Park Hyatt Melbourne REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Jan 15, 2015, 8:38 am
#481
Moderator: GLBT Travelers & Hyatt Gold Passport
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: CVG
Posts: 15,300
Feb 9, 2015, 4:32 am
#482
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Democratic People's Republic of Victoria
Programs: First Time Flyer
Posts: 833
Let me put it this way, I have only ever stayed in "Club Deluxe King" or "Park Deluxe Spa" rooms (~60sqm) when booking the cheapest (base) room using my company's rate, or the recent flash sale rate.
I have never personally used a DSU here, but I know some FTers who have. It seems that you get the regular "Park Suite", sometimes known as the "Cathedral Suite" because they overlook St Patrick's Cathedral. Those rooms are ~55sqm, and have a long, thin layout.
The other (larger) suites in this hotel are amazing, but I have never stayed in one as a guest.
I have never personally used a DSU here, but I know some FTers who have. It seems that you get the regular "Park Suite", sometimes known as the "Cathedral Suite" because they overlook St Patrick's Cathedral. Those rooms are ~55sqm, and have a long, thin layout.
The other (larger) suites in this hotel are amazing, but I have never stayed in one as a guest.
In the months since this post, I have had 3x complementary upgrades to suites on 1 night business stays. On each occasion the hotel was very full (Spring Racing, Australian Open Tennis, Wedding, etc).
Unfortunately on such short stays the room is "wasted", as the main things I use are the bed, the shower and the door to leave again.
Not that I am complaining - keep the upgrades coming!!
Feb 9, 2015, 4:37 am
#483
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
You are always more likely to get the Diplomatic/Ambassador suites on one night stays. As always, when travelling for work it is rather wasted rather than when you're with your partner for leisure!
Feb 9, 2015, 4:46 am
#484
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Democratic People's Republic of Victoria
Programs: First Time Flyer
Posts: 833
The Ambassador Suite at this hotel was excellent. Easily the best hotel room I have stayed in as a guest in Melbourne.
I have had the Ambassador Suite at the Grand Hyatt once, and that was also lovely, but lacked a bit compared to the Park Hyatt.
Mar 7, 2015, 2:49 am
#485
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: MEL
Programs: Bonvoy LT Plat. WOH Glob. SQ Gold
Posts: 1,637
I don't think this hotel likes me 
I appear to be one of the few diamonds not to be given an upgraded room. I don't know if the standard rooms have the same variances as the deluxe but it seemed at lot smaller than the advertised 48 sqm. Granted I didn't pop down to bunnings to buy a tape measure and the bath/walk in robe set up does take up a lot of space.
Anyway a quick trip to reception, and after I was "helpfully" reminded what I'd booked, I ended up in a club deluxe. Now to be fair I did make a specific request in my booking for a city facing room - so this may have over ridden the standard upgrade - if this was the case it would have been nice for it to be mentioned at check in and is something worth considering for people making specific requests at this hotel.
Had a subsequent issue with this room and received pretty poor service/follow up especially from one of the Assistant Managers - Front Office (still not resolved after three nights). But nothing worth getting worked up about.
Other than that I still like the hotel even if they don't like me! The general service is very good.
Pro tip for other non frequent visitors - the speed bump in the hotel driveway means serious business. I was going about 20klm and it felt like I'd hit a brick wall!
I appear to be one of the few diamonds not to be given an upgraded room. I don't know if the standard rooms have the same variances as the deluxe but it seemed at lot smaller than the advertised 48 sqm. Granted I didn't pop down to bunnings to buy a tape measure and the bath/walk in robe set up does take up a lot of space.
Anyway a quick trip to reception, and after I was "helpfully" reminded what I'd booked, I ended up in a club deluxe. Now to be fair I did make a specific request in my booking for a city facing room - so this may have over ridden the standard upgrade - if this was the case it would have been nice for it to be mentioned at check in and is something worth considering for people making specific requests at this hotel.
Had a subsequent issue with this room and received pretty poor service/follow up especially from one of the Assistant Managers - Front Office (still not resolved after three nights). But nothing worth getting worked up about.
Other than that I still like the hotel even if they don't like me! The general service is very good.
