During my recent trip with my mom to California, I had the pleasure of spending a night at the Grand Hyatt SFO. We were arriving late at night on United, and planned to drive the next morning to Big Sur.
Continue reading: Review: Grand Hyatt SFO (Amazing Airport Hotel)
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Grand Club and Resturant are fantastic definitely try it next time you return. Your report sums it all up! Excellent Grand Hyatt Hotel!
Looks great. Definitely nicer than the Hyatt Regency down the road, but that hotel lets you walk along the bay which is awesome because you can see the planes landing right next to you on 28L/R.
TWA Hotel looks OK to me, I just don't really like the style. The bathroom in particular looks like what you'd find in an ER. Grand Hyatt DFW is the best airport hotel I've been to so far.
How does it compare to Grand Hyatt DFW for you? I know you didn’t get a crazy corner suite there, but the gym/spa is better IMO and the rooftop pool is a nice touch. Also staying IN the D Terminal is more convenient. Surely hard to beat the tarmac bay view though. Thoughts?
Would you stay here vs a downtown San Francisco hotel if you were visiting San Francisco for tourism? Seems like a great hotel and worth the drive downtown vs staying in a not so nice hotel in the city.
@ Sel, D. -- The Grand Hyatt DFW is my other favorite airport hotel in the US, though I do prefer the new SFO property. I liked the views more, and I thought the interior felt a lot more luxurious. However, the Grand Hyatt DFW is also phenomenal.
@ J -- I'm not sure that's worth the detour ultimately. If it were me (and I realize I have a lot of flexibility, since I can work from anywhere), I'd spend a couple of days here doing nothing but plane spotting, and then spend some time in the city.
Room 1002 is what I stayed in! Really nice view of the A gates of the international terminal and of the apron. I remember all that activity even late evening pre-pandemic. Agree, it's a very nice hotel. You may be interested to know that the GM was formerly at Andaz West Hollywood.
@Sel, D. The GH SFO is better than the GH DFW IMO, but not by much. I stayed at SFO on the opening week, and the food & drink menu kills the DFW location. The plane spotting views are better at SFO hands down. I will give GH DFW some credit on the upgrade department, as I’ve gotten 2 Presidential suites out of the 3 times I’ve stayed there.
Looks amazing! Next time you're at LHR, you should try the Hilton Garden Inn there. It's right in the middle between terminal 2 and 3, has rooms with a runway view, and also has a terrace at the top where you can plane spot and look over the whole airport.
It's remarkable how the perception of "reasonable" varies, depending on what country you are in. 180 USD for an airport hotel, with no lounge alternative being offered, and one(!) food item plus one(!) drink for breakfast. Goodness... If I were reviewing it, I'd say it's awfully overpriced and the Globalist recognition is beyond poor. So glad I don't live in the U.S. :))
Wow, I'm impressed. Attention to detail, start to finish. Love a good airport hotel. Now on my list.
I am surprised by the reusable soap and shampoo dispensers at a higher level hotel and how much more accepting you (and most people) find them, when they were initially such a deal breaker.
I have preferred the dispensers to individual toiletries, so I am glad they are showing up at higher end properties.
@ Mark F -- I believe this is actually a law in California?
https://onemileatatime.com/california-bans-individual-hotel-toiletries/
You should do another post with all the pictures of planes and the airport you took from your room.
@Jake, I'm pretty sure Lucky has stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at T2 before and reviewed it. It is a very decent hotel and the ease of access can not be beaten. I think the Hilton T4 is nicer, but since I've stayed in LHR after a morning flight from the east coast and head out to mainland Europe the next morning, the T2 Hilton Garden Inn is 100x more convenient to avoid the waits for the train at LHR between 2 and 4.
I only see one bed. Do you share a bed when you travel with your mother? I've stayed in hotel rooms with my mom, but there were always two beds.
The makeup towel is ubiquitous at even 2* hotels as it stops guests from ruining towels. To me it actually comes across as cheap.
@ Duane -- Yes, I shared a bed with my mom (and for that matter don't have a problem sharing a bed with anyone, in a non-weird way). All suites at the Grand Hyatt have a king bed, and at Alila all rooms have one bed (as far as I know).
@ tuotuo -- That would be a very sad post, because there were barely any planes. I saw a few JetBlue aircraft and a Delta A321. Sad times for aviation, and all the more reason to return.
@ Jake -- Have stayed there and it was a fairly nice hotel. Unfortunately was only there for a quick overnight, so didn't have a chance to check out the terrace, but will have to do that next time.
Funny - we stayed in the exact same room (1002) in December (and also came from Ventana). We had an issue with the shower leaking water into the toilet area in this room. Made a point to let the hotel know on check-out (as everything else about the hotel was so on-the-mark). I presume they fixed the issue since you didn’t mention it?
Agree with you, this is a great hotel but was very sad though to see all the gates deserted.
@Ben I've been to San Francisco, I know it's shamelessly expensive, and won't be back, there's always a personal choice. However, shamelessly expensive hotels gotta treat their elite guests especially well, in my opinion. What's more, this is a violation of the published Globalist benefits, so i am not sure why you are not calling the hotel out...
just switched to this from the marriott AND got > 2 cents/point value in redemption...thanks!
I just had a quick overnight stay there 2 weekends ago, and have to agree that this is probably the best hotel in the SFO area, not to mention the convenience.
It's worthy to point out that there are some amenities that are suite-specific and not available in other rooms:
* The Toto toilet with heated seats
* Sparkling water - only still bottled water in regular rooms
* Mouthwash
* Pillow mist
One nice detail is the Qi-wireless charger built-in with the alarm clock. The alarm clock also has 2 USB slots available.
