Aug 29, 2023, 5:07 am
Grand Hyatt Fukuoka REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Mar 29, 2018, 5:32 am
#256
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,053
Finishing up a 3 night stay at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka.
Hotel is very busy this week, probably due to cherry blossom season and other things.
Had a basic points award for a Queen room, reasonable for 1 person.. might be a little cramped for 2.
Bathroom was generously sized for a Japanese hotel, with separate Japanese style tub and roomy shower (with exceptional water pressure).
My biggest complaint is the endless noise from the fountain shows (my room was facing the mall). These shows tend to last during the day (bad if you're jet lagged) and fairly late into the night (bad if you're going to bed before midnight). Bring earplugs!
I'm not sure why there are so many negative comments about the beautiful Club Lounge.
Lots of natural light, excellent service (as usual), and the food offerings are fine. Breakfast is fairly straightforward with a mix of European/Western and Asian. It's not an extensive spread but it does the trick. The view of the garden and sunlight coming in is worth the trip in the morning... great place to enjoy a long coffee break. I haven't tried the Afternoon Tea but the Cocktail Hour is exceptional, in terms of food items. Normally, I would pooh-pooh the idea of eating at the Club Lounge around dinnertime, but this particular property has a very local/Japanese selection of snacks. For visitors not familiar with local specialties, I would encourage people to try everything.. even if it looks new to you. Everything was tasty and well made.
Location was good and bad, depending on what's important to you. The walk to/from Hakata station is not trivial - about 10-15 min and it's not a direct route. Canal City mall has an OK selection of shops, but no department stores I believe. There's an Ichiran if you want quality ramen and various fast food outlets. I bought new glasses for a third of what they would cost in the US - made in 30 minutes!
Hotel is very busy this week, probably due to cherry blossom season and other things.
Had a basic points award for a Queen room, reasonable for 1 person.. might be a little cramped for 2.
Bathroom was generously sized for a Japanese hotel, with separate Japanese style tub and roomy shower (with exceptional water pressure).
My biggest complaint is the endless noise from the fountain shows (my room was facing the mall). These shows tend to last during the day (bad if you're jet lagged) and fairly late into the night (bad if you're going to bed before midnight). Bring earplugs!
I'm not sure why there are so many negative comments about the beautiful Club Lounge.
Lots of natural light, excellent service (as usual), and the food offerings are fine. Breakfast is fairly straightforward with a mix of European/Western and Asian. It's not an extensive spread but it does the trick. The view of the garden and sunlight coming in is worth the trip in the morning... great place to enjoy a long coffee break. I haven't tried the Afternoon Tea but the Cocktail Hour is exceptional, in terms of food items. Normally, I would pooh-pooh the idea of eating at the Club Lounge around dinnertime, but this particular property has a very local/Japanese selection of snacks. For visitors not familiar with local specialties, I would encourage people to try everything.. even if it looks new to you. Everything was tasty and well made.
Location was good and bad, depending on what's important to you. The walk to/from Hakata station is not trivial - about 10-15 min and it's not a direct route. Canal City mall has an OK selection of shops, but no department stores I believe. There's an Ichiran if you want quality ramen and various fast food outlets. I bought new glasses for a third of what they would cost in the US - made in 30 minutes!
Mar 29, 2018, 4:41 pm
#257
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: MEL
Programs: Bonvoy LT Plat. WOH Glob. SQ Gold
Posts: 1,637
Finishing up a 3 night stay at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka.
My biggest complaint is the endless noise from the fountain shows (my room was facing the mall). These shows tend to last during the day (bad if you're jet lagged) and fairly late into the night (bad if you're going to bed before midnight). Bring earplugs!
My biggest complaint is the endless noise from the fountain shows (my room was facing the mall). These shows tend to last during the day (bad if you're jet lagged) and fairly late into the night (bad if you're going to bed before midnight). Bring earplugs!
Sorry to break the bad news to you but almost two weeks after checking out, I randomly find myself humming the watershow theme music. So be wary of the lingering psychological damage!