Pro tip for other non frequent visitors - the speed bump in the hotel driveway means serious business. I was going about 20klm and it felt like I'd hit a brick wall!
Mar 7, 2015, 3:37 am
#486
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
This is very odd. Although it is Mardi Gras and the hotel may well have been at full occupancy this week as LGBTQI tourists hit MEL before SYD. There are Club Deluxe that face both directions BTW.
Mar 15, 2015, 2:20 pm
#487
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: PHX
Programs: American ExPlat; Marriott/SPG Lifetime Plat; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 8,116
The Park Hyatt that isn't
I went into a 3-night stay here earlier this month with tempered expectations, based upon what's been reported here. As it turns out, they weren't tempered anywhere close to enough.
There is no way this hotel should be flagged a Park Hyatt. I've been to a lot of them and this was, hands-down, the worst experience. No other property even in the running.
The common thread was an apparent lack of a service ethic. There cannot be a serious commitment to developing staff to provide exceptional service at this property -- in four days I encountered one single staff member who embodied it.
Don't get me wrong, the people were all very nice -- and I believe they were trying hard. But they simply didn't have the skills and training to perform at a high level. I put the responsibility for that squarely on the shoulders of management. Were I a senior manager at Hyatt, doing a 'secret shopper' stay, I would have fired the GM on the spot.
I arrived at 11:00 AM, fully aware it was not yet check-in time. I was told the room was vacated and being cleaned and I'd be called as soon as it was ready. Great. No call. Three hours later I went back to the desk and was given the key. I then learned that my bag had been delivered to the clean room more than 2 hours before.
Breakfast on the first day. Went to the restaurant. The greeter said, "The restaurant is unexpectedly full, so we cannot accommodate you." Not, it's going to be 15 minutes, or 30 minutes, or 2 hours. . . just "it's full."
OK, I said, what are our options? We settled on being served in the lobby sitting area right outside the door, which has comfortable tables suitable for meal service. Big mistake. Not surprisingly, service was slow and confused, as the waitress was also responsible for the espresso machine at the other end and it was quite busy. She took our orders off the menu, which she didn't understand (again understandably, as it's not her area). We waited an eternity for the food. It finally arrived and had clearly been sitting under the heat lamp for a very long time. The eggs so hard and rubbery as to be suitable for display in the window of a Japanese restaurant. Toast cold -- everything just awful. We just signed and left.
The next morning we tried again. This time a very tall, pleasant gentleman greeted and seated us. We sat for more than 15 minutes being totally ignored by all the staff walking by us with no eye contact whatsoever. (It's worth noting that two members of management were at the table next to us, interviewing a prospective hire.) The room wasn't even remotely busy. Less than 10 tables occupied. Finally, the same gentleman walked by having just seated another table. I asked him, "Excuse me, Sir, do we have a server?" (Doing it in such a way that the managers at the next table could overhear. Just in case they might care.) Yes, of course, he said, I'll get someone right over. He quickly did. Even then, no apology, no acknowledgement that someone had dropped the ball, even if not her. Just, "Can I get something for you?"
WiFi was atrocious. I've not had such bad WiFi in a hotel in years -- never mind a Park Hyatt. During normal hours, we literally had to sit on the floor, in the foyer, by the door, to have any signal at all. Even then it was a slow one. In the middle of the night, it worked great from anywhere in the room, so clearly a bandwidth issue. I made a call to the front desk and was told, "Yeah, I'm very sorry, we hear that a lot. It's a vendor that provides it and there is nothing we can do." Lovely. Incredibly frustrating when you're trying to combine some work with pleasure and it takes 3-4 minutes just for your email inbox to load -- assuming it doesn't just time out. I would have been better off with dial-up. This, at a Park Hyatt, in 2015. Who stays here that doesn't require good WiFi?
I know you all provided fair warning on this, but the DSU suite was the second worst of any Hyatt I've experienced anywhere. (Hyatt Union Square, NYC, you still have the honor.) I was on a low floor, facing the driveway into the hotel. The room was consistently hot. Maintenance helped, and tried to convince me it was fine, but it was the middle of the night before the bedroom would cool down to an acceptable level. The sofa in the living room, with it's rounded design, might be suitable for a low-end museum of modern art, but didn't belong in a hotel. Set a book on it and the extreme rolling slope of the cushion causes it to slide onto the floor. Incredibly uncomfortable to sit on. Did the designers even sit on the furniture they specified? Rhetorical question. As the primary piece of furniture in the living room, it was a joke.
