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The Park Hyatt Washington D.C.
- When: December 31st-January 3rd 2016
- How much: 10,000 + $125/night
- Elite Status: Diamond
- Category Room: Park Executive Suite
- Used a Diamond Suite Upgrade
- Other benefits:
- Free breakfast for 3 people
- wine, cheese, and cookie amenity platter
- Upgraded from Park Suite which DSU guarantees
- Total price: 30,000 points +$375 + tax
- This was split between two gold passport members + a guest. Great value
- Value per point = 10,000 for $484 = $0.0484
It was a great value using points and a Diamond Suite Upgrade
How we came to pick the Park Hyatt –
Dave and I met up with one of our best buds, Shane, for a New Year’s Eve trip to Washington D.C.. We all hadn’t hung out together in quite some time and Shane lives nearby. We’ve been friends for over 20 years and it’s always a craaaaaazy time when we get together. So I knew we needed some space, a great hotel, and an excuse to luxuriate ourselves.
In planning the trip, I kept vacillating between this and the Grand Hyatt Washington D.C. but ultimately decided to go with the Park Hyatt because we were guaranteed a suite upgrade and it just looked nicer. It’s also in the Georgetown area, which we thought would be different to try. I would have to say that Grand Hyatt design and style lends itself more to my personal taste, but I always like to check out alternatives and also….I like the best per buck.
Since Dave and I ( and now Shane) are Hyatt Gold Passport members we were able to fill out a form to combine points making this stay only 15,000 points each – an outstanding deal at this luxury hotel. It’s a swift process and the points populate whomever’s account is booking the reservation…in this case it was mine. I’d say the whole process, once faxed in ( I used tinyfax app for iphone) took 72 hours.
Flew into DCA and took a cab from the airport – Uber on the way back which was a cinch, but taxis were far easy to come by and cost about $20. The check in process was very easy and I was informed I had been double upgraded from the Park Suite which is guaranteed for Diamonds to the Park Executive Suite. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been monitoring inventory leading up to the stay to see if maybe we would in fact land a larger suite.
You know what’s better than a suite upgrade? A double Suite upgrade – Miles is a baller
Practically speaking tho…
From a hotel inventory perspective and loyalty retention perspective I think it makes complete sense to give big upgrades to top tier program members. It frees up lower priced inventory in the hotel which is far more likely to to be sold, and also rewards the most valuable members of the program. I’ve found with Hyatt that this happens quite often, and I FLIPPING LOVE IT!
En route to the hotel you pass the restaurant – Blue Duck Bar and the hotel bar – Blue Duck Tavern
The hotel, as you can see, has a very distinct modern feel – as most Park Hyatt’s do embody. The only Park Hyatt I’ve really ever been to that didn’t have this feel was the Park Hyatt Aviara, which was once a Four Seasons and has that California Resort Lux design feel.
Not gonna lie…the hotel does feel dated
I can imagine that back in the day this hotel was SICK. It’s still very nice, but it’s just showing some wear. I didn’t take any pictures of the pool and spa area but it is DATED!!!!!! Like, we kicked it in the hot tub for a while and felt kinda gross. But, as for the other facilities in the hotel, it was very nice and well maintained.
The room is YUUUUUGE
940 sq ft of lux on lux lux
Get ready for this Shower/Bath combo – cause it’s REDONKADONK!
It was more than enough space for the 3 of us and the couch easily fit two people toe to toe on it. The only real hiccup was getting our check-in amenity which took over 3 hours to be delivered. It was a bottle of wine, some fruit, and cookies. While it was great when it actually came, Dave and I arrived early and were looking to have a glass of wine while we waited for Shane. We ended up going down to the Blue Duck Tavern and having some Moscow Mules. Yum!
Breakfast in the mornings.
The crab, egg white omelette is supposed to one of their marquee items and I honestly found it quite bland. However, our breakfast bill was…Free
Fantastic jam tho!
In warmer weather, this place with be incredible outside
And the Verdict:
I don’t think any of us would have thought it prudent or financially reasonable to plop down over $700 a night ( after taxes and breakfast credits) on a suite for NYE. But 3 dudes splitting it up for roughly $50 a night per person to live in the lap of luxury – money well spent!
I’d say that the hotel is a solid 4+ star hotel. There are too many rough edges and the facilities too dated to really compete with true 5 star hotels, and I certainly wouldn’t pay the full $609/night for the Park Executive Suite. However, this was over a holiday and I’ve seen normal rates in the ballpark of low $200s. For this hotel, in a nice, quiet area, $200 really is a steal. The food and bev is priced at 5 star prices, but I’m not exactly sure it warrants it, but there are quite a few options for dining in the near vicinity. I’m addicted to Starbuck’s and there is one within 2 blocks of the hotel. Turn left out the front door and it’s to the right, at the first intersection you come to…
I’d stay again, but probably check out the Grand Hyatt, Willard, and JW Marriott before I return.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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