The W Hotel (San Francisco, California, USA)

I have wanted to stay at this place when it opened a few years back, but I was living in San Francisco at the time; and although it was not uncommon for anybody to stay in a hotel in a city where they lived, it was difficult to get a reservation because the hotel became really popular, not only with the younger crowd, but also with the attendees of the nearby Moscone Convention Center.

Having had my first ever W experience in Seattle only a week or so before, I was curious to see how this San Francisco branch would compare to its Seattle counterpart. W succeeded in creating similar ambients in at least these two locations: each having a dimly-lit lobby area with minimalist décor and a thumping beat of house music that got louder as the day gave way to the evening. The music did not stop there: at each floor in the elevator waiting area, house music kept on thumping. I was afraid that from my room, which unfortunately was not too far from that elevator area, I would be able to hear that noise, but luckily, I could not.

The room had a familiarity to it since I just stayed in the Seattle one: dark wood head-board, brown comforter cover, but this time with four elongated, slender pillows, the shape of which I had never seen before (and I have seen quite many different permutations of a pillow). Even the adjustable bed-lights and the twin lamps by the window seats were exactly how one would find them in the Seattle location. The only difference was the blind: this location used a "window-like" blind where you could actually open inward to reveal the view. The Seattle location used a top-bottom white, wooden draw blind.

So, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of this place. Much of my disappointment with this hotel came from the inconsistency of the housekeeping services. For this trip, I stayed long enough to observe the working habit from day to day. Regardless of who cleaned the room, there should be a check-list of what needed to be done every day. For example, there was only one day when the melted ice in the ice-bin was thrown away. At other times, I came home to find a bin with tepid water from last night's melted ice. There was also the stocking of towels, or lack thereof: twice I looked and found that the two missing bath towels were never replaced. Sure, there were still the other two, but at least even them out by moving one towel to the other stack. It was in such details that this San Francisco W housekeeping lacked.

For a hotel that strove to present itself as hip, the chain should have employed the use of flat screen or plasma televisions. Instead, in both of the locations where I have stayed, cathode-ray tubes were mounted on a pivotable-platform and enshrined in an entertainment center that could be closed up. How quaint!

There was a 24-hour gym, which worked great for late night sleeper like I was. There were about 5 or 6 treadmills and some Nautilus machines. Swimming pool was small and shallow, not that great for lap swimming. Pool was indoor, but directly adjacent to this area was an open-air area with private cabanas.

On the way to the gym one would pass by the in-house Spa with their trademark aquamarine palette (the walls, the uniforms, their products...). I went for the manicure pedicure, which facility lay directly next to the check-in area: noisy. One could don a head-set and listen to soothing music or tune to the selected videos or television programs. Treatment was not up to par. Even a chic salon (called Glow) in Surabaya (Indonesia) delivered a much better service and treatment in this department. I kid you not!

Overall, it was a pleasant stay. Personally, I felt slightly a bit too old for this crowd. W probably scores better among the 35 and under. Every night when I returned to the hotel, I had to fight my way through the dark lobby reverberating with house music and filled with the young crowd. Some nights I would hear noises coming from the hallway; noises that reminded me of drunken hallmates coming back from frat parties during my college days.


The W Hotel San Francisco
181 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
U.S.A.

Tel: (415) 777-5300

The W Hotel (Seattle, Washington, USA)

What a treat: the W Hotel Seattle is across the block from Rem Kolhaas' Seattle's New Public Library. Originally I was given a room that faced a parking garage (nice assignment; so much for being a "Prefered Guest"). I asked for a room re-assignment, with one that gave me the Library as my view and was granted one. As you can see in my accompanying photograph above, that Library looked so close that I could have touched it if I had been able to pry open the window.

W is for the younger, hip, and cool crowd. The atmosphere of the lobby area confirms this: in terms of business attire, this would have fit well with the label "smart casual." They call their lobby area the "Living Room." From the front entrance on 4th Street, you could go left and up to the mezzanine for the check-in counter, or you could go to the right for the bar and restaurant areas. One could also use the "backdoor," the one from the garage entrance and valet services (on Seneca street, I believe) to approach the front desk or check-in counter. The elevator areas in W Hotels are identical: darkened area with 24-hour thumping house music.

