A couple of days ago I wrote about how impressed I was by the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and how it’s the small things that separate a good hotel from a great hotel. In the case of my arrival, the fact that they had a light breakfast waiting for me in my room (without asking) was amazing, and blew me away, as minor as it might be. I figured it was an anomaly, but the service I experienced at this hotel (on a points stay no less) was unlike anything I’ve experienced anywhere else.
While I’ll save most of the details for the trip report, here are just a few more examples of the little touches that blew me away:
- In the restaurant we were seated and the waitress addressed me by name and explained to us the breakfast we were entitled to due to Gold Passport Diamond status, which I expected. However, a completely separate waiter who later served me my omelet addressed me by name as well, without any prior interaction.
- Every time I left the hotel to go sightseeing, the bellman offered me bottled water to take with me.
- The hotel’s lobby is on the 41st floor, while the entrance is on the 2nd floor. After checking out on the 41st floor I took the elevator down to the 2nd floor, where I was addressed by name by the bellman, who handed me my airport bus ticket without asking for my name.
- I took the elevator from my room on the 48th floor to the lobby on the 41st floor. The elevator stopped on the 45th floor, and stupidly I tried to get out, thinking it was the 41st floor. As it turns out an employee was getting on the elevator, so I apologized for almost running into him. He apologized, and after he got off on the 44th floor he stood just outside the elevator and bowed until the door fully closed.
On a somewhat unrelated note I shared the elevator at the Park Hyatt with at least two pretty well known people, including a certain founder of Facebook and a certain start of “The Office.” The latter even commented “they’re so friendly and they won’t even let me tip them.” Hah, oh boy…
If you have the chance to experience the Park Hyatt, you absolutely must. Staying at this hotel should be required for anyone looking to work in the hotel industry, in my opinion.
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December 31st, 2011 at 8:14 am
Josh G said,
Wow Mark Zuckerberg! This really seems to be an incredible property.
December 31st, 2011 at 8:20 am
Dan said,
Come on Coins, name names. Which Office star, and were they together?
December 31st, 2011 at 8:21 am
JetAway said,
Thanks for the “teaser.” Here’s hoping for the full trip report sooner rather than later.
December 31st, 2011 at 8:28 am
jmd001 said,
I’m impressed. The staff didn’t mistake you for Mr. Z. Oh, wait … he’s that old guy (compared to you).
December 31st, 2011 at 9:06 am
msp2anywhere said,
…and over on Facebook, I just read, “Holly crap, I just shared an elevator with that guy that flies around the world in First for free! Wonder what his secret is??”
December 31st, 2011 at 9:10 am
Jackdaniels said,
Has to be Singapore based Eduardo savarin although zuck was in Vietnam last week.
Hotel looks top notch
December 31st, 2011 at 9:27 am
NYBanker said,
While Park Hyatts are nice (certainly compared to other Hyatts), they are still, in many cases, a notch below many properties managed by Four Seasons, Peninsula and MO. We know you enjoy PHs greatly…but you should try some of these other flags in Asian cities before being so conclusive at PH is where everyone needs to stay.
December 31st, 2011 at 9:54 am
deux centimes said,
I’m at this property right now, and I’m glad to know that I wasn’t hallucinating seeing Zuckerberg in the property this past evening.
Happy new year to you, lucky! =]
December 31st, 2011 at 9:59 am
lucky said,
@ Dan — BJ Novak, and nope, they weren’t together.
@ deux — Hope you’re enjoying your stay, and happy new year to you as well!
December 31st, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Josh G said,
@NYBanker I’d agree. PH seems to emphasize high design with regional inspiration more than service. It seems more consistent than Hilton’s Conrad counterpart.
December 31st, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Bono said,
maybe you guys should blow each other and then halluncinate
December 31st, 2011 at 1:34 pm
mark said,
What do you mean: “Hah, oh boy…”?
December 31st, 2011 at 4:11 pm
MTS said,
Stayed there last week and also had amazing service. One poor guy at the entrance who looked sleep deprived forgot our wake up call. Once the manager saw the missed wake up call, he personally came to our room and apologized, set up a private car to take us to the airport, delivered complimentary meals and services and amenities at their spa. They continued to ask if we wanted anything else and sent us off with no less than 6 personnel waving us off to the airport. When we got home, we had already received a follow up email from the hotel apologizing once again and offering a phone number to call if we ever stayed at the property again.
We were very pleasantly surprised and felt that they went over and above to compensate. I’m very glad to hear that this memorable customer service has been experienced by so many. We had a pretty negative experience at the PH Vendome last month and the service at PH Tokyo has pretty much made up for it.
December 31st, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Brent said,
Do you ever worry that a particular hotel chain or airline will figure out who you are and contact the hotel? It seems like you have somewhat of a following and a good review might do a lot for a particular hotel PR wise. Not saying that this is what happened on this visit, but I have to wonder if your site is not being monitored by these companies. I know that SPG monitors all social media for anything related to their brand, which is why they have someone on flyertalk. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tracked the more popular travel blogs.
You may not announce where you travel ahead of time, but I don’t think it would be too hard for a chain like Hyatt or Hilton to figure out who you are and track your future reservations. Just something you might want to keep in mind as your blog becomes more popular.
January 1st, 2012 at 3:36 am
TS said,
I am a Hyatt Diamond and I have stayed at PH Tokyo 3 times. Never once was I ever offered a bottle of water on the way out/in, addressed by name by any employees (other than at check-out) and there never was breakfast waiting for me. The most extravagant treatment I received was a note signed by a manager (after a GM of another Hyatt informs them of my arrival)
Were they aware that you’re coming to write about the hotel?
January 1st, 2012 at 4:17 am
lucky said,
@ TS — If they were, I didn’t know about it. I did nothing to identify myself as a blogger.
January 1st, 2012 at 2:13 pm
you havebeenupgraded said,
You have to try the Park Hyatt Beijing. Similar to the Park Hyatt Tokyo.
http://youhavebeenupgraded.blogspot.com/2011/08/park-hyatt-peking.html
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:22 am
AEC said,
BJ Novak and Mark Zuckerburg were a few years apart at Harvard, funny they were the two celebs you saw at the PH Tokyo!
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:44 am
Joe said,
I’ve stayed at Ritz, FS, MO, and Pen. Park Hyatt is perfectly comparable. In fact, with their modern design, I find PH more relaxing.
January 5th, 2012 at 8:19 am
Lauren said,
Zuckerberg was in fact vacationing in Asia!
http://gizmodo.com/5871327/mark-zuckerbergs-amazing-race-luxury-vacation-revealed
January 10th, 2012 at 6:06 am
ajb said,
I was there in November on a points night + my two free Hyatt nights for the Chase Hyatt card (which they booked me into a suite). Service was tremendous, to the point I wondered just how so many people knew my name. Wouldn’t even think of staying anywhere else.
April 13th, 2012 at 2:28 am
Sara said,
‘Breakfast waiting for you without your consent’ sounds great and the hotel staff addressing you by your name without any prior interactions is just amazing. I have never ever come across this kind of situation!
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