Mar 30, 2018, 3:45 am
#259
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Delta GM (Former PM)
Posts: 234
I'm at the hotel right now, on the 12th floor. The people are nice the lounge isn't bad, though I prefer the one in Shinjuku so whoever told me that was the worst one in Asia I guess has not been here. The biggest problem with this hotel... 2 years ago (when last we where here) you could smoke in more places and floors then you could not. The fact you could smoke in the lobby was most annoying, well they stopped that which is good. And it's now down to one floor that's smoking rooms instead of in the past were it was only a few that were not.
Well the 12th floor was a smoking floor up until about a year ago (confirmed by hotel staff) and we're well aware from the restaurants that used to allow smoking and then didn't it takes a LONG time for the smell to go away as it lingers in and on things.
When you first walk into one of these rooms you get hammered by this odd smell, my wife noticed it right away so we were given a 2nd room, but also on the 12th floor, it is not as bad as the prior room but still a big shock every time you walk into the room from the hallway. The Hallways seem to have newish carpet so I suspect it was replaced since I found reviews saying the hallways stank back when it was a smoking floor. If you smell the wood closely it seems to be hanging on to the fumes and they do have air filters in the rooms (likely left over from the smoking days since I found a review thanking them for that - from a smoker)
You will get used to the smell after 20 mins or so but then get reminded again every time you leave the hotel. I'm guessing the staff doesn't notice the smell due to how most restaurants in Japan allow smoking in them etc but this will keep us from coming back to this hotel for a long time.
So if the smell of stale air reminiscent of smokers bugs you - see if you can get the staff to put you on a floor that's been smoke free for a long time... but do note that 2 of the staff told me they've never allowed smoking here (my wife found a tripadvisor review to the contrary, and once directly asked I was told it was smoking a year ago)
So it's a sign things are going in the right direction, there's quite a few places that don't allow smoking during lunch time but do for dinner now. This is our 3rd trip to Japan and it's definite progress over our first trip.
Well the 12th floor was a smoking floor up until about a year ago (confirmed by hotel staff) and we're well aware from the restaurants that used to allow smoking and then didn't it takes a LONG time for the smell to go away as it lingers in and on things.
When you first walk into one of these rooms you get hammered by this odd smell, my wife noticed it right away so we were given a 2nd room, but also on the 12th floor, it is not as bad as the prior room but still a big shock every time you walk into the room from the hallway. The Hallways seem to have newish carpet so I suspect it was replaced since I found reviews saying the hallways stank back when it was a smoking floor. If you smell the wood closely it seems to be hanging on to the fumes and they do have air filters in the rooms (likely left over from the smoking days since I found a review thanking them for that - from a smoker)
You will get used to the smell after 20 mins or so but then get reminded again every time you leave the hotel. I'm guessing the staff doesn't notice the smell due to how most restaurants in Japan allow smoking in them etc but this will keep us from coming back to this hotel for a long time.
So if the smell of stale air reminiscent of smokers bugs you - see if you can get the staff to put you on a floor that's been smoke free for a long time... but do note that 2 of the staff told me they've never allowed smoking here (my wife found a tripadvisor review to the contrary, and once directly asked I was told it was smoking a year ago)
So it's a sign things are going in the right direction, there's quite a few places that don't allow smoking during lunch time but do for dinner now. This is our 3rd trip to Japan and it's definite progress over our first trip.
Mar 30, 2018, 4:07 am
#260
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,053
I'm at the hotel right now, on the 12th floor. The people are nice the lounge isn't bad, though I prefer the one in Shinjuku so whoever told me that was the worst one in Asia I guess has not been here. The biggest problem with this hotel... 2 years ago (when last we where here) you could smoke in more places and floors then you could not. The fact you could smoke in the lobby was most annoying, well they stopped that which is good. And it's now down to one floor that's smoking rooms instead of in the past were it was only a few that were not.
Well the 12th floor was a smoking floor up until about a year ago (confirmed by hotel staff) and we're well aware from the restaurants that used to allow smoking and then didn't it takes a LONG time for the smell to go away as it lingers in and on things.