I did not find out more about the building where this hotel resided, but the building looked like an old architecture that had been acquired and renovated by the hotel group. The air-conditioning vents betrayed the ultra-hip ambient of the hotel: it looked very dated, but it worked well, except that you could not really aim the air anywhere. It blew in one direction and one direction only. The rest of the room was signature W, complete with the exorbitantly priced Scandinavian bottled water. All furnishings were dark wood, and the bed, although not as "heavenly" as Westin's, was comfortable.

Bathroom amenities were among my favorites compared to their counterparts from other hotels. They were the product of the in-house spa, so more of the same items could be purchased from the spa, although this Seattle location lacked such facility. Massage could be arranged with an outside contractor, done through the "Whatever, Whenever" desk.

My companion and I sat at the bar one late afternoon, which was very relaxing and enjoyable. The bar itself had a tall shelves of liquors that were cleverly lit. Peopl huddled over peanuts and drinks, while some were seen working with their laptop, taking advantage of the WiFi connection.


The W Hotel Seattle
1112 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
U.S.A.

Tel: (206) 264-6000

Willows Lodge (Woodinville, Washington, USA)

The ride from Washington State's Seattle Tacoma Airport to Woodinville was not bad at all. The carpool lane is quite friendly, allowing one to move in and out at any time (in California, for example, you are confined within the carpool lane until an area that allows you to come in or go out). Once in the vicinity of this small town, I was reminded of California's Napa and Sonoma valleys. I was not too familiar with the Woodinville area and never got to check it out (I was only there for a wedding), but saw there was indeed information about wine tasting.

Upon checking in, I was greeted by a laid-back young fellow, leaning against the reception desk, and perhaps in a catatonic state: literally not moving, even after seeing me struggle with the luggage and the front door. I was informed that the room was not yet ready, and that I could wait either in the lobby, the lounge, or go to the resort's restaurant. He still has not offered to handle the luggage. It was not until I requested for a safe-keeping of the luggage that he said I could place them in their office behind the counter, and guess what? He just stood there, not offering to take my luggage to that safe room.

Spoiled I am not, but there is this thing called service and courtesy, neither of which he had displayed. If you are going to call yourself a resort, then act like one. If company policy prohibits certain staff members to deal with heavy items, then call someone who are allowed to handle them. Luckily, his laziness did not seem to be the rule. Later on I met the other staff who must have come back from their lunch break, and they were a bunch of very helpful people.

The lobby area was very airy and had an extremely high ceiling. It was a joy just to sit and read in this well-lit area. On the walls of the lobby area and throughout the resort's hallways, local artists and their works were featured. They took care in presenting the work well and in introducing the artists.

The room was set-up cabin-like with a fireplace, a table with two chairs, a balcony, and enough space to roam around inside. There was a large opening between the bedroom and the bathroom. If you were soaking in the huge bathtub directly behind this opening, you could view the balcony (or the television) from where you were. There was also an adjoining shower stall, which shower was operated electronically to regulate the temperature. There was no covering to this stall, so some amount of water would occasionally splash onto the adjoining commode area across it.

The view was rather lacking; I had one which oversaw a jogging trail in the distance. With regard to noise, the room insulation was poor. From the bed, one could hear clearly what was said by the people passing through the corridor outside the room. This could only mean that the people outside could listen to what was going on inside one's room. Honeymooners beware...

Spa service was available, but having looked at the facility, I decided not to give it a try. The setting was just not right: there was a jacuzzi outside that was enclosed within a fenced area, too close to the foot traffic of people shuffling from one building to another. The resort is blessed with a close proximity to a jogging trail across the creek. I spotted a lot of runners and bikers using this trail and made use of it during my stay for the weekend.

Willows Lodge
14580 NE 145 Street
Woodinville, WA 98072
Tel: (877) 424-3930

Grand Hyatt Singapore

Grand Hyatt Singapore should really work on its entrance, which is extremely underwhelming! Upon arriving at the hotel, we got out of the limo and immediately felt like Frogger from that Game Arcade in the 80s. We had to see if we could cut through the throng of passersby without being hit by any. The problem is that the pedestrian sidewalk is right in front of the hotel's entrance, instead of a few feet away.

