Cancel policy during that week after Christmas borders on draconian. 2 night penalty.

I was able to book any amount of nights on points- check again, BUT those points are gone if you cancel and no changes allowed. Rules below:

Rate Rules

Gold Passport Award
Terms and Conditions

Cancellation of this reservation is subject to the hotel cancellation policy.
Non Refundable/Full Prepayment/No Changes

Doubtful.... award booking have the normal cancellation policy, but for peak times like Xmas that can be substantially different than what is normal.... 90 days has been stated here.
And also no-shows for awards can carry a PAID night(s) penalty. Don't simply assume because you paid with points that the cancellation policy will also be those points.

You need to do some work here and maybe contact the hotel when you know that you might need to cancel.

My understanding is that you get the points back but pay the cancellation penalty in $$.

That's my understanding also. Here's the verbiage from the Hyatt T&C page (http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/customer-...conditions.jsp):

4. Hyatt Gold Passport award reservations are subject to the reservation requirements of the individual hotel, such as length of stay. Hyatt Gold Passport award reservations are subject to the cancellation policy of the individual property at which member is redeeming an award. If member does not follow proper hotel cancellation policy or if member does not check into the hotel, the credit card provided with the reservation will be charged in accordance with the hotel’s cancellation or no-show policy. These policies vary by hotel and each hotel’s cancellation policy can be found on the hotel’s website on hyatt.com, by calling the hotel directly, or by contacting the local Worldwide Reservation Center.

Still probably worth a call to the hotel to hotel to confirm. Or better yet, an email, so that the response is documented.

Attention Bed Experts
 

Hi All
How do the beds compare to other Andaz properties in comfort
Andaz Liverpool has the best beds IMHO
more plush and softer than the Hyatt Grand Bed

Andaz Wall Street is the hardest bed ever but has foam they put on top for those that don't care for the hard surface which makes it comfortable
Are the beds at Andaz Maui also very firm?
Thanks for the feedback

The mattress was definitely not firm. It was a bit soft. We did sleep quite well, although we normally prefer a firmer mattress. The linens were quite nice.

That's great news for me :cool:^
Good to know.
I'd also be really interested to direct comparisons to other Andaz beds at their other properties if anyone takes notes observes obsessive details like me :)

Totally agree. I also prefer a firmer bed but slept as well as I have ever slept (home or hotel.) I do think it's mostly due to the linen/pillows.

I just read a TripAdvisor review that says diamond members no longer get free breakfast here. Checking in tonight and hope that isn't the case. And curious how it could be the case with Hyatt policy. Anyone have recent reports? Thanks!

Breakfast is a required benefit of the program so no that is not the case. Plus that's not exactly what the review said; it said "The only negative change is the fact that Diamond guests no longer get the free full breakfast, which was a major amenity."

The breakfast now is a continental-style breakfast with your choice of one hot item (the Pantry Breakfast is what it's called). I won't bore everyone with another recap of the breakfast change, but if you want some more background on it just go back a couple pages and it should be mentioned in approximately 99% of the posts.

What would happen if you have a confirmed diamond suite upgrade, but they end up just giving you a regular room? I noticed that in my reservation, the room description has changed back to the most basic room's description...and I can now see that for my dates, suites are no longer available.

Thanks for this clarification. This made me feel better before we took off last night, but... here's something interesting. We checked in last night, and the person who checked us in let us know that as Diamonds, we would have complimentary breakfast at the buffet. I asked him if there were special limits or if we needed some vouchers. He said no - just charge to the room and they will get knocked off. This seems to be more liberal of a policy than you mentioned. Have they changed again or did he give us wrong information?

Its a broken contract/agreement and I would consider it unacceptable and in bad faith
If it happened to me and it never has I would want to be fully compensated and moved to the Four Season or other Hyatt in Maui at the rate I paid
and very well taken care of(meaning reconfirmed in a suite) for the issue
First I would call Hyatt reservation's and be sure you have been downgraded without official notice

New Resort Fee
 

There is now a new $40 per night resort fee for all stays June 1, 2015 and later. This includes stays that were booked before this announcement in which your rate was quoted without a resort fee. I presume this is on top of $30 per night valet.