Everyday I have to ask myself, "am I a hotel snob?" I always tell myself that I am low maintenance and not one, but as we all know, the person who says they are low maintenance are usually the highest maintenance. What has made me this way? I guess traveling as much as I do has created a monster. I am very low maintenance when it comes to a few things, when I can check in, if I get late check out, if I have a view.... but where I become maintenance is with other things, such as staff friendliness, condition of the room, staff attentiveness and hotel amenities.
This was my first time at the Doubletree Grand Biscayne Bay in Miami, and I also have another trip booked here for the end of November. I am a Diamond at Hilton, so I do expect some extras when I am staying at a Hilton property. I was originally scheduled to land around 1:00pm on the day of my arrival, but because of some flight complications I ended up coming in way early on a red-eye flight and landed around 5:00AM. Now, I did not expect to check in that early so I proceeded directly to the American Airlines Admiral Lounge at MIA and rested there for a few hours. Around 6:00AM I used the "message the hotel" option on the Hilton Application, inquiring if I could check in early. Several hours went by with no response, so I just proceeded to the hotel around 9:00AM knowing that I could at least leave my bags at the hotel and venture into the city to get some food and get some fresh air. I am no way expected to be able to check in on arrival, but the first thing one of the bellmen said to me was "I don't know why you came so early, you will never be able to check in this early"..... I just smiled and said I know and asked to proceed to the front desk. The front desk agent apologized and put me on a expedited list (I was finally granted access to my room around 2:30pm).
I wanted to be able to change into shorts, this hotel is not really a hotel... no lobby etc, its a residence with a few hotel rooms it seems. They directed me up to the next level where the "nicer" bathrooms were to change. When I approached, they were cleaning so I politely stood outside for them to finish. There was someone mopping the floors out in the common area, and he kept looking at me with suspicion and glaring at me and he came over and asked if I was a guest and if I needed something. He then went in and talked to someone else and then told me to go in, looking at me in a suspicious manner the entire time.
I went back down to the main floor to store my bags and the same bellman was there, and he blurted out "see I told you so". I just kind of smiled and went on my way into the city where I got breakfast, walked around the market place and explored for a couple of hours. I was so exhausted from not sleeping for 30 hours, that I headed back to the hotel to see if I could find a place to sit and rest my eyes when I waited for the hotel room to be ready (once again, not expecting it to be because it was well before check-in). The Doubletree is not a true hotel with a hotel set up... there are a few chairs by the elevator and thats it, also the employees are not welcoming if you are there, they all look at you like you dont belong. I actually proceeded directly over to the Marriott that is connected on the other side of the retail area. I went to their coffee shop and got some tea and then sat in their comfortable lobby to rest my eyes (they had large private couch areas all around the lobby etc). After about 30 minutes, one of the front desk agents came over and asked if I needed help and asked if I was waiting for my room, and said she could check to see if it was available. I kind of laughed and confessed that I was staying at the Doubletree but that they dont have a lobby to rest in etc. She laughed and said that they get that a lot, and said "thats why you should have stayed here!", and I agreed. She asked if I wanted any water while I waited and offered for me to wait outside by their pool if I would like (even the Doubletree didn't offer that when I was early). I smiled and said that I just wanted to rest my eyes. Her good service will cause me to book there instead of at the Doubletree, thats for sure
Around 2:30pm I got a text that I could finally check into my room. On arrival, the room was nice enough. I kind of laughed, all the way up until the time that I checked in, on the Hilton app it was offering me an upgrade to Bay View for $20, but as a Diamond I was not given the upgrade. The room was pretty beat up, it looks like it had not been maintained or painted, etc for quite a while, however it was comfortable enough and the bed was very inviting.
My future stays (other then my other stay I already have booked here) will probably go to another hotel or brand, but mostly because of the way I was talked to by the bell and janitorial staff. If nothing else, I expect good service.

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The Hyatt Regency in New Orleans is a great Hotel. It is not located right in the French Quarter, it is closer to the stadiums, however you can walk to the FQ in a matter of minutes. 

The hotel is huge and can be very confusing, so make sure to listen to the front desk staff at check-in when they explain how to get to your room. The lines seem long all the time at the Front Desk, however the staff extremely friendly. 

Once grabbing your keys, you proceed across the lobby and up a set of escalators, where the conference/event rooms are located, and then up another set of escalators to the main dining areas and bar areas, you have to walk through a crowded bar area which is a huge hassle. This hotel always has large conferences going on and the bar can barely be walked through with your suitcases. 

The elevators do not have buttons, you have to choose your floor before boarding the elevator and the screen will assign you a lift, this can be confusing. Once up to your floor, the rooms are nice, however if you are in the main middle part of the floor, you will here the noise of the convention activities in the bar below until late night, so I would ask for a room at the end of the hall. 

When entering the room, you will be pleasantly surprised, there is an abundance of window and amenities and an extremely comfortable bed. 

​I would stay at this hotel anytime I was in New Orleans!