Hyatt - first impressions

The Hyatt Regency at Monterey is a complex of several buildings that run along side the Del Monte Golf Course. There is a conference center, a Grand Ballroom, large reception area bordered by a bar and restaurant which includes patio seating overlooking one of the greens and fairways of the golf course. There is also a sports bar, "Knuckles." The landscaping and exterior approach are beautifully maintained. The hotel buildings are three stories. Our building is at one end of the complex, so we've done some walking . . . a good thing.

We have not, however, been impressed with the facilities. The rooms are nice, nothing extraordinary. The Hyatt is obviously old, and the carpets and furnishings are a bit worn. The elevator for our building is out of order, so we had to tote our oversized luggage up three flights of stairs to our room, and of course, continue to do a good bit of stair stepping. The stairways aren't impressive either, they look like the stairs in a parking garage. Nothing here is complimentary. Nothing. In addition to our pricey room fee, there is a daily service fee for bottled water and the use of guest services. Wireless internet is available for $9.99 a day.

Now to the food. Upon arrival we were hungry. While walking by the restaurant, we greeted one of the drug company reps . . . Larry knows a great number of these folks, as they see one another year after year. She was eating a Cobb salad which looked pretty good, so we sat down with her and ordered the same. I think it was priced around $12.95. Beverages are a bit pricey, $3.50 for a soda.

More and more of Larry's peers were arriving, so it became reunion time. Lots of laughter, hugs . . . like a big family. This spring I made a digital photo album of Larry's AETA 2004 China trip. We bought copies for the other two vets who were on the trip with him and Larry had great fun presenting them with these books. There are about 300 people here for this event, Larry knows many of them, but there are about eight or ten that we hang with, and we ended up in the sports bar for a dinner that lasted into the evening. I haven't laughed so hard for ages. What a fun loving group, with a history of crazy stories. Actually, this is the group who were on the Board together when the management embezzlement crisis occurred. Lots to laugh about now. It wasn't funny then--and it cost them, too, not only emotionally, but all of them put in some major bucks to keep things going. Enough of that.

We didn't go back to our room until about 11:00 p.m.-- 2:00 a.m. EDT -- a long day.