Hi Aeolus....that room is our favourite. Far better than the odd relaxation suite IMHO.
at HSP. That welcome note must be for guests who booked the exec rooms w/o status. Also met the Front Desk manager who was really pleasant, turns out she was transferred from my usual haunt HSYD so we shared a few good chats. I absolutely fell in love with the views from the relaxation room - come to think of it, that was the longest time I've ever spent in a room just watching the world go by. I was also a bit amused with the relaxation room classification when there's no bathtub installed. The bathroom clearly have more than enough space to put one in - it would definitely make the "relaxation" go a little further if a bath is available (and I would probably not come out of the room at all if so, LOL!). A small annoyance was the lack of bedroom slippers and the need to call Magic on the day of checkout to request for extended checkout (apparently they couldn't commit until the day itself) and it took a good 5-10 mins for Magic to answer the call. On the positive side, Magic gave me a call not long after I checked in to make sure everything was ok, etc. which I thought was a nice touch.Pleased to report back, no $10 nor coffee tax for Diamond
I stayed there a week ago and when I asked about breakfast downstairs was told that it was $10. Even for a diamond. I am there in a couple of weeks again, so maybe I should turn up. Thoughts?Pleased to report back, no $10 nor coffee tax for Diamond
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HSW is infinitely better than the DT though often dearer. They are pretty good with the upgrades and by recent experience of a fella AFF'er they don't tax coffee for HH Golds in the main dining room at breakfast. Assuming you get EL access the setup and offerings there are quite good.
A few weeks ago I was at H-DRW for the first time, so I decided to ask the front desk about the restaurant breakfast in lieu of the lounge. I was told lounge only but I decided to have breakfast in the restaurant regardless. Each morning I was marked off the pre-printed sheet and on the 2nd morning the restaurant staffer even said "oh your breakfast is complementary as you're diamond". I was not charged for breakfasts for any of the six days I was there, so that told me that sometimes the staff don't know the individual properties policy for diamond breakfast. At HSP, I'd at least try it one morning, just to see the outcome. Seems Aeolus' experience has confirmed that diamond at least, still gets it as complementary.
I have a late October booking and HSW was cheaper than the DT (by a reasonable amount). I doubt anyone can say for sure about the Agoda effect on treatment (strictly by the Ts&Cs the answer would be no), but most reports are that the in-hotel status benefits still apply, just not the accrual of points/nights/stays....but like anything, YMMV.
