I’ll keep this review relatively short, because our stay was short. Friday night we had a quick overnight in Managua, as we were arriving at around 9PM, and had to be back at the airport by 5:30AM for our flight, as we were enroute to Calala Island (see here for my review of Calala Island).
In this post:
Booking The Hyatt Place Managua
For our quick overnight I decided to book the Hyatt Place Managua. There’s only one airport hotel in Managua — the Best Western — and it doesn’t look particularly nice.
Over the years I’ve visited Managua a few times, and most of the hotels are woefully outdated. The Hyatt Place, meanwhile, is still quite nice. Even though Hyatt Place isn’t exactly a luxury brand, they’re remarkably consistent, and I figured a fairly new Hyatt Place would be nicer than an outdated property from another brand.
This would also allow me to pick up an easy elite night in order to requalify for Globalist status.
Anyway, the rate at the Hyatt Place Managua was either ~$100 or 5,000 World of Hyatt points, as this is a Category 1 property. I booked with points, because at 5,000 points per night it’s tough to beat. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at ~1.5 cents each.
Earning World of Hyatt Points
Even if you’re not a Hyatt loyalist, earning points with them can be pretty easy. In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points with the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review), you can also transfer over points from Ultimate Rewards.
- Earn 4x Points at Hyatt Properties
- Free Night Every Year
- Complimentary Discoverist Status
- $95
- Earn 4x Points at Hyatt Properties
- Complimentary Discoverist Status
- Gift Discoverist Status up to 5 Employees
- $199
- 5x total points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
- 3x points on dining
- 2x points on travel purchases
- $95
- 3x points on Travel after the $300 Annual Travel Credit
- 3x points on Dining
- $300 Travel Credit
- $550
- Earn 3x points on travel
- Earn 3x points on shipping purchases
- Cell Phone Protection
- $95
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases
- Car Rental Coverage
- Extended Warranty Protection
- $0
- Earn 5% Cash Back at office supply stores
- Earn 5% Cash Back on internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines
- Car Rental Coverage
- $0
- Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
- Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
- Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
- $0
See this post for everything you need to know about earning Hyatt points with credit cards.
Hyatt Place Managua Review
We basically just came here to sleep, so I’ll review getting to the hotel, our check-in experience, our suite, and some basics about the facilities of the hotel.
Getting To The Hyatt Place Managua
The Hyatt Place is about a 20-minute drive from Managua Airport (MGA) without traffic, and fortunately, we avoided traffic in both directions. I ended up booking a car through Viator, which cost ~$20 per direction and allowed us to avoid taxi scams, and the unreliability usually associated with being picked up in the wee hours of the morning.
Hyatt Place Managua Check-In, Lobby, And Restaurant
The Hyatt Place Managua had a modern and nicely appointed lobby, with a business center and some seating. The front desk associate thanked me for being a Globalist member and advised us that we had been upgraded to a suite, though noted it only had one bed. He confirmed with us that this was okay, and I appreciated the way he went about that.
The hotel serves breakfast daily from 6 AM until 10 AM, though unfortunately, we would miss that since we had to leave before then.
Hyatt Place Managua lobby
In order to get to the room we had to walk through the restaurant area, which looked nicer than usual for a Hyatt Place. The hotel has a proper restaurant, and as usual at Hyatt Place, there were all kinds of snacks and drinks for purchase.
Hyatt Place Managua restaurant
Hyatt Place Managua restaurant
The two elevators were just past the dining area.
Hyatt Place Managua elevators
Hyatt Place Managua King Suite
In my experience it’s pretty rare to have proper suites at a Hyatt Place, so it was nice that we proactively got upgraded to one. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a Hyatt Place suite before.
Our room was on the fourth floor (of six), #429.
Hyatt Place Managua hallway
The suite had an entryway with the living room straight ahead.
Hyatt Place Managua suite entryway
The living area had an “L” shaped couch with an ottoman and a TV, a dining table with four chairs, and a kitchenette.
Hyatt Place Managua suite living room
Hyatt Place Managua suite living area
Hyatt Place Managua suite living room
Hyatt Place Managua suite dining area
In the kitchenette was some bottled water and a coffee machine.
Hyatt Place Managua water & coffee
There was also a cute welcome amenity of fruit and cheese, which you don’t often find at Hyatt Places!
Hyatt Place Managua welcome amenity
The bedroom was in a separate room next to the living room, and featured a comfortable, brand standard king size bed.
Hyatt Place Managua suite bedroom
Hyatt Place Managua suite bedroom
There was a luggage rack next to the bed, and a TV across from