Housekeeping was surprisingly weak. Multiple items missed every day. Towels. Towels, for god's sake -- in a hotel! Coffee not replenished. Cleaning rag left on the counter. Toilet paper not replenished. Trash not emptied.
There is more, but you get the picture.
One bright spot. On the flight over, JAL busted up my Rimowa hard case. I shudder to think what happened to it to cause such large cracks in the sides. No replacement was available from the two Rimowa-authorized retailers in town. I was trying to decide what to do and decided that I'd try securing it with some strong tape and perhaps a strap, just to get me back home (JAL was fully prepared to replace it, but that wasn't going to happen where I was.)
There was a maintenance man in the hallway who had just restored the lost power to my wing (another story) so I told him what I was trying to accomplish and asked him where I might find a store that carries 'duct tape' or something similar. He told me they had a good supply in their maintenance room and that he'd be happy to help. He went off to get a roll, quickly came to my room with it and spent the next several minutes helping me secure the bag. It worked beautifully, getting me through four more flights and my bag and contents securely back home to the US. This was the single experience I had with a staff member (Thank you again, Bruce.) who saw a guest's problem and jumped in to solve it.
For that moment, it felt like a Park Hyatt. Perhaps Bruce should be put in charge of training.
There is no way this hotel should be flagged a Park Hyatt. I've been to a lot of them and this was, hands-down, the worst experience. No other property even in the running.
The common thread was an apparent lack of a service ethic. There cannot be a serious commitment to developing staff to provide exceptional service at this property -- in four days I encountered one single staff member who embodied it.
Don't get me wrong, the people were all very nice -- and I believe they were trying hard. But they simply didn't have the skills and training to perform at a high level. I put the responsibility for that squarely on the shoulders of management. Were I a senior manager at Hyatt, doing a 'secret shopper' stay, I would have fired the GM on the spot.
I arrived at 11:00 AM, fully aware it was not yet check-in time. I was told the room was vacated and being cleaned and I'd be called as soon as it was ready. Great. No call. Three hours later I went back to the desk and was given the key. I then learned that my bag had been delivered to the clean room more than 2 hours before.
Breakfast on the first day. Went to the restaurant. The greeter said, "The restaurant is unexpectedly full, so we cannot accommodate you." Not, it's going to be 15 minutes, or 30 minutes, or 2 hours. . . just "it's full."
OK, I said, what are our options? We settled on being served in the lobby sitting area right outside the door, which has comfortable tables suitable for meal service. Big mistake. Not surprisingly, service was slow and confused, as the waitress was also responsible for the espresso machine at the other end and it was quite busy. She took our orders off the menu, which she didn't understand (again understandably, as it's not her area). We waited an eternity for the food. It finally arrived and had clearly been sitting under the heat lamp for a very long time. The eggs so hard and rubbery as to be suitable for display in the window of a Japanese restaurant. Toast cold -- everything just awful. We just signed and left.
The next morning we tried again. This time a very tall, pleasant gentleman greeted and seated us. We sat for more than 15 minutes being totally ignored by all the staff walking by us with no eye contact whatsoever. (It's worth noting that two members of management were at the table next to us, interviewing a prospective hire.) The room wasn't even remotely busy. Less than 10 tables occupied. Finally, the same gentleman walked by having just seated another table. I asked him, "Excuse me, Sir, do we have a server?" (Doing it in such a way that the managers at the next table could overhear. Just in case they might care.) Yes, of course, he said, I'll get someone right over. He quickly did. Even then, no apology, no acknowledgement that someone had dropped the ball, even if not her. Just, "Can I get something for you?"
WiFi was atrocious. I've not had such bad WiFi in a hotel in years -- never mind a Park Hyatt. During normal hours, we literally had to sit on the floor, in the foyer, by the door, to have any signal at all. Even then it was a slow one. In the middle of the night, it worked great from anywhere in the room, so clearly a bandwidth issue. I made a call to the front desk and was told, "Yeah, I'm very sorry, we hear that a lot. It's a vendor that provides it and there is nothing we can do." Lovely. Incredibly frustrating when you're trying to combine some work with pleasure and it takes 3-4 minutes just for your email inbox to load -- assuming it doesn't just time out. I would have been better off with dial-up. This, at a Park Hyatt, in 2015. Who stays here that doesn't require good WiFi?
