u/Expert-Mention-7167

I was flying out of Hong Kong and came across this lounge on the Priority Pass app so figured that we had to try it out, despite another lounge being closer to our gate.

My kids described this lounge as "mid" and I can't think of a better way to explain it myself. It was ok, average, not terrible.

The seating was Ok.

The food selection was good but in the most obscure way ever. It was just a grouping of well prepared buffet food that just didn't go with each other. There was Spaghetti Bolognese, chicken curry, potatoes and then a vegetable stir fry.

The bar again, was also OK. They had two beer options, each served in cups about twice the size of a shot glass - refills are free but you can't help feeling that the lounge is struggling with that.

The lounge wasn't overly crowded either but the way it was positioned, it was hard to find an area for our family of 5.

The restrooms didn't wow me. There weren't showers or anything.

Actually, there was nothing special. Nothing stood out.

So, I guess if I was to Portnoy this review ... 5.2/10? Definitely not worth a lounge of the year award. I'm questioning the people behind the award now....

That all said, what are some of the better lounges you've visited?

I was just blown away by the Grand Club lounge at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.

As most club lounges tend to be in Asia, it was awesome but there were some parts that made it even better than others we stayed at during this trip.

There were so many things that separate this from the aesthetic to the food and drink selection.

First off, they serve food and drinks throughout the day.

Breakfast (full options too, not a small buffet), afternoon tea (with light bites and other drinks), then dinner service (again, this wasn't a few options, it was a full meal). It didn't stop at the dinner service though, full drinks were available until 10 pm, and the selection included really great bottles of wine and even champagne! My preference was the Cotes du Rhone and I will admit that I may have overindulged, just a bit!

Now before staying here, I would have said this about the Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Grand Hyatt Bali, Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay, or a number of others we have stayed in but the selection here was so far in a way better than those others.

The staff was wonderful too and the entire place was elegant and well decorated, with an amazing view! It was just altogether an elevated experience.

Let me know your thoughts on this club lounge if you've stayed here or if there is another you think tops the list?

This is one of the most picturesque Hyatt properties in South East Asia and one our family really enjoys.

This was my first time using Hyatt Prive to book something but not the first time we stayed at the property.

For reference, I originally had this booked on points + money for a pretty large suite. After talking to a Hyatt Prive agent, they were able to do the booking much cheaper with just cash and two SUA (the stay was about 10 days).

To give you an idea of the cost differential, see below:

- Original booking: $3000 + 80k points

- Prive Booking: $2000 + 2x SUA

This was for booking the Grand Executive Suite, which is a 1,500 square foot room.

The best part of the Hyatt Prive is that I also received the $100 per stay credit (which ended up being $200 because it was 2x 5-day bookings). When you factor in how much the USD rose against the Indonesian Rupiah at that time, that made for a pretty nice bonus!

Everything else was the same and I had full access to the Grand Club, received points and so on. I was a little skeptical at first because I've booked Hyatt hotels through a travel agent in Asia before and lost all of the benefits.

This actually creeped up on me. I know there are other posts on this that are a lot more impressive but this is the quickest I've retained Globalists status!

I've spent the last 30 days in hotels in Indonesia and have another week to go (when considering the $50/night stays in Yogyakarta, this is probably the cheapest way to get status), then throughout the year I have about another month worth of stays at hotels so it's looking like I'll cross the hundred night marker prior to some holiday travel!

Anyways, looks like I can keep my reddit status for Hyatt through 2028 though ... whew.

We've been enjoying a 6-week trip around indonesia, staying mostly in 5-star hotels in Java and Bali (Grand Hyatt, Intercontinental, Alila, etc.). This is actually our first Airbnb-style villa we stayed in and we couldn't be happier!

Everything about this villa is excellent, from location to amenities, and comfort to decor. The villa includes 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, as well as a living/dining/kitchen setup that was separated by a swimming pool.

The villa sits outside of the hustle and bustle of Ubud center but it's still easy to get there. So it's the best of both worlds. You get the serenity that everyone expects from Ubud, in a quiet area overlooking rice fields. One of the features that was the best was opening both sides of the living room doors and letting the breeze sweep through!

Everything about this villa that stood out in the pictures online lived up to it. The minimalist vibe with dark walls and directional lighting really stood out to us and made this a unique stay.

We really appreciated everything about it. The host walked us through the villa when we got there, they gave us the ins and outs of the villa, nearby attractions and everything we could need. They were also only a message away!

