danger

Grrrr. That's great for you and depressing for me.

I've stayed there several times this year and never had more than a Club King. I think one of these private line reps may be the way to go, especially if the Club Deluxe is (as I suspected) the 'best available' below a suite.

m0hamed, do you have a link to the actual suite? I can't find the Ambassador suite on their website.

m0hamed

To me it looks like the Diplomatic on the website. I should state that there is a Microsoft forum at Parliament House tomorrow and the hotel is very busy, in fact several Senators were on my flight from SYD and checked in before me. Like airlines my best upgrades have been when the hotel is 100%.

Keep in mind, however, the PL rep can't force the property to do anything. In my conversations with the GM of the PH MEL, they simply reward loyal guests based on number of nights and stays at the property and within the program.

m0hamed

Some further impressions of the hotel: CBR gets very cold, but the hotel had the heat on the a/c at a good temperature. Amenities are sub standard, even in the premium suites. By contrast, the PH Melbourne stocks Aveda products.

The Ambassador Lounge is tiny, perhaps room for 20 people maximum. Only 1 hot selection, but great variety of Sushi and Sashami. The PH Canberra stocks 42 Below Vodka! Big plus!

Breakfast in the lounge was disappointing, no hot items.

Check out was swift, but would be annoying during peak periods. There is only room to serve 2 guests at any time. Also, the bellboys appear to be wearing Commedia dell'arte clown like costumes. When I was walked to my room it was explained that the hotel is heritage listed so the cannot change the name on the exterior, so it remains 'Hyatt Hotel Canberra' instead of Park Hyatt Canberra.

The biggest issue is mobile phone reception. I with Vodafone, and others on different networks could not get a single bar of reception within the hotel. I was literally making phone calls from my balcony. Perhaps this has to do with the construction of the hotel, however if you're planning on staying in touch, this is a very difficult issue to deal with.

danger

I find the housekeeping at this property to be excellent and I also really enjoy the Ambassador Lounge, although I think one or two hot food offerings in the morning would be nice. The rooms are very spacious and the bathrooms huge with a good range of amenities.

After the WELGP promo for hotel credit and bonus ponts for paying with Amex came out, I phoned HGP to add the bonus code to the booking. When I checked out of the Park Hyatt Canberra the promo code wasn't in the booking and when I asked the clerk to add it, he said it couldn't and had to be done at the time of the reservation. Not very happy about that, particularly considering (i) it seems common practice to be able to add promo codes after booking and (ii) if it must be done at time of reservation, it penalises those who make AP bookings.

Still, I very much enjoy this hotel having had almost 10 stays there this year.

m0hamed

danger, contact The US Diamond line or get a PL agent This is one instance where they can apply the offer retrospectively.

danger

Thanks, m0hamed. I have finally taken your advice and this morning fired an email off to HGP requesting a PL rep.

danger

What would be considered "the best room available upon arrival, excluding suites" at this property?

http://canberra.park.hyatt.com/hyatt...escription.jsp

m0hamed

This is a tough question. I was at the property over Easter, and was so confused by the front desk agent's explanation of the room types. She said that the Club Deluxe were older, and that the Park Balcony Kings were much nicer.

I ended up calling the Private Line and they confirmed the Park Balcony King was the highest category available on that night. It was only one night and we had club access so I really didn't care.

In general, I go by the order on the website, so I would assume the Club Deluxe judging by the size.

danger

A room I've sadly never been afforded.

I feel quite well looked after at this hotel except I feel as though I'm rarely assigned the best available room. There seems to be a belief that simply providing a Club room is enough, something which I don't think is unique to this property.

m0hamed

If you're a repeat guest, you should be getter preferential treatment. At the PH MEL where I stay the most, I always get a Club Deluxe and on the odd occasion one of the specialty suites.

Call the Diamond or Private Line and ask what the best available room is, and if you are not getting it, get them to call the property directly. It's very much a tactic I use with *wood, but have to invoke with Hyatt properties that don't comply.

FriendlySkies

Checked into the PH Canberra this afternoon for a three night stay. My first impression of the hotel hasn't been very good. I plan to post a full review by the end of the stay..

danger

Really? I'm also there now. I know you said you'd post a full review later but can you give any more detail now on what's not good? What type of room do you have?

zbender

I just stayed here for two nights at the weekend, with my family, and had a great experience.

As a Diamond-just-bumped-back-to-Platinum, they had trouble applying my Suite award upgrade certificates, to the two-adjoining-rooms booking. I resigned myself to "no Suite for you!".

After a small "complaint" about the adjoining rooms, the General Manager upgraded us immediately to a Diplomatic Suite, the "Menzies Suite".

Entry area, guest toilet, kitchenette with separate butler's entrance, dining room, living room, master bedroom, very large walk-in-wardrobe, large bathroom with jacuzzi, two balconies - one overlooking the fountain and circular entrance driveway, the other overlooking the grounds to the croquet club.

Awesome. AUD$1025/night list price!

Of course, Ambassador Club privileges, which my daughters loved, for breakfast/daytime snacks/evening canapés.

It's an old-ish, "heritage" hotel, with lots of history regarding the Parliament/seat of Federal Government.

yucci18

Stayed there last week. The hotel is nice and just nice. It's not what I would call a park Hyatt. Having said that, it's probably the best hotel in Canberra, which isn't really saying much.
The breakfast in the lounge is a bit morning - I didn't see any hot items, maybe I missed it? There are some bread and cold pies there and juices and tea.
The rate is crazily high due to parliament sitting week...

danger

The Ambassador lounge never has hot items for breakfast, unfortunately.

Parliament didn't sit last week but the rates are generally high during the week. Some excellent rates can be had on weekends, though. Fairly regularly they have a 50% off second night promo where you can pay as little as $250 for the first night.

I find the hotel to be outstanding.