Hotwire Hotel: 4.5* San Francisco (Embarcadero) Park Hyatt

[dearjim]

Hi, I'm going to San Francisco for a few days this December, and since 2 years ago, I'd stayed at the Park Hyatt and I had the best experience of a hotel service I've ever had, so I truly hope that I could run into that hotel again by bidding on HOTWIRE. My question is, from the description of the customer feedback, can you tell if that one is Park Hyatt? I've been looking through this for the past couple of years, and i believe that Park Hyatt is being rated as a 4 1/2 star hotel. Can you guys tell me if thats the one (with a 4 1/2 star rating and 128 dollars per night)

Here's the date..... check in : 16th of Dec

check out : 20th of Dec (4 nights)

thanks in advance.

James

P.S. (If I change the check in and check out date both 1 day later, there is another 4 1/2 star hotel with 144 dollars per night with different customer feedbacks, could that one be it?)

[thereuare]

What are the amenities shown for the $128/nite hotel and the amenities listed for the $144/nite hotel?

[dearjim]

Hi thereuare,

I don't know if it's my mistake or the price really fluctuate that fast? the $128/nite hotel now marked as $121/night

these are the amenities listed, both of them have :

Restaurant, Fitness center, High speed internet access & Business Center

Thnaks again for your help.

James

[thereuare]

Take a look a few posts down in the California Hotwire Hotel List... both the Omni and the Park Hyatt are believed to have the same amenities and both be Customer Favorites.

The comments rotate and one comment mentions the hotel room's balcony... if you see that it's believed to be the Park Hyatt since the Omni has no balconies.

Let us know how you make out or if we can be of further help.

[dearjim]

hi, thereuare. Thanks for your information. It really helps me a lot. :)

[BEAV]

James,

I just checked your date (Dec 16) and the customer comments are too vague to be able to determine whether or not this is the Park Hyatt or Omni. One customer, however, remarked about "remodled" rooms. This would sway me (a little) to think it's the Omni as it's in an older building. Park Hyatt is in a more modern, contemporary building.

Since your stay is so far in the future, my advice would be to keep checking as Hotwire rotates customer comments all the time. As Thereuare said, if you ever read comments about balconies, you'll know it's the Park Hyatt. If you ever run across comments saying the hotel is worth it's 5-star rating, you'll know it's the Omni. Until recently, Hotwire rated the Omni 5 stars, but it's been downgraded to 4.5. The 5-star customer comment, however, keeps popping up every now and then.

The things we do to unmask a hotel's identity! :)

[dearjim]

Hi Beav,

thanks very much for your reply, and I've checked it out again today and yes, you're right, the comments are way too vague for me to determine if it's the Park Hyatt or not. However I do see something that catch my eyes when I tried out some other dates which is a week before my date. How about the comment of 'big comforter'? That makes me think that it might be Park Hyatt. Also, I believe I saw once (quite some time ago) that a customer wrote 'a nice CD player', and if I see that pops up again, I'll make my move right away. Thanks again Beav. You've really helped me a lot. :)

James

[BEAV]

Be careful of the mention of CD players. Having stayed at the Park Hyatt, I was elated to see CD players pop up in the customer favorites comments. But then I went to Omni's website and looked at their room amenities. The Omni rooms have CD players too! I can't comment as to big comforters since I've never stayed at the Omni.

Balconies are the key to the Park Hyatt, and the "worthy of 5 star rating" at the Omni!

Good luck!

[hotwirecsr]

Forgive me if I am wrong but when I did the search for those dates I also saw two cust favs however they were not the same star rating one was a 4 Star and one was a 4 and a half star. Not sure if this helps.

[BEAV]

The 4 star "Customer Favorite" in the Embarcadero zone is the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, whereas both Park Hyatt & Omni are each 4.5 stars. All three Customer Favorites!

[hotturnip]

Have you checked rates for both properties over these dates? That might offer a clue. . . .

[dearjim]

Hi, first of all, thanks BEAV, hotwirecsr & hotturnip. Oh I have no idea that the Omni hotel has CD players inside it's rooms too. Thanks for the tip! I'll look for the wording of 'balconies' then. You know I really can't resist those comfortable beddings and that beautiful 'state-of-the-art' 'Nakamichi' CD player. :)

Hyatt Regency used to be a 3 stars, but since they've done their redecoration, both HOTWIRE and PRICELINE upgraded the hotel into a 4 stars rating, and I'd been there to check it out myself. Well I can't say it didn't worth 4 stars, but I've seen some reviews and personally I don't think they'd rennovated that much to gain a 4 stars rating. However they sure have incredible views and I think this make up for that. Anyway, I'll contnue to watch closely. Thanks again for all of your replies.