When you first walk into one of these rooms you get hammered by this odd smell, my wife noticed it right away so we were given a 2nd room, but also on the 12th floor, it is not as bad as the prior room but still a big shock every time you walk into the room from the hallway. The Hallways seem to have newish carpet so I suspect it was replaced since I found reviews saying the hallways stank back when it was a smoking floor. If you smell the wood closely it seems to be hanging on to the fumes and they do have air filters in the rooms (likely left over from the smoking days since I found a review thanking them for that - from a smoker)
You will get used to the smell after 20 mins or so but then get reminded again every time you leave the hotel. I'm guessing the staff doesn't notice the smell due to how most restaurants in Japan allow smoking in them etc but this will keep us from coming back to this hotel for a long time.
So if the smell of stale air reminiscent of smokers bugs you - see if you can get the staff to put you on a floor that's been smoke free for a long time... but do note that 2 of the staff told me they've never allowed smoking here (my wife found a tripadvisor review to the contrary, and once directly asked I was told it was smoking a year ago)
So it's a sign things are going in the right direction, there's quite a few places that don't allow smoking during lunch time but do for dinner now. This is our 3rd trip to Japan and it's definite progress over our first trip.
Well the 12th floor was a smoking floor up until about a year ago (confirmed by hotel staff) and we're well aware from the restaurants that used to allow smoking and then didn't it takes a LONG time for the smell to go away as it lingers in and on things.
When you first walk into one of these rooms you get hammered by this odd smell, my wife noticed it right away so we were given a 2nd room, but also on the 12th floor, it is not as bad as the prior room but still a big shock every time you walk into the room from the hallway. The Hallways seem to have newish carpet so I suspect it was replaced since I found reviews saying the hallways stank back when it was a smoking floor. If you smell the wood closely it seems to be hanging on to the fumes and they do have air filters in the rooms (likely left over from the smoking days since I found a review thanking them for that - from a smoker)
You will get used to the smell after 20 mins or so but then get reminded again every time you leave the hotel. I'm guessing the staff doesn't notice the smell due to how most restaurants in Japan allow smoking in them etc but this will keep us from coming back to this hotel for a long time.
So if the smell of stale air reminiscent of smokers bugs you - see if you can get the staff to put you on a floor that's been smoke free for a long time... but do note that 2 of the staff told me they've never allowed smoking here (my wife found a tripadvisor review to the contrary, and once directly asked I was told it was smoking a year ago)
So it's a sign things are going in the right direction, there's quite a few places that don't allow smoking during lunch time but do for dinner now. This is our 3rd trip to Japan and it's definite progress over our first trip.
Mar 30, 2018, 4:25 am
#261
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Delta GM (Former PM)
Posts: 234
I found a review that all suites in this hotel were smoking. Not sure how we make the hotel aware of this being an issue or if they care. And I've been suffering from allergies for a few days, got my sense of smell back today and it's been 40 mins and still can smell the stench in this room. Glad I couldn't smell for last 2 days and we cut this from 4 nights to 3 nights since we're heading to a new location for a concert. At least we depart, and already decided we will NOT return here in 21 months when we return to Japan, turns out we like XMAS and new years in Japan. There's way too many tourists this time of year and I'm allergic to something in Japan in the spring (likely something that grows in Shinjuku gyoen national garden, since it was after that day I got a bad reaction).
Mar 30, 2018, 6:14 am
#262
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,053
I found a review that all suites in this hotel were smoking. Not sure how we make the hotel aware of this being an issue or if they care. And I've been suffering from allergies for a few days, got my sense of smell back today and it's been 40 mins and still can smell the stench in this room. Glad I couldn't smell for last 2 days and we cut this from 4 nights to 3 nights since we're heading to a new location for a concert. At least we depart, and already decided we will NOT return here in 21 months when we return to Japan, turns out we like XMAS and new years in Japan. There's way too many tourists this time of year and I'm allergic to something in Japan in the spring (likely something that grows in Shinjuku gyoen national garden, since it was after that day I got a bad reaction).
You're probably allergic to all the pollen in the air. Hayfever is common this time of year.
Mar 30, 2018, 6:47 am
#263
Moderator: Mileage Run, InterContinental Hotels
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,916
FWIW, we stayed here for three nights last weekend, and were initially given a 12th floor twin room. The smell was terrible. We asked to switch, and were given a suite also on the 12th. The smell was fine, but boy, are these rooms ancient. The most decent rooms I've had here are the refurbished 45sqm-ish junior suite-ish rooms (deluxe?).
