Actually, the oceanfront studio is the best non-suite room type.
A standard room, just oceanfront.
Seems unreasonable to except a $350/n upgrade gratis as diamond.
https://s23.postimg.cc/7nnepyksb/temp.jpg

OP was initially refused any upgrade from the very lowest room category. That's clearly wrong, and I'm not sure why you would try to justify that as acceptable under GP rules.

May I ask what exactly should one expect 'reasonably' [not except] as a Diamond member?

If the T&C states "Best available room upon arrival excluding suites [soon changing to: including standard suites] ... then how exactly should a Diamond member appropriately set their expectations?

The upgrade chart is irrelevant as the OP didn't ask to be upgraded into a Suite.

Like I said, if he thinks his understanding of the rules is correct, then pay the upgrade fee to get the room you feel entitled to. Let Hyatt Corporate sort out the ignorant manager after you request intervention via email or Twitter.

I posted the upgrade chart more generally because I suspect many will find it valuable.

Do you have personal experience of "Hyatt corporate" actually doing anything on those facts?

From recent personal experience, once you are checked-in, Gold Passport/Hyatt is powerless and everything is at a mercy of a hotel. If you have contact information for someone else who could help, please share it with us. :confused:

Even if the poster could get upgraded/moved to another room the next day, it makes sense to get that room from the very beginning as it avoids the hassles of re-packing and moving everything. That can be a pain if you are traveling as a family or just simply want to unpack, unwind, and chill.

Would you be able to post those video walkthroughs whenever you have time?

Thanks for sharing your experience. It doesn't make you a pita or a schemer that, as a Diamond, you'd naturally expect and hope for some sort of upgrade, especially if you were on vacation, especially at a property that is operating at such low occupancy. Unhelpful, unnecessary and mean-spirited comments discourage people from sharing their (helpful) experiences; thanks for sharing yours.

I am not sure any of the above is correct.

Hyatt.com doesn't seem to show detailed descriptions for the various room types but on the mobile app the Ocean Front Studio is clearly listed under suites.

This would mean under current Gold Passport rules, one should receive an ocean front king/ocean front double, assuming availability. Under World of Hyatt, I am not sure what the upgrade should be. The picture posted with the upgrade prices lists an Andaz Suite but that doesn't show as an option on the app. Next up in price is the Andaz Lagoon View suite that DSUs currently seem to book into.

Whether the supposed value of the upgrade is $350 or $35 is absolutely irrelevant. The program rules, whether one likes them or not, are clearly written. Calling someone a schemer and pita when they share their valuable experience isn't cordial and adds nothing in value to this thread. The vast majority of people heading here are likely on vacation. The last thing I want to start off a vacation, especially with family probably tired from travel and wanting to get in the room, is having a discussion/argument/stand off about what room I am entitled to per the rules of the program.

Especially under the WoH upgrade terms, there are many properties around the world where the cost difference between a base level room and base level suite is well over $350. Will I expect this gratis as a globalist? Yes, no question.

I don't think OP deserves this, as he just asked for what he is entitled to (per T&Cs). I love to hear these early reports and your comments are the ones who keep people from posting! :mad: Thanks for the report, DrEcon, and welcome to FT. Sorry that manager made you feel unwelcome, not really the Hyatt Touch.

The OP should't even have to ask what he is entitled to. It should be offered proactively and graciously - such posts will help indicate whether this was a once off failure or a troubling trend. I have never experienced something so blatant but have had instances where there have been misunderstandings and it can be embarrassing as a guest and equally so for the property, if they care.

Service recovery is also very important as, unfortunately, not every employee at a hotel may know the rules. A family member stayed at Ararat PH Moscow and, when checking-in, front-desk wasn't very clued it to Guest of Honor benefits and wouldn't offer upgraded room, breakfast, etc. Through GP and communication with GM, that got resolved quickly, though, and the rest of a very long stay had been amazing -- that hotel is going to get a lot of repeat business from us now :)

Just back from a four night stay in the Lagoon suite. Thoughts below.

Pros:
- Very friendly staff
- Hard product very nice. Rooms well decorated and the common areas (pools, restaurants, etc) very well done.
- Food quite good.

Cons:
- Staff somewhat clueless, seems that many are not that well trained.
- Was told that could only have diamond breakfast at Cocina Milagro and only the buffet (no a la carte). Not sure that this is accurate but was told the same by multiple staff members.
- Buggy system is a bust. Can't imagine how bad this will be when the hotel is at full occupancy (multiple times we had to wait ~20 minutes for a buggy).
- There are 25 bikes for the entire resort. Clearly not enough, basically were told that we could 'steal' any that we find. People apparently horde them inside their rooms. Weird.
- Diamond amenity was bottle of wine. Only red, were told that it is not possible to substitute a bottle of white.
- Drinks at pools/beach are extremely slow. Probably 15 minutes on average from order to receiving.
- Activities are poorly coordinated. Often late starting or do not occur as shown on the 'curator' calendar.

My husband & I stayed here 4 nights Feb. 4th-8th. All in all we enjoyed it & would probably give it 4/5 stars. We did use P+C and a DSU, so we didn't pay nearly as much as some people do, & our rating would probably be a bit lower if we had paid the full price/resort fees.

We were in room 1231, a 3rd/top floor lagoon suite. We asked about an upgrade to a beach suite, but they said they were all occupied (hotel was at 70-80% occupancy). We truly enjoyed the lagoon suite & lagoon view though, and spent more time at the lagoon pool, so we were fine without the beach suite upgrade. It's a beautiful room, I love all of the wood they used, and the quality of most stuff seemed great.

I will post more on what we liked/didn't like later, but first, some pictures. These are in order of the room layout, & then some outdoor pics at the end. You enter into the living room, & across from the door is a hallway (w/sliding door) to the bathrooms, then another sliding door to the bedroom/closet. To the left of the entry is the balcony & then further left is the plunge pool.

Living Room
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8x...=w1267-h950-no

Main Bathroom-2 sinks, really nice shower w/rainfall shower-head & movable side shower-head. Window is partly opaqued so you can still enjoy the lagoon view.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XK...=w1267-h950-no

Toilet/Additional Sink-Across from main bathroom, nice that they were separated.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AS...A=w713-h950-no

Closet-To the right as you enter the bedroom. Nice feature.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pj...w=w713-h950-no

King Bedroom & Another Balcony
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Te...=w1202-h902-no

Main Balcony Where I'm standing is the part the plunge pool is on.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Yq...=w1267-h950-no

View From Main Balcony: This is my favorite pic I took at the resort, just gorgeous.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Gh...=w1267-h950-no

Here now.

A few things.

As a Diamond member, the free breakfast includes items from the menu and the buffet. Even if you order from the menu, you will get billed for buffet price.

The AC in the room is very loud. Very noticeable when it kicks on in the middle of the night.

The golf cart system seems to work pretty well, but bikes are very hard to come by. I have a feeling that people may be keeping them in their rooms.

The food has been good to excellent.

The service has been fantastic.

The beach gets moderate amount of seaweed. Not as bad as the past years.

Place is huge. It is a really long walk from the lagoon pool to the beach. A good 30 minute walk.