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My review of Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower
After one-night in central Barcelona at the Le Meridien hotel, I booked the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower hotel with my own Hyatt Leverage plan. I received a nice free-night promotion from Hyatt, plus was (for a very short period) upgraded to Globalist due to a loophole…
The hotel is fairly far out by the Hospital de Bellvitge station, last stop of the red metro line. It’s about 30 minutes by metro to the city centre, or 20 minutes to the airport by bus.
The hotel building is quite prominent once you have exited the station, on top of which there’s a huge Hesperia sign that is the owner of the hotel.
The lobby is large and impressive.
Once having confirmed my name and ID, the receptionist lady greeted me with a very warm welcome, and invited the duty manager to have a chat with me. She then gave me a thorough introduction of the hotel facilities, breakfast and the club lounge, while accompanying me to the lift.
My (suite) upgrade experience with Marriott, IHG and Hilton has been pretty poor in Europe. This is the first and maybe only time I’m staying as a Globalist, and they upgraded me to a Regency Suite on the 24th floor. The highest guest floor is the 25th, and there’s a famous(?) rooftop restaurant on the 29th.
As there’s no separate living room, it’s probably more of a junior suite. However the TV-mounting wall segregates the space well, and you definitely won’t find it confined here.
The room has a traditional layout, is well furnished, and there’s no apparent sign of wear and tear. It is surely a very high standard as of hotels in Europe.
The bathroom comes with a small wardrobe as well as a jet tub.
It is the tallest building in the neighbourhood by a good margin so you have a nice view.
You can cast content to the TV via Chromecast or the Hyatt mobile app.
As recommended by the hotel staff, I had my breakfast in the main restaurant.
Here’s the buffet:
Classic Spanish breakfast with a large selection of cured meat. The quality is decent, although I’m a bit disappointed that they don’t offer churros here.
The Hyatt Regency Club is located on the fifth floor, and it is Huge!
As a business hotel they’ve done a good job catering to business clients’ needs. There are four conference rooms in the club lounge.
Fruits, snacks and drinks (including beer and wine) are displayed throughout the day.
Happy Hour is 5pm to 7pm every evening. In addition to salad and cheese etc, there are two hot items offered each day. I had a lot of fried meat balls and beef stew…
Liquor and spirited are also on offer.
Breakfast in the club lounge is a lot simpler, although they make some special dishes here such as the Bao.
Gym is very small and I’m not impressed. The swimming pool is contracted so all guests including Globalists must pay a €10 fee per day, which I didn’t use.
When I was checking out, the receptionist again called for the (general?) manage who was on his way out to have a personal chat with me. He was very attentive and asked if I wanted to bring a couple of bottles of water with me.
I’m truly impressed how well Globalists are treated at Hyatt Hotels. Although they don’t have 4pm guaranteed late check-out which I find very useful, it is better than my Marriott Titanium experience is almost every way. Sadly I was (duly) downgraded back to Explorist shortly after my stay.
Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower is a very solid hotel with great guest rooms and club lounge. The location is inconvenient though, so I only recommend you to stay here on your first or last day utilising its proximity to the airport.
My review of Hilton Nottingham
(Update: refurbishment has now completed. Again I received no upgrade as there were quite a few events going on in the city, but the room’s interior is much nicer now. Note that the hotel is very stingy with check-out time: standard check-out is 11am and the generous late check-out for Diamond members is 12am…)
(Originally posted in October 2021)
Stuck in the UK, I’m going to Nottingham for a weekend to visit a friend and their German Shepherd puppy.
Weekend hotel prices are ridiculous at the moment in almost all the UK cities I’ve checked, which means using points is a good call. I spent 60,000 points for two nights at the Hilton hotel at Nottingham, despite the fact they don’t have very good reviews.
The hotel is about 15 minutes’ walk from the railway station, and right next to Victoria Centre which means it’s very central.
It’s very busy this weekend. The gentleman at reception spent a long time trying to find me an upgrade, and was very apologetic when it turned out impossible unless I wouldn’t mind changing room the second day. I was given two drinks vouchers though as a Diamond treat, which I don’t think many UK hotels are still doing nowadays.