We've been enjoying a 6-week trip around indonesia, staying mostly in 5-star hotels in Java and Bali (Grand Hyatt, Intercontinental, Alila, etc.). This is actually our first Airbnb style villa we stayed in and we couldn't be happier!

Everything about this villa is excellent, from location to amenities, and comfort to decor. The villa includes 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, as well as a living/dining/kitchen setup that was separated by a swimming pool.

The villa sits outside of the hustle and bustle of Ubud center but it's still easy to get there. So it's the best of both worlds. You get the serenity that everyone expects from Ubud, in a quiet area overlooking rice fields. One of the features that was the best was opening both sides of the living room doors and letting the breeze sweep through!

Everything about this villa that stood out in the pictures online lived up to it. The minimalist vibe with dark walls and directional lighting really stood out to us and made this a unique stay.

We really appreciated everything about it. The host walked us through the villa when we got there, they gave us the ins and outs of the villa, nearby attractions and everything we could need. They were also only a message away!

Just wrapped up a stay at the Hyatt Regency Bali in Sanur and wanted to share a quick breakdown for anyone looking at Bali options.

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The property is right on the beach in Sanur, which is a great, laid-back area. The beach path is highly walkable, so it’s easy to stroll out to nearby local restaurants and cafes. The resort itself has a classic Balinese style with grounds that are very green during the day, and they use subtle lighting at night that gives the whole place a really nice, relaxed atmosphere.

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We booked using Hyatt points and got a suite for 20,000 points a night (that wasn't a Globalist upgrade to a suite, that was the actual suite reservation from the start!). It was a massive footprint—around 100 square meters split into four actual rooms, including a living room, a seating area, an office, and the bedroom. We slept five people comfortably and easily could have fit more. They brought a rollaway bed into the office, and that room alone had plenty of floor space left over. It also had three separate outdoor seating spaces, featuring one massive patio and two smaller ones, all of which felt very private and secluded.

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As for the amenities, the main pool is decent. It's great for adults but just okay for kids, though having the beach right there makes up for it. If you need a getaway, there is an adult-only pool and gym area that is pretty quiet. The restaurants are nice, and the specialty dinner shows are spectacular. The spa is fantastic too, with separate men's and women's sections for the amenities (I only bring this up because we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua and their spa amenities are mixed). Honestly, the Regency Club is one of the best lounges I've been to. It’s tucked away and private, the food offerings are excellent, the staff is great, and the drinks are free!

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As a Hyatt Globalist, the perks were fully recognized and the service was excellent across the board. The team at the restaurants, pool, and beach were incredibly attentive. Instead of waiting around to be asked, they were highly proactive and tended to come to you with what you need before you have to track someone down. Everyone greeted us by name, and not just me because my name was on the reservation. They also remembered my family's names, and even the names of some friends who only came by to visit us a couple of times.

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The bellhop who helped us check in was great too - honestly probably the biggest customer service standout. His job was to get our bags to the room but he didnt stop there (and I had tipped him early so it wasn't like he was just hanging out to make sure he got money!). He stayed and chatted for a bit, asked where we were from, and gave us some solid local tips that weren't in the standard resort overview, like property shortcuts and info on the nearby turtle conservatory.

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If you have Hyatt points or status, this place is a great choice. The room value for points is excellent, the lounge is top-tier, and the staff genuinely takes care of you. It wasn't a perfect stay, but compared to some others we had stayed at in Nusa Dua - it felt pretty close!

I love it when the Hyatt app virtual key works.

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I hate it when it doesn't work.

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I get worried when the key (as pictured above) is not for my room, or even closely related to my room.

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It worries me because if they make these mistakes for me, how often does my room access mistakenly get provided to others?

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For reference, this is the first time I've experienced this. That said, 9 out of 10 times that I have a virtual key, it doesn't work. 10 out of 10 times having a virtual key, it doesn't work in the elevators to get to my room in a locked down property, meaning it is entirely useless to depend on.

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Let me know your thoughts.

Sorry - the cockroach (or maybe beetle - I'm really not sure) picture in front of our room was click bait. This happens quite regularly in Indonesia.

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That said, service here was awful. The room was nice to an extent but not to what we were expecting. For reference, we booked a roughly 100 sqm suite, but that half of the "suite" was a balcony without air conditioning. It wouldn't be a problem IF they set the expectation for small suite + large balcony.