I know you all provided fair warning on this, but the DSU suite was the second worst of any Hyatt I've experienced anywhere. (Hyatt Union Square, NYC, you still have the honor.) I was on a low floor, facing the driveway into the hotel. The room was consistently hot. Maintenance helped, and tried to convince me it was fine, but it was the middle of the night before the bedroom would cool down to an acceptable level. The sofa in the living room, with it's rounded design, might be suitable for a low-end museum of modern art, but didn't belong in a hotel. Set a book on it and the extreme rolling slope of the cushion causes it to slide onto the floor. Incredibly uncomfortable to sit on. Did the designers even sit on the furniture they specified? Rhetorical question. As the primary piece of furniture in the living room, it was a joke.
Housekeeping was surprisingly weak. Multiple items missed every day. Towels. Towels, for god's sake -- in a hotel! Coffee not replenished. Cleaning rag left on the counter. Toilet paper not replenished. Trash not emptied.
There is more, but you get the picture.
One bright spot. On the flight over, JAL busted up my Rimowa hard case. I shudder to think what happened to it to cause such large cracks in the sides. No replacement was available from the two Rimowa-authorized retailers in town. I was trying to decide what to do and decided that I'd try securing it with some strong tape and perhaps a strap, just to get me back home (JAL was fully prepared to replace it, but that wasn't going to happen where I was.)
There was a maintenance man in the hallway who had just restored the lost power to my wing (another story) so I told him what I was trying to accomplish and asked him where I might find a store that carries 'duct tape' or something similar. He told me they had a good supply in their maintenance room and that he'd be happy to help. He went off to get a roll, quickly came to my room with it and spent the next several minutes helping me secure the bag. It worked beautifully, getting me through four more flights and my bag and contents securely back home to the US. This was the single experience I had with a staff member (Thank you again, Bruce.) who saw a guest's problem and jumped in to solve it.
For that moment, it felt like a Park Hyatt. Perhaps Bruce should be put in charge of training.
Mar 15, 2015, 2:41 pm
#488
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
Wow, that sounds awful. I have to say, since GM Sholto Smith left I noticed levels slipping. No more handwritten cards, spelling my name wrong on printed cards, no more complimentary amenities.
Did Evelyn and Mirna in the club lounge not woo you with their charm? In my mind they make the hotel.
I have never, in at least 8 years, been told Radii is full. It's F1 Grand Prix week too. I have also never had issues with the wifi, however now wifi is free to all guests it may be a different story.
May I suggest you send an email to the property and Hyatt Corporate Care?
Curious, though, why you didn't ask to change suites?
Did Evelyn and Mirna in the club lounge not woo you with their charm? In my mind they make the hotel.
I have never, in at least 8 years, been told Radii is full. It's F1 Grand Prix week too. I have also never had issues with the wifi, however now wifi is free to all guests it may be a different story.
May I suggest you send an email to the property and Hyatt Corporate Care?
Curious, though, why you didn't ask to change suites?
Mar 15, 2015, 3:16 pm
#489
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: PHX
Programs: American ExPlat; Marriott/SPG Lifetime Plat; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 8,116
Wow, that sounds awful. I have to say, since GM Sholto Smith left I noticed levels slipping. No more handwritten cards, spelling my name wrong on printed cards, no more complimentary amenities.
Did Evelyn and Mirna in the club lounge not woo you with their charm? In my mind they make the hotel.
I have never, in at least 8 years, been told Radii is full. It's F1 Grand Prix week too. I have also never had issues with the wifi, however now wifi is free to all guests it may be a different story.
May I suggest you send an email to the property and Hyatt Corporate Care?
Curious, though, why you didn't ask to change suites?
Did Evelyn and Mirna in the club lounge not woo you with their charm? In my mind they make the hotel.
I have never, in at least 8 years, been told Radii is full. It's F1 Grand Prix week too. I have also never had issues with the wifi, however now wifi is free to all guests it may be a different story.
