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.

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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).

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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.

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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