Park Hyatt Hotels & Resorts: My Favorite Luxury Points Hotel Brand, But...

100% correct about the Park Hyatt Sydney. These days they’re only claims to fame are being the most expensive hotel in Sydney and having the best view of the Opera House.

I have a stay there, likely my final, next month, after which I’ll be moving my business to the Capella, where Marc Von Arnim is the GM; he was the former GM of the Park Hyatt Sydney, which started going downhill the moment he left.

With the pending Hyatt devaluations, it's gonna be challenging to even stay at them, soon enough. Sad days ahead for many of us... Also, for some reason, PH's soaps/shampoos don't work for me.

Curious about Park Hyatt CDMX (now bookable but not with points it appears) and the all-inclusive Park Hyatt Riviera Maya.

You talk and talk about the benefits of the globalist status... but does that really matter when, at Park Hyatts at least, you can just book through a travel agent who can book you through Hyatt Prive, and you get all the same benefits anyway, without having to worry about jumping through hoops for status? What am I missing?

Hyatt Prive gets you neither guaranteed 4pm check out or a potential suite upgrade from a basic room, so it’s not ‘all the same benefits’ at all. That’s what you’re missing.

Of course, many of us stack both for the $100 F&B credit on top of this.

I've stayed at the PH Kuala Lumpur (Prive) and PH Istanbul (FHR) within the past 12 months. I'd highly recommend both of my previous stays, especially with the additional benefits from the advisor rates.

I'm planning to stay at the PH Saigon in the fall (booked via Bilt Home Away from Home and using my credits, which made the stay more reasonable).

WOH is way overrated but loved by influencers because they give lots of freebies to Globalists.

PH is way overrated but loved by influencers because they are all WOH Globalists.

This brand is stuck in the last decade.
This is more like EDITION but you'll see people defend it like Tim Dunn.

They are still a good solid brand. But unless you're trying to get free breakfast, there are many better places to stay.

FHR guarantees 4pm.

And most people are better off paying for the suite than to endure 60 nights of WOH in lower brands because that's only what's available due to its tiny footprint.

If PH Sydney goes downhill a bit more, it'll end up at the bottom of the bay.

As far as I'm concerned, for that price PH is already in the bottom. Capella is Capella, exceptional but still overhyped overpriced, just not as bad as PH Sydney.

After a string of stellar luxury hotel stays, Park Hyatt New York (PHNY) was the hotel that prompted me to seriously ask myself what I was getting for my money when I shelled out either the points or cash for these hotels.

I had a solid 3.5 star hotel in NYC to compare PHNY to. Turns out, the only thing PHNY provided that the the 3.5 star didn't was a decent concierge and a slightly bigger room. That's it. Twice the price for someone googling for me and a little more interior space for a room I basically only slept in.

From my perspective there are precious few American luxury hotels that justify their prices on a service or hard product level. Most rooms/suites at PHNY don't have a good view. The restaurant situation is bare bones. The service element is 3.5 star level.

TL;DR, unless you have points to burn, there is no economic argument in favor of PHNY. The New Zealand property is great tho, as is Tokyo and Kyoto.

Prive doesn't apply to award bookings. And many people (myself included) prefer spending points on luxury/high price hotel stays, like at PHs.
Plus, for cash bookings, Prive rates are always more expensive than member/AAA/etc rates.

I don't think Park Hyatt is comparable to St. Regis. Your best St. Regis properties are better than your best Park Hyatts. Park Hyatt is more like a very nice Intercontinental, Fairmont or JW Marriott.

Look at the Park Hyatt Georgetown or the Park Hyatt London.

Just spent six nights at PH Paris (Globalist). The service was across-the-board amazing, just fantastic service from the staff.

Hyatt should fire its design team because the whole portfolio of Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt for a long time had that awful Ikea-like furniture. It's like half-Asian and half-Nordic. Lots of blonde or light-colored wood. Low beds. Minimalistic. Nothing that says luxury. Very 1990s.

I really liked PH KUL, But you could not pay me to go to PH IST.If the Breakfast is the same as a couple of years ago by the Pool area. very,very little selection. I have been to a Few PH's But so far PH Istanbul has been the worst if it is still owned by Nusrat Bey.

To echo your point, I just stayed at the Waldorf NYC and Park Hyatt NYC back to back nights, and to compare the hotels is laughable. The PH is actually like a 3 start hotel next to the waldorf. There is actually zero competition. I also think that the PH was extremely underwhelming, besides for the amazing shower, the room was so bare and bland, and not in a good way.
On the other hand the Waldorf blew me away. The service is next level, the hotel is absolutely majestic and beautiful, peacock alley is an experience, and even the base rooms are massive and stunning (forsure the size of a junior suite in many city hotels).
Definitely trending more Waldorf than PH I agree with you there.

I've stayed at PH Hyderabad and Chennai. Love the value available at those 2 properties!

You know not what you talk about. One someone who has never stayed at a Park Hyatt would put PH in the same category as IC, Fairmont or JW.

May be in terms of benefits it is ahead of Ritz Carlton but it has similar benefits to the St Regis. While Ritz Furthermore, there is nothing interesting about the newer properties as such are mostly in skyscrapers and have a similar decor and feeling to its competitors.

