Review: Hyatt Santa Barbara

A great review. Thanks Nick.

Although it's unlikely I will stay there (the Biltmore is a yearly staple ) it's certainly food for thought. You're writing In excellent and I look forward to more reviews from you. Safe travels.

*you're writing is excellent it should read, unlike mine which is hampered by technology!.

that should actually be "your" and not "you're"

I have Priclined this hotel more than once for not much more than $100 a night, for that price it's a well located solid option. For $500 there are better options.

@davidw

You're right of course. I don't often use my phone to reply on this site and I know why now! Damn technology.

I like to use mine at the Grand Hyatt DFW or HR SFO, in between flights sometimes. They provide pretty good value.

@Teja: Yup, airport hotels are the other highest-and-best use of Hyatt anniversary nights, especially for far flung airports (e.g., the Hyatt Regency CDG is a good option here). Personally, I find SFO is so close to the city center that I can stay in town no matter the timing of my flight.

i thought this hyatt was awesome. Maybe I'm a simpleton but I found it quite luxurious

I stayed at this Hyatt last summer. It's by no means "awesome." It's not worth anywhere near $500 a night. With that being said, it is a fine hotel and IIRC, the only Hyatt in the area.

Stayed here earlier in the year and was placed in the Santa Cruz annex (the one pictured with the exercise room). We are Diamond and were given a very nice room, 2nd floor facing East Beach. The room was a lot more modern than the one you showed in the original building with french doors that opened to a small balcony. We were very happy with our view. Breakfast was good in the morning and a nice way to start the day although, as you mentioned, it's somewhat challenging to find. We walked to Joe's on lower State St for dinner and found it a pleasant walk. Joe's is a fun restaurant with a really good bar. Packed on a Saturday night with a good buzz.

Nice review!
Had a great rewards stay there in 2012! Loved the location on the beach and its walkable distance to the center.
I wonder if this property will actually be rebranded to a Hyatt Centric? Hyatt lists a Santa Barbara location as further Hyatt Centric... Anyone can speak to this?

Nice review but I must say that you had really bad luck with the room. I have been staying at this hotel every May for the last 4 years for my partner's birthday. We have always gotten rooms on the top floor (as requested), with a balcony and the view of the ocean. During our stay this year they upgraded us to Santa Maria suite, which is located in one of the satellite buildings and it was absolutely wonderful: giant bathroom with soaking tub and a separate shower; a very big living room and equally spacious bedroom. Every window faces the ocean.
Breakfast at Bistro 1111 is always nice and, starting this year, they also offer room service as a diamond benefit. Diamond amenity consists of a bottle of local wine, cheese and fruit. All in all, it is always a pleasure to stay there.

We stay here fairly regularly, as we only live 90 miles north. If there's a concert we want to see in Santa Barbara, we'll stay that night at the Hyatt. Though we enjoy staying here, all of the comments here are spot on. It remains a great use of Cat 4 points or the anniversary free night.
Two other wonderful domestic Cat 4 options, which we've enjoyed several times, are the Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson and the Hyatt Boston Harbor.

there's a hyatt at siem reap now? Ugh.

I stayed here briefly and it was the worst hotel experience of my life. That sounds hyperbolic but we were staying there on the yearly UCSB riot night which is where drunken students riot with police and cause havoc all over town and many were staying at the property. All night we listened to people coming and going which would have been annoying in a normal hotel but because of the historic status of the building the walls are paper thin and cannot be restored.

We didn't get a wink of sleep so at 3am we talked to the nice front-desk clerk to express our concerns and there wasn't much we could do so we had to drive home at 3am rather than stay the night. It was an award night and I had to follow up with the manager later to get my points back but they were understanding and Hyatt employees did what they could to help, luckily.

My girlfriend's parents stayed another time as well and they thought it was the worst hotel they've stayed at as well for similar reasons. I'd recommend staying at the Motel 6 across the street instead because it is so much cheaper or better yet any other property on the opposite side of town which is closer to everything.

The property is beautiful but unfortunately the City of SB won't allow it to be extensively renovated so the building is built to 80 year old standards at least and therefore you will listen to people talking or having sex in neighboring rooms and creaky stairs and entire conversations in the hallway all night. I'll never stay at this property again unless the noise issues are dealt with because even on a quiet night the walls and door do little to block noise.