G-CIVC

Wrapped up a 3 night stay last week over the peak of hatsumode

LOVE the hard product. Almost as mind blowing as the Rosewood HK which is another Chi masterpiece that opened this year, if not equally stunning in public spaces (only limited by size constraints in the rooms). The forecourt, 4/F and 5/F public areas are insanely breathtaking places to visit.

First night was booked by SO and other two nights by myself, all using FN/points (for mine, had to make MHC contact the hotel to open up availability)

I arrived near midnight for the first night. SO who is also a GLOB only got upgraded one category so was in a garden room, the room is quite compact but tastefully appointed, and I figure the garden will look better in nicer weather and as it ages (currently a bit barren). SO who arrived earlier mentioned lackluster arrival service with minimal info (not knowing about Japanese breakfast or in room breakfast at all...)

The next morning, a Park Suite popped up out of the blue so I made a dash right after breakfast. My luggage-less check in was handled professionally, and I was invited to take a seat at the lounge area near the FD and offered drinks proactively, so this has been improved from previous complaints. In compliance with WOH rules, I was the earliest to arrive so was granted the very last park suite available, upon repeated semi push back such as the room is undergoing some maintenance, you may not get the suite until 6pm, your suite will not have a view, etc...as they wanted me to take a standard View king (2 cats up). That's fine, our original room was granted a 2pm check out so we chose to wait it out.

At least I was thanked for being a Globalist and my benefits were explained very clearly and in detail, unlike the previous day for SO.

Fake news as the room ready notif popped up on my app at around 3pm. At least they didn't screw up moving our bags between rooms. The Park Suite is much more spacious and comfortable than the base 45sqm room (I'm not sure about the deluxe rooms that also have the same size of 68 sqm) and the layout is very standard. Many details are slightly different such as larger TVs, a better stocked minibar, bathroom floor heating, upgraded local bath amenities, much stronger water pressure and bigger shower/tub, etc. The water pressure of the shower can compete with the world famous one at StR Osaka. The bathroom floors are heated 24/7. We did not experience any noise/soundproofing issues, the soundproofing and lightproofing in the room was perfect. Both the pillows and bed were textbook Asian/Japanese hard and it worked perfect for me. I slept shorter than usual but felt much better rested during my nights at the property. The lack of a view is actually a narrowish, dark garden (compared to the first garden room we had) but was still beautifully appointed and OK for us (you can have as much as u want of the Pagoda/skyline views at public areas on 4/F and 5/F)

Breakfast - Western is kind of mixed - buffet is decent quality but limited in selections, same for the a la carte, service is poor as is consistent throughout the hotel. It is very much like the Centric Ginza breakfast before it went downhill. But is that sufficient/appropriate for a Park? At least the people watching from there was fun.
For the Japanese breakfast, highly suggesting to take it in-room as we did. Everything was still piping hot and they set it up beautifully in the living room table which was completely functional to dine on. The Japanese breakfast is VERY high quality and blows the one that I had at PHT earlier last year out of the water.
Had drinks at the bar and the prices were fair (~2000 yen for a cocktail) and the views, the views omg (same views at the Teppanyaki place). Coupled with the ambience. I think the NY Bar found a rival/successor.

We also (unfortunately had to) had room service for one evening. The choices are limited but prices are fair. However, the presentation is not up to par for a Park. The food quality was soso and it was just weird (no tablecloth, no bread...)

The gym is too small and is a form over function setup. But like room service, who needs a gym in Kyoto one may argue? I used the sauna briefly before my departure and did not encounter the weird encounters that some of you did as outlined above. However, at one point there were six people in the facility which made it quite suffocating and uncomfortable.

I don't know what to say about the service. Nothing particularly screwed up, but it was just not as perfect as a Park in Japan should (and could) be. They are more relaxed and aloof compared to the PHT that's for sure. Emails were responded responsively. Interestingly all four of the FD on duty were HKers on our day of departure and they all bid us farewell at the entrance, wishing us well and thanking us sincerely in Cantonese. It is not easy to make HKers bow to other HKers. So I don't know what is 'wrong' with the service, but it just didn't feel as polished as a Park should be and especially given Japan. Well, for one thing for a 70-key property I expected more personalization and KYC but it just didn't happen or occur to me throughout the stay.

I did not see the GM at all, maybe because they do not care about us lowly plebs on 'free' stays? Lol.

