretty fortunate to get excellent opera house views on both of our stays. Maybe the fact that we were only there on weeknights had something to do with it.