We had a third visit to the Grand Hyatt, once again for business. It's proximity to the Convention Center is great, and this hotel is much nicer than the Sheraton which is a wee bit closer. We have had excellent, exemplary service here and appreciate it in this current environment.

We booked an Executive suite with an adjoining room, which happened to be another corner suite. The combination is great for a family. The Executive suite has a small bar with sink, refrigerator, etc, as well as a second bathroom off of the sitting area. The corner suite has a work area, a long hallway, then a bedroom with wall to floor windows on 2 walls. Bathrooms have great soaking tubs with waterfall faucets, separate dressing areas, and aveda amenities. We were on the concierge floor, with access to a lounge with concierge (very nice and helpful lady), internet service, good breakfast, sodas, fruit, water, and hot snacks, a good cheese selection and drinks at night. There's always espresso, coffee and mochas available as well, which is a favorite in our family.

Room service is quick and efficient. The location, again, is good for the convention center or shopping. There are many good restaurants within walking distance, and if you don't want to eat breakfast in the concierge lounge try to get the b and b package; it includes a hearty breakfast in the adjacent Ruth's Chris steakhouse.

Parking is expensive, valet or self, but that's unfortunately par for Seattle. The furniture is a bit worn, with the occasional stained pillow or scraped desk. The bed was very bad, the worst I've slept on in a long time - had we been there longer I would have requested some kind of stabilizing board under the mattress.

I stay in Seattle a few times every month. I have had the opportunity to stay at several hotels on the Tripadvisor list, from cheap to boutique. For the money, the Hyatt Grand is the best deal. It has the nicest amenities and friendly staff. The hotel is excellently furbished and has a 24 hour gym.

Letter sent to Hyatt Consumer Complaints:

I am a busy mother of 3 young children. As such, I was looking so very forward to attending the Humane Education Workshop in Vancouver, BC on October 19-20. Although I intended to attend the workshop to enhance my proficiency as a university professor, I have no shame in admitting that I relished the idea of a few precious days all to myself.

My day started on a bad note when I was bumped from my flight in Podunk, Washington. Without any other feasible flight option, I found myself facing a 7 to 8 hour drive to Vancouver. I did not know it at the time, but my journey would include an emergency tire purchase in Ellensburg and a trip over Snoqualmie Pass during a Severe Storm Warning. I stopped in North Bend to rest after conquering the pass, and decided to make hotel reservations in Seattle for the night to rest my weary bones. I had stayed at the Grand Hyatt once before and LOVED it, so I decided to indulge myself and made reservations.

I arrived at the Seattle Grand Hyatt shortly after 8pm, checked in without incident, settled myself into my room and then happily made my way to the nearby Cheesecake Factory for Avocado Eggrolls and decadent cheesecake. I had not eaten anything that day so to simply state that I enjoyed my dinner would be an enormous misrepresentation of my experience! (In fact, even with what was to come, having eaten that one extraordinary meal...made it all worthwhile!!)

I practically skipped back to my room, looking forward to a relaxing bath and a good night's sleep. Alas, my key didn't work, so I made my way to the lobby to get another.

When I arrived at the front desk at approximately 11pm, I was asked if I had another form of payment, as my card was not accepting the room charge. I did not have another form of payment. I do not use credit cards (I use only my Visa debit card), I don't use checks (who takes out-of-town checks anymore??) and never carry cash, except for the occasional $20.

I immediately knew what was wrong. I use a small credit union and, for whatever reason, (I can only assume it is an anti-theft/safety measure) when my card is used outside my home area, a "safety hold" kicks in and the card declines further debits. I can only resolve the issue by calling my credit union (which operates 8-5pm on weekdays). They immediately remove the hold and make note in their system that I have traveled outside my home area. (I only know this because I traveled to Nelson, BC and Chicago, Illinois over the summer and both times had to call my credit union because of the afore mentioned "safety hold." Fortunately, The W in Chicago was much more understanding of my circumstances than the Grand Hyatt ended up being.)

I offered to call my husband to give them his credit card number to act as a guarantor until morning, but was required to have him fax his permission. We don't have a fax machine at our house and I absolutely could not ask my husband to wake my three sleeping children at 11pm to go hunting for a fax machine. I offered collateral (I have a very lovely MacBook that I can't live without and would have served as a SUBSTANTIAL motivator for me to pay my hotel bill!! I also have a shiny little Pontiac Vibe, which was already in their possession!!) I even went so far as to pull up my banking account online, showing the manager my account balance (which was approximately $1739).

After all of my pleading, I was escorted by security at 11:30pm to collect my things from the room and was tossed out on my ear. Faced with no other option, I got in my car and drove back home, through the same weather conditions I had faced earlier. (I have BLISTERS on three of my fingers from gripping the steering wheel so firmly while battling the severe gusts of wind...it was THAT bad.)

Having endured my gripping tale, you might be wondering about the purpose of my email, aside from my seemingly obvious penchant for whining. My purpose is to ask a simple question.

Is there no room for decency or compassion within the Hyatt corporate structure?

Seriously. EVERY SINGLE SIGN suggested that I was a trustworthy person. I had really good evidence to support my claims. Yet, given the opportunity to be a shining example of customer service, your hotel staff chose instead to toss me out on my ear at 11:30pm.

Shame on you, Hyatt. Any corporation that would require their employees to stand belligerent, unsympathetic and utterly opposed to one simple and ordinary act of human kindness, does not deserve my patronage.

This, my unbelievably discourteous treatment at the hands of your little corporate minions, I shall shout from the rooftops.

Stayed first week of Oct. in an Emerald Suite. Awesome views, clean, quiet room, comfortable bed, large sitting area, bedroom & bathroom. Staff is extremely helpful and friendly. The Steakhouse on site is excellent. Ate there for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hotel located within walking distance to Pike's Market, shopping, restaurants, etc. I guess the only negative is pulling into the hotel because the space is small and tight so it easily becomes congested. However, valet does a great job keeping the cars and taxi's out of the area. Our experience could not have been any better. This is an awesome place and would definitely stay there again.