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Is the Grand Hyatt brand moving away from complimentary toothbrushes?

June 11, 2018 By Trevor 2 Comments





I realize in the big scheme of things, the complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste found in most mid-to-high end hotel rooms is minimal. But, based on a recent stay at the Grand Hyatt Incheon (just outside of Seoul, South Korea), I am wondering if the Grand Hyatt brand is moving away from complimentary toothbrushes.

The Grand Hyatt Incheon

A few friends and I had decided to get a day room at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, as we had a roughly 14 hour layover during the day and figured it would be helpful to have a base of operations. So we checked into a room in the West Tower (this was the new tower built around the time the hotel switched brands from a Regency to a Grand). The room was pretty standard, but the thing that struck me was what was in the bathroom drawer.

Cost for a Toothbrush and Toothpaste at the Grand Hyatt Incheon

Cost for a Toothbrush and Toothpaste at the Grand Hyatt Incheon

Now I didn’t particularly need the toothbrush or toothpaste – I had brought my own on this particular trip. But seeing the charge, I had to inquire.

A public tweet garnered a collection of responses, generally expressing distaste.

The tweet also received a request from the Hyatt Concierge team to Direct Message them. I explained my concerns, and they forwarded those concerns on to the hotel’s Executive Assistant Manager, who I caught up with later that evening in the lounge.

Is the Grand Hyatt brand moving away from complimentary toothbrushes?

Speaking with the hotel’s Executive Assistant Manager, it seemed that the direction from Chicago, or Hyatt Corporate was to limit one gratis toothbrush per standard room, with additional toothbrushes and toothpaste at a cost (in this case, 6,600 Won which translates to $6.14 US).

I haven’t been able to get Hyatt to confirm this, but, it certainly is one data point indicating that Grand Hyatt brand may be moving away from complimentary toothbrushes.

Moving away from complimentary toothbrushes at Grand Hyatt hotels, it would seem like a small cost savings, though I’d imagine it could generate a decent amount of frustration.

Wrapping Up

If Hyatt really is moving away from offering complimentary toothbrushes at Grand Hyatt branded hotels, it’s not a tectonic shift. It makes me wonder if this is more akin to American Airlines removing olives from the salad in domestic first class back in the 1980’s. I doubt it will change anyone’s stay habits, but it still strikes me as cheap, especially when Grand Hyatt’s are largely viewed as a high quality hotel brand. Obviously Grand’s are behind the Andaz and Park Hyatt brands, but I’d argue that they would fall as a close 3rd in the Hyatt family.

What do you think of the possibility of the Grand Hyatt brand no longer offering complimentary toothbrushes?

Filed Under: Hotels Tagged With: grand hyatt, Hyatt, Seoul, South Korea

Review: Grand Hyatt Taipei

April 6, 2017 By Trevor 4 Comments

  • Weekend in Taipei: Introduction
  • Review: Eva Air 777-300ER Houston to Taipei
  • Review: Grand Hyatt Taipei
  • Weekend in Taipei: Touring Taipei
  • Weekend in Taipei: Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport
  • Review: Cathay Pacific Taipei to Hong Kong
  • Review: Cathay Pacific Hong Kong to Chicago
  • Weekend in Taipei: Conclusion

We were excited to have the chance to stay at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, as we’ve enjoyed many of the other Grand Hyatt properties across Asia, like the Grand Hyatt Tokyo and Grand Hyatt Singapore. But I have to say, this hotel was just a little different.

Arriving at the Grand Hyatt Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei

Arriving at the Grand Hyatt Taipei

The lobby was airy and very open.

Grand Hyatt Taipei Lobby

Grand Hyatt Taipei Lobby

Grand Hyatt Taipei Lobby

Grand Hyatt Taipei Lobby Check-in

Of course, we were whisked up to the Grand Club for check-in.

Unfortunately, our room wasn’t ready — we had arrived into Taipei at 6am, and made good time, so it was not even 9am when we had gotten to the hotel. So we were invited to enjoy breakfast in the lounge. This wasn’t ideal, but, it was certainly comfortable.