The room on the hand, is compact, dated and dysfunctional just as I had imagined…
As you can tell from the little fan on the desk, the room is not air-conditioned. Fortunately the two days I stay here aren’t really warm so I didn’t suffer.
Bathroom looks okay comparatively.
I was told by the receptionist that the 5th and 6th floors are currently undergoing renovation. I guess the owner of the hotel has finally realised that they can’t get away with the old and ugly decor anymore…
Breakfast is served at the Bric restaurant, which is in the fashion of a buffet.
The quality is excellent for a 4-star hotel, especially after you have seen how distasteful the room is. My favourite is the vegetarian sausages which reminds me of a delicacy from my hometown in China.
The hotel also features a gym and spa, which is a nice bonus. You don’t need to make prior reservations and can just walk in.
Unfortunately there were many hotel guests so I didn’t manage to take a lot of photos. Overall the facilities are quite okay although again quite dated. Swimming pool is big enough; jacuzzi too but not warm enough as it’s connected to the pool; sauna is closed due to malfunction; steam room is a bit too steamy.
I think you should already have a very good idea of the hotel at this point. I believe the rooms will be a lot more comfortable after the renovation has completed, but in the meantime you still have to make peace with it and your chances of getting an upgrade will be slimmer as a consequence.
My review of Le Meridien Barcelona
I was close to accepting a job offer finally, and I decided to treat myself to a holiday in Spain! I’m staying three nights in Barcelona before heading to Valencia, and besides the two nights with Hyatt for the Q1 promotion, I’m staying at Le Meridien for one night as well for its more central location.
The hotel acts as a great base to explore Barcelona. It’s near the Universitat metro station, with many shops and restaurants nearby, and you can even walk to the beach.
The receptionist lady is very friendly and professional. She welcomed me warmly, explained all the benefits and hotel facilities, as well as offered me a choice of different rooms.
If I remember correctly they are usually quite generous with room upgrade. Unfortunately there happens to be an international mobile conference going on in the city so they are a bit tight on availability. I chose a Premier Deluxe room on the first floor.
Size-wise Premier Deluxe rooms are identical with the standard Deluxe rooms, but they are more recently refurbished.
The sixth floor and higher appear to be a totally different building. Rooms look much nicer at least from the outside.
The hotel has rooftop terrace, with a (small) pool, jacuzzi and sauna / steam rooms. They are good enough for me.
Breakfast is served in the lobby restaurant.
Spread is decent with quiche and churros!
Lacking a club lounge and a proper swimming pool, Le Meridien Barcelona may not be my first choice of the city. The location is great though, and if I can fare a good upgrade I wouldn’t hesitate to come back.
My review of Westin Bahrain City Centre
After two uneventful nights at Hilton Bahrain, I moved to the Westin hotel for a change and, Marriott’s great Q1 promotion of course. Out of all the hospitality groups Marriott does the best job – Ritz Carlton is one of, if not the best hotel of the country, and there are Le Meridien, Westin and Residence Inn too, which are good candidates for point redemptions.
Bahrain is a small city and it took me only 10 minutes to Uber to the Westin. The building’s architecture is very interesting: Westin, Le Meridien and the City Centre shopping mall are share the same complex.
You can navigate between the shopping mall and two hotels indoors very easily, and City Centre has quite a few fast food outlets if you don’t want to travel far. As you need to travel by car to virtually everywhere in Bahrain, the location doesn’t matter much.
Unlike the Hilton I didn’t receive a welcome email, but the check-in experience is nonetheless quite smooth. All hotel staff are very well trained, would stop what they are doing when they see a guest and greet.
My three-night stay is upgraded to a one-bedroom suite at the 8th floor and south facing. The living room is bright and cheerfully designed and it lights up my mood immediately:
Both suites have a very similar layout, but at Westin it is classier and more comfortable. In short it feels more like staying at hotel.
