price123

+1! Although we often find service is better in the family side.

Boraxo

Checked in earlier this week and decided to be a bit more aggressive at the front desk by asking if I had been upgraded to club level. No dice, but was told I had been "upgraded" to what appeared to be an average no view room on the 4th floor. I then asked if I could get breakfast and was offered free breakfast in the restaurant ^

Overall a good experience (as always) but will probably return to the Marriott GS in the future where I always receive a larger room and lounge access (even before I was Plat).

HookEm

A new benefit was offered by this fine hotel (omelettes made to order) in the Club Room, and we enjoyed it very much this past Summer. But as noted, some people complained about the length of time it took to receive their omelette, and so the benefit was removed.

So people like me, who are willing to wait without griping, are denied this nice benefit. The Club should make clear that it may take 25 minutes (if indeed it might take this long) to call downstairs to the kitchen, place the order in the queue, and have the order made and brought to the Club. But people inclined to complaining should realize that griping about a benefit can result in collateral damage, namely. people who aren`t by nature complainers are no longer able to get the aforementioned benefit.

OsakaWino

+1

I also see nothing good to come from Platinum members demanding club upgrades or free breakfasts.

JIMCHI

Agree. This seems to be a rather frequent occurrence at both this hotel and the Park Vendome in Paris. Sometimes, for unknown reasons, someone gets a free breakfast and suddenly it becomes almost a demand for others. I was a Platinum member for over 20 years until I've qualified for Diamond over the past 3 years. When I wanted a suite, I used my 6,000 point suite upgrades to get one. Occasionally a hotel would give me Club access but it was never something I expected. 3,000 point Club upgrades are also available to GP members. The only downside is that you have to pay a full rack rate to get these and maybe Hyatt should loosen these requirements. The points were earned and should be useable without having to pay outrageous rack rates.

Management at Hyatt properties has been very good to me over almost 25 years as a GP member without my having to demand things.

OsakaWino

Right on the button!

Here's a quote from a review of the Churchill on TripAdvisor:

"The only issue I had here was that I was not afforded the ability to not only get an upgrade to a Regency floor room but also not given a pass to the Regency Club given that I am a Hyatt Platinum member."

I too was Platinum for 20+ years, and although I never received a comped club upgrade, I was perfectly satisfied with the occasional room upgrade, and the Platinum Extra certs, and in more recent years with the free internet.

Boraxo

Really? How so? They might take away the free internet from Plats? Put us in worse-than-average rooms? Do tell.

The fact is that we have a choice in accommodations, and I have been thus far unimpressed with elite treatment across the board in all programs. So I've decided to demand more. As I see it, the worse thing that happens is that I don't get what I want. Which is really no worse than what I'm getting now.

HookEm

It`s been many years since I worked behind a counter, but if a customer "demanded" some benefit that he was not entitled to, he would not receive it. If he was nice and and management allowed it if it would not adversely impact others, he would more likely receive it. Maybe you are dissatisfied because you are turning off first line personnel. No offense sir, but if people go around and demand every possible benefit, it sure won`t be a better world.

Boraxo

Actually I have never "demanded" anything. Until recently my policy was simply to meekly take what was provided, with the exception of really crappy rooms that were unacceptable.

I have since learned that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Yes, there is an art to "politely requesting" v. "demanding" - if you think that I have taken the DYKWIA attitude then you don't know me very well. There are numerous examples in this thread alone where people have successfully used different strategies to request better treatment. As I see it, the whole purpose of FT is sharing strategies to achieve a better travel experience at a lower cost.

SeamasterLux

Will be arriving in 3 hours at the hotel for a 2-night stay using a Diamond Suite Upgrade (confirmed). Let's see in which kind of suite I end up. I'll post a review here afterwards.
After the GH Hong Kong where I was upgraded to a Diplomat suite Harbour (top floor), I feel like a spoiled child :-)
But I know this can't happen every time.

First time at the HR Churchill. I used to stay at the Halkin and the St James but the Hyatt rate was hands down lower this time that both of them by far. Otherwise the Halkin remains my favorite, partially because the bathtub is filled within 90 seconds (extremely dangerous if you think they're lying, I was on the phone thinking it will take at least twice as much time and ended up arriving when it was about to go "Tsunami")

MAN Flyer

I like the new outdoor area at Churchills Bar, although it will be much more enjoyable when the weather is warmer, even though they kindly offer blankets at the moment if you wish to sit outside. When the glass to box the area in and protect it from the elements arrives and is fitted it will be better than it is now.

The left hand side/new lounge has been closed for three days this week for private use so the older area to the right has been very busy for breakfast and evening drinks.

rfrost

When I was there in mid-January, it was also closed--they told me they were doing work on it. The other lounge was uncomfortably crowded at breakfast and for drinks, and I had to get permission to print my BP using the computer at one of the staff member's desks (with problems both logging on and printing, and staff too busy to furnish prompt assistance)--not my happiest stay there.

RichardInSF

Yeah, I had the same problem with half the club area being closed as well. When I persisted in my inquiries, they told me it was a group with club access and they thought it better to keep them isolated. However, no one actually showed up during the time I was in the club room.

I think the problem has gone away now but if it turns out to persist, I'll bring it up with management.

MAN Flyer

Oh dear, it looks like they may have been lying about the lounge then. If so, that is very poor behaviour for that hotel and we should pull them up about it. The whole idea behind opening the extra section was to alleviate the problem of not being able to get a table at times in the lounge. That was the problem again this week.

OsakaWino

I really hate it when hotel staff lie to me about the cause of a problem. And ironically it is often a very poor story that is soon proven to be untrue. They should know better.

If half of the club is going to be closed for some reason, I cannot understand why the hotel does not give vouchers for breakfast in the restaurant.