The only thing annoying about the room are the lights that are turned on by sensors underneath the bed and in the bathroom - can't figure out how to turn them off.
Wow lucky, this has to be the nicest hotel within close vicinity to SF. You really can’t beat that $180 price! I feel like this can be a great hotel for a family who’s on a budget visiting SF. One can easily hop onto BART and be in downtown in a short time.... although I’m not sure right now is the best time to visit SF. I think by Sept SF will be bustling again.
The food prices look very reasonable, but I agree that a single item is stingy for $180 a night.
"still and sparkling water in reusable bottles" like the shampoo dispensers, this is also a local law - no plastic water bottles at SFO
I stayed there a few weeks ago. The common areas have a Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge vibe.
Stayed there overnight in Jan 2020 on our way to Singapore and agree with others that the restaurant was quiet good. Being January, it was slow and we were upgraded to the same suite but different floor. The runway views are incredible. I do enjoy the DFW GH but it doesn't have water views like SFO. My only complaint is no rooftop pool. But I lived in SF for 8 years and it's not really a city for pools with all the fog and cool weather. Maybe a rooftop with 8 Jacuzzis would be nice!!
Ben, have you stayed at the Radisson Blu Sheremetyevo in Moscow? It's a little rough around the edges but the avgeek perspective can't be beat! (Well, except by the TWA Hotel.)
Been there twice, once before Covid (and the club lounge breakfast was excellent) and once in Covid time. Both times they upgraded me to a similar corner suite as Glob. Definitely the best airport hotel I have been in, better that GH DFW being so new and as convenient. Now, about staying there when visiting SanFran, I would not do it. I had late night flights getting in from the East Coast and so it made sense for me resting and renting a car the next day. In the city I stayed at the Kabuki, HR (old and tired) and Hyatt Centric Fisherman Wharf. My preference goes to Kabuki.
So you're saying you liked it better than the LHR Hyatt Place? Pshaw! /s
You'll have to let us know how your car rental experience went this time. I'm planning on taking my mom to Ventana Big Sur, so I'll pretty much be duplicating your trip. I am excited to see your write-up!
Being able to plane spot from a hotel sounds like fun. And I'm sure SFO gets a lot of long-haul aircraft from the Far East (and South Pacific), so probably an exciting mix to see. I've never been one to buy a camera with telephoto lens, but in this case it would be for a worthy cause.
Sounds like a great hotel, will definitely put this Grand Hyatt (and at DFW) on my list if/when traveling via those airports in the future.
Did a cheap, poor-man's version staying at Hyatt Regency Dulles over the weekend. The HR there has nice views of the airport from the top floors, although IAD is at least a mile away.
Ben - Great review! Have you ever stayed at the Renaissance Concourse ATL? Excellent plane spotting from the balconies in all rooms on the side of the hotel that faces the runway
Looks almost as good as the Crowne Plaza Changi, which is my personal favourite airport hotel and a Crowne Plaza like no other! Pillow mist and all...
Great Hotel..I have stayed there 4 times 2 before Covid when you could eat in a restaurant in Calif!! and sadly 2 after ..Such a sad difference as it was fun to sit at the restaurant and plane spot or sit at the very nice lobby.... Hope Calif gets it together soon and lets you eat inside the airport during one visit the Delta SC had just started to allow eating inside but No alcohol before that it had small takeout to the gate items..Insane regulations
nice hotel. had great views from the marriott but his one looks nicer. Will check it out next time in SFO
Stayed here before flying out last October and was obsessed. True avgeek paradise.
A very late reply to the original question: If you like this hotel, *and* you can get it at a good rate, consider that this hotel, being on the AirTrain line, is also effectively on the BART system. So, fly in to SFO, take AirTrain to this hotel and check in. Then take AirTrain to the BART stop and BART into SF. When you hit downtown, you can even transfer from BART to the SF Muni (rail/bus system) at shared stops if you like. You can avoid having to rent a car, avoid smaller and usually more expensive hotel rooms, etc. Finally, when your trip is done, you’re already at the airport, ready to depart. Btw, I’m a Bay Area (Peninsula) Local who has often used BART to get into SF on weekends while avoiding traffic & parking headaches.
Both you and your Mom enjoyed your stay and your time together. Sounds like an excellent use of points to me!
I've been to the SFO Grand Hyatt pre-pandemic when the Grand Club was open. And it just added to how spectacular this hotel is.
Thank you for this note about an SFO hotel. Across the years, I'd only thought of the O'Hare Hilton, very glad to read that there are many more airports who've included a close-in hotel.
But let me mention _my_ favorite hotel: Fairmont YVR.
It's adjacent to the Cross-Border desks (for travel USCanada), so convenient for U.S. travelers. It's a short walk to Canada Line, the light-rail system that takes you to central VanCity.
It's got the Fairmont features that I like (I don't stay in their -- or ACCOR's -- resorts, I'm not a golf/tennis player). Rooms, beds, baths, etc.
Rooms are quiet--sometimes I notice the 'whoosh' of engines starting up or shutting down, but it's never been intrusive or overbearing.
I favor the rooms facing north--the Coast Mountains in the distance, sometimes a glimpse of tall buildings in Vancouver, and then the activity at the gates. I can see lots of the coming and going at the north runways, and can see the tails of international lines docking at the International wing of YVR. Below the windows of rooms where I stay, it's mostly AC, WestJet, Delta, United, some American (it's the Cross-Border gates...).
So like the Grand Hyatt SFO, it can work as a tourist hotel if you're prepared to maximise use of Canada Line and then other transit (and it looks as though Uber/Lyft are operating in the lower mainland (metro Vancouver) too).