emofeng

Yeah. the Park Kings have terrible view. There are also a set of rooms that face a giant tree and some slight construction...those are probably Park Kings as well. Below are the upgrade costs that I received a couple days prior to check-in. I booked under a Park King and was thankfully upgraded to a City Harbour View via Explorist status. There was also a cruise ship 3 of the 4 days that I stayed there. It was fine and did not obstruct the CBD view.

City Harbour View: AUD150
Opera View: AUD250
Park Deluxe: AUD300
Opera Deluxe: AUD670

danger

My recent two night stay was wholly on points and so I was booked into a park king.

A room wasn’t ready for early check-in but I ended up getting in about three hours early. The hotel was showing as full on my first night so when I was escorted up to my room the only upgrade was to a larger king overlooking Hickson Rd. It wasn’t directly facing the concrete, however, and it was actually possible to see the bridge. The room had a definite damp smell about it but after 24 or so hours I had either gotten used to it or it had disappeared. I agree with others’ comments that the TV is ridiculously small, both for the room and the brand. (The tiny TVs were my first and only ongoing gripe about the Park Canberra.) The king bed is low to the floor. There was a round table with two dining chairs plus two large single-seater sofa chairs near the window. A walk-in closet featured a safe. The minibar was fairly large and not surprisingly expensive. Hotel-branded bottled water was available and replenished during the evening turndown where, strangely, the electronic drapes were not closed. The bathroom was large and reminded me a bit of Canberra. There was a deep soaking tub and large walk-in shower with two heads. The vanity was perhaps a little tiny but perfectly usable and the toiletries are Bergamote. What was very odd was the bathroom door. It was cheap and completely different from the other doors and furnishings, resembling a pantry door with just a little nob and no ability to lock. It was entirely out of place and almost seemed like something that had come up from the storeroom to make do for a few days.

I was pleased that service was less Australian five star and more Asian five star. It was clear that staff had been trained to a higher standard and the professionalism showed through. There was eye contact and smiles and uniforms had For example, I walked out of my room one time to find a cleaner doing some vacuuming. The cleaner turned off the vacuum cleaner, said hello and waited for me to disappear in the elevator before starting again. I had my shoes shined and they were done nicely and returned quickly. The porters and concierge were particularly helpful, as was service by the pool. I also received a handwritten note from the GM.

The description for my room (and I think all of them) on the website includes “Daily amenity”. However, that turned out to be false. There was none.

There were a couple of negatives, though. One evening I enjoyed a drink in the lobby bar. Instead of offering me, the lone guest, another drink, the waiter spent his time with his back to me dusting bottles of alcohol. (On the topic of drinks, a particular Australian beer was $10 at the hotel but $14 at the rooftop bar at the Regency.) And on one of my mornings it took 25 minutes to have my order taken. The restaurant was busy but certainly not full. Then my pot of tea didn’t come. On the second morning I ordered a second pot and it was delivered with a second strainer, second strainer holder and second milk jug. The waiter even left the first lot on the table. Silly. Food, however, was very nice and the buffet is reasonably extensive for a Park. It wasn’t entirely clear to me but I think my top tier breakfast benefit was one item off the menu as well as the buffet (or at least that’s what I consumed). I asked but was told the breakfast benefit could not be taken as room service.

Although it has quality equipment I found the gym to be too small for a Park. There’s also been an attempt to cram too much in. There are three or four treadmills an immediately behind, squeezed in between them and the window, is a rowing ergometer. Free weights are also very limited. And while I appreciate cold water being available it really shouldn’t be bottled in this day and age; a filtered machine is surely more green. On the subject of green, the little card by the bed said linen is laundered daily. I really find that stupid. Unless you’ve soiled the damn things I really don’t think linen need to be changed more frequently than, at least, every third day.

The pool area is very nice although it’s not exactly relaxing given the howling trains that pass over the bridge. They do play music to numb the sound which does help. The pool itself is a little small and I suspect it would get quite crowded on a hot Australian day. But there are plenty of sunbeds and the views are tough to beat.

One final thing I found interesting was the advance email from the hotel. It stated “As a loyal World of Hyatt Globalist member you will receive the benefits in line with the program during your upcoming stay”. Translation: ‘if you’re expecting two bottles of free water, you’re in for a surprise!’. It definitely could have been worded better.

Oh and one other point. The Wiki says the hotel is four stories but I'm pretty sure it's five.

m0hamed

The fridge in the gym is where the bottles of water for pool guests are also stored.

danger

Interesting. There was a separate fridge poolside when I was there. I grabbed a bottle from there myself. On top were some magazines and newspapers as well as sunscreen which was good (although sadly not required during my stay).

JetAway

Yes, it does sound like they opened up a normally closed-off room for your points stay. Frankly, I'm not sure it speaks well or poorly of this hotel. In any event, do you think you got "value" for your points with this stay?

danger

Hmmm. Interesting. It didn't occur to me that that might be the case.

I'll see if I can dig up a photo and post it.

In terms of value for points, good question. Certainly my stay wasn't as enjoyable given the location of the room. Of course, I could have overcome that by paying for a better one. If I had to compare I would say I would prefer to spend the points in Milan or possibly even Paris. I think I probably did get value or my points, if only given the upwards of AUD800 a night being asked for (albeit for a better room then what I was in). I'd be interested to know what the room rate would be for the room I got. It's absolutely not worth anything like $800. So, yeah. I guess there are better use of points if this is what you end up with.

JetAway

I don't think those rooms are "sold" on the open market but are instead used for corporate contracts and point stays like yours. It's sort of like being assigned the "pilot's room" at a luxury safari lodge.

jasmians

Does anyone stayed here has email address for real person for front desk or manager? I can't seem to find it. Thanks.

m0hamed

This email is Guest Services [email protected] and is monitored 24x7.

jasmians

Thanks. Got reply back with menu of room pricing for upgrades. I'm debating to change hotel and going to marriott. Marriott with Gold will have more hope..

chongl

What would be the best way to get here from SYD with an infant in tow other than a taxi or Uber? We will not be bringing our car seat so we will need a service that can provide one. Looking at Google Maps suggestions for public transportation options, I need to hop on a bus at the domestic terminal which looks awfully far. I contacted Bub's taxi service and received no response. The hotel is also able to arrange for a slight premium. Looking for suggestions please...thank you!

footastic

Anyone do the NYE thing before here? Just got the flyer - looks to be pretty spendy (min 5 nights).

stargold

Looking at the video footage of the fireworks, it struck me that somewhere as middle of the action as PHS is not in fact the best location for NYE. You would want to be slightly away from it so that the fireworks unfold in front of your eyes, not just above your heads.

That, and it's quite a ridiculous amount of money.

m0hamed

oziyal

Looking for thoughts on a cash vs points stay here coming up next week (1 night). I initially booked a points stay when rates were around $750-$800 but they've now fallen as low as $486 given the off season. Questioning whether it's worth spending 30K points at a value of about 1.6 cents per point. I could book a Prive rate for about $500 and receive breakfast and $100 credit. I'm only Discoverist, so likely will be put in a interior-facing Park King but revenue Prive rate would likely guarantee a Harbour View room. Not super enthused on spending $500 outright but it seems like the points would be a waste unless I score an upgrade on the points booking. Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!