It’s not often that I walk into a hotel room and am shocked (well, other than that time the child bandits broke into my room at the Sheraton Grand London), but that’s exactly what happened to me during a recent stay at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley (which I’ll be reviewing soon).
Continue reading: The Most Surprising Hotel Welcome Amenity I’ve Ever Received
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
In fairness you were featured in Rolling Stone a few years back. I suspect someone thought your name sounded familiar, checked on you, and they decided to do the Super Extreme Deluxe package. Still, props to you. It looks quite nice.
The best "welcome amenity" I ever received was an upgrade to a presidential suite with chilled Dom waiting. And, I am truly no one.
I checked in to a Motel 6 once, and they had Googled my name and provided me with 7 nubile strippers, 3 lines of cocaine, and a bottle of aspirin.
/s
hmmmm ... hafta keep my eyes ( & hopes ) open for a forthcoming status match offer from the eponymous Motel 6 !
I’m not sure if this counts, but I recently stayed at the Conrad New York Downtown. I asked if they have the Conrad rubber ducks as my young son got one from the Conrad Tokyo. They said they don’t. When I returned to my room later that evening, there was a dish with a little yellow NY taxi cab with Conrad branding and gummy bears inside. Turns out the cab was made of chocolate or fondant or something. It totally made my son’s day.
I’d love a Hyatt to just remember that I stayed at their specific hotel several times before. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve stayed at HR Boston Harbor, GH DC or SanFran and been asked- is this your first time here? What??? Can’t you see that a) I’m globalist, so stay at a lot of hyatts and b) have stayed at your specific hotel 6-8 times in the past 4 months.
Bogggles my mind. And despite spending $15k a year with Hyatt, I super rarely get any amenity unless it’s a PH.
New York Downtown has an incredible team, and is far better than the one in Midtown ever was (now no longer a Conrad; ironically, may have become a Marriott). Downtown NYC used to have a Ritz-Carlton and W, but they each left Marriott since the pandemic. Marriott opened a newer Ritz-Carlton in Nomad, which is actually quite nice (better than the one at Central Park). The St. Regis is classic, but old. The JW is just old.
I’ve now stayed at this property twice, once in summer once just recently in winter, and I was very impressed with the level of service both stays, and to top it off is nicely designed and furnished. I wish it were more convenient for ski access as it is a great hotel. Snow is terrible on this side of DV
The ski conditions in Deer Valley especially by the East Village area by the Grand Hyatt have been awful this season. Met a lot of unhappy visitors on the ski lifts. Hotel is trying to keep everyone happy right now until the temps drop and there is a decent base and some powder to ski on.
LOL.
My parents got the most memorable 'amenity' ever at a Motel 6 in a California desert town; a bullet through the wall and into my stepfather's baseball cap, which was sitting on the bed as he showered.
True story. They ended up having to testify against the knucklehead who accidentally shot through the wall (and his hand). He was a felon with an active warrant.
And they still don't understand why I 'pay extra' for nicer hotels.
The martini didn’t just cost the hotel $2, it cost them the $20 you didn’t spend on buying a martini.
Best to compare to someone with similar status witnout a blog and see what their amenity gift is.
That is a creative welcome amenity.
You may have hit a threshold within the Hyatt system where an upgraded amenity is required per their standards.
Looking forward to your review. Safe Travels.
Personally, I've enjoyed the whole fruit amenities when I've received them. Doubletree Shanghai Pudong upgraded us to a massive suite near the top floor. Some really delicious ripe fruit, displayed nicely, greeted our arrival. We snacked on it, and they kept replenishing it during our stay. Very nice touch.
Odd - I get call outs for staying at a property before even if it's been so many years I forgot I even did stay there. Luck of the draw I guess.
The best I ever received was at ITC Kohenur in Hyderabad, India when i was on my usual business trip from Seattle. They made a small pillow with my name embroidered on it! I still use the pillow to the day! That was an amazing gesture and its such an awesome hotel as such. Stayed there multiple times!
Considering their competition in the very bear future will include FS and Aman, I think they are trying to get ahead! 😉
This presumes that the welcome martini replaces one that Ben would have bought otherwise at the hotel.
I believe that hotels often have a policy of not ever presuming that someone has stayed there before, or saying "welcome back," in case someone is visiting with a different partner.
We stayed at the Omni in downtown LA on our wedding night. Didn't book a special room, it was just convenient to the celebration. I checked in in the morning so we'd just be able to pick up the keys when we got there that night. I guess I mentioned we were getting married as they upgraded us to a presidential suite, put out a bottle of champagne, a slice of cake, and some fruit, and decorated the bed with (fake) rose petals in the shape of a heart. Also gave us access to the club for breakfast. That was quite a nice surprise for both of us!
@JohnnyBow - I think I stayed at that Motel 6 with my parents waaay back when, on a trip to Death Valley. Barstow, CA. A big burly security guard was making the rounds, knocking on each door and poking his head in. I don't remember what he said, but the implication was that the area was dangerous and the security guard was trying to pre-empt trouble by making his presence known.
Stayed at The Fives Puerto Morelos (Mexico.
Welcome amenity was bottle of Prosecco, plate of chocolates, plate of fruit, plate of cheese and olives. All on slate dishes. I thought that was cool.
Ugh, caviar of any kind is disgusting. I'm convinced people claim to love it because it's expensive, but it tastes like licking the slime out of the bottom of the fish counter at the Walmart after closing.
But I don't get to stay at flossy hotels so I guess I'm safe.
I think this article is really taken out of context. I think where you are in the world matters greatly as to the welcome gift that you will receive because primarily of the cost to the hotel and also the expected level of service.
I have stayed at the HR Seattle 4 times and every visit since the first I have had a welcome back.
I am always surprised how, even with a so called good CRM system, most front office agents will always ask me, during check-in, if this is the first time that I am visiting their hotel. When you stay there once a month, I think that’s easily a question worth avoiding…
Meanwhile on my wedding night the Marriott we stayed at did nothing... even though my Ambassador reached out and I replied to the pre-arrival email that I was getting married. And please don't start the hate. I wouldn't stay at Marriotts if I didn't have to. I probably have 30+ nights/year at marriotts that are selected by other people - many in the spring during the traditional double points time. At that point, it makes sense to have status.
The Super 8 in Van Horn, TX has massage chairs in some rooms. Wonderful surprise, and I'll take that over a bottle of anything after driving for 8 hours.
It's a new hotel at Deer Valley, they're catering to a different crowd there and are likely still trying to get on the map. I'm a local and the only time I hear of other locals skiing there is when they've purchased an icon pass. Else it's just an extremely overpriced resort, save some money and ski Park City. And you're probably right, they need your good review
What a fantastic welcome amenity!
I’ve been blown away twice, once at Barrière les Neiges which gifted for both my husband and I branded Mackage jackets, a tuque and wool baseball cap from another prominent winter gear brand and 2 pairs of heavy ‘Ugg’ style slip on cozy shoes among another few smaller goodies . The second was from Conrad New York who gifted adorable bow ties and nyc cab stuffies for both our dogs back home and even named them in a welcome card . Research was on point lol