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The major downside was the staff which is crazy to say. Most of the time, Indonesian culture makes for such a hospitable environment and this was just in such signficant contrast it really stood out to me. I had been traveling to various parts of Indonesia for 2 weeks prior to this in some high end hotels and other local hotels, and for this to be a higher end hotel in Bali, it was really disappointing.

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Communication was tough with the people at the front desk. Again, this is Bali so English is pretty universal. That said, my wife is Indonesian and had as much if not more difficulty speaking to two of the receptionists. They would send bags to the wrong room, have the bell hop to our room at odd hours of the night to pick up our luggage without request, etc. Trying to get a room that would better accommodate us was difficult (2 adults plus 2 children and the current room had nowhere for a rollaway bed, unless it was out on the balcony) - it took hours to do that along with multiple phone calls and even once we arranged for an additional room, it took over 3 hours for them to prepare the other room. So, the additional room was not available until 11:30 pm.

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Full disclosure, I did book this stay on points (I paid cash for the additional room though), and the staff was so demeaning over it. "Well sir, you didn't pay for this stay" was often repeated by the two receptionists. Which if they're going to treat someone like this, just don't allow people to stay for points at your property - it's far better than the staff resenting it.

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That being said - they did thank me for my Diamond Elite Ambassador status when they extended a 180,000 IDR credit (that's only $10 USD) but did quickly remind me that this was "even though you didn't pay for your stay".

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Breakfast was a nightmare too because I had Diamond Elite but also pre-paid for breakfast and the staff hammered me the next morning at the restaurant. 4 people came up to us at breakfast asking how we'd be paying, which is weird even if I didn't prepay.

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I had booked for 4 nights on points but left the property after the first night. When I checked out and asked for help with my bags, I had to first wait for a couple people to come in to check everything at the mini bar first.

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We moved to another resort down the street that was not part of IHG and it has been amazing. My bar was set so low though that honestly, they could have just greeted us with a smile and I would have thought it was the best hotel ever. I won't name the resort because that's not the point of this post. I've been generally happy with IHG leading up to this point though and doubled down on the status last year but compared to other loyalty programs, I'm really not sure (I'm left confused with what's provided for Diamond status and for the paid Ambassador status at Intercontinentals). Also, if this is what I should expect for points redemption, it's an easy out for me. That said, this is the first time I've used points with IHG and the first time I've had a bad experience at one of the high end IHG properties.

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As I've been reviewing different Hyatt properties throughout Indonesia, I think it's important to consider my recent comparative perspective.

For instance, prior to staying at this hotel, I stayed in the Alila Solo - an amazing and modern Hyatt property.

The Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta is certainly not modern but definitely has its own charm that I would probably summarize as maybe - classic luxury. That definitely has its setbacks but it is mostly positive.

The entrance is fantastic and even as dated as it is, the hotel still looks great. I believe it was modeled after the nearby temples which was a great aesthetic direction!

The amenities for kids were unmatched though and with a golf course, driving range and other amenities for the adulting world, it's good for the grown up kid as well! The swimming pool had a rope swing, there were tons of traditional games, fishing and even archery. For the spa, the hot tub, cold plunge and sauna could all use a major refresher. They were not classic, they were just old.

The restaurant area was again very good. The breakfast buffet spread was OK. Nothing stood out as really amazing but it wasn't bad at all. That said, for any of the meals you wish to take outside they have a patio area beside the pool completely shaded by these trees that was a really good touch. I believe they called them Sea Grape trees.

The club lounge was also really nice. The staff was incredibly attentive. They provided everything you'd expect. The only surprising thing was that they were not open for breakfast, which I actually prefer so I can get breakfast in the restaurant - it's just a rarity to see that at a lounge. The evening hot food options were quite good though. They'd have 3 or so hot, prepared food options and would have a cooking station making up some local foods (usually soup based while we were there). This was one of my favorite parts about it.

When we first checked in, the suites were fully booked so as a Globalist they were unable to offer me a true upgrade. They took my king room and upgraded me to a king room, club access - the only thing is as a Globalist, club access is essentially a given anyways. That said, that point is essentially null because they had let me know they'd move my room to a suite on the second night! The standard rooms are quite small and dated however the suites are huge but still dated. I think if I'd have to draw a comparison, the suite bathroom is probably as large as the entire standard room! Still, the furniture within the room was incredibly uncomfortable and I imagine that comes with age. It all looked neat and kind of antique and definitely felt broken in (overly so).

