Park Hyatt Los Angeles (California, USA)

After a disastrous stay at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach, it was a relief to find that Hyatt's top collection of Park Hyatt Hotels does mean that one gets a comfortable and well-designed place to stay. Or at least, that was how I found the Park Hyatt Los Angeles, located at the heart of Century City, only few steps away from Westfield's Century City open-air shopping area.

I am not sure how old the facility is, but it did seem that the building was not of recent years. The lobby, however, contained the Park Hyatt signature of boutique-like minimalist approach, especially the check-in counter. At first, I was given room 1211, a junior suite that had a gorgeous view of the beautifully-lit fountain on the Avenue of the Stars and of the entrance to the hotel. Unfortunately for me, I got a strong whiff of cigarette smell as I opened the door and entered the suite. Thus, I was re-assigned to another junior suite on the 11th floor (room 1114 to be exact), a much better smelling room, but a blah view of the MGM building not too far away. The floor configuration was rather interesting: it was not a straightforward corridor, but a zigzagging one.

The layout of the suite was reminiscent of the suite at the Park Hyatt Saigon. There were also similarities in terms of the wallpaper (same beige stripes, except at the PHLA, the stripes were thinner); and the bedroom doors at an angle. Although the suite could be used for two people, there was only one basin in the bathroom, which became rather inconvenient when two people would like to use it at the same time.

The shower stall was way too small for two people. The one at the Park Hyatt Saigon, for example, could accommodate three people at once without any problem. The hotel was also rather stingy in issuing towels. Normally, even in a Grand or Regency Hyatt hotel, there would be at least three bath towels. Here at the Park Hyatt Los Angeles, only two were provided. I am sure that upon request, extra towels would be provided without any problem.

The safe deposit box could accommodate a laptop. It also had an electrical plug so that one could charge the laptop while being safely stored.

All of the staff (the valet parking attendant, the bellboy, receptionists, room-service staff) were very friendly and efficient. Although it was expected for hotel people (especially at this level of a Hyatt) to be courteous and friendly, one does not necessarily encounter such courtesy and friendliness the way I had found them at this Park Hyatt in Los Angeles. Too bad I was only staying for one night, and during the stay, I hardly could explore the facility except for my room. Suffice it to say that on future trips to the city, I would not hesitate to return to the hotel to enjoy more of its offerings.

Park Hyatt Los Angeles
2151 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, California 90067
USA
Tel: (310) 277-1234
Fax: (310) 785-9240

Grand Hyatt San Francisco (California, USA)

Location, location, location: this Hyatt is one of a few number of hotels located directly within a block of the heart of downtown San Francisco, the Union Square. Unlike the Westin nearby, Hyatt's entry is from the Stockton Street side, not from the Square (Post St.) side. To avoid the valet overcharges, there is the Sutter/Stockton Garage located conveniently, diagonally across the street.

The hotel could use some updates in the lobby, which always seems to be on the dark side. As any other Hyatt hotels, the Grand Club level (akin to the Regency Club level) allows you to have a separate breakfast area in the designated Club Floor. Breakfast up there is standard fare of juices, bagels and toasts, cold cuts, fruits and yogurts, coffee and tea, and a good supply of newspapers. If you get a window seat, you will consume breakfast with a nice view of the city.

On higher floors, silence envelopes your surrounding. You have the vista of this beautiful city in front of you and the vibrant Union Square beneath you but without all the cacophony of downtown noises. After ten or eleven at night, the City goes to sleep anyway, not like New York and Tokyo that stay up late and party on (not that there is anything wrong with that.)

Hyatt's almost square-like building makes the corridor within much shorter than a typical hotel, which can be a nice feature, eliminating the need of trotting a long way from the elevator to your room. The Hong Kong Ritz Carlton has a similar feature. It works for me.


Grand Hyatt San Francisco
345 Stockton Street,
San Francisco, California, USA
Tel: 415 398 1234 Fax: 415 391 1780

Vertus Marais (Paris, France)

Since my earliest Paris sojourn in the late 1970s, I have long wanted to stay in an apartment in Paris, but that wish was never fulfilled as I never had a friend who resided in Paris. Or if I did have a friend living there, it would be too much of an imposition to stay with that friend because I was sure the apartment was going to be smaller than a walk-in closet in a New York Park Avenue apartment. As a result, I ended up staying for most of the time in a small hotel in the Quartier Latin in the 5th arrondissement. This time around, I decided it was time to change that old habit and to explore other options.

While searching for a short-term rental apartment, an agency was recommended to me: AbsoluLiving.com. I went to its site and had a look through its listing, and found one that I fancied. I inquired about the property, and within minutes I received a reply through e-mail. I was already impressed with its speed of service. After deciding on a studio, I had to put a 30% down payment as a guarantee that I would show up. I was asked to send my credit card numbers via either mail, fax, or e-mail (unfortunately they did not have a web-based reservation system, but the security issue of sending the credit card number could be solved by different methods). Per e-mail they sent me a contract that I had to sign and return back to them (by fax or e-mail), and that was it until I arrived in Paris.

