The Suite Life @ Grand Hyatt Washington, DC

For the blog's 1st Anniversary Party, I decided to get a suite at Grand Hyatt located in downtown Washington, DC. The hotel is located at the corner of H and 11 Street.

Picture from Trip Advisor

The hotel was $125 a night. I booked on the AAA rate. To get the suite, I used my last suite certificate provided to me from Chase Hyatt Visa for being a platinum member.

When you enter the Grand Hyatt, your first impression is wow. The place is huge and some much is going around. The first thing you notice is how big the place actually is. The lobby is a circle with much natural light.

When I arrived, a tour bus just pulled up and unloaded 50 guests. I was a little nervous as I only had 2 hours before the party started. However, the bell hop asked me if I had status. After I told him I had platinum status, he brought me right to the front desk cutting 40+ waiting in line. Thank you Chase Hyatt. The check-in desk is to the left of the lobby.

The center of the lobby looks down into a water with a piano.

                           

The room I was given was a Grand King Suite. The suite consisted of a living room and a bedroom.

                             
                              

As you see, the room was spacious and very modern. I liked the different color of greens throughout the living room.

The bedroom had a king bed, a desk and large cabinets: 

                                    

 

The bathroom had a separate shower, jet hot tube (did not work) and vanity. The bathroom was the only thing that did not fit in the room. It had an old feel to it.

The suite was a perfect size for the party.

I used the gym in the morning. 

                          


One of the coolest things in the hotel is the American Flag hanging from the glass ceiling in the lobby. One a sunny day, the flag is amazing. I recommend going to the top floor for the best view.

The hotel has a restaurant on the floor below the lobby. I did not get to try it out due to front desk not telling me the breakfast ends at 10am. The front desk failing to tell me my breakfast vouchers expired at 10am was just the tip of the iceberg on the qualify of the customer service level of the staff. In addition, the whirl pool hot tub and the refrigerator in my room did not work. I wrote here about the problems with the hotel. So far my complaints have gone unanswered.

Would I stay here again? Maybe

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Four Points San Diego

I took the Super Shuttle from the Airport to the Four Points Hotel. The driver had not heard of the Four Points hotel (not a good sign), but knew the intersection section. (I learned from Heels First Travel, who stayed the night before me, that the hotel was formerly a Holiday Inn).

The hotel is located directly off I-5 South and about a 15 minute downhill walk to the center of San Diego Downtown. One thing I always forgot, if its a 15 minute downhill walk, its a 20 minute uphill walk on the return.

I arrived at Noon. The front desk was easy to find, as it was less than three steps from the front door. The staff was pleasant and acknowledged that I was using points for my stay. The cost was 3,500, which I earned from that Atlanta's bathroom experience. I was given a room on the 4th floor. As you can see the above, the hotel is an octangle - so the rooms are angled weird.

The room was a good size for one person. It had a king bed, a sitting chair, and a dresser with a TV on top.

What the room did not have was outlets. What is it about hotels and the lack of outlets in rooms.

The room came with free internet and a bottle of water:

One of things I did like was the packaging of the Four Points brand. The soap and shampoo had sleek packaging:

Similarly, there was a tasteful level of humor throughout the hotel, like the door hanger:

As stated previously, I wanted to work-out, so I set off for the gym. The hotel directory in the room stated the gym was on P1. I took the elevator to P1 and followed the signs to the gym, which took me across the parking lot. I arrived at a locked gate that was unlocked by my room key. The gate led to some stairs that brought me to the pool:

The gym is off to the left of the pool. The gym has a treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, free weights, towels and headphones.

I was lucky to have the gym to myself, so I turned on the main TV to college football without having to use headphones. The gym lack ventilation, so I could only imagine what the gym would feel like with multiple people working out at the same time. The other weird thing about the gym are the windows to the right. The windows lead out to the parking garage. People would walk by on their way to their cars watching me sweat like a hog.

After my workout and swim, I learned that there is another gate that leads to the front entrance of the hotel. A lot easier than my walk to the gym.

The lobby of the hotel is small. To the left is an area to sit and one computer guest could use:

To the right is a cafe that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was open close to midnight on that particular Saturday night.

My only complaint was the staff. They seemed indifferent and did not know the city very well. I asked the front desk attendant if she knew where the closest Best Buy may be found and she did not know. Ok, fair! But she did not take the time to look either. Then I asked her and the other attendant where the closest tram stop was. They kindly pulled out a map and highlight the nearest tram stop. The problem was that the particular tram stop has been closed since early August, almost 6 weeks early.

Overall, the hotel was good. But I won't stay here again if I visit San Diego. The location is bad for a person without a car, the staff is indifferent and the hotel is aging.