The foyer is quite vast, well lit but devoid of any seats or adornment. There is a difference between Minimalism and not knowing what to do with a space, which seems to be the case with this foyer. Going further inside brings one to the front desk, the concierge and the cashier's counters. The place never runs out of people; even when all the guests are asleep, security men and the hotel staff roam around. The occupancy rate is supposedly very high, up in the mid-90%, making requests for late-check out a difficult thing. Normally, at other Hyatt locations, late check out means 4 p.m., but here in Singapore, it means 2 p.m. This becomes a problem for people whose flight is not until late night. In our case, our flight departed at 11:40 p.m. We did find a solution for that, but I will save that story for later.

I had a junior suite, called the Grand Deluxe King. All the junior suites are located in the main tower, while the other rooms are situated in the annex. The suites have two Bang & Olufsen TVs (one in the living room, the other in the bedroom; they are really advertising this B&O quite a lot. There is also a B&O store right in the front of the lobby/foyer area, just in case one is enthralled by the sets found in the suites). The other rooms in the annex have the plasma TV sets, but the rooms are smaller than the suites (it makes sense, of course). I was supposed to change to the room in the annex on my 4th night, but overbooking caused them to ask me to stay where I was, which was to my advantage, anyway...

The junior suite separates the work area from the bedroom. The office cum living room area has a nice desk with all the necessarily plugs and Internet accommodations. The room's safe is located at the bottom drawer by the desk; it is big enough to put a small laptop and equipped with electrical outlet for laptop battery charging. Unfortunately, a 17" Mac Powerbook will not fit into that safe. A "mini" long sofa and two armchair companions are placed across the television set. Refrigerator and mini bar needs are discreetly tucked behind closed cabinets. It makes the room look clutter free.

The bed is not exactly Westin's Heavenly Bed, but it suffices. The reading lights are placed so that they cross each other: if there are two people sleeping in this bed, the left person's reading light will come from the upper right hand of the bed, and vice versa. It is not necessary to do this and it creates some unnecessary shadows as well.

The bathroom area has ample amount of space. It only comes with a rain-forest-like shower in addition to the usual shower head. There is no bathtub. Plumbing is rather poor. One can actually hears the water trickle loudly when one opens the faucet at the basin.

***

The well-reviewed Straits Kitchen is all right. My friend and I kept getting hassled at having to sign the bills about 30 minutes before the end of the breakfast period. They should really just lay off that annoying habit and let us be. I do not care what time they close the register. Keep it open until I am ready to sign.

There are many stations for different ethnic food, but most of the taste was mediocre at best, except for the South Asian counter that was tucked in a corner so remote that I had missed it on the first morning. The Roti Prata, Naan and Dal were freshly made (I see them make 'em).

***

The swimming pool is more a relaxation pool. Forget lap swimming because there is no one straight lane available, especially not when there are many kids in the pool. There is only so much you can do avoiding the unpredictable movements of the kids.

The Spa is fine: there are plenty of aerobic machines, Nautilus, and free weights. The steam and sauna, albeit small, work well; and so is the warm/hot dipping pool/jacuzzi. The only thing that they could improve is to put the massage rooms in a more remote area. At the Spa, the 5 to 6 massage rooms are placed along a major corridor, but none of the rooms is sound-proofed, which means that inside, while one is trying to relax, one can hear chatters non-stop from people walking from the reception desk to the work-out room.

***

If your focus in going to Singapore is shopping at the nearby Orchard Road, then the Grand Hyatt Singapore will do the job fine. It is actually located on Scotts Road, only few steps away to Orchard Road. If you want a late check out, check elsewhere. The (Mandarin) Oriental in the Marina offers a Club Experience that allows one to check out at 8 p.m.

(Speaking of the Oriental, that was where we ended up going after we checked out of the Hyatt at 2 p.m. We left our luggage at the Hyatt, then went to the Oriental to have a Spa experience, dinner and drinks, and then return to the Hyatt to pick up the luggage and left for Chang-I.)

The Grand Hyatt Singapore
10 Scotts Road
Singapore 228211
Tel: +65 6235-4111
Fax: +65 6734-0375

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.