MarkP24

Thank you!

qmiles321

Planning on hotel hopping from Park Hyatt next March for stay credits, but cash and points seem to be not available at all.
Do they usually open up availability as the date nears?

MarkP24

For a stay a few months out, I originally found no cash and points availability, then a few weeks later, I found availability. It seems they do open it as the date nears depending on inventory.

qmiles321

Thank you, I will keep checking!

MarkP24

My pleasure! Best of luck. It's really a fantastic property!

777 global mile hound

I'm with you most things considered ^

qmiles321

I was able to make cash and points for both PH and GH and have a question.
There seems to be mixed reviews for the properties, but which proper offers a better suite for DSU? I have one left to use for 2015.

m0hamed

Really? This question has been answered ad naseum.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Just returning from my second trip to MEL this year on UA. I really appreciate the effort made by the GH staff to accommodate early check-in if a room is available. Received very nice upgrade.

It was announced to me they just started serving three hot items for breakfast within the last week. A meat, scramble eggs and steamed/grilled side breakfast veggie.

I much prefer this location and of course it has views on higher floors. I'll continue to stay here.

MarkP24

I absolutely love this hotel, and its fantastic staff!

Here is my TripAdvisor review for my recent stay here:

"My wife and I stayed here for a few days, and as with my previous trip here, thoroughly enjoyed our stay!!

The hotel staff is simply fantastic, especially the hotel Assistant Manager James Alford, Jess from guest relations, and Mona, Bubpa, and Roddy in the club!

The hotel is incredibly well appointed, has a perfect location, has wonderful views of the Yarra River and the city, has a fantastic club, and has a stunning front entrance.

The hotel staff went way above and beyond ing recognizing my wife's birthday with a unique Scrabble game and birthday wishes spelled out on the Scrabble game. There was also a unique Melbourne component to the game.

The concierge and entire staff truly ensure that you feel at home at their EXCEPTIONAL property. They truly made me feel at home away from home.

I can't wait to return!"

IceTrojan

Overall, a fantastic stay here over the holiday break. But an off-experience at check-in almost caused us to walk.

We arrived around 11pm to check-in, already indicating on our reservation that we would be checking in late. Also marked the "quiet room" request. The gent manning the desk started off friendly enough, thanking us for being Diamond guests, but then started showing his ineptness by telling us that we had been "upgraded" to a 20th floor room and been granted Club access as a result.

We asked if that was the best available room, and he said the hotel was booked full (fair enough). So we head upstairs... and find out our room was literally the one next to the elevator lobby. So much for "quiet room."

We head back down to ask for a different room. Same staffer says nothing is available, and that our room (again) was "upgraded" with "club access" (he repeated this several times). I asked how that could be a quiet room, and he admits that he sees our notations, but there's nothing he can do because there are no rooms anywhere, plugging in the "upgraded/club access" one more time.

We finally ask for a manager, who comes out and is briefed on the situation. He looks at the inventory... lo and behold, there's another room available that's not by the elevator. It's just on a lower floor (not a problem) and with 2 twin beds (slight problem). First staffer interjects that taking this other room would not allow access to the lounge, and I finally had to point out to him that Diamonds have lounge access anyway, rendering his point moot.

My wife and I are now faced with deciding between two undesirable rooms. We ask the manager why a quiet room wasn't allocated, which lead to a very interesting exchange, where three things happened:

• He shifted the blame on the morning lounge crew who did the allocations early in the day (so they couldn't find an actual quiet room?);
• Then he started justifying how the first room in fact IS a quiet room, on the basis that it's on a high floor, and that it's late at night so most people are asleep and therefore it's quiet...
• He triumphantly declares that if there were any noise to call him immediately and he would personally come up and deal with the issue himself.

We just didn't want to deal with it anymore, so we took our special high-floor super-secret squirrel club-access room. Needless to say, the room was noisy throughout the night, and especially in the morning, from guests using the elevators and chatting with their companions.

The next morning we head down and ask to speak to someone about our experience the previous night, and are directed up to Mona in the lounge, who apparently was assigned specifically to take care of Diamonds that day. We told her the story, which genuinely concerned her (and she confirmed that our room was NOT a quiet room). She promised to look into it and talk to management. She also did everything she could to make up for the experience, and we were satisfied with the results. The rest of our stay was fantastic, and service was great throughout the rest of the day. We would totally come back.

Lesson learned: Try to check in early enough to avoid the clowns working the night shift.

m0hamed

What was the service recovery?

As far as I am concerned no room in this hotel is quiet, unless you're in a suite. The doors have almost an inch gap at the bottom which allows all noise in the corridors to keep you awake at night.

I too have been assigned a room next to the elevator which amplifies the noise situation immensley. I also find that the water pipes screech through the walls above and next to you.

I refuse to stay here unless I'm confirmed into a suite.

IceTrojan

She moved us into a suite the next day (and since we had planned to be out all day, she arranged for our belongings to be transferred, with new keys awaiting our return). We also received comped breakfast buffets downstairs and valet parking.

m0hamed

Great recovery. The suites are large and comfortable with amazing views.

penegal

I am loathed to check-in (or out) downstairs on level 2. Wherever possible ask (or accept) a lounge check-in on level 31.

The priority line is rarely policed / used as it should be, and the staff downstairs just don't know what they are doing. They seem to regularly give out rooms pre-allocated for Diamonds to other guests, then give Diamonds inferior rooms, they forget to add late check-out, they forget to ask / apply the diamond amenity, and the list goes on.

The lounge staff are generally okay, and Mona is really good at trying to be accommodating with the hand she is dealt.

I know a lot of staff at this property are just starting their career in the hotel industry, but it really shows sometimes. They could do better with supervision and/or training to avoid regular screw ups.