New NYC hotel added

[abc31 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close abc31]

I just did a search for a reservation at Affinia Dumont & was surprised to see a third choice pop up for Manhattan. It is the Crown Plaza in Times Square. The points were 29,999 for a studio & 60,000 for a Presidential for Easter week.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I just did a search for a reservation at Affinia Dumont & was surprised to see a third choice pop up for Manhattan. It is the Crown Plaza in Times Square. The points were 29,999 for a studio & 60,000 for a Presidential for Easter week.

I made a reservation for one of the Affinias for Thanksgiving 2010 and now it shows up as Crown Plaza in Times Square in my online account and the points used show as 0 but the requisite amount seems to be missing from my account. Business as usual for RHC.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I made a reservation for one of the Affinias for Thanksgiving 2010 and now it shows up as Crown Plaza in Times Square in my online account and the points used show as 0 but the requisite amount seems to be missing from my account. Business as usual for RHC.

That is so annoying!! I wouldn't trade Affinia Dumont for Crown Plaza at Thanksgiving, if ever. Is Crown Plaza just hotel units? As much as I think RHC could be great in concept, the headaches don't seem worth it.

[abc31 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close abc31]

Does that mean that Affinia is no longer with RHC?

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Does that mean that Affinia is no longer with RHC?

I haven't seen availability for Dumont online yet for next year, so is it being replaced (at twice the points) or has the contract not been let yet, or is everything gone already?

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

I can't tell for sure. Greg (aliikai) appears to be renting some of these, and his rental page seems to suggest that all of the units have access to the Concierge lounge. Does anyone know if this is the case? The location in Times Square is much better than the Affinia Dumont, and there are studios and 1-bedrooms, but I don't know if there is lounge access or not.

I booked a "Junior Suite" (0 bedrooms, sleeps 4) over spring break next year for 45,000 points.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

Hi Hoc

I copied all that text off the Crowne Plaza's website, as RHC doesn't have it on theirs yet. The units RHC has are Suites, and the text says Suites have these privileges, so until it shows otherwise, I am guessing that this is correct.

Greg

I can't tell for sure. Greg (aliikai) appears to be renting some of these, and his rental page seems to suggest that all of the units have access to the Concierge lounge. Does anyone know if this is the case? The location in Times Square is much better than the Affinia Dumont, and there are studios and 1-bedrooms, but I don't know if there is lounge access or not.

I booked a "Junior Suite" (0 bedrooms, sleeps 4) over spring break next year for 45,000 points.

[IPFreely Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close IPFreely]

Does that mean that Affinia is no longer with RHC?

According to the letter that came with the annual statement I recieved today, The Crowne Plaza is meant to substitute the Affinia.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I've not received an annual statement yet, but from what I can ascertain, RHC has not yet successfully negotiated 2010 units for the Affinias. The wonderful RHC CSRs gave no indication that it was not going to happen. Also, it appears that there are TWO Jr Suites and TWO Presidential units available. Anyone want to party in Times Square New Years Eve 2010? Or at Dumont NYE 2009?

When looking at the CP website their suites go for $3000 - $4000+ per night!! And, they have a max occupancy of 3 people. RHC must have specific rooms outfitted for more?

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

When looking at the CP website their suites go for $3000 - $4000+ per night!! And, they have a max occupancy of 3 people. RHC must have specific rooms outfitted for more?

My confirmation says that it sleeps 4. But, when I called CP, they said that they had nothing called "junior suites," (obviously an RHC designation) and that all of their suits had at least one bedroom. So, it might be that the RHC "junior suites" are just regular hotel rooms with no concierge level access.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

This is right from their website

Crowne Plaza Times Square hotel suites are located from floors 20 through 46 and include The Luxury one-bedroom suites and Junior Suites.In addition to luxurious surroundings, suite guests can enjoy amenities and services including:

So I don't know , guess we will need to wait until RHC puts the info on their site

Greg

My confirmation says that it sleeps 4. But, when I called CP, they said that they had nothing called "junior suites," (obviously an RHC designation) and that all of their suits had at least one bedroom. So, it might be that the RHC "junior suites" are just regular hotel rooms with no concierge level access.

[PeelBoy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PeelBoy]

CP requires more points - strategy RHC devalues our membership????

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

My confirmation says that it sleeps 4. But, when I called CP, they said that they had nothing called "junior suites," (obviously an RHC designation) and that all of their suits had at least one bedroom. So, it might be that the RHC "junior suites" are just regular hotel rooms with no concierge level access.

I'm betting that the RHC Jr. Suite is just a hotel room and am hoping that the RHC Presidential is one of CP's true suites (I doubt if it's the one that CP calls Presidential at $3000+ per night.)

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

According to the letter that came with the annual statement I recieved today, The Crowne Plaza is meant to substitute the Affinia.

That is exactly what it says!

Dear Royal Holiday Member:

We hope this e-mail finds in good health and in even better spirits. We have some information that we want to share only with those who belong to our inner circle, only with those who have already experienced what it is like to turn your dreams into a vacation.

We have managed to weather the economic storm that is blowing all over the world. Our financial team came up with very creative solutions to save money on our operational costs: we lowered the commissions for credit card payments, we reduced costs on our 1-800 numbers and regained control over the volume of calls, we reorganized the call center in order to increase efficiency and we launched the digital version of our Royal Holiday News Magazine and saved money on printing and delivery. This actions helped us keep our operational costs within budge boundaries but, other aspects of the economic storm -those that are totally beyond our control- have affected the operational costs and therefore have forced us to increase the annual fee by 5% next year: generalized inflation, the rising cost of the Euro, the large investment we made for getting more rooms at the popular resorts in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic and the extraordinary fees we had to pay at some of our affiliated resorts like the Brigantine Beach Resort in Atlantic City and in the Tanglwood resort in Pennsylavania.

We appreciate your understanding and reiterate our commitment to your total satisfaction.

On other news we would like to thank all of those members who participated in our special fee for travelling to Europe survey. We really enjoyed reading your sharp observations on the issue and, based strictly on them, we decided to charge a special fee only to those members travelling to Europe in order to cover for the rise in prices on all of resorts in that continent.

We would also like to introduce you to a debutante in our resort society: The Crowne Plaza Hotel in New York. This elegant and incredibly well located hotel comes to substitute the Affinia Dumont and the Affinia Manhattan. We are sure you will love the Crowne Plaza, for more information on said hotel visit the Resort Guide at our web page.

Last but not least we are really excited to announce the addition of a beautiful destination to our allotment: Huatulco. Yes, this spectacular destination in Mexico's south Pacific coast is back in our list of choices. This time we can just say that Huatulco will have its own Park Royal Hotel and that in 2010 members will be able to enjoy this paradise like destination with the quality service that has become attached to our brand name. This resort will rise up to your dreams and expectations and will provide you with the excellent service you are used to at our other Park Royal locations.

At Royal Holiday we are always looking for ways to expand the freedom and flexibility of your membership and bring you closer to your dreams.

Sincerely
Royal Holiday

Let's here it for Pennsylavania!

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Details of RHC rooms here.