To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Park Hyatt Mendoza

To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine

More from this series:

• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Introduction
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: American Airlines First Class from Orlando (MCO) to Miami (MIA) and American Airlines Business Class from Miami (MIA) to Buenos Aires (EZE)
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Aerolineas Argentinas from Buenos Aires (AEP) to Mendoza (MDZ)
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Park Hyatt Mendoza
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: American Airlines Cocktail Reception
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Day 2: La Alboroza, Zuccardi Winery, Trapiche Winery
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Day 3: Catena Zapata, Rutini Wines, Terrazas de los Andes
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Aerolineas Argentinas from Mendoza (MDZ) to Buenos Aires (AEP)
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Admirals Club Buenos Aires, American Airlines Business Class from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Miami (MIA) and American Airlines First Class from Miami (MIA) to Orlando (MCO)
• To Mendoza for the Masters of Food & Wine: Conclusion

(Full disclosure: Park Hyatt and American Airlines, sponsors of the Masters of Food & Wine Event, comped my airfare, hotel, and admission to the events)

The Park Hyatt Mendoza  is located in central Mendoza across the street from the Plaza de la Independencia, about 20 minutes from the Mendoza Airport.

The hotel is absolutely stunning on the outside. While I’m usually all for modern hotels, the exterior was nicely maintained yet classic, without being “shabby chic.” And yes, when I say “shabby chic” I’m thinking of hotels like the InterContintal Mark Hopkins.

Right outside the entrance is a terrace that’s part of the restaurant, which makes for a nice place to sit in the afternoons. The entire building is also surrounded by a wall, separating it a bit from the rest of the city.

Park Hyatt Mendoza

Park Hyatt Mendoza

Given the hotel’s classic exterior I was expecting the lobby to also be more “aged,” and for their sake was hoping it aged nicely. As it turns out the interior of the hotel is incredibly modern, including the lobby. Nice.

Park Hyatt Mendoza

While the lobby is visible immediately upon entering the hotel, Bistro M (serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner) is on the left when entering, while Las Terrazas de la Plaza (serving drinks, afternoon tea, and cocktails) is on the right.

Las Terrazas de la Plaza

Bistro M

Check-in was prompt and I was assigned a Park King room on the second floor.

The hallways for the second floor were very modern, leading to my room which was facing the Plaza.

Hotel hallway

Upon entering my room was the bathroom to the right and the room straight ahead. My room had a king size bed, along with a chair with ottoman and a glass desk and chair.

Park King

The room also featured a flat screen TV which could be turned to face either the desk or the bed.

TV & desk

Chair and ottoman

Desk

The room also had a well stocked minibar, though since this wasn’t an InterContinental where I get free minibar drinks, it wasn’t of all that much interest to me. 😉

The bathroom setup was interesting in that there were two sliding doors leading to the bathroom — one by the entrance and one by the bed.

Towards the bathroom

Minibar

The bathroom was huge for a standard room, and featured the same type of shower that can be found in many Park Hyatt hotels, where the shower and bathtub are partitioned off together (much like at the Park Hyatt Seoul).

Shower, tub, and toilet

Sink

The first night of our stay was a cocktail reception sponsored by American Airlines, and while I’ll save the details of that for my next post, which is about the event, I’ll say a few things as it relates to the hotel now.

First of all, the hotel’s exterior looks even cooler at night than during the day. See here:

Park Hyatt exterior at night

One of the other cool features of the hotel is that it has a massive courtyard. Now, it looked especially cool all lit up for the party the first night, but it’s more than just for parties. It also has several comfortable outdoor couches, and leads to the hotel’s pool.

Park Hyatt courtyard

While the pool wasn’t huge or memorable, I doubt all that many people go to Mendoza to lounge by a pool. The couple of times I checked on it the pool was empty, so it seemed like a quiet place to relax.

Pool view from courtyard

Pool

All three mornings I had breakfast at Bistro M, which is open for breakfast from 6:30AM till 11:00AM. The buffet spread was excellent, featuring all the continental offerings you would expect, plus scrambled eggs, sausage, and potatoes. While I didn’t take advantage of it, I saw people ordering stuff directly from the chef, so I believe they probably have some cooked-to-order options as well.

Bistro M

Breakfast spread

On a more personal note, they had these ridiculously good chocolate caramel pastry things. If you have a sweet tooth, don’t even think of having one, you won’t stop. Reminds me of back in the day when all I wanted for breakfast was Cookie Crisp cereal (though my mother rarely gave in). Let’s just say I had my revenge against my childhood!

Given that I was out and about both days from 8AM till after midnight, I didn’t get to check out the gym, spa, or on-site casino, though I heard good things about them (I know someone in our group got an olive oil massage of some sort).

I’m pretty sure that this is the cheapest Park Hyatt out there in terms of pricing, though I found it to be just as high quality as most other Park Hyatts out there. The rates start at under $200USD per night, which is very cheap for a Park Hyatt. Now, it’s probably largely a function of the location, but still, I find that to be a bargain. If you’re into wine you have to visit Mendoza, and if you visit Mendoza you have to stay at the Park Hyatt.