Breakfast at the Grand Hyatt Taipei’s Grand Club

The spread was reasonable – perhaps not as exhaustive as some hotels, but certainly more than sufficient.

Grand Hyatt Taipei Grand Hyatt Taipei

The Room at the Grand Hyatt Taipei

When we finally got to the room–after a short breakfast–we were happy to the space.

Grand Hyatt Taipei Sitting Room

Sitting Room

Grand Hyatt Taipei Sitting Room

Sitting Room

There was a wall separating the sitting area and the bedroom.

Grand Hyatt Taipei Bedroom Room

Bedroom

There was a nice sized television too. 

Grand Hyatt Taipei Bedroom Room

Bedroom 

Grand Hyatt Taipei

Control Panel by the bed

The bathroom was well adorned as well.

Grand Hyatt Taipei Sink

Sink

Grand Hyatt Taipei Sink Amenities

Sink Amenities

Grand Hyatt Taipei Shower

Shower

Grand Hyatt Taipei Bathtube

Bathtub

Overall, we found the room to be comfortable, and more than sufficient for our two night stay in Taipei.

Evening Drinks at the Grand Club

One thing that we tend to enjoy, is spending our evenings at the Grand Club. I realize that we’re missing out on some of the nightlight, but it always ends up being a relaxing environment to talk about the day, plan for the next day, and catch up on e-mail (a necessary evil).

Evening snacks at the Grand Hyatt Taipei's Grand Club

Evening snacks at the Grand Club

Evening snacks at the Grand Hyatt Taipei's Grand Club

Evening snacks at the Grand Club

Grand Hyatt Taipei

Conclusion

Overall, the hotel was more than satisfactory. I thought the Grand Club was great, although as I went through my photos, I missed the little kitchen area that they would prepare omelettes in the morning and warm dishes in the evening. The location wasn’t perfect, its in the business district, but, I really found the city to be walkable, and certainly hospitable, so the location was more than fine. The hotel had all the amenities you’d expect for either a vacation or a business trip.

Filed Under: Hotels Tagged With: grand hyatt, Grand Hyatt Taipei, Taipei

Review: Grand Hyatt Bali

April 5, 2016 By Trevor 2 Comments

  • Introduction
  • Starting Out and American Airlines’ Flagship Lounge – Chicago
  • Review: Japan Airlines First Class 777-300ER Chicago-Narita
  • Review: Japan Airlines First Class Lounge – Haneda
  • Review: Japan Airlines Business Class 777-200 Haneda to Bangkok
  • Review: Thai Airways Orchid Spa and Royal Orchid Lounge
  • Review: Thai Airways 787-8 Business Class – Bangkok to Denpasar-Bali
  • Review: Grand Hyatt Bali
  • Review: Denpasar-Bali Airport and Premier Lounge
  • Review: Singapore A330 Business Class Denpasar-Bali to Singapore
  • Review: Grand Hyatt Singapore
  • Review: Singapore Airlines Private Room
  • Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Singapore to Hong Kong
  • Review: Emirates Lounge – Hong Kong
  • Review: Emirates A380 First Class Hong Kong to Dubai
  • Review: Emirates First Class Terminal – Dubai
  • Review: Emirates A380 First Class Dubai to Washington, DC (Dulles)

This trip was our fourth visit to the Grand Hyatt Bali, you can find a previous review here .

We were happy to be placed in the same suite as we had stayed in back in June, 2015. The position is nice, being equidistant to the elevator in the direction of the pool, and a set of stairs directly across from the Grand Club. The room itself is laid out a bit differently, where as there is a large entry-way that doesn’t really have much of a purpose, except a place to drop your key and sunglasses, then to the left is a small sitting area, desk, and beyond that, a small dining area.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

To the right is the bedroom suite, and a second bathroom (immediately by the door). The bed we felt was very comfortable, and having the bathroom behind the bed offered us a little more of a buffer between us and the room next door. This was helpful, as the first couple of nights there was, what had to have been a stag party, in the room next door. Up at 3am  (or returning from a bar?) and still active when we headed to breakfast around 7am.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