May I suggest you send an email to the property and Hyatt Corporate Care?
Curious, though, why you didn't ask to change suites?
I thought it was unfortunate the club doesn't do breakfast 6 days a week, as that's very much my preference -- a quick coffee and a small bite in a lounge environment.
As for changing the suite, by the time we got into our room, having been in transit for more than 24 hours and sitting in the lounge for three, I frankly didn't have the energy for negotiating over a different suite. Plus it's not typically my style to do so. I tend to trust that a PH is treating me as well as they can. The problems with the suite evolved over time, at which point we were unpacked and settled in so I wasn't interested in changing unless it was truly severe. I did what I could to address the issues as they came up. Some were resolved, others weren't.
I've been hoping that I would receive a survey -- I've found, particularly with Hyatt, that's the quickest way to get someone in management to pay attention to your experiences. I suspect there is some link to compensation. Thus far, naturally, no survey. I'm not particularly inclined to sending a note to management. What I do for a living is senior executive development and assisting senior teams with identifying and resolving issues with organizational culture, structure and personnel that impede expected performance. I'm pretty clear the issues at this property are systemic and stem from inadequate management. My experience tells me that unsolicited feedback in a situation like this is pretty consistently a waste of time.
Mar 15, 2015, 3:21 pm
#490
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
Just for reference, I find that if you turn the fireplace on, it switches off the air con. You will receive a survey, it can take a few days.
Mar 15, 2015, 3:26 pm
#491
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: PHX
Programs: American ExPlat; Marriott/SPG Lifetime Plat; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 8,116
Edited to add. . . there was definitely no fireplace in our suite.
Last edited by AZ Travels the World; Mar 15, 2015 at 3:56 pm
Mar 15, 2015, 6:27 pm
#492
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: San Diego,CA
Posts: 10,088
I went into a 3-night stay here earlier this month with tempered expectations, based upon what's been reported here. As it turns out, they weren't tempered anywhere close to enough.
There is no way this hotel should be flagged a Park Hyatt. I've been to a lot of them and this was, hands-down, the worst experience. No other property even in the running.
The common thread was an apparent lack of a service ethic. There cannot be a serious commitment to developing staff to provide exceptional service at this property -- in four days I encountered one single staff member who embodied it.
Don't get me wrong, the people were all very nice -- and I believe they were trying hard. But they simply didn't have the skills and training to perform at a high level. I put the responsibility for that squarely on the shoulders of management. Were I a senior manager at Hyatt, doing a 'secret shopper' stay, I would have fired the GM on the spot.
I arrived at 11:00 AM, fully aware it was not yet check-in time. I was told the room was vacated and being cleaned and I'd be called as soon as it was ready. Great. No call. Three hours later I went back to the desk and was given the key. I then learned that my bag had been delivered to the clean room more than 2 hours before.
Breakfast on the first day. Went to the restaurant. The greeter said, "The restaurant is unexpectedly full, so we cannot accommodate you." Not, it's going to be 15 minutes, or 30 minutes, or 2 hours. . . just "it's full."
OK, I said, what are our options? We settled on being served in the lobby sitting area right outside the door, which has comfortable tables suitable for meal service. Big mistake. Not surprisingly, service was slow and confused, as the waitress was also responsible for the espresso machine at the other end and it was quite busy. She took our orders off the menu, which she didn't understand (again understandably, as it's not her area). We waited an eternity for the food. It finally arrived and had clearly been sitting under the heat lamp for a very long time. The eggs so hard and rubbery as to be suitable for display in the window of a Japanese restaurant. Toast cold -- everything just awful. We just signed and left.
The next morning we tried again. This time a very tall, pleasant gentleman greeted and seated us. We sat for more than 15 minutes being totally ignored by all the staff walking by us with no eye contact whatsoever. (It's worth noting that two members of management were at the table next to us, interviewing a prospective hire.) The room wasn't even remotely busy. Less than 10 tables occupied. Finally, the same gentleman walked by having just seated another table. I asked him, "Excuse me, Sir, do we have a server?" (Doing it in such a way that the managers at the next table could overhear. Just in case they might care.) Yes, of course, he said, I'll get someone right over. He quickly did. Even then, no apology, no acknowledgement that someone had dropped the ball, even if not her. Just, "Can I get something for you?"
