italdesign

Had the snow crab fried rice at Quail and Crane. Not impressed. Too salty, barely taste the crab. Server never stopped by again after bringing the dish. Had to flag down another server for the check.

flaii

Hi everyone, I'm thinking about booking a 2-night stay here, based on the positive reviews and the chance to have airport views - the pictures look amazing! I'm not familiar with the layout of the hotel, and also rather unfamiliar with redeeming points with Hyatt (plan on transferring Chase points to redeem). I would really like to have views of the airport and airplanes, and I see when booking cash rates there are specific non-suite room types with "runway view," which are more expensive than the standard 2 queen or 1 king rate.

However, when I switch over to look at the options for booking with points, there aren't any non-suite "runway view" rooms available, only the standard rooms and suites (the suites do say they have runway views). I don't need a suite, though.

Would the best option be to book the standard room, and ask for an airport view at check-in? Happy to pay for an upgrade. Or is the orientation of the hotel such that all rooms have some kind of a view of the airport?

LoungeLizardHugo

Call them, communicate your WOH status if any. Tell them specifically what you seek and ask them how best to book it. Nothing else matters or locks in your desires. They have a superb desk crew.

Kacee

They all have views of the airport, but only half the rooms have a view of the Terminal A apron and the runways (what they call "runway view"). The corner suites have the very best views, but the generic runway view rooms are pretty good.

Agree, contact the hotel in advance, they're pretty accommodating. I'd try to get a high floor runway view towards the east end of the building (away from Hwy 101).

Visconti

This has probably been answered before, but how does one get to the hotel during hours when the Red line train isn't running? Is the Blue line 24 hours and get there on a loop or something? Or, is it possible to walk there?

Thanks!

LoungeLizardHugo

The train *should* be running at any time you would get into SFO. I've gotten in at 10PM or so and it was running. With that said, as others as well have noted, it might not be running at any given time because, well, never mind... In that case call the property, explain your situation, tell them which terminal you are standing in front of, and ask them to send their SUV. You really, really do not want to attempt to walk from the terminal even though it looks so close.

LoungeLizardHugo

Oh and hope the fugly "Level" airplane is not parked out in the middle of your view One of the ugliest paint jobs I've ever seen on a plane, and they tend park it right in your view, blech..

Zorak

Does this warning mainly apply at departures level? Because although I haven't tried this, when I've come in to SFO on SamTrans I've wondered if you could walk from the arrivals level of A past the bus stop to the ground level entrance of the GH -- I believe there's a sidewalk most of the way, just not sure about the last ~50 yards.

LoungeLizardHugo

I've not personally tried it although I thought I would have no choice several times when Red was not running. Their SUV bailed me out. Every person working at the hotel will warn you not to try walking in the strongest tone. There is a post or two upthread I think of some who have tried/done it. If you decide to brave it, please come back and share your first-hand experience.

Visconti

I'm just gonna call them since I'll likely have a few arrivals close to midnight or 1 am. Mostly, I wanted to avoid hopping onto a cab in SFO and say "to the GH, please"!

Zorak

I just scoped it out on Google Maps Streetview and I'm fairly confident it's possible -- will give it a try the next time I have some time to kill, unless someone else adventurous beats me to it (and until then would echo the general recommendation that people not try this)

In searching the thread:

this matches the route I was wondering about (and just looked at on Streetview). If you exit from the arrivals level of A towards the SamTrans bus stop and take the lefthand sidewalk, continue down the left side of Garage A, the sidewalk appears to go the whole way, and the only road crossing is McDonnell Rd. which has a marked crosswalk and a traffic light. The only remaining question IMO is whether the ground level entrance is open, at all hours, or if there's at least a buzzer/intercom.

Totally agreed that calling the hotel for a pickup is much easier esp if you have more than just a carryon.

My interest is more, if I were arriving earlier in the evening before an early flight the next morning and felt like walking/stretch my legs/etc. vs. taking AirTrain, whether it's even feasible.

Kacee

Blue line will get you there, it's just a very long ride, all the way out to long term parking and back. When AirTrain is shut down completely, the airport runs buses.
Yes, but it's very difficult to figure out when you're there on the ground (I tried and failed, and I know the airport pretty well). You would have to know and plan the route ahead of time.

flaii

Thank you both! (No status - will see what they say!)

Zorak

OK, due to transit timing I arrived at SFO this afternoon with a fair bit of time to spare before my flight, so I gave this a whirl.

While in most cases AirTrain is still probably going to be the most convenient, if you ever find yourself wanting or needing to walk, it's super easy

I wonder if some of the paving is new, maybe was incomplete before when others tried it and that is why they thought it was so difficult.

In the photos below, from the "Bus Courtyard A" photo of the exterior door, to being in the elevator of the Grand Hyatt, was all of 6 minutes. I am a fast walker (though was not going at top pace) and only had a backpack, so call it 10-12 minutes esp if you have a rollaboard (the sidewalk is wide enough to accommodate most normal sizes), plus whatever time it takes you to get to/from the A terminal.

From the International Terminal, take the escalators down to Level 1 for Courtyard A (one level down from this sign):



At the bottom of the escalator, do a u-turn to see this sign. Head down the hallway and turn right as if you were following the instructions for samTrans/Charter Buses. (The do-not-enter fences you see are marking off stored equipment, the hallway is totally open)



As an alternative to the escalators, you can take the elevator from International A down to Courtyard Level:



Either way you will now be looking at this door. You basically go out this door and walk straight ahead until you see the Grand Hyatt. It's almost impossible to miss.



There are signs along the way to mark the path. The A apron is to your left if you want to do some planespotting (dunno if security will hassle you if you linger too long)



Walk through the garage:



Aside: if for some reason you are coming from the garage itself, there's a sign there as well



This is the only area where you need to be careful. This is the McDonnell Rd. crossing (not the 101 offramp). There are pedestrian crossing buttons, although I couldn't make out the walk sign (dunno if due to glare or malfunction). In any case at this hour it was a 4-way flashing red. Still, keep an eye out for traffic just in case (there was very little when I crossed)



and then you're there! The entrance is ahead under the covered area. This is also the area for valet parking dropoff/pickup, and the attendants on duty told me the entrance is open 24/7 and there is always someone there.



The elevator takes you up to the back of the lobby on the 4th floor.

Kacee

Awesome. This kind of post is what makes FT worthwhile. (Kind of reminds me of the all-time classic "How to get to the FCT in FRA" pictorial.)