All in all, I'm not sure what award pricing will look like after March, but I don't really have an urge to return unlike some of my favorite Hyatt properties like PHT and GHHK. I might pay IF i could use a TSU and the rates were trailing around 80-90k. But yeah, the wow factor could have been bigger.

Let me put up a full review with pictures when I got time later!

antonius66

Sounds like things are slowly improving...hopefully it is all up to snuff when I go in April

hailstorm

My guess is that he was on vacation. The guy was all over the place during New Years, to the point that it was hard to not see him. Wouldn't be surprised if he was putting in 20 hour days during that time.

Aventine

Interesting that property seems to have Hyatt HK employees helping in the interim or they hired foreign FD staff due to labor shortages.

OsakaWino

The FD also had only non-Japanese staff when we were there at the beginning of Dec. They spoke no Japanese at all, which would seem to indicate that they had not been working in Japan before PH Kyoto, but they were very professional and very obviously had previously worked at a high-end hotel.

Aventine

I think they need bilingual staff at least?

Morkai

Bring it on!

dpb132

How is this acceptable? Did you file a complaint with Hyatt?

hailstorm

They're considered a "resort" now, exempting them from the late check-out guarantee.

Aventine

They're allegedly categorized as a resort now and don't have to offer 4pm checkout.

rebyang

Globalist's points stay during holidays. When checked in, we were told the available room can only hold 2 adults. unfortunately, we have 2 adults + 2kids. We were asked to book an additional room with points or cash. After almost one hour "negotiation" with the hotel, we were offered one time only for staying in one room. In fact, it's our second time stay. During the stay in mid-December, we had no problem checking in for 2 adults + 2kids. For the second stay, the hotel knew that we are 2 adults + 2kids as we contacted the hotel for dinner booking. So we were really frustrated to learn that we need to book another room. The size of rooms for the 2 stays are the same, only difference is the view: one with view and one without view, both are on 7th floor. I know it's very busy time during my stays. Any suggestions for future booking for family using points? It seems that suite could hold 2 adults 2 kids, but not available to use the upgrade award when booking.

Aventine

You could get the permission in writing (email) from senior management?

solewalker

Just checked out of a 3-night points stay as a globalist.

+

Service was for the most part good, even at the Kyoto Bistro, and staff didn't take long to remember my face and dining preferences (I guess I helped them by wearing the same jacket every day?). Staff were friendly and effective.

The hard product is lovely. I was assigned a corner King Garden Terrace room, and was allowed to check in when I showed up at close to 3 pm.

-

Some rooms might have privacy issues. At various points on the property or on the streets, I could look into rooms, particularly after dark. So keep in mind that if you have a great view of the streets, people are also getting a great view of you.

Meh, check in. Little explanation of breakfast. Worse. When I checked in (~3), I was told that the Japanese breakfast was no longer available on my first morning, because it was fully accounted for. So if you want the Japanese breakfast, please reserve in advance. It gets worse. So the FDA made a note on my reservation, requesting the Japanese breakfast on my second morning. On the second evening of my stay, I decided to go to the FD to confirm my Japanese breakfast for the next day. Apparently, there was no record of such a request, and by that point, all Japanese breakfasts have been accounted for yet again. I immediately put in a request for the Japanese breakfast on my last morning at the property. Fortunately, I did get to sample the Japanese breakfast on my last morning.

Overall, I had a great stay, but breakfast-gate was really annoying, and shouldn't have happened. If I had only stayed for two nights, and didn't get an opportunity to try the Japanese breakfast, I would have been disappointed. They do have Japanese front desk agents now. They might still need more staff. I took the Japanese breakfast in the living room, and they only had one staff member manning the place at that point. Other guests who streamed in after I was seated were left wandering for a bit, while the staff member went to get my food.

OsakaWino

Surprised that you say that considering your difficulties with breakfast, which seem like the most basic of things that any hotel should be able to handle correctly.

nexusCFX

I would have asked for 5000 points as comp or something for breakfast-gate. If you're going to have it be something that needs to be reserved, screwing that up is just unacceptable. I'm honestly a little surprised at this property's service failures for absolutely basic things that should not be issues, new hotel or not. I've stayed at other newly opened properties and the service failures are there but they're not things that are so basic an ape could do them.

Glad you were there for 3 nights and didn't miss on the chance to try it though.