I think like so many other hotels in Indonesia, the facility was great, the food options were really good but it is again another stay where the staff made the stay!

I was pleasantly surprised with this property, for a number of reasons.

I think the obvious one is that with Solo being a much smaller city, that some of the hotel options present in Jakarta and Bali wouldn't be available here - definitely not the case with the Alila though! That's actually the next part I was pleasantly surprised with. I've never stayed in an Alila so I wasn't sure what I would get but I have really liked the majority of the amenities.

The check-in process was a bit of a cluster and despite the Globalist upgradable room still showing availability in the app, they told me it was not. They did end up presenting me with the option of paying for the same upgrade that I was told was not available, but let's not get hung up on those details. I did end up taking it though because it looked awesome (and it was).

The Alila Suite was awesome. Everything you'd expect from a suite and to draw a comparison to a recent stay, it was close to the Park Hyatt jakarta in size (but did not have the floor to ceiling windows). What it did have though - and this is what my kids loved the most - was a private rooftop swimming pool where we could swim 24/7 (we were asleep by 9 but the fact we could have gone all night was worth it) and have views of the city from the 22nd floor. I'm not certain, but I believe the Alila building is the largest building in Solo/Surakarta (feel free to fact check me) so you could see out over everything.

At check in, they did tell me they were offering me complimentary access to their Sky Lounge. They made a very awkward point of saying this is not a Globalist benefit because they're an Alila (and the only Alila with a lounge) and not a Regency/Grand Hyatt. Apparently that means they don't have to give me access as a Globalist but chose to do so. I guess that was a nice offer from them but it didn't really come off that way. Also, the offerings were quite light there but the staff was awesome. I'm not in the habit of calling people out by name, but there were 2-3 staff members in that lounge the day we arrived that were fantastic (if someone from Hyatt views this and wants to know their names so they can give them a raise, please let me know).

The breakfast was great as well. They had a really good spread of western, Asian, Indonesian and even local food options. Every area in Indonesia has their own local twist on the cuisine so it was good to see that there. Altogether, a breakfast buffet like that was a huge win.

The 6th floor pool was also really nice though we didn't have much use for it because we had our own. The gym and spa amenities on that floor were also well done.

Just below the lounge (which was the highest floor, in what I believe is the tallest building in Solo) is the hotel bar which is open to the public not just guests. It was not good. For a hotel, it was oddly noisy. You could hear it at our pool. It was also smoke filled. I didn't last more than a second on the floor because the smoke was so heavy. The staff told me it was smoking inside and out, so I opted for the elevator down.

So not a perfect stay but definitely scored highly on my family's rating system!

As an apology on the video, my kids couldn't wait to get to the room pool so it was quite heavily worked over before I recorded the video and took pictures. Excuse the mess - the room was definitely not have over that way.

Last week, we finally got our invite to run ChatGPT ads. This was a long awaited for invite as we registered interest nearly immediately when OpenAI posted their article regarding interested parties.

Has anyone had any experience yet? We're setting up a handful of campaigns, leveraging past experience with other PPC platforms while being mindful of the differences with AI context.

That said any help would be grateful!

Also, anyone interested, just let me know and I'll share the registration link from the email invite and you can get in on the beta as well!

We rounded out the Hyatt Trifecta on our opening week in Jakarta!

The Park Hyatt was the third of our stops in Jakarta, we had started at the Grand Hyatt (traditionally our favorite hotel in jakarta) and then had a quick stay in the Keraton. All three are pretty amazing hotels with lots of luxury offerings.

The Park Hyatt definitely stood out among the three in its level of modern luxury though. Some aspects were similar to the Keraton (I think they were probably built closer in time than the Grand Hyatt, which has been there for a while) - like some of the more modern design touches and the floor to ceiling and wall to wall windows. That said, I feel like the Park Hyatt had more of a Japanese design with the isolated/recessed lighting.

As a Globalist checking in, I was incredibly happy with how they handled it. We were traveling with others, so I had two rooms. They upgraded one room to the Park Suite (awesome) and the other was just two twins. One note on the standard room (and this is hard to explain) is that there are sets of double doors before the door to your room and the room next to you, so if you booked rooms side by side the rooms conjoin at the entrance instead of another set of doors inside the room. I thought that was a nice touch.