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Amenities

There is a separate pool for Grand Club guests. This is by and large one of our favorite aspects. We found the pool to be quiet, and just a little bit more private. Despite it being smaller, it was never crowded.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

The beach is rather expansive, but is perhaps not the best, because of the shallow location. Still, there is plenty of beach. Further along, there are a variety of activities available for folks of all ages, including a volleyball net, tot-lot like play areas, a water slide at the main pool, and plenty of areas to walk around.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Grand Hyatt Bali – Grand Club

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The Grand Club is one of the few open air lounges that I’ve visited. In fact, no other ones come to mind. This is a bit of a double-edged sword as we found out this trip. Despite the fans, it can get quite warm, but that’s certainly much more bearable in Bali. We did however have some heavy rains a couple of days, and the result was an influx of mosquito. The lounge staff did have bug spray, which did the trick, it just was another thing to prepare for.

It’s important to note that they remodeled the Grand Club sometime in the last couple of years. When we visited in June it was already remodeled, and I have to say, it is quite the improvement. There is more space, and more available food options. There is also an area where you can get eggs and pancakes in the morning, cooked to order, and in the evening, there’s usually the choice of two warm dishes, and a hand tossed salad.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

The true shine of the Grand Club, however, is the staff. Urip welcomed us each evening with more energy than a child at the gates of Disney’s the Magic Kingdom. Eka and Sri kept our drinks full, and even made the time to chat here and there, as they were able to.

Wrapping Up

It should come as no surprise, that after 4 visits to the Grand Hyatt Bali, my wife and I are more than open to another visit. Of particular note, is the fact that many of the staff that we interacted with, either remembered us, or knew that we had been to the hotel before. I’m not sure that anyone at the Grand Hyatt Bali specifically knew that we had been to the hotel not once, but three times before, but I suppose my standards can sometimes be overly high. I was also happy to have the same suite we had last time.

IMG_1586

Filed Under: Hotels, Travel Tagged With: Bali, grand hyatt

Review: Grand Hyatt Santiago – Executive Suite with Terrace

December 12, 2015 By Trevor 3 Comments

  • Introduction: Vacation Run to Santiago, Chile
  • Review: American Airlines First Class – DFW to Santiago – 777-200
  • Review: Grand Hyatt Santiago – Executive Suite with Terrace – the Shakespeare Suite
  • Enjoying some of the must do’s of Chile
  • Review: American Airlines First Class – Santiago to DFW – 777-200
  • Conclusion: Vacation Run to Santiago, Chile

Arriving into Santiago, we opted to arrange our airport transfer through the hotel. Let me be clear, the hotel option is never the cheapest, but for this trip, being only 2 nights, I figured that I wanted to reduce risk, and have a smooth transition from flight to hotel. It kind’ve loosely fits into my $20 rule, and we appreciated the driver, as he pointed various highlights out along the way, and shared some information about his country.

Check In

Arriving at the hotel, we waited in the lobby for a few minutes, as the front desk was short staffed, and the hotel was at capacity—there were not one, but two weddings that evening, in fact! Well, we were no sooner at the front desk, when we were recommended to take the elevator up to the Grand Club for check-in.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

The first concerns came about when the woman checking us in highlighted the fact that we were on a 1 night paid rate, using a Diamond Suite Upgrade, and our second night was in a standard room as an award. Hyatt’s standard policy is that they cannot guarantee that the hotel will let you stay in a suite, if you use do multiple reservations, any of which as all points. I get that, I totally understand the policy, but most times, hotels are generous and able to just make that happen. We were informed that if we wanted to stay in the suite the second night, it would be a $91 additional cost.

My response was “not happening.” I asked for an afternoon room switch, which she seemed to kind’ve begrudgingly agree to.

Of course, the experience turned a bit more positive, when she informed us that our room was ready, and that because there were no Executive Suites available at this early hour (roughly 11am), we would be staying in an Executive Suite with Terrace. We do enjoy having a terrace, in nice weather destinations, and this was no exception.

