Hyatt Regency Long Beach

I recently had the opportunity to stay at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach recently, and decided to use a suite upgrade thanks to my Hyatt Diamond status.

Although not an inspirational property, my wife and her parents had some business to take care of in the area so I thought it would be a good use of the suite.

Upon entering the hotel, the front desk is straight ahead and slightly to the right.  I arrived at the hotel a little early, and the room was not ready, but all benefits were clearly explained.

Catalina Suite

I was given the Catalina Suite, which is more like a hospitality suite in that it is a regular room with a large living room type space that is more designed towards entertaining a large party rather than for family use.

Upon entering the bedroom part of the suite, the bathroom is located to the right.

Bathroom

There is a single sink with plenty of counter space.

Bonus Bath Amenities

Interestingly, there are extra bath amenities in the suite compared to a regular room.  These include face wash, lip balm and mouthwash.

Shower/Tub Combo

There is a shower/tub combo.

Sitting Area

The bedroom is on the smaller side, which includes a sitting area consisting of a chair and a chaise lounge type of chair.

Desk

There is a small desk with limited working area.

Bed

There is a platform king bed which is comfortable and has quality linens.

View Towards Bedroom

The living room area is a big open space divided into smaller spaces by different seating areas.

Sitting Area

There is a more “formal” sitting area consisting of an ottoman type coffee table and four leather chairs.

Sitting Area

There is another seating area consisting of a sofa and two chairs.

Counter Top and Sink

There is a long bar type counter top with several chairs, and a sink.

Fridge

There is a small refrigerator.

Guest Bathroom

The living room area also has a full bathroom with a single sink with less counter space.

Shower

There is a shower only with no bathtub.

View

View

The highlight of the room, however are the spectacular views of the Queen Mary and the bay.

Although the suite is nice, I probably wouldn’t use a suite upgrade in the future for this hotel unless I had an expiring one to use and no future stays planned.

Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport

The Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport Hotel is conveniently located about a mile from the airport and does offer complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport.  Their shuttle drivers appear to make a race out of each run though, seeing who can post the fastest time of the day.  In a way, you feel like you are part of the arcade game, Crazy Cabbie.  Luckily, I arrived at the hotel in one piece.

Upon check-in, the front desk agent could not find my reservation.  After showing her my confirmation, she did finally found my reservation.  She remained silent throughout the whole check-in process and just handed me my keys, did not explain any features of the hotel, she did not recognize my SPG Gold Status in which my primary goal for this stay was the late check-out since I had arrived on a red eye flight.  I had to inquire about all benefits of the SPG program.

View of Atrium

The hotel appears to have been an Embassy Suites at one point since it does have a large atrium open feel and look.

Being an all-suites hotel, one knows what type of room to expect.

Living Room

Upon entering the room, there is a fairly large living room with a sofa, chair and coffee table.

Desk/TV

There is a large desk, TV and most importantly two complimentary bottles of water.

Coffee Maker

Refrigerator

There is a small wet bar area with coffee maker and refrigerator.

Between the living room and bedroom, the bathroom is located to the left.

Bathroom

Sink

There is a single sink with ample counter space.

Shower/Tub Combo

There is a shower/tub combo with horrible water pressure and water temperature was not consistent when taking a shower.

Dresser/TV & Sitting Area

The bedroom is on the smaller side, with a large dresser/TV taking up much of the room.  There is a single chair in the corner. 

Bed

The bed was not very comfortable, and the linens were a polyester blend which was very scratchy and got extremely hot.  There are not many outlets in the bedroom and moving the night stands in order to get to an outlet was necessary.

The air conditioner did not seem to be working properly, as the room never got very cool.

I had a very indifferent stay at this property.  I would probably not stay here again in the future if in the area.  The saving grace was that I was able to file a successful Best Rate Guarantee claim which netted an extra 2,000 Starpoints.

Hotel Maya - Long Beach, CA

The HotelMaya gets a lot of attention as it is a featured hotel on the knot, a wedding site.  Situated on the waterfront in Long Beach the Hotel Maya does have a great location for weddings.  The Hotel Maya is also a Double Tree property in the Hilton family of hotels.  The hotel is not your typical Double Tree hotel, and likely was not a Hilton property at construction.  The hotel rooms are spread throughout several buildings and has a Latin American theme.