Welcome gift – baklavas:
The brick wall is cute and I like the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The bathroom is connected to both the bedroom and the living room, and it’s quite modern. The glass is switchable.
There is small walk-in wardrobe.
My suite overlooks the high road so there’s barely any view per se, and it goes a bit noisy at times. You might want to pick a north-facing room instead, although don’t have high hopes for the sea view, as you can see from the lounge pictures below.
Take the lift to floor 3 for the swimming pool, which is shared with Le Meridien.
Unfortunately Bahrain in February is way too cold to get into the water.
There is an indoor spa for sauna, steam room and jacuzzi.
Breakfast is served in restaurant Furn, which is located right beside the shopping mall.
The buffet is on a similar standard with what Hilton offers. I tried some fried rice but it’s not fully cooked!
The barista coffee is awesome though, which is not commonly seen at hotel breakfast.
The Westin has a reputable seafood restaurant but their price is really steep. I had a lunch at Furn instead.
Bahrain definitely isn’t cheap – my Spaghetti Bolognese costs £20. Both the spaghetti and local naan are very tasty though.
The Westin Club is located on the 10th floor and manned all day. It’s got a lot of natural light and has a nice layout.
The sea view on the other hand, isn’t very impressive.
Snacks and fruits are available throughout the day, but drinks are served by the waiters only. Happy Hour is 6pm – 8pm, and you expect hot food such as:
- Roast vegetables
- Fried noodles
- Fried fish
- Curry vegetables
- Curry chicken
- White rice
The food is not fancy, but sufficient for a light dinner.
In general I’m very happy about my stay, and it’s one level above the Hilton. Its neighbour, Le Meridien is usually a lot cheaper but shares the swimming pool and has their own club lounge, which is worth a shot too.
My review of Hilton Bahrain
As Hilton had that “Stay once to keep Diamond” promotion, I’ve chosen to the Hilton Bahrain hotel to start my trip. It is a very new hotel, charging just over £120 per night, and somehow is even cheaper than the Hilton Garden Inn. I spent 82,000 points on two award nights as I have nowhere to spend my Hilton points.
I received a welcome email one day before my arrival that offered me an airport transfer for 10 dinars. It isn’t much more expensive than Uber (~6 dinars) and I took it.
The friendly chauffeur was already waiting for me at the arrival hall when I landed, and it was smooth 10-minute drive to the hotel. The occupancy seems low – the receptionist lady addressed me with my name immediately when she saw me.
The hotel has 45 floors and features an executive lounge. However it is still under constructions and not many facilities are available yet. In fact when I did the online check-in the highest floor presented to me was like 33. This might explain when the hotel’s rate is so low.
Daily drinks vouchers are offered in lieu of the executive lounge.
Hilton Bahrain is more of a residence than a hotel, as all guest rooms are actually (at least studio) apartments that feature a proper kitchen and washing machine etc. I received an upgrade to a one-bedroom apartment on the 27th floor.
Living room:
The apartment is indeed very well furnished, with refrigerator, dishwasher, hobs, washing machine, plus cutlery and plates. There’s even a water dispenser, which I haven’t seen since my childhood in China!
Bedroom and bathroom:
The TV set doesn’t support Chromecast. I managed to connect to Smart View with my phone but it’s not as convenient.
It is not the average hotel room you see elsewhere. In fact it doesn’t feel like a hotel at all, but rather an apartment you rent on Airbnb.
Both the living room and bedroom have access to the balcony:
The view isn’t particularly scenery here. There are multiple construction sites next to the hotel which is an eyesore.
That says something about the hotel’s location. The zone is under heavy construction and not much is happening around here. I crossed a few construction sites to finally reach the park by the sea but it’s very underwhelming. The Grand Mosque is not too far away though.
My welcome gift: a fruit plate and baklava.
Breakfast is served in the restaurant on the third floor. It’s the classic English breakfast buffet and some local delicacy such as foul medames and egg shakshuka.
There’s Asian cuisine as well, but hmm very fused. I was reaching out to the spring rolls, but then was put off by its cheese stuffing.