The Room

Entering the room, it was clear the hotel was a little older, but, for the most part, was nicely maintained. The door oddly didn’t have anything to help it close. I just state that, because, I didn’t expect it and opened the door with a bit more gusto than, perhaps I should have.

The living room was spacious, with a couch, a chair, an ottoman, a coffee table and a nice television. It was pretty minimalist, but it a kind’ve classic way. On the other end of the room (closer to the door), there was a gorgeous antique looking desk, serving cart, and an espresso machine, complimented by some complimentary snacks that were quite tasty.

The desk I want if I ever get to design my own office…


The terrace was right off the living room. The terrace was spacious, with a couch, two chairs and 1 chaise lounge. My one comment here is that I would’ve really appreciated a second chaise lounge. I’m not sure that I understand why they only had one.

 

Opposite the door to the Terrace was the door to the bedroom, to the left you had the entrance to the bathroom which had one sink, a Jacuzzi tub, a separate room with a toilet and bidet, and then a separate standup shower.

 

There was also a closet with the in-room safe.

The Hotel’s Public Areas

The hotel has a number of restaurants, although I can’t say that we spent any time in any of them, the lobby felt larger than I think it was,

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

but the highlight in our opinion, was the pool. Here you have a hotel in the middle of a city, near a major highway, and yet they were able to create a peaceful place to lounge in the sun. How did they do this? With a beautiful waterfall, that created enough tranquil kind’ve which noise, to drown out all the traffic passing buy.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

In addition to the pool, there was a separate standalone building with the gym and the spa.

The Grand Club

Entering the Grand Club, it reminded me a lot like the JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro, with 4 story high windows, it certainly looked much bigger than it really was. Aside from the main room, there were two side areas. I don’t recall ever feeling like the club was at full capacity, despite the hotel being at full capacity.

Breakfast generally involved a selection of meats, cheeses, cereal, juices—including Beet juice, that was interesting to see—and two hot choices, Bacon and scrambled eggs were the choices both days we were there. It didn’t seem to me like there were any “made to order” options, as some hotels have.

The evening drinks and snacks was held from 5-8pm each night. This is one of the longer hotels I have seen, usually they are only 2 hours. The service was very pleasant, and most of the beverages were table service vs. self service. The only challenge was, every so often all of the servers disappeared into the kitchen.

The food didn’t seem to really strike me as exhaustive, and they made a point to not leave a whole lot of it out at any given time, but they did replenish it through the night.

Wrapping Up

The Grand Hyatt Santiago kind’ve grew on us, as the stay progressed. I’m a huge fan of the pool, the waterfall, I think makes the experience so much better, especially in the middle of a city. The terrace suite made a big difference for us as well, as we spent a fair amount on time on it. One interesting experience upon checking out, though, and I need to do more research on it, because the person checking us out, charged us in US Dollars vs. Chilean Pesos, and when I tried to dispute not having been given a choice, her response was that it was the only way to not have to charge me the 19% local tax. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced that before.

Filed Under: Hotels, Travel Tagged With: Chile, grand hyatt, Grand Hyatt Santiago, Santiago

Conclusion: Thanksgiving Round the World

February 9, 2015 By Trevor Leave a Comment

RTW Nov 2014 1743

This trip was at least 18 months in the making. It also went through varying destinations. We started out with the desire to do an around the world trip, then it became a “quick experience of Asia” trip, with visits to Taiwan and Malaysia (still haven’t made it to either), then we had to delay it. Eventually it started to really take form: Around the world, with stops in Tokyo, and Beijing. A last minute add (where I learned some lessons), was Frankfurt/Mainz, Germany, for me personally, a huge stop. I think my mother in law enjoyed Beijing and the Great Wall most, and my wife enjoyed Tokyo most. Maybe that’s the sign of the perfect trip.

Here are the segments of the trip report (in order of our stops, not necessarily in order of the posts):

Initial thoughts / intro

Flying All Nippon Airways Square Class

Flying All Nippon Airways Business Class

The Grand Hyatt Tokyo review

Touring the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan

Dueling Alliance Lounges at Tokyo-Haneda Airport

Dueling Planes

Visiting the Great Wall

The Grand Hyatt Beijing

Hyatt Regency Mainz

Realizing after the fact, I kind’ve left out a pretty amazing flight on Swiss Air from Beijing to Zurich. Suffice it to say, I had the best steak–ever–in the air.