Hotel Sign

Upon entering the lobby, the front desk is slightly to the left.  There is a small sitting area to the right, and to the left is an additional sitting area.

Upon check-in I was helped by an employee who was still in training, so my Hilton HHonors Gold status was not recognized until she received help from another employee as she had some difficulty checking me in.  I was not offered an upgrade as I had booked my room as part of a wedding party, but there are dedicated Hilton HHonors floors which was on a higher floor and some members of the wedding party were on that floor, so theoretically I could have been placed on that floor.  I was offered breakfast or bonus points, but since breakfast had been taken care of by the wedding party decided to get the additional points.  I was also given two signature chocolate chip cookies, although the hotel was generous in giving additional cookies upon request.

Bathroom

Upon entering the room, the bathroom is on the right.  It is rather small with a sink with no counter space.

Shower/Tub Combo

There is a shower/tub combo.

Bath Products

There are Crabtree & Evelyn bath products.

Closet

Entering the room, there is a small open closet.

Desk

There is a small desk with not much working area.

Dresser/TV

There is a dresser with flat screen TV.

Sitting area & AC Unit

There is a small sitting area.

Bedroom

The beds are somewhat uncomfortable.

Balcony

View From Balcony

There is a small balcony with two chairs overlooking the bay and the Queen Mary.

The décor of the room has a somewhat Mexican flair, but the room seems very dark and dirty.  I don’t know if it is because the carpet is a dark color or not.

The rooms are especially dated and are in dire need of an update.  I doubt that will happen anytime soon, since it does have a prime location and is seemingly always booked due to weddings and other functions.

Another deal breaker is that there is no central air conditioning.  There is an in room air conditioner which is quite loud, and doesn’t appear to have been cleaned in ages.

Although the front desk employees were pleasant, the same could not be said of the rest of the employees.  There is a security guard who was quite rude as the wedding ceremony was winding down.  He kept telling us that we had to leave, then followed us to the bar after the wedding and kept glaring at us and standing right at our table.

Their event coordinator was also very rude and unprofessional.  As the wedding was being set up, she kept yelling at people in the wedding party.  She was also very inflexible in making changes and could not keep on schedule.  She seemed to be very unorganized.

Despite all of this, the wedding went well.

The Hotel Maya does have a great waterfront location, but the hotel desperately needs an upgrade and a harder look at their personnel.

Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport Marriott Hotel

The ParisCharles De Gaulle Airport Marriott Hotel is located a little over a mile from Charles De Gaulle Airport.  The hotel offers a free shuttle to and from the hotel and is very reliable, unlike the courtesy shuttle offered by the Hyatt Regency Paris – Charles de Gaulle when I stayed there last year.

The hotel is located near several other hotels including the Holiday Inn, an ibis hotel, a Novotel hotel and the Mercure Paris Roissy Charles De Gaulle.

Upon entering the hotel, the front desk is located to the left.  There were several guests checking in so it took a few minutes before I was assisted.  The front desk agent was very apologetic and my Platinum status was quickly recognized.  I was given two certificates for breakfast, which allowed access to the buffet.

Upon entering the room, the bathroom is located to the right.

Sink

There is a single sink with somewhat limited counter space.

Shower/Tub Combo

Bath Products

There is a shower/tub combo with Aromtherapy Essentials bath products.  Water pressure and temperature were excellent.

Dresser/TV

The room includes a dresser/TV and coffee maker.

Desk

There is a fairly large desk with ample working room.

Sitting Area

There is a small sitting area.

Bed

The bed is comfortable and room noise is at a minimum.

Huge Fruit Plate

Several minutes after arriving in the room a fruit plate was delivered.  I am not sure if this was a welcome amenity, but the fruit plate was huge and included three bananas, four kiwis and six apples in addition to a bottle of Evian water.

The room is starting to show its age and could use a refresh, but is still comfortable.

The breakfast buffet was extremely busy 7:00 AM.  Hot items included bacon, sausage, eggs and beans.  Cold items included bread, muffins, pastries, cereal, fruit and yogurt.  Although the selection is not extensive it is nice to have something to eat before an early morning flight.  The employees in the restaurant are friendly and helpful.

If arriving late or having an early morning flight I would not hesitate to stay here again.