As I arrived before their office hour, I stood waiting in the cold of winter (early January) until someone came to open the office, apologized for making me wait, and offered a hot cup of tea. There was no need to apologize, really, because I did not alert any of them that I would be arriving super-early. The owner, Hèrvé, was a young, no-nonsense but very fraternal gentleman. I just wanted to adopt him as a big brother; then again, he could be several years younger than I was. Guy (rhymed with "key") was the person who handled Internet inquiries; most likely one would get an e-mail correspondence from him. He too was very informative and welcoming; then again, shouldn't they all be?

Check-in actually would not be until noon, but my unit was already ready, so they processed me immediately. All I had to do was sign more receipts for the remaining 70% plus a deposit in the case that there occured any damage caused by moi while I was there. My particular apartment on Rue des Vertus was not too far from their office on Rue St. Martin.

The apartment was on the 4th floor of a 5-story building. The small compound was equipped with a security-coded entrance gate. Thank goodness there was an elevator, as I carried two heavy carry-ons (no checked-in luggage), and the stairwell was interestingly uneven and narrow. As a matter of fact, when I just entered the building, I was aghast at the public area, which consisted of nothing more than a corridor and a stairwell. I was afraid of how my unit would look like, BUT...

When I entered my apartment, it was just as the pictures on their website had looked: WYSIWYG, basically (What You See Is What You Get). This tiny studio had a full-size futon with surprisingly comfortable mattress and a warm comforter. Two sets of "towel sets" (bath, hand, and face towels) were provided. There was a sofa that could be turned into a bed for one skinny person; two nesting coffee tables; a television set (satellite dish feed), a DVD player, and a WiFi high-speed Internet cable modem (free of charge). The Internet worked well except for the last two days, when there was disruption in my section of Marais. When that happened, one could just go to the AbsoluLiving office basement and use one of their two available terminals there, also free of charge.

On the kitchen counter was a welcome-kit that consisted of mini guide-books and magazines, a fold-out map of Paris, guide to gay venues (rubbers included); and a bag of mints. Behind the counter lay a kitchenette with a range with two burners; a microwave; a coffee-maker; electric hot-water boiler; plenty of plates and dinnerware to entertain at least 6 people; a good mini-size refrigerator; and a washer (unfortunately, when I used it, it spun but no water was involved; I thought, hmmm...this could not be what they called "nettoyer à sec" or "dry-cleaning", d'accord?). They also included a feedback survey of your stay.

The bathroom had one commode and one bath, but no shower curtain. If you take a shower standing up, you will splash water all over the floor. I did my best impersonation of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:" crouching while showering, or hidden (immersed) during my baths. Hot water filled up the tub, but after that, one had to wait for some time for the water-heater to replenish. They provided a very small sachet of shampoo, conditioner, and soap that would last only for two showers/baths at the most. Treat yourself with local ammenities from L'Occitane, available in travel size.

My first experience of renting an apartment in Paris was extremely satisfying. I would highly recommend AbsoluLiving.com for a starter. I will definitely use their service again the next time I will do this. Prices varies from one apartment to another; discount starts being applied for a stay of at least 7-days.


AbsoluLiving
236 Rue St. Martin
75003 Paris (Métro: Réamur Sébastopol or Arts et Métiers)
France

Tél: +33 (01) 4454-9700
Fax : +33 (01) 4454-9717

Hyatt Regency Long Beach (California, USA)

Awmygawd! Don't let the pictures fool ya! Call me spoiled, I do not care, but I shall never return to stay at this hotel. I think the raison d'être of this hotel was to provide lodging for convention attendees (the hotel was located not too far from a convention center). I had high expectations from this hotel based on the pictures they posted on the company website; boy, was I in for a surprise...

When I drove my car into the driveway of the hotel, my sixth sense told me that there was something amiss about the hotel. Don't ask my how, but it felt ominous. My suspicion was confirmed when I stepped into the lobby: a vast area with huge pillars and cheap-looking bars that you could find only in small resort towns. How this happened in the rather nice city of Long Beach I did not know. Giant pillars and a vast interior with high ceiling were supposed to make one feel in awe of the space, but a lack of coherent design made me feel like someone had just come in and looted the place empty.

It got worse as I arrived on my assigned floor: the very long corridor was so borrrrrrrrrring that it almost put me in a somnambulant state while walking to my room. How could it get even worse? Just open the door and you would find out soon: bad layout, old carpeting, sorry furniture, dowdy furnishings, and windows that started at the height of one's hip, just like the ones found in cheap seaside motels. The television was put inside an armoire that faced a wall. To watch the tele, you have to bring it out from the armoire and swivel it to face the bed. Even then you did not get a full view of the screen.

I am surprised to note that even the Hyatt Regency in Surabaya (Indonesia) is much better and more desirable than this one in Long Beach (the surprise being that the former is in a third world country, if we still call it that; while the latter is found in a prosperous California city). I invited some friends to stay in another room which I had reserved for them. They were to arrive much later, but when I found how our rooms looked like, I called to tell them not to bother to show up. I told them that I would stay overnight just to see how it was, but I could only swallow so much of this ugliness. Four hours after I checked in, I gathered my belongings and checked out. The same receptionist who checked me in was surprised to see me leave before the night's end. I did not want to hurt her feelings by saying that her hotel left much to be desired, so I fibbed and informed her that there had been some changes and I needed to depart.

Let me save you the trouble by not putting up any information of the hotel the way I have done with other properties reviewed in this site. Should you ever be in the spirit of masochism, then find out how this dowdy hotel could inflict pain to your senses.