Menu for eggs:
The swimming pool is just outside the restaurant.
It’s February and just over 20 degrees in Bahrain. The pool isn’t heated and a bit too cold.
The jacuzzi is broken and can’t be turned on for safety reasons. There is an indoor spa though that offer more facilities.
The sauna room is terribly flawed. I think they chose the wrong material for floor and bench, and you don’t want to stay in unless you are not afraid of being burnt!
Gym:
I had no problem getting 3pm late check-out before I moved to the Westin. The service at Hilton Bahrain is good, and the room / facilities are okay too, especially if plan to stay for more than just a few days. However, for a five-star hotel in the Middle East it doesn’t quite meet the standard, but hopefully thing will pick up once the construction has completed.
My review of Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre
Disrupted by the layoff, my five-night beach holiday in Dubai turned into a short airport layover of two days. There are quite a few hotel options near the Dubai airport, such as the Holiday Inn Express, Aloft and Element. However I didn’t want to “downgrade” that much, so went for Le Meridien in the end.
The hotel is about three minutes’ drive from the airport, and you can actually walk if not carrying too many bags. Despite of its remoteness, the hotel is right next to a metro station so connection to downtown Dubai is easy.
Don’t confuse it with Le Meridien Fairway, which is further away from the airport and much smaller.
A Christmas tree is ready for the festive period.
Interestingly, Le Meridien is actually composed of two hotels, which is very unusual. The hotel has one building named the Royal Wing, which has its own reception, parking space, pools and club lounge, so it’s pretty much an independent hotel.
Marriott Platinum members receive an upgrade to the Royal Club Room by default.
You need to cross the main building to see the Royal Wing block.
Upon entering the building the first facility you see is the Royal Club, which is an exclusive club lounge. However, it is basically a lobby bar so feels quite different to an ordinary lounge you see elsewhere.
Royal Wing has a very different style of interior design compared to the main building. Darker colours are used everywhere to the Royal theme.
You can’t fault the service in Dubai. A porter came to pick up my luggage at the first sight and accompanied me all the way to my room. Moments after I’ve settled down, someone else brought me a huge fruit platter.
There is only one room type at the Royal Wing. The room to be honest, is a bit worn.
You can see the Aloft through the window.
The jet tub is a nice addition to the bathroom.
The best feature however, has to be the massage chair, which is total surprise. I couldn’t wait to try it out after my 10-hour flight, and it works pretty well, as the pressure is probably deeper than what some masseurs can do. If I remember correctly only Royal Club rooms have the massage chair.
The swimming pool is located on the fifth floor. It’s a small one, but being on the rooftop adds some bonus points. Someone told me you can actually see the New Year fireworks from here.
Royal Wing’s benefits are listed as follows:
Royal Wing offers complimentary one-way airport transfer if you book directly, but that doesn’t include complimentary upgrades. The charge is only 30 AED though so I opted in, and somehow they ended up not charging me.
Titanium members can choose restaurant breakfast as a welcome amenity, and I didn’t want to walk all the way so didn’t bother and decided to dine at the lounge instead.
The buffet is way below par, so go to the restaurant if breakfast is important to you.
Flyertalk’s reviews don’t speak highly of their afternoon tea so I didn’t check it out. I’m here for the happy hour though, and appetisers is limited one portion per person. You can drink as much as you want though (prices are just for reference in case you invite someone else).
If you don’t mind paying for your food, the hotel has 16 restaurants to choose from! I tried the Spanish restaurant which is quite decent and not overpriced.
As a Titanium member I get 15% discount on my bill. I don’t think it’s a regional dining benefit (like the one in Asia Pacific), so probably a nice gesture from the hotel itself.
Royal Wing guests are free to use any facility at the main building as well. There’s another lounge – Le Meridien Club Lounge, which is open to Club Room guests staying at the main building. As Elite members are usually upgraded to the Royal Wing, it tends to be quiet.
According to the staff, the catering here is identical to the Royal Wing. In fact it feels much more like a proper club lounge, and I’d rather sit here to enjoy the light if I want a change of scenery.