WiFi was atrocious. I've not had such bad WiFi in a hotel in years -- never mind a Park Hyatt. During normal hours, we literally had to sit on the floor, in the foyer, by the door, to have any signal at all. Even then it was a slow one. In the middle of the night, it worked great from anywhere in the room, so clearly a bandwidth issue. I made a call to the front desk and was told, "Yeah, I'm very sorry, we hear that a lot. It's a vendor that provides it and there is nothing we can do." Lovely. Incredibly frustrating when you're trying to combine some work with pleasure and it takes 3-4 minutes just for your email inbox to load -- assuming it doesn't just time out. I would have been better off with dial-up. This, at a Park Hyatt, in 2015. Who stays here that doesn't require good WiFi?
I know you all provided fair warning on this, but the DSU suite was the second worst of any Hyatt I've experienced anywhere. (Hyatt Union Square, NYC, you still have the honor.) I was on a low floor, facing the driveway into the hotel. The room was consistently hot. Maintenance helped, and tried to convince me it was fine, but it was the middle of the night before the bedroom would cool down to an acceptable level. The sofa in the living room, with it's rounded design, might be suitable for a low-end museum of modern art, but didn't belong in a hotel. Set a book on it and the extreme rolling slope of the cushion causes it to slide onto the floor. Incredibly uncomfortable to sit on. Did the designers even sit on the furniture they specified? Rhetorical question. As the primary piece of furniture in the living room, it was a joke.
Housekeeping was surprisingly weak. Multiple items missed every day. Towels. Towels, for god's sake -- in a hotel! Coffee not replenished. Cleaning rag left on the counter. Toilet paper not replenished. Trash not emptied.
There is more, but you get the picture.
One bright spot. On the flight over, JAL busted up my Rimowa hard case. I shudder to think what happened to it to cause such large cracks in the sides. No replacement was available from the two Rimowa-authorized retailers in town. I was trying to decide what to do and decided that I'd try securing it with some strong tape and perhaps a strap, just to get me back home (JAL was fully prepared to replace it, but that wasn't going to happen where I was.)
There was a maintenance man in the hallway who had just restored the lost power to my wing (another story) so I told him what I was trying to accomplish and asked him where I might find a store that carries 'duct tape' or something similar. He told me they had a good supply in their maintenance room and that he'd be happy to help. He went off to get a roll, quickly came to my room with it and spent the next several minutes helping me secure the bag. It worked beautifully, getting me through four more flights and my bag and contents securely back home to the US. This was the single experience I had with a staff member (Thank you again, Bruce.) who saw a guest's problem and jumped in to solve it.
For that moment, it felt like a Park Hyatt. Perhaps Bruce should be put in charge of training.
There is no way this hotel should be flagged a Park Hyatt. I've been to a lot of them and this was, hands-down, the worst experience. No other property even in the running.
The common thread was an apparent lack of a service ethic. There cannot be a serious commitment to developing staff to provide exceptional service at this property -- in four days I encountered one single staff member who embodied it.
Don't get me wrong, the people were all very nice -- and I believe they were trying hard. But they simply didn't have the skills and training to perform at a high level. I put the responsibility for that squarely on the shoulders of management. Were I a senior manager at Hyatt, doing a 'secret shopper' stay, I would have fired the GM on the spot.
I arrived at 11:00 AM, fully aware it was not yet check-in time. I was told the room was vacated and being cleaned and I'd be called as soon as it was ready. Great. No call. Three hours later I went back to the desk and was given the key. I then learned that my bag had been delivered to the clean room more than 2 hours before.
Breakfast on the first day. Went to the restaurant. The greeter said, "The restaurant is unexpectedly full, so we cannot accommodate you." Not, it's going to be 15 minutes, or 30 minutes, or 2 hours. . . just "it's full."