James

[BEAV]

Hotwire is no longer listing both Omni & Park Hyatt as 'Customer Favorites'. I was checking Hotwire in this zone for July 1-5, and the 4.5 for these dates does not come with the designation of 'Customer Favorite'. So then I punched in James' dates of Dec 16-20, and the 4.5 diplaying is a 'Customer Favorite.' One customer comment described the hotel as "ornate". I strongly believe this is a reference to the Omni based on it's style & decor. Park Hyatt is modern & contemporary.

So I'm now speculating that the Omni is the 4.5 'Customer Favorite', where as Park Hyatt is just a 4.5!

If true, that's a big step in differentiating between these two hotels!

[dearjim]

Hi Beav,

Thanks for your reply and update. I was shocked to know that the 4.5 stars hotel doesn't come with any customer feedback when I typed in your date. I suspect that maybe it's because of the price. Well you can see from my date (Dec) that both hotels cost about 142 dollars, but in July, it's only 118. That is really a nice price for both hotel, so I thought they don't give out any clue because of this. These conditions really change from time to time and it's pretty confusing. However when I typed in my date in December it's being listed as customer favorite, and there's one comment mentioned 'hotel courtesy car, so I think it might be the Park Hyatt. At first, I want to hold it until somewhere near December, hoping the price will go down then, but with changes like this, I'm having second thoughts. I've seen the amount came down to somewhere like 108 when the time is close. What do you think? Thanks again for your replies.

James

[BEAV]

James,

Since Hotwire removed the "Customer Favorite" designation from the Park Hyatt, the mystery between these two hotels is now over. If the hotel displays as a "Customer Favorite" you'll know it's the Omni. If it doesn't, you'll know it's the Park Hyatt. Although the Park Hyatt has towncar service, the Omni's website lists "luxury car transportation within downtown." When I pull up your dates, two of the three customer comments refer to the great steaks in the hotel's restaurant. The Omni's restaurant is called "Bob's Steak & Chop House!" As much as I know you want the Park Hyatt for your December dates, the Omni is clearly the hotel that Hotwire is currently selling!

As to rate changes, I suspect the reason the Park Hyatt is displaying low rates for the July dates I checked is because this is over the long July 4th weekend. The Park Hyatt is primarily a business hotel. You often find the best deals on Hotwire for this hotel on weekends and holidays. Your December dates encompass both a Thursday & Sunday night, which is no doubt driving the price upward. As an experiment, check the prices for December 17 & 18 (Fri & Sat nights) and see if they're lower.

Don't stress about trying to figure out which hotel Hotwire is displaying. The mystery has been taken away by Hotwire no longer classifying the Park Hyatt as a Customer Favorite.

Good luck!

[dearjim]

hI Beav,

I think I see your point now, and I'm sorry, I think I've made a mistake. I haven't mentioned that there's a slight change of plan, It happened when I tried to book my ticket for my desire date, and it turned out that there weren't any seats available, so I have to change it to 2 weeks ealier. Anyway, my check in date is now 3rd of Dec and my check out date is the 9th of DEC. And, yes, when I checked back my desire date, the 16-20 of Dec, it's the Omni considering that everybody's making compliment to their steak :) . When I checked back my date, there's a slight change in the Customer feedback, and one of them had mentioned 'Cd Player', and 'balcony'. so that one might be the Park Hyatt. And the one which mentioned 'hotel courtesy car' was gone. I'll continue to watch closely. Thanks again Beav. You've really been a great help and I really appreciate it.

James

[BEAV]

James,

Are the customer comments you're reading about balconies connected with the 4.5 star or 4 star?

You should not see any balcony comments with the 4.5 star property!

The 4 star hotel is the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, which has balconies.

[dearjim]

dear Beav,

the one I've read about is a 4.5 star. I know the 4 stars one is Hyatt Regency, which I try my very best to avoid. :) :) Too bad the comment that I read about hours ago has gone. You can trace back the reply from my previous post by thereuare. He told me that I can recognise it by the wording of 'balconies'. And that guy also mention 'cd system' and the 'balcony' , and I know that the Hyatt Regency doesn't have any CD system, so that way I can distinguish which one is Park Hyatt.

