This morning, when I arrived at my hotel after my all night flight, I was greeted by the concierge with the statement, “Hello, Ms. Papaya! [This is not what she actually said, but it's more fun this way] I see you are now a Diamond Member.”
And this is where the floodgates opened. Diamond membership is the highest level of status a guest can attain within the Hyatt chain. Once achieved, after 25 stays or 50 nights, (which having attained, I can tell you is not necessarily a happy milestone to mark, 50 nights in a box [albeit a nice box] by yourself) you are treated like the creme de la you know what within the company. It’s always nice to be treated nicely, I think, especially when its so amusing to me the mildly confused look most attendants take on when they see little ole me with my 22 year old face and outfit, and then have to treat me all shpecial like some sort of celebrity. But hey, I’ll take it.
The woman at the desk this morning whipped out a fanily printed card which listed two columns of welcome amenities I could choose from. Among the drinks column, there were bottles of wine, my choice of two domestic beers, 2 bottles of Fiji water, gourmet sodas. (But wait. Fiji water? On the same list as a bottle of wine? Doesn’t that seem silly to you? I mean, YES, in an airport, you would likely pay around $6 for one bottle of Fiji water, which is likely greater than the bottle of wine the hotel orders in bulk…but still!) On the food side, there were baked cookie platters, some things I don’t remember anymore, and a fruit and cheese plate.
Me, having been taken off guard with the surprise of free gifts (and fancypants gifts, which made me feel like a fancypants girl) circled this:
If I eat this, will I gain a more pronounced cultural refinement?
When I came to my room in the evening after work, I had that lovely platter waiting for me along with a 2008 Chardonnay (from Canvas winery in Napa, CA…ironic, much?) I ate all the fruit on the plate and probably 1/4 of the least smelly cheese. Did I forget to tell you I don’t like cheese that much? Or wine?
That’s my mistake. What was it then, that made me order these two things when offered? Maybe it was some internal desire to come off as refined and cultured (which, in my mind, people who enjoy wine and cheese paired together, and I mean ACTUALLY enjoy it, seem to come off as?) Especially now that I am DIAMOND level, I should be the type of person who likes this stuff right? I don’t know. Next week, I’m just going to circle the bonus points.
(By the way, no, I didn’t drink the whole wine on my own. I left it unopened and am bringing it to a BYOB dinner tomorrow night with my coworker Diana, who also stays in the hotel, but ALAS, is not DIAMOND. Are you reading this Diana? That’s right, I am SO much cooler than you.)
But we already knew that.