Look at St. Regis Bermuda or St. Regis Bangkok. You’re imagining differences where they don’t exist.

Agreed. Marc Von Arnim is semi-famous as basically the best hotel GM in Australia.

Given its amazing location and view, the PH Sydney only has to be competent at everything else to be an overall very good experience, but it can't seem to manage that at the moment.

Sorry but yes, all but a few we've stayed at, it is truly Ikea all the way

Secondly, FHAP above is committing a hate crime in some countries by posting that in this column.

Recently stayed at the PH Vendome in Paris. Not wowed at all.
We are Globalist and received an upgraded room, a suite but all one room with wardrobe and bath behind the bed.

We were very disappointed. Tech. The telephone is from the 1960's. The TV is behind a glass mirror. You can't see it with all the shadow, lights and window interference. Can't hear it as the voice is muffled behind the glass. And most certainly a terrible TV selection paying €2500 a nite. The Youtube constantly froze, went black. Restart to only happen again.

We were not impressed at all with the food. A year ago we enjoyed the food, the taste. This year there must be new people in the kitchen, totally a waste to dine in. We went to the Ritz at the Vendome and they still maintain the highest food standards.

Toilet seats that are supposed to heat, don't. It appears whoever is in charge of Paris or the region really needs to get that hotel up to date.

We will not return to it again in this condition.

Also the London PH, we tried it. We found it to be nothing special. And the location is the killer. Who is going to stay in that neighborhood and secondly you've got a long ride to anywhere downtown, and with London traffic these days even a limo ride is going to suck.

That's helpful to know - thanks for the info. I just dont travel enough for status or have interest in getting a hyatt credit card, so I've always found the Hyatt Prive service to work well and get me what I need. But good- you answered my question! Thank you!

Well my CID SYD CID SWIVEL SEAT getaway was only one night so I splurged on the Park Hyatt Sydney booked through Toby with your hubby’s Service. I usually stay at the InterContinental for location next to the RBG & rooftop breakfast, but glad I tried PHS!!
Excellent room with best view of Opera House. Arrived before room ready so used gym, pool area to freshen up. I had my button shirt airing out on a poolside bush. A maid saw this and offered to have my shirt laundered (no charge)

The place was lovely with lots of wood and stone plus quick response time

I’ll add that I enjoyed the PH Chicago.
Love the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi which is better than St Regis. My go to beach and museums place.
It’s been a few years but I really enjoyed the Paris Weston Same neighborhood but views of the Tower.

I stayed at the PH Aviara a few years ago, and will be staying again this year. Will see if the experience still holds up. My previous stay was excellent on all fronts. Agree that the furnishing were a little plain-ish, but they may have just been ahead of the curve, since that's the design aesthetic these days anyway.

Fine property, but I feel bad for guests that pay cash to stay. Nowhere near the nightly rates.

That Westin closed right after the Olympics.

Thanks for calling this out Ben. This is a point I totally agree on. The Park Hyatt brand always focused on urban properties, but used to have a real 'wow' factor (Think when PH Shanghai first opened) in minimalist but striking decor and settings. That seems to have faded (I think we can all agree the PH New York adds nothing unique or special to the city).

I think their brand standards have been falling, but this seems to be a trend of over-expansion? I think Mandarin Oriental for example is suffering as well, and you've mentioned the drop in Aman standards repeatedly. Is this just a general trend across chain hotels? Four Seasons seem to be the only ones not declining...

The "enshitifaction" of chain hotel standards and experiences going global? Let's hope not.

I agree. Hyatt in all categories need an update. Most of the properties seem old and tired. As a Globalist, I still see good value overall however a better breakfast can be found elsewhere. It’s just not free

Prive gets you a lot of the same benefits, but the only issue is that it's cash only. So a 5 night stay at PHNY could potentially run you $5k. Personally, I don't have that kind of disposable cash. But what I do have is lots of Chase points that I can transfer to Hyatt, and I can easily afford 45k a night.

I just finished my 3rd Park Hyatt stay of this trip and i tend to agree that there is a bit of variability when it comes to service and staffing at these hotels.

I just had a 30 day stay at the Park Hyatt Sydney and I have to say the staff was so well trained, attentive and somehow, laid back at the same time. They made my stay so personal and memorable at every turn. While I’ve stayed at every major luxury points brands, none have been able to wow me like the Park Hyatt Sydney.

That being said, the Park Hyatt Johannesburg offered me a welcome drink and then charged me for the drinks. Then what was free transfers around the city in the house car in December ended up being a $30 dollar ride in May. Not to mention telling me i wasn’t a VIP as a globalist and they had a real VIP they gave the suite to instead in my December stay. Missing the small touches and service element can happen at Park Hyatt’s though it’s rare.

Park Hyatt Sydney has the WORST and most atrocious service of any hotel that I have ever stayed at. Their front office is a joke in demeaning guests, being petty, gaslighting, lying and not honoring Hyatt benefits. There were rooms available for upgrade when I stayed but they simply denied a Globalist upgrade with no further justification. No regard for guest safety too on their and does not even warn that their windows are COMPLETELY see through at night.

See the Flyertalk forum for more reviews: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-world-hyatt/1316179-park-hyatt-sydney-post-reno-review-master-thread-143.html

Save your sanity and go to Capella or Four Seasons instead!!!