I don't disagree about the earlier perks, but do disagree about the masses. There have bit quite a bit of changes at the more popular properties specifically due to the constant pressure they're put on by these fake diamonds.

I don't have an issue with those who do the trial and decide to continue to requalify, it's those who are looking for that free trip, never to been seen from again, who, IMHO, are causing all these problems.

And I agree, Hyatt did this on purpose. For the life of me I can't understand why.

Ding ding ding.

So this is the reason why this property received all those nonsensical overrated reviews? These fake Diamonds were blatantly abusing the benefits by ordering take outs as part of the free breakfast? Now that the gravy train is over because the property is cracking down on these fake Diamonds, we start to see all these negative reviews flushing in? Hilarious!

I've said it and I will say it again. While Andaz Maui is a solid 4 star resort, it is nowhere near being "the best resort in the world." - Not even close.

While we are on the subject of fake Diamonds...I have no problem with chains offering trial or status match to those who actually have top tier status...but to allow a Diamond trial for HHonors Gold???? And to top it off, offer DSUs to those who do not intend on staying with Hyatt whatsoever other than to transfer their Manufactured Chase UR points in order to book Points+Cash and then apply a DSU???? Are you kidding me? :rolleyes:

And you wonder why most Hyatt properties are less inclined to upgrade Diamonds these days unless they are willing to burn a DSU. Everyone is a fake Diamond.

See Post #1176

Fake Diamond here.

Late last year I was on the phone with Amex Plat waiting for them to scare up a Priority Pass Select (or what-not) card for my wife and at some point the Amex rep asked if I had heard that a Platinum benefit was Hilton Honors Gold. I had not, but I thought, what the hey, sign me up. This is the part where things get a little fuzzy, but somewhere just after I stumbled upon a blog that explained the Diamond trial gig with Hyatt. I was already a Hyatt GP Platinum thanks to the Hyatt Visa card. I had used the two free nights from getting that card (along with one I paid euros for) to stay at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris -- the other big breakfast Hyatt! When we had gone as simple Hyatt GP Plats, the good folks at the Park Hyatt Vendome had comped us b'fast as first-timers, something they no longer do. The luxuriant breakfast was part of what made the place different and special for us (by myself I stay by the Bois de Vincennes in a perfectly good Stalinesque business hotel for 11% of the price, and keep baguettes and confitures in the kitchenette). Anyhow, because of the cool previous experience at PHV, including the b'fast, which I knew from reading FT would no longer be available to me as a Hyatt GP Plat, I was inclined to take my HHonors Gold status and do the Hyatt Diamond trial early this year. I already had the PHV booked, and a few other stays booked or planned, so I shifted to Hyatt and got the 12 nights (including one paid at the PHV) done in 1Q of this year.

Even though I was (am) a Fake Diamond, I found I rather enjoyed Hyatt, including the b'fasts, especially when traveling with my spouse. All this year I have stayed at Hyatt when possible, something like 16 different properties (yes, two of which were Hyatt Places, but they were nice, too). Some was leisure, some business, some both. It has been a good year to be a Fake Diamond, especially with the My Elite Rate, but then I would have had access to that as a (Hyatt Visa) Credit Card Platinum, too. In all events, Hyatt seems to accept my money. I charge my stays to my Hyatt Visa and will have no trouble hitting the $20,000 spend for two stay credits toward being a Fake Diamond in 2015.

Back to Andaz Maui Wailea, and the b'fast ... We spent a great weekend there earlier this month, reviewed by me a few pages back in this thread ... We did not drink mimosas or carry food out. One morning my wife had them make an omelette for her. We did eat a lot of bacon, maybe six strips a morning (for me) and three or four for my wife. Our server pushed the juice on us, so we accepted the second morning, but no refills. Here's a funny thing: There was an extra $17 charge from the restaurant when we checked out. I did not pay close attention and, later, figured, what the hey, we had a great time -- life's too short for arguing $17.

What this means is that if we were to go back for another weekend, it would only cost me $51 more for the full, gluttonous breakfast for the two of us both days (since I have already established that I am good for $17 for nothing). This is not a lot of money relative to the cost of getting to Maui -- even from O`ahu.

And yet ... for this Fake Diamond, some of the bloom is now off the rose. I am not shy about money, but hearing about dollars for upgrades seems to be a buzz-kill for my spouse. So it's not just the $17 or $51 or $68 .... It's the illusion of something special, which motivates trips you don't have to make, a couple extra $16 cocktails in the bar in the evening, and so on. I thought that Hyatt had figured this out -- one of the reasons I have been so keen on Hyatt the last year or so -- but maybe not.

Oh, well -- thanks to Amex Plat, I think I can still be a Fake HHilton Gold! ;)

IF the promotion has you making the 25 stays and maintaining diamond, then it worked for you.

I maintain the vast majority will not maintain and will just use their freebies and never be seen from again.