The Park Suite was pretty spacious, with two bathrooms, table, seating area, king bed and then massive side couch that doubled up as a bed. I really liked the decor within the room as well.

The one downside to the Park Hyatt vs the Grand Hyatt is access to a lounge area, which when traveling in Indonesia is a huge perk because drinks are free in the lounge and the food is usually pretty extensive. Since the Park Hyatt didn't have this, they provided a "social hour" at the bar where you could drink and eat. This was definitely a nice touch but they do limit it to two drinks and a very limited amount of food. As a personal note, I dislike anywhere with smoke and the Park Hyatt bar does allow people to smoke in it and as much as they tout the air filtering system, I still left smelling like clove and tobacco.

The rooftop pool was pretty neat. The view from the 35th floor was awesome but it's definitely more of an "adult" area (as is most of the Park Hyatt hotel actually). My kids jumped in the pool and we're pretty immediately reprimanded and asked to not do it again (reprimanded was a little misleading, they very politely and quietly asked us not to do it again).

The breakfast was also really good, as is any decent hotel across Indonesia. The dining area was spectacular but honestly, I wasn't overly thrilled with it otherwise. It was good and this is honestly only something you could nitpick having stayed at the other Hyatt's across Indonesia but there was nothing to set it apart and the jamu was terrible. Jamu is a traditional Indonesian "health" drink from either Ginger or Tumeric. The Grand Hyatt is the undisputed king when it comes to Jamu and other Hyatt's do it ok but I was really disappointed in the Park Hyatt's.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. If my wife and I do a solo trip, we would definitely go to the Park Hyatt for when we arrive and before leaving Indonesia but with the 3 boys/monsters I have, I will probably avoid the property on future family trips.

Quick video walkthrough of the Grand Hyatt Jakarta.

Video shows the Grand Club lounge, entrance, room, breakfast, swimming pool and the bar/lounge area.

This is one of the best hotels we've been to and keep coming back. This is our 5th visit here and each time we are upgrading to a suite. I believe we received a Grand Suite upgrade this time but we have received the premium or premiere suite in the past (little larger with a second bathroom). The only downside I can think to this hotel is that the premium suite they were going to provide us was on a smoking floor - smoking is still a pretty popular thing to do in public spaces in Indonesia so it's not really a fault of the property, just something to be mindful of.

That said, great property. They have everything you could need and it feels like you're in a remote resort while in reality you are in the center of a city with nearly 42 million people! The amenities on the 5th floor are great and add to the resort feel, with the spa (didn't feel comfortable posting video there!), gym (yeah right ... I'm on vacation), swimming pool, poolside restaurant, walking paths, tennis courts and more.

The lounge is also really nice but they give globalists the option to select from breakfast in the lounge or in the main area and it's hard to pass up the spread in the main buffet. They have a great mix of western, local and other Asian options. They have more juice options than most hotels have food in general.

There are also a lot more restaurants available including a Japanese and Italian restaurant, 24/7 room service and more.

This is stop 1 of our month long tour of Indonesia and after 20+ hours of flights, it is a great spot to kick the jet lag.

Quick review on the Hyatt Place Toronto Airport (not to be confused with the Hyatt Place Mississauga/Toronto Airport Centre).

New Hyatt Place Hotel that is surprisingly nice and very convenient. The hotel is brand new and hopefully this is the new model for Hyatt Place hotels. The lobby and "Placery" was rather nice. I was pretty impressed. The fitness center, pool area and other spots were equally nice.

Rooms were good but my family made a mess of it before I could get a photo of it so there's that. That said, it's pretty similar to any other Hyatt Place - just a bit more modern and maybe a bit smaller. That said, there was a nespresso machine so that was a massive win on its own.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the place and the staff. They helped me out on the mistake on the booking I mentioned to watch out for above.

This is the first I've flown on Cathay for a long time but I've never seen this low of a baggage allowance for an international flight?

Maybe I'm just not used to this because I haven't flown without status in a long time but with the current state of airfare I had to take whatever I could get.

I'm having difficulty with my Tesla home charger.

I cannot get the adapter off of the charger.

I'll be completely honest though, I was unaware that it even had an adapter until today.

The plug won't release it and I can't get it to stick back in the box l charger box.

I've tried resetting the breaker to see if that helps but it hasn't.

Unfortunately, our Tesla is pretty much dead until we get this resolved because we don't have another plug at home and are too far from a charger.