Besides having 16 restaurants, the hotel also has four swimming pools! You’ve already seem the Royal Club Pool, and there’s Le Meridien Club Pool which is exclusive to Club Room guests.
There are a few guest rooms with direct pool access, but privacy may not be that good.
Fitness Pool is ideal for some proper swimming training.
And finally there’s the Courtyard Pool, which is the most family and kids friendly and has a bar.
The hotel feels a bit old, and definitely not on the luxury level by Dubai’s standard. However I’ve fallen in love with the massage chair, and the restaurants and pools have impressed me. If you need to stay close to the airport, Le Meridien Dubai is not a bad choice at all.
My review of St Regis Shanghai Jing’An
This is not gonna be any other review that you’ve seen of a hotel – before returning to the UK I had a two-day layover in Shanghai, and it’s when China had the massive covid outbreak and everyone was catching the virus. Your future experience staying at the same hotel will be very different to mine, but it could still be an interesting read 🙂
Shanghai has many hotels, but not so many outstanding ones by China’s standard. I was told that the St Regis Jing’An hotel is decent, and at 34,000 points per night it seems to be a good deal. If you are a first-time visitor, I recommend the Waldorf Astoria for its history, location and great view.
The St Regis sits in the Jing’An district, which is probably the most central area of Shanghai
The hotel looks quite low-profile from outside.
The lobby is quite ordinary for a five-star hotel in China which hasn’t been refurbished for a while.
This is a rare St Regis hotel that features a Club Lounge. Marriott elite members are not entitled to Club benefits at the St Regis brand, but if your suite night award clears into a room type with that feature then it’s granted at this property. My two SNAs cleared and I was upgrade to the Caroline Astor Suite.
The lobby is very quiet. As I had expected most of the hotel staff are sick and the shortage has been going on for a while. The receptionist informs me that most of the services such as housekeeping are cut or heavily reduced right now.
My Caroline Astor Suite catches her by surprise. She says that no room is available yet but it may take two hours for one to be cleaned. Remember that it’s already 4pm when I arrived.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t have checked what room types were booked on the day and make arrangements beforehand. She didn’t even try to apologise at all, which made me uncomfortable.
Fortunately I ran into the manager Douglas when I just sat there trying to figure out what to do next. He came up to me and said hi, and I took to chance to complain about my situation. He’s very generous and offered me a two bedroom apartment in the residence!
Regular rooms (and suites) are located on the 61th floor and below, whereas floor 62-68 is the St Regis Residence for long-stay guests only. You can’t book the residence on marriott.com, instead you need to talk to the hotel’s sales department.
The living room is very bright with a great view of Shanghai’s skyline.
The kitchen is fully equipped with a fridge, an oven and hobs.
There’s a small guest bathroom to the right, with a walk-in shower.
A study squeezes in between the bathroom and the guest room.
Guest room:
The master bedroom is a lot bigger:
And it comes with a walk-in wardrobe and a dressing table.
The main bathroom is also fairly big with a bathtub.
According to their website the apartment measures 109 sqm but it feels even larger. On the other hand it doesn’t feel like a hotel room anymore, which may be to some people’s liking but not to the others.
This is a list of the original club benefits.
Unsurprisingly the Club Lounge is closed. In fact the only eatery still open is the Social Restaurant on the ground floor.
Oriental buffet:
English breakfast:
Food stations for noodles and omelettes etc.
Salad, fruits and desserts.
I don’t the noodles, but otherwise it’s all ok.
As the Club Lounge is closed, we are invited to have lunch and dinner at the Social Restaurant instead, whereas the afternoon tea is cancelled. You can order one soup and one main from the menu:
A few items from the menu weren’t available anymore during lunch, and it became much worse at dinner.
I tried the tenderloin and fried rice, which are anything but tasty.
They don’t even offer any drinks for free, although a lot of alcohols were at display (for purchase) during the “Happy Hour”. From what I’ve heard the Club Lounge’s usual offering is very good, but sadly the execution is just terrible at this special time.