Meanwhile, loyal customers are losing benefits all over because of these people :( :( :(

Right, but as with all such promotions/offers, you never know until you try, right? When I was a kid, seemed like the tobacco companies were always making cigarettes available to us at low cost. Without some of the credit card freebie stuff at our initial PHV stay, our addiction may never have started, and if there weren't some "lavishness" (however fake) to some of the Diamond experience we had as Fakes during our trial, I would be among those who seem to sleep, eat, and run. I mean, I never started smoking ....

We are talking about a hotel here, not a country club. There are no "fake" customers-everyone's money is the same. And hotel or airline "loyalty" is nothing more than a conditioned response to spend money a certain way in return for certain benefits. Google "Pavlov." The "fake Diamond" program is part of Hyatt's conditioning process and I think we should cease blaming those who respond to Hyatt's enticements for the loss benefits at this hotel. Full Disclosure: I'm a long-time, fully-conditioned and captive Diamond.

Exactly. And in outlining my metamorphosis, from Fake to almost Real, in such windy detail above, I was trying to make the point that I had been thinking that Hyatt "got it" ... that in exchange for a small amount of fantasy that works especially for couples/leisure travel, this would be the "nudge" that got some business business away from competitors. Thus my disappointment at seeing the ticky-tack erosion of fantasy at this property.

That's highly debatable.... for a lot of those participating in the challenge it's quite clear that they will never get to 25stays/50nights. Some even have difficulty coming up with one stay at another chain or even meeting the 12 night requirement of the challenge.

But it's a tough one for GP, but when the freebies get adjusted as a result for those who do qualify they are doing something wrong. But with all the DSU's, points (and transfer options) plus the "fake" Diamonds out there it's rather inevitable that the more desirable properties will offer less or even exclude themselves from a lot of the benefits like using a DSU.

But as someone who likes a decent breakfast, and who is normally traveling alone, it's a disappointing trend to see Diamond breakfast benefits enhanced to what it's become in the US lounges or what I'm able to spend in the restaurant.

Of course. No real Hyatt Diamond would feel entitled to abuse a perk. All real Diamonds know that with great privilege comes great responsibility.

Now those Royal Ambassadors who have suitcases full of minis from emptying the minibar 3x per day, those are a different story. Riffraff. :D

@ThreeA4me
 

@Three4aMe

For those looking for snorkeling, I would recommend starting on the far left side of the Andaz beach and working your way down the shore in that direction. When I was there a month ago I spotted massive sea turtles each of the three days I went out, all within 50 ft of shore in water no higher then 4 ft deep. I'd actually recommend walking along the beach trail up to the Marriott and Grand Wailea and trying to spot them when they stick their heads above water for air. There are numerous small fish as well in the coral reefs.

Hyatt does not differentiate on "fake" Diamond members or real. They don't discriminate because someone is "Diamond" but only during the 60 day trial period. This program has been in place for years now. Obviously the Hyatt management likes it this way and they like to give new prospective members a taste of the Hyatt Diamond experience even if it means many of these trial folks are faking it for short term perks.

All of this is a business decision by Hyatt management. Maybe it will change in the future, maybe not. I'm disappointed to see one hotel, like this Andaz, create a Diamond benefit experience that is inconsistent with the majority of Hyatt properties for Diamond members. But since this seems to be an isolated incident, I'm not overly concerned. If this becomes a trend where each property can define their own Diamond experience in the fine print that is different from the rest, then I will likely not be interested in the Hyatt program any longer.

The question is why would you keep the benefit, the best of which is DSU, when you do not complete the challenge?

Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

This breakfast news saddens me. I booked my upcoming honeymoon at the Andaz Maui earlier this year and I was excited about getting the full breakfast experience.

Well congratulations, you're now a real Diamond; you've experienced the loss of benefit due to exploitation by the spoon-fed, blogger-quoting, frenzy-whipped masses of matchers.

There are many happy new-comer diamonds fantasizing about their next great conquest and the plunder there for the taking; there are many more long-time diamonds who are quietly fuming about the slow erosion of benefits and treatment due to said plundering. And for whatever reason, Hyatt seems to think that their status "challenge" (what a misnomer) with temp diamond status needs to be far better than being an actual diamond. Fantasy is probably the perfect word.

To get just a bit back on topic, Hawaii properties have been particularly affected by excessive indulgences/plunderings over the past 5 years or so. In some cases Hyatt GP has been complicit (FFN, credit card nites/suites), and in some cases it was a particular hotel (GHK ocean-view suites; Andaz breakfast). But periodically their largesse gets reined back in when customer behavior becomes too presumptuous, either real or perceived. Those who are long-time diamonds understand that a cultivated relationship with a particular hotel frequently becomes the ace up the sleeve; standard, published offerings may be diminished but favor is extended due to the long standing relationship. And many are reluctant to post much of their experience(s) because they know that the unwashed masses will go in expecting the same, or cry foul because their experience wasn't the same. It may be a hotel program and not a county club, but like a country club there will probably always be some tension between the old money and the nouveau riche.