OK, I said, what are our options? We settled on being served in the lobby sitting area right outside the door, which has comfortable tables suitable for meal service. Big mistake. Not surprisingly, service was slow and confused, as the waitress was also responsible for the espresso machine at the other end and it was quite busy. She took our orders off the menu, which she didn't understand (again understandably, as it's not her area). We waited an eternity for the food. It finally arrived and had clearly been sitting under the heat lamp for a very long time. The eggs so hard and rubbery as to be suitable for display in the window of a Japanese restaurant. Toast cold -- everything just awful. We just signed and left.
The next morning we tried again. This time a very tall, pleasant gentleman greeted and seated us. We sat for more than 15 minutes being totally ignored by all the staff walking by us with no eye contact whatsoever. (It's worth noting that two members of management were at the table next to us, interviewing a prospective hire.) The room wasn't even remotely busy. Less than 10 tables occupied. Finally, the same gentleman walked by having just seated another table. I asked him, "Excuse me, Sir, do we have a server?" (Doing it in such a way that the managers at the next table could overhear. Just in case they might care.) Yes, of course, he said, I'll get someone right over. He quickly did. Even then, no apology, no acknowledgement that someone had dropped the ball, even if not her. Just, "Can I get something for you?"
WiFi was atrocious. I've not had such bad WiFi in a hotel in years -- never mind a Park Hyatt. During normal hours, we literally had to sit on the floor, in the foyer, by the door, to have any signal at all. Even then it was a slow one. In the middle of the night, it worked great from anywhere in the room, so clearly a bandwidth issue. I made a call to the front desk and was told, "Yeah, I'm very sorry, we hear that a lot. It's a vendor that provides it and there is nothing we can do." Lovely. Incredibly frustrating when you're trying to combine some work with pleasure and it takes 3-4 minutes just for your email inbox to load -- assuming it doesn't just time out. I would have been better off with dial-up. This, at a Park Hyatt, in 2015. Who stays here that doesn't require good WiFi?
I know you all provided fair warning on this, but the DSU suite was the second worst of any Hyatt I've experienced anywhere. (Hyatt Union Square, NYC, you still have the honor.) I was on a low floor, facing the driveway into the hotel. The room was consistently hot. Maintenance helped, and tried to convince me it was fine, but it was the middle of the night before the bedroom would cool down to an acceptable level. The sofa in the living room, with it's rounded design, might be suitable for a low-end museum of modern art, but didn't belong in a hotel. Set a book on it and the extreme rolling slope of the cushion causes it to slide onto the floor. Incredibly uncomfortable to sit on. Did the designers even sit on the furniture they specified? Rhetorical question. As the primary piece of furniture in the living room, it was a joke.
Housekeeping was surprisingly weak. Multiple items missed every day. Towels. Towels, for god's sake -- in a hotel! Coffee not replenished. Cleaning rag left on the counter. Toilet paper not replenished. Trash not emptied.
There is more, but you get the picture.
One bright spot. On the flight over, JAL busted up my Rimowa hard case. I shudder to think what happened to it to cause such large cracks in the sides. No replacement was available from the two Rimowa-authorized retailers in town. I was trying to decide what to do and decided that I'd try securing it with some strong tape and perhaps a strap, just to get me back home (JAL was fully prepared to replace it, but that wasn't going to happen where I was.)
There was a maintenance man in the hallway who had just restored the lost power to my wing (another story) so I told him what I was trying to accomplish and asked him where I might find a store that carries 'duct tape' or something similar. He told me they had a good supply in their maintenance room and that he'd be happy to help. He went off to get a roll, quickly came to my room with it and spent the next several minutes helping me secure the bag. It worked beautifully, getting me through four more flights and my bag and contents securely back home to the US. This was the single experience I had with a staff member (Thank you again, Bruce.) who saw a guest's problem and jumped in to solve it.
For that moment, it felt like a Park Hyatt. Perhaps Bruce should be put in charge of training.
Not a bit surprised truthfully. I rather stay at the Hilton SouthWharf then they stay at PH Mel
The hotel has been slightly off for some years IMHO
No excuse as it could be a really great property with some extra effort and a vision
I regret to hear about your stay
My suggestion for you would be to first file a complaint with Hyatt Consumer Affairs/Unfortunately no matter what we share here
there isn't an official complaint on record and there needs to be
I had the opposite experience of you empty dining room and no one could be bothered to replenish the breakfast buffet or refresh my water glass
They were very nice just aloof and asleep at the wheel.
