First, you are here, reading and replying to Gary’s blog, which means you are part of the miles/points tribe, just like the rest of us here (“You are not stuck in traffic; you ARE the traffic.”)

Second, have you noticed how bland most posts and replies are in the unedited blogosphere? I was striving to write with a speckle of craft.

Third, compound modifiers get hyphenated. It’s “second-class citizen.” With a hyphen. Here’s a short tutorial for you: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/hyphen-with-compound-modifiers/

Fourth, people who know me IRL know that I am not a member of the DYKWIA tribe. FYI, I edited my reply before posting it; I was intentional about my choice of words. But your snit necessitates that I unpack what I wrote, Herewith, I attempt to assuage your tender sensitivities.

At the Rio, traveling from one’s room in the Ipanema Tower to breakfast requires a walk past the entire length of the restaurant, which is open to the hallway, separated only by a crotch-high wall. You hear the bustle of the kitchen, and you can smell and spy the food as you walk past the dozens of tables.

On my first visit to the property (which was also my first-ever visit to Hash House), I literally had that classic Pavlovian mouthwatering response: my mouth began to pucker in anticipation as I passed by tables heaped with oversized, colorful, boisterous breakfast plates.

When the host ascertained that I was a Globalist, she put down the colorful oversized menu (replete with beguiling photos and wacky fonts and enticing descriptions) and instead grabbed one of the 8-1/2-by-11-inch, single-page menus desultorily typed out in a single, bland, bureaucratic font, center-justified. An afterthought that signals management’s disdainful reluctance, or reluctant disdain. Take your pick.

And yeah, in that moment, my hungry heart kinda sank a bit. I knew what all this implied — namely, what the OP mentions, that Hyatt and Rio have some kinks to work out, that Rio is flouting the spirit (if not the rules) of the Hyatt tie-up — that Rio has some *’splainin’ to do* — and “second-class citizen” was the phrase that came to my mind. So I wrote it to help faithfully convey what I was feeling at the time.

As for “Ma and Pa Kettle,” I’ll admit to being lazy. I hastened out a cliche as well-worn as an American Airlines armrest.

I used it as sloppy shorthand for “This new 10 a.m. cutoff for Globalist breakfast seems like management yet again dissing Globalist clients. From my perch, surveying the landscape of my first-world problems, Globalists are the losers in this zero-sum approach to the bottom line. With this gesture, management is choosing to belittle Globalists, in effect enhancing the guest experience offered to less-frequent (and probably loyalty-agnostic) travelers. Do they — management — really not want this tie-up? Is this just too much of a pain in the ass? Are we the problem?”

I expected that the cliche would convey a wealth of implications and spur a stable of suppositions (among the audience of entitled miles/points hounds). If I offended you or any of the Kettles in your life, I will have to live with that. At least I chose brevity.

The pools/spas have all been spiffed up, the lobby is in the midst of a massive remodel, much of it finished. There are a couple of decent eats: burgers in the food court, and the noodle house. The Starbucks is fine (though so far lacking seating). The Globalist priority check-in lounge is on par with any at Caesars (except for Nobu).

The only thing that’s disgusting is the plethora of human bodies lying near death on the freeway overpass you must cross to get to Caesars, but that’s not the hotel’s fault.

GOOD
On one hand, the Rio breakfast benefit at Hash House is a big improvement over the no-breakfast-at-all for Globalists staying at MGM properties when that tie-up was in play. IMO, it’s an *adequate* portion of coffee, juice, and food (see comments from Gene and Retired Gambler), especially with a room rate of $25-35. The friendly wait and bar staff are hustling their butts off all morning long, and you don’t have to wait long for a table or for your food to arrive.

You can even *upscale* your order by subbing in toast for the biscuit, by adding ingredients such as spinach, mushrooms, cheese, onions to your two eggs, by getting the eggs poached instead of greased, and by subbing out the drip coffee for a cappuccino/latte (which they make with a TRIPLE shot).

AND, an 18% tip (about $3.25 per person) is — per WoH T&C — included, expressly line-itemed on the bill. Feel free to leave more, but it’s covered, no grey area about it. (Not like so many Hyatts that leave the receipt’s tip line open for YOU to pay it. I’m looking at you, Regency DTC.)

BAD
You DO have to remember to carry your ID with you. The cashier insists on checking it against your room reservation.

It’s insulting/humiliating/deflating to be handed the puny menu reserved for Globalists rather than the expansive Hash House full menu, which is inspiring and varied. It’s parsimonious gesture, one that makes me feel like a second-class citizen, not a well-cared-for Globalist. Nobody needs to drink juice any more — it’s just a sugar-bomb. I’d rather have that $20.99 to spend on the full menu and pay the small difference, if any.

The 10 a.m. cutoff is new to me. I think the 11 a.m. cutoff was reasonable: they do have to switch over to the lunch menu at that point. Totally understandable. But making people come to breakfast by 10, especially when breakfast is in full swing for Ma and Pa Kettle? That’s also parsimonious/petty.

Buffet? I don’t want the hustle of jostling with other Globalists for steam-table standards. I would prefer that Hyatt step in and get them to step it up to the full menu, but my complaints are mild at most, and anything more strenuous I think would amount to first-world whining.

The real thing that is outrageous about Hyatt and the strip is how I stayed at their nasty Hyatt Places enough to earn gloablist so I could enjoy their MGM benefits in Vegas and stay at every MGM property. Then they ended it and instead of hitting up Ceasers the only properties are off strip?!?! The NASTY Rio?

Resorts world is gross, it’s in a terrible place on the strip, and there’s no gambling, but at least Hilton has the Waldorf on strip, Hyatt has NOTHING. I don’t want to switch to Meriott but I wanna spend my free nights on the strip.

I will henceforth address only comments that address the content of mine. Until then, the soapbox is yours. Knock yourselves out…

I’m not certain how any two entrees up to 2 guests @ Hash House is somehow abusing the WOH elite benefit?Can someone explain?

Other than @Gary Leff gaslighting the masses, as usual, about his imagined superlative World of Hyatt Globalist breakfast benefit that it is no more than of the garden variety, there is no breach of benefit at all in this case. What the WoH T&C require hotels to do is to provide “one entry”, juice, and coffee — an extremely low bar to clear.