Best steak ever!

Best steak ever!

I also skipped the United flight review from Frankfurt to Dulles, primarily because it was originally supposed to be Lufthansa, but thanks to a Lufthansa pilot strike, we were re-booked on United. I flew first class, in fact, I burned the additional miles to fly first class, specifically because I wanted to visit the Lufthansa First Class terminal again. Needless to say, the folks at the LH FCT offered tissues as they drove us to the “main” terminal to check in for our United flight. There are no words for how I felt.

Overall the trip was pretty amazing. It was perhaps the trip of a lifetime for my mother in law (really the focus of the trip). I know that my wife and I both really learned a lot from our experiences as well.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: All Nippon Airways, grand hyatt, Hyatt, Round the World, United Airlines

Saturday Special: Grand Hyatt Tokyo

December 20, 2014 By Trevor Leave a Comment

This is part of our Thanksgiving Round the World trip, you can find my initial thoughts / intro here.

RTW Nov 2014 052

Reason for choosing:

My wife and I had stayed at this hotel back in 2011 on our first mileage award (I know, crazy right? before that we “wasted” miles on upgrades). We actually stayed at all three Hyatt hotels (there’s now a fourth, the Andaz Tokyo) part for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge, part because we didn’t have the points for the Park Hyatt Tokyo the entire time, and part because we wanted to sample the Hyatts. This was our favorite of the three because of the balance between location, staff, and comfort (aka lounge and room). Don’t get me wrong, we really enjoyed the Park Hyatt Tokyo, but, traveling with my mother in law, proximity to mass transit was a pretty big deal.

Lobby and Check in/Check Out Experience:

We checked into the  Grand Hyatt Tokyo late in the evening but the small amount of staff that they had to check in guest were fantastic.  Everyone was very efficient and prompt, plus they showed us to the room.

Lobby

Lobby

Check out was very similar is speed and efficiency.  Though if you decide to take a cab to the airport or just have an early morning flight that doesn’t leave enough time to take one of the buses or mono rail it would be good to call down for the cab prior to check out.  The night before check out we were able to set up breakfast to be delivered to the room.  The lounge staff were able to put together a nice spread.

Breakfast Prior to Flight

Breakfast for Three Prior to Flight

Where the hotel stood out:

Since we were only spending a couple nights at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo we decided to share a suite.  They provided a roll away for my mother in-law that she says was very comfortable.   Given the size of the suite it would be a nice option for a family with small children. Mind you we did end up moving the roll away into the living room the first night which gave everyone a bit more privacy. The bathroom featured a toto “washlet” toilet (thus the photo in the collage below), I’m happy to say that no one got shot with water in the eye.

Room

Room

The lGrand Club is nicely laid out with multiple seating areas and almost every table has an outside view.

Lounge

Lounge

The Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s Grand Club is one of the most well run Hyatt lounges that we’ve spent time in. Their afternoon snacks are pretty nice too. You can’t go wrong with gummy bears.

Afternoon lounge snacks

Afternoon lounge snacks

The breakfast and evening spreads were nice; below sums up my wife’s favorite part of the evening spread.

Desert

Desert

Where the hotel fell a little short:

We didn’t really have any complaints about the hotel. If anything – just call down for an early morning cab before you go down to check-out, but not sure that’s a ding against the hotel.

Wrapping Up:

As this was our second stay at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo our expectations were meet and exceeded by the staff. We highly recommend this hotel for their great staff and location. It was especially nice to see a member of the staff that we had the chance to talk with at length on our first stay to be promoted. I happened to ask about him at breakfast, and he was kind enough to come up to say hello that evening. Those personal touches really make quite a difference to me, and its great to see good people get promoted.

Filed Under: Hotels Tagged With: grand hyatt, Hotels, Hyatt, Tokyo, Travel

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