Green interns still learning
There was no manager on the floor. I was told he was in a meeting or something like that.
The hotel was really great when it first opened and for some time after
I remember when I would order room service every day it was that good.
The hotel has never found its way in the premium market and lesser area hotels routinely out perform it in almost everyway
Under proper management the hotel could be one of the best in the city
But the GM Arthur Holliger that held the position for years really hurt the property over an extended period of time.
I remain a Grand Hyatt guy in that market.
They always take the time to speak with me, listen share viewpoints and at the end of the day genuinely seem to care about guest satisfaction.
I had wifi problems and the GH folks brought in an IT guy from their 3rd party provider to solve the lions share of the issue
They could have said sorry and given up but they spent hours to make sure I would enjoy my stay and be productive
The Westin Mel Wifi was flawless. Wonder why both Hyatt's struggle with their service provider locally
In closing I would say the Park Hyatt Melbourne's biggest issue is they have no or very limited recovery system
to fix or solve problems that would be in place for a 4 star hotel let alone a 5 star that it wishes to be
Which is why it so important to let the Hyatt folks know how they are doing
Its a property we would all like to stay without a second thought. I'd go back but only if it was a bargain.
The offerings are better in a number of the 4 star area properties with more interesting amenities like outdoor breakfasts and other desirable aspects
Cheers
Mar 16, 2015, 1:46 am
#493
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
My experience could not differ more from the above. I have three specific Club Deluxe I request to allocate me one of.
Arrived on a flight this morning, extremely sick. Front desk agent checked me in at 11AM and said that the new GM would like to meet me. I declined as I felt ill and he later called and offered to send me Chicken Congee with Rice.
I didn't get one of my three favourite rooms, but being able to lay down and early check in trumps my preferred view. I also have no issues with wifi.
To further add to the service level, the Business Centre only does black and white printing. I needed colour, and the front desk agent said if I emailed their general address they would print it right away. It was less than from 5 mins from hitting send to having them delivered under my door.
As I have iterated before, the difference between return Diamond and a first time Diamond guest are stark, though that does not excuse the above.
Arrived on a flight this morning, extremely sick. Front desk agent checked me in at 11AM and said that the new GM would like to meet me. I declined as I felt ill and he later called and offered to send me Chicken Congee with Rice.
I didn't get one of my three favourite rooms, but being able to lay down and early check in trumps my preferred view. I also have no issues with wifi.
To further add to the service level, the Business Centre only does black and white printing. I needed colour, and the front desk agent said if I emailed their general address they would print it right away. It was less than from 5 mins from hitting send to having them delivered under my door.
As I have iterated before, the difference between return Diamond and a first time Diamond guest are stark, though that does not excuse the above.
Mar 17, 2015, 1:47 am
#494
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
Too ill to stay for the week, I check out today. As always, Evelyn looked after me, breakfast had ample seating and when I had lunch the waitress delivered hot water with lemon because she noticed I looked sick.
GM called to offer me a room with an outdoor terrace because I mentioned I needed fresh air, however I decided to return home.
Checked out early with no issue and the new GM came our and introduced himself as I departed.
Overall, I believe that the PH remains a property that is about exceptional service, and the reason I stay there.
GM called to offer me a room with an outdoor terrace because I mentioned I needed fresh air, however I decided to return home.
Checked out early with no issue and the new GM came our and introduced himself as I departed.
Overall, I believe that the PH remains a property that is about exceptional service, and the reason I stay there.
Mar 17, 2015, 6:29 am
#495
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,510
Too ill to stay for the week, I check out today. As always, Evelyn looked after me, breakfast had ample seating and when I had lunch the waitress delivered hot water with lemon because she noticed I looked sick.
GM called to offer me a room with an outdoor terrace because I mentioned I needed fresh air, however I decided to return home.
Checked out early with no issue and the new GM came our and introduced himself as I departed.
Overall, I believe that the PH remains a property that is about exceptional service, and the reason I stay there.
GM called to offer me a room with an outdoor terrace because I mentioned I needed fresh air, however I decided to return home.
Checked out early with no issue and the new GM came our and introduced himself as I departed.
Overall, I believe that the PH remains a property that is about exceptional service, and the reason I stay there.