The swimming pool is nice though. You need to wear a swimming cap but it’s provided for free.
The gym:
My unique experience is unprecedented, and unlikely to act as a reference point for anything in the future. I’m grateful to the manager Douglas for a chance of trying out the two bedroom apartment, but to be honest the service I experienced here is well below par.
My review of Palace Hotel, San Francisco
I spent my first two nights in San Francisco at the InterContinental hotel, and for a change of scenery I’m moving to the Palace Hotel from Luxury Collection for the third night. Thanks to the $200 credit from my U.S. Amex Platinum card, I paid just over $100 for the FHR stay.
The general manager sent me a few emails before my stay to ask for any special requests and offer some general information. He sent me another email to ask for any feedback on the day I checked out. Although many people may find it unnecessary, I think it’s a nice touch to show that the hotel cares.
Palace hotel is not far from the InterContinental, and right next to the Montgomery metro station. However, I find its location more handy than the InterContinental, as it’s closer to the metro station, and walkable to more local attractions including the Chinatown.
The building and its lobby have an ordinary look. The agent who checks me in is very familiar with the FHR benefits. In fact if you are Marriott Platinum or above, the main add-on is just the $100 on-property credit. Some hotels (especially in the U.S.) refuse to honour Marriott benefits when you prepay your FHR booking because it’s backed by Expedia, but this time she explicitly offers me the 1,000 welcome points since breakfast is already included.
A truffle chocolate box is offered to me as a welcome gift, then another two white chocolates at the turndown service.
The serenity of the guest room areas is reminiscent of my stay at St Regis New York.
I fared a free upgrade to the Junior Suite. I had thought about using a suite night award here, but then the so-called Superior Suite is only 480sqt, so I backed off.
When you enter the room, there’s a walk-in wardrobe on the left.
Overall the room looks very classy, and the (oversize) bed is quite comfy. The bathroom has no tub, but does have a Washlet seat which isn’t commonly seen even at five-star hotels.
Slippers are quite fluffy.
I assume it’s a board game?
The hotel has only nine floors and I’m on the fifth. If you expect a view, then the InterContinental hotel is a much better option.
You have to give some credits to their guest room, but the most prestigious thing about this hotel is far more than that. Right next to the lobby there’s an extensive and glamorous gallery:
And there’s some memorabilia on display, which tells the history of the Palace Hotel. It may remind you of museum – and there is indeed a small museum, named Landmark 18, in the gallery.
When it opened in 1875, the Palace Hotel was the biggest hotel in the world. Unfortunately the hotel was hit by a fire in 1906 and it took three years’ restoration for the hotel to reopen. In 1954 it became a Sheraton hotel and a lot of its original features were lost to accommodate the brand standard, which was then reverted in 1973 when the hotel was finally purchased by the Japanese Kyo-Ya group.
The most stunning piece of the hotel has to be the Garden Court restaurant, which became a landmark of San Francisco in 1969.
Many people come here for the afternoon tea experience, and I’m here for breakfast. FHR comes with $30 credit per person, and as I’m travelling solo that’s $60 for myself. I thought it would buy me loads of food until I saw the menu:
Yogurt for $6 and orange juice / coffee for $8, so $60 doesn’t really get you far at all, and don’t forget the tips. I didn’t notice the buffet option at the top for $43, which is probably what I should have gone for.
The $100 FHR credit can be spent at the Pied Piper restaurant, which is famous for that painting. I ordered some chicken wings and a steak, which came to 90-odd dollars including taxes and tips. If you are travelling with a partner, the $160 credit is just enough for the breakfast buffet plus a couple of drinks.
The swimming pool is on the fourth floor. Similar to the Garden Court it has a nice glass dom.
But the pool is only 1.2m metre deep, so more like a children’s playground.
The jacuzzi is broken, although the water is still warm…
Sadly there’s no sauna or steam room.
The Palace Hotel is a landmark of San Francisco, full of history, and a hotel well worth experiencing. If you happen to be in the city, I recommend popping in and have a look even if you don’t stay at this hotel.