James

[dearjim]

AWW that particular customer comment comes back, and I copy it down. Please notice the last one. :)

Embarcadero Area

$ 142

room per night

Hotwire rating

Hotel's amenities

Very clean and overall beautiful.

Excellent spacious room with spectacular view. Very clean and well appointed. Hotel staff is pleasant and very helpful. Centrally located to great restaurants, shopping, public transit, and entertainment.

Thank you for making our stay at this hotel possible. We had the most marvelous time. The room was very nice with beautiful furniture and an outstanding CD system. Our room was on the twentieth floor and had a wonderful balcony patio with a fabulous view of the bay, with lighted boats at night, and the bay bridge -- very romantic. The bed was comfortable and we both had a good nights sleep and the staff was very courteous. I just loved this hotel with its central location.

[BEAV]

James,

If you found Customer Comments about balconies for the 4.5 star hotel, then that leaves me completely stumped!

I'm glad you have until December. It may take that long to solve this mystery. I'll keep investigating.....

[BEAV]

James,

Will you be flying into SFO for your December stay? If so, have you priced Hotwire (or Priceline's) vacation packages? If you purchase air/hotel together, you actually choose the hotel you want.

I priced Hotwire packages from LAX (just for fun) to SFO for your December dates. Interestingly, the package price is $235 cheaper per person for the Park Hyatt vs the Omni! If you're flying to SF, it might be worth your while to check it out.....

Today's 4.5 customer comments for your December dates mention a nicely "renovated" hotel. Once again, that's the Omni, as they converted it from a former office building. Not so with the more modern Park Hyatt!

[dearjim]

Hi Beav,

Thanks for the sugeestion, but I've booked my plane ticket already (since I use my mileage to do that, I have to book at least several months in advance, and still, I can't get my desire date :) ), but that's really an interesting idea. I'll definitely think about it next time. The price you quote is quite reasonable, and also I get to choose the hotel I want. That's a fantastic deal actually. Too bad I can't use that this time. Thanks again for your reply and suggestion. :)

[tanabutler]

I hope this is useful and allowed ... in my rapacious quest to find the best possible prices on rooms and/or vacation packages, specifically in San Francisco, I have one weapon in my arsenal beyond Hotwire, Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, HotelDiscounts.com and Hotels.com (all of which I use to triumph over corporate greed).

If you're going to San Francisco, check out HotelRes.com. Many times the prices are cheaper than anyone else's, because (I believe) they're a local to SF company with personal relationships with most of their hotels.

I've stayed at the Mosser, the Villa Florence, the Marina Inn (never again) and -- a personal favorite, The Hotel Majestic, which is on a quiet street in midtown. It's a truly beautiful, old-fashioned hotel in the grand tradition of the city. It feels more like a European inn than anything else. Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland used to have residences there.

I don't work for HotelRes.com, but I've been using them for close to ten years now, and I have only had good experiences. I'm kind of torn between letting people know, and keeping it my little secret.

My system is to open several tabbed windows in Netscape, one for each of the companies listed above, then systematically plug in location and dates. Last week, on Orbitz, I scored a r/t ticket from San Francisco to Chicago, and two nights in a five-star hotel for just $461 (this during the BEA convention, with 26,000 delegates to the book expo). :)

Joe Bob says check it out.

Hope this helps.

And Dearjim, if you're going to San Francisco, don't miss a visit to the Ferry Plaza Market building.

Grazer's Paradise

Ferry Tales Do Come True

Signed,

Resourceful in California

[dearjim]

Hi, Tanabutler, thanks for your reply and I'll check out the Hoteres.com, oh by the way, www.sfgate.com is a very interesting site. Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it.

[dearjim]

Hi,

I just found out something new again about those 2 hotels I've been looking for. One of the 4.5 stars hotel suddenly isn't 'Customer Favorite' anymore! I look at the one which still is and looks like it's the Park Hyatt (I am guessing by the hint of hotel courtesy driver). What do you think? Thanks for your replies in advance.

(Embarcadero Area ---

Check in at 3rd of Dec and check out at 9th of Dec, you get the one with Customer Favorite

Check in at 3rd of Dec and check out at 6th of Dec, you get the one without it.)