re: Which is the better route on complaining about problems with a hotel stay?....

I had a big problem with hyatt zilara in Cancun. That particular hyatt is privately owned, as I was told. The GM did nothing to fix my problem other than upgrade my suite. I was EXTREMELY unhappy, as I had paid an extra 65 upon booking for a limo that never arrived. I would have even been happy with their lincoln navigator, but upon arrival to airport there was NO ONE there to pick me up from hotel. I waited for over an hour, with multiple cabbies calling the hotel and translating for me, until I finally got in touch with the GM (Tipped cabbies for this, they really went out of their way for me and possibly lost a fare).

After I got back home I researched and found the email of the VP of customer relations, and sent him a detailed email with my back up of being charged originally, then having to pay again, one of his assistants called me the next day and made things right. I had a similar issue when I was yelled at by a flight attendant on AA for not wanting to sit next to an overweight gentleman, after having my seat upgraded, and CHOOSING to take the shittiest seat on the plane to get away from him, also worked. Either find the VP of your loyalty program, or the VP of customer relations and shoot them an email. Worked both times for me. Make sure to be courteous, and explain that you have already tried the formal complaint process to no avail. Tell them how you have been a loyal member of X Hotel and have never had an issue up until this point, etc. It will work. If you need help with research of the email, let me know.