Christmas in Germany: Grand Hyatt Seattle

Christmas in Germany: Grand Hyatt Seattle

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Note: I’ve stayed at the Grand Hyatt several times before, so for a more comprehensive review (with more pictures), please see my first review of the hotel.

While Seattle is a city generally known for its crappy public transportation, one thing they do well for those heading from the airport to downtown is the Light Rail. It costs something like $2.50, and provides frequent, quick service between the airport and various downtown destinations. At the same time, it’s the only public transportation system in the US that I know of that runs on the “honor system” (meaning it’s even less than $2.50 for many travelers). 😉

The Grand Hyatt is only a few blocks from Westlake Station. The weather was quite nice compared to Frankfurt, so I was happy to walk a few blocks without being as bundled up as a mummy.

Check-in was prompt and efficient, and I was informed that I was upgraded to a suite on the club floor. One of the reasons that the Grand Hyatt Seattle is one of my favorite hotels in the country is that they only have suites on the top few floors, so Diamond members almost always get complimentary suite upgrades at this hotel. I’ve stayed at the Grand Hyatt maybe five or six times, and have gotten a suite every time.

I got assigned suite 2701, conveniently enough, right across from the Regency Club.

The suite had a half bathroom at the entrance, along with a living room and bar in the main room.


Living room


Half bathroom


Bar area


Living room

The bedroom featured a king bed and desk.


Bedroom

The bathroom featured a vanity sitting area, shower, and tub.


Bathroom


Shower

The view from my room was quite nice, though not quite as spectacular as the full-on bay view suites I’ve sometimes received in the past.


View from my room

The Regency Club was open throughout my stay, even on the night of Christmas.

The evening spread was available from 5PM till 8PM. It was the typical North American evening Regency Club spread, with cheese, veggies, crackers, etc. There was even a “hot” option, which I’m pretty sure was cheesy bread from Dominos or Pizza Hut. Hey, I’ll take it!

The spread in the mornings was adequate as well. They had bagels, pastries, fresh fruit, cereals, salmon, cheese, etc.


Regency Club


Breakfast breads


More breakfast…

Overall, this is one of my favorite Hyatt properties in North America. They treat Diamond members exceedingly well, the Regency Club is quite nice, the employees are great, the facilities are well maintained, and the rates are pretty decent. Besides, Seattle is a great city.

The fact that I earned 10,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for my stay makes it even better.

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  1. Reader Guest

    I live in Seattle and the public transportation sucks if you don't want to take only the bus.

  2. Geoff Guest

    Seattle consistently ranks in the top ten in best u.s. cities for public transportation. Your claim that Seattle is a city that is consistently known for crappy public transportation is ill-conceived.

  3. Kris Smith Guest

    Your review is great. Both Seattle Hyatts are very nice, upscale properties catering to well-heeled travelers. Yet everyone seems to only focus on cheating the local light rail systems for what amounts to less than a Stabucks coffee, very strange.

  4. lucky Guest

    ROFL! I'm happy you all enjoyed my hotel review so much. ;)

    @ Simon -- There was Gx bonus, Diamond amenity, along with 5,000 point bonus for two nights at a Pacific Northwest property.

  5. Charles Guest

    Further add Phoenix to the list. Maybe we should start making a list of systems WITHOUT an honor system.

  6. James Guest

    Add St. Louis to the honor system. It's really fairly common Lucky

  7. Adrian Guest

    I live in downtown Seattle, and am stopped for proof of payment almost every time I ride the light rail to SEA--and have seen people be kicked off the train on numerous occasions. I always pay my fare so I've always been safe, but perhaps I've just been unlucky?

    Also: Have you considered the Hyatt at Olive 8 for your stays in Seattle? It's considerably less outdated (although it being LEED-certified means the showerheads provide...

    I live in downtown Seattle, and am stopped for proof of payment almost every time I ride the light rail to SEA--and have seen people be kicked off the train on numerous occasions. I always pay my fare so I've always been safe, but perhaps I've just been unlucky?

