peteropny

Gee I'm beginning to wonder if anyone other than FTers ever occupy 504

ngalliance

My fingers are crossed for room 504 this Saturday night. Thanks for the recommendation Peter!

ngalliance

Hello from flyertalk Suite 504....I am currently sitting in the suite fresh off the balcony which is amazing. From check in to...almost bedtime this hotel has been amazing. Upon check in the valets rushed to open our doors and quickly directed us to the check in desk. We had been stalking Hyatt.com all week checking for suite availability and were disappointed when we saw that there were no suites left, but after parking in the self-parking area we trekked to our room and were shocked to open the door to the Flyertalk paradise known as room 504!!!!

Do you actually think properties would block off suites to give to a Diamonds on a 1 night FNN stay? I certainly do now!

The suite is spacious, well appointed considering the age of the hotel (the appliances in the kitchen certainly look shabby compared to the Summerfield I was in last night near SFO with brand new GE stainless), but the fireplace is awesome on a chilly night.

A great night time date idea is a bottle of wine from Chateau Julian just a few (approx 10) miles down the road and grab some firewood from the hotel and set up on the beach about 2 miles north of the hotel and light a campfire right on the sand. After a brief encounter with local law enforcement and some local fire burners we were told it is legal to drink and burn on this picturesque beach overlooking the Pacific.

All in all, the Wine and Cheese amenity with a full bottle of wine served in style on the deck by the friendly server and complimentary breakfast were great Diamond amenities. The sunset in the lounge really helped to set off the view. The night was capped off by a bottle on the deck overlooking the crashing waves...that is until we were locked out by the spontaneously locking sliding glass doors! We called the front desk on the cell and they sent an engineer right away, who was convinced the door could have only been locked from the inside.

BE CAREFUL EVERYONE, THE FLYERTALK SUITE MIGHT BE HAUNTED BY THE DIAMONDS REFUSING TO CHECK OUT! haha

OneWorldTraveller

Hi all- I'm a Newbie in Hyatt. Currently, I have 20stays with double stays counting, and will become a diamond probably next wed~thursday after my last 3 stays update. BTW, I have 2 nights FFN reservation in Highland Inn next Friday. In this case, Highland Inn seems to recognize me as a platinum member, right? As soon as I become a diamond, is it better to contact Hotel or E-concierge to update my diamond status?? I looked through this thread, and despite vacation club resort, highland inn is willing to give a suite (townhouse) to diamond members with breakfast benefits.. I'm really exciting for a first stay as a diamond..

FD1971

First of all, Congrats for becoming a Diamond.

Indeed, the reservation will show you as a Platinum, so you need to call the hotel in order to update the reservation.

If you take the time to look through this thread, the Highlands Inn somehow changed from a so lala property, when it came down to really showing appreciation for Diamond's to an obviously outstanding property in this regard.

So honestly, the odds of receiving something outstanding are quite good, however the fact that you will become a Diamond a day before the stay and the fact that you stay over 2 nights from Friday to Sunday are potential deal breakers. Maybe, it is better not to expect too much. For many many Diamond members here, some stays are exceeding expectations by far, but many many stays are just random, solid experiences, but nothing too special.

Playing this game for quite some time now, I have learned not to expect too much, ( especially at properties like the Highlands Inn ) but also not to complain, when I 'only' receive a non-view standard room on the club floor and three apples as the Diamond Amenity...

OneWorldTraveller

I just finished my 2 nights' FFN stay in Highland Inn. It was really awesome stay ever. Despite my concern that my diamond status was not updated, they recognized me as a diamond member at check-in. I got a diamond amenity which I chose chardonay and cheese platter instead of points. I was upgraded to a 1-bedroom suite (512). It was not a townhouse suite(501-508), but it was still great enough to enjoy Highland Inn. Nice panoramic view and fireplace.. One minor thing was no bath tub there, and bit chilly without fireplace.. Breakfasts in California market and room service were both wonderful. Valet and bellmen, maids were perfect.. No claims at all..

I became a huge fan of Hyatt now.. Thanks!

SanDiego1K

I'm really pleased to read that you had such a great stay. The Highlands Inn is my new favorite domestic Hyatt. What killer views! I plan to return before the extended NBT/FFN nights expire.

JonathanIT

I have a three night award stay booked at this property this August, perhaps during the busiest event weekend of the year: the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance and Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca are both happening. The hotel is now showing completely sold-out.

After seeing all the many recent reports about how great this property treats Diamond members... am I hoping too much to expect an upgrade? I know the property is fully booked, but I was thinking that if they pre-block suite upgrades for diamond members, that might free up the standard rooms for booking at the inflated rates they are asking for that weekend ($775+/night for a King Ocean View). They might be able to sell regular rooms much easier than suites.

Or am I just dreaming?

lswcih

Currently at the Highlands Inn for a 2 night FFN stay. Was upgraded to a two-story townhouse suite (Room 502). Everything has been great...staff were very helpful and courteous. The only problem I encounter was trying to log onto the internet. Had to call Guest Services and they had to give me a pre-paid card number. Tomorrow night we have a dinner reservation Pacific's Edge.

gregorygrady

I'd say you're dreaming if the hotel is (almost) sold out. If people are willing to shell out $775 for a King Ocean View, I doubt they'd have a problem shelling out $1000 for a Townhouse Suite. I stayed there a couple months ago (we had 2 rooms from 2 different Diamond accts), and neither room was upgraded to a Suite. We did get quite nice (high & close) Ocean View rooms though, so we were happy with our rooms & upgrades. ^

gregorygrady

Oh yeah, I'd uploaded this to flickr awhile ago and had been meaning to post it here but never got around to it. But here's the property map of the Highlands Inn. I always find these useful in order to get a feel for the property (and most importantly room #s and locations), especially if I've never been to the property before. Hopefully this might be useful to others in the future. BTW, the circled part is the hotel portion (51 total rooms). All the other buildings are the Hyatt Vacation Club (timeshares) portion. Enjoy:

xuni4everx

Currently staying for FFN, upgraded to 1 bedroom suite, not the townhouse.
Asked for townhouse, but not granted. It seems like they are busy this weekend. 1 bed suite is still great with big bathtub with granite kitchen.
Aiming for townhouse next time I stay here at highlands inn

Pickles

From reading the last few pages of posts, it sounds like, paradoxically, the hotel dropped the "Park Hyatt" status and at the same time dramatically improved its service and offerings, especially for Diamonds. Maybe time to try it again one of these days if I'm in the area in the future.

gregorygrady

That's what it sounds like to me too. I wonder if they got a new GM or something about a year ago when service started going up here?

karung99

We are staying at 501,502 and 509 town house, beautiful place, the manager was saying there is 15 Diamonds staying this weekend. I wonder how many are FTer.

We should have the Highlands Inns DO for next FFN promotion here.