Mar 30, 2018, 8:12 am
#265
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
The main spring pollen is cedar. After all the old growth timber had been cut fro the mountainsides 50+ years ago someone got the great idea of planting Japanese cedar everywhere because it grows fast and would replenish the timber. Unfortunately mature Japanese cedar gives off an abundance of pollen, and now about 25% of the population is allergic to it, which is why you see so many people with face masks this time of year.
Apr 9, 2018, 6:20 am
#266
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Delta GM (Former PM)
Posts: 234
They know and don't care. I mean, it's the older gentlemen that paid good money to stay in the suites and do as they pleased with smoking. Other guests just have to suffer or don't stay there.
You're probably allergic to all the pollen in the air. Hayfever is common this time of year.
You're probably allergic to all the pollen in the air. Hayfever is common this time of year.
The main spring pollen is cedar. After all the old growth timber had been cut fro the mountainsides 50+ years ago someone got the great idea of planting Japanese cedar everywhere because it grows fast and would replenish the timber. Unfortunately mature Japanese cedar gives off an abundance of pollen, and now about 25% of the population is allergic to it, which is why you see so many people with face masks this time of year.
Once I stopped going to gardens and on all my allergy meds I was OK.
May 29, 2018, 4:04 pm
#267
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 19
Just returned from a 3-hyatt stay in Japan. PH Tokyo, GH Fukuoka, and HR Okinawa Naha. As others have noted, the GH Fukuoka is tired. Those orangey hallways are really something.
We booked a club room, in order to get lounge and pool privileges. The room, on the 12th floor felt very small due to wasted space in the entrance 'hall'. We couldnt move the desk chair back from the desk without hitting the bed. Only one other side chair was provided with the little table under the window. Luckily we had a room on the quiet side of the hotel overlooking the river (and apparently the red-light district).
The pool was very nice. The indoor pool has both 20 and 25 meter lanes, at a good temperature. There is a charge to use the pool/spa facilities if you aren't in a club room.
The lounge was probably the best part of the hotel. At both breakfast and evening service there were good selections of food. Staff were constantly circulating to make sure everyone was happy. During evening service there was a good selection of alcohol and mixers. On our first evening, when the lounge staff heard I liked Japanese whiskey, one of the ladies went to the back and brought out a bottle of Hakushu. On successive nights they always brought it out when they saw me coming!
I wish I could recommend this hotel. While the lounge experience was very good and the pool was nice, the rooms and hallways are pretty sad. We really were happy to move on.
We booked a club room, in order to get lounge and pool privileges. The room, on the 12th floor felt very small due to wasted space in the entrance 'hall'. We couldnt move the desk chair back from the desk without hitting the bed. Only one other side chair was provided with the little table under the window. Luckily we had a room on the quiet side of the hotel overlooking the river (and apparently the red-light district).
The pool was very nice. The indoor pool has both 20 and 25 meter lanes, at a good temperature. There is a charge to use the pool/spa facilities if you aren't in a club room.
The lounge was probably the best part of the hotel. At both breakfast and evening service there were good selections of food. Staff were constantly circulating to make sure everyone was happy. During evening service there was a good selection of alcohol and mixers. On our first evening, when the lounge staff heard I liked Japanese whiskey, one of the ladies went to the back and brought out a bottle of Hakushu. On successive nights they always brought it out when they saw me coming!
I wish I could recommend this hotel. While the lounge experience was very good and the pool was nice, the rooms and hallways are pretty sad. We really were happy to move on.
Jun 19, 2018, 3:08 am
#269
Moderator, All Nippon Airways and Japan
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TYO
Programs: NH SFC (*G), JL JGP (OWE), AS MVP, WOH E, IHG SE
Posts: 3,908
They’re ending their contract with Hyatt and rebranding/renovating, with a planned reopening in winter 2019. To be honest the hotel is really showing its age and is easily the worst Hyatt in Japan (and rates reflected that), so while it’s a shame it’s leaving Hyatt it really needed an overhaul.