    Also: Have you considered the Hyatt at Olive 8 for your stays in Seattle? It's considerably less outdated (although it being LEED-certified means the showerheads provide a very unsatisfyingly paltry flow) and Urbane is really a decent restaurant.

  8. Ron Guest

    Los Angeles subway and light rail is still a proof-of-payment system, with fairly systematic enforcement at busy stations in peak periods, and haphazard enforcement otherwise. They're installing turnstiles at some stations but those don't require a ticket to pass through, for the time being. Eventually the plan is to transition to a controlled system at most stations. Some figures I've seen say the projected cost is $46 million and that current fare evasion is estimated...

    Los Angeles subway and light rail is still a proof-of-payment system, with fairly systematic enforcement at busy stations in peak periods, and haphazard enforcement otherwise. They're installing turnstiles at some stations but those don't require a ticket to pass through, for the time being. Eventually the plan is to transition to a controlled system at most stations. Some figures I've seen say the projected cost is $46 million and that current fare evasion is estimated at around $5.5 million annually, which means the turnstiles will cover their cost in 9 years if the project stays within budget (which it won't) and eliminates fare evasion completely (which it won't, either).

    Baltimore light rail is also proof-of-payment, with enforcement on the trains.

    Another proof-of-payment system not mentioned in the above comments is all 3 light-rail lines of NJ Transit (Hudson-Bergen, Newark, and the River Line). I don't know how enforcement operates on those lines.

  9. Simon Member

    10k points?

    Diamond Amenity
    Wrong bed type?

    What else?

  10. bmvaughn Guest

    I wouldn't characterize Seattle as having bad public transportation if you're willing to ride a bus. It's actually quite good in that case.

  11. Tarpie Guest

    The majority of light rail systems are honor based, with high fines if caught without a ticket. It keeps everything moving faster. Think Southwest turnaround times :)

    Of course, if you have a ticket from the previous day and the inspector doesn't look too closely you may get away without paying (says someone who may have been a poor HS student in Baltimore many years ago and thought they wouldn't be inspecting tickets in a thunderstorm).

  12. mudba Guest

    My understanding is St Louis is as well (although I've never ridden it). LA was on the honer system a couple years ago, but I think that has come to an end.

  13. Jason H Guest

    The honor (or honour if you prefer) system is also in effect for Denver light rail. Sometimes there are uniformed and plainclothes officers checking tickets, but not very often.

  14. mark Guest

    Minneapolis light rail = honor system

  15. Voyager0927 Guest

    I've been on "honor system" light-rail lines in Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco (above-ground portions of MUNI lines), Baltimore, Dallas, and Houston. I think the favored nomenclature is "proof-of-payment" rather than "honor system," since "honor system" implies no enforcement whereas scofflaws on these types of transit lines are subject to large fines if they can't present a valid ticket to inspectors when they come around.

  16. Erik Member

    PHX's single light-rail line is honor-system based. As is San Diego's three line trolley system.

  17. findmetokyo Guest

    Seattle also has random inspectors. I was there last week and they were checking tickets when I rode it. Dallas also has a similar light rail.

  18. Jeff Guest

    Same with Go Transit (Commuter Trains) in Toronto. I don't know many people willing to risk a $75 ticket on a $3 fare. Those aren't good odds.

  19. Glenn New Member

    The Portland light rail (MAX) also runs on the honor system..though on rare occasions you do see officers getting on at random stops to check for tickets.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Reader Guest

I live in Seattle and the public transportation sucks if you don't want to take only the bus.

0
Geoff Guest

Seattle consistently ranks in the top ten in best u.s. cities for public transportation. Your claim that Seattle is a city that is consistently known for crappy public transportation is ill-conceived.

0
Kris Smith Guest

Your review is great. Both Seattle Hyatts are very nice, upscale properties catering to well-heeled travelers. Yet everyone seems to only focus on cheating the local light rail systems for what amounts to less than a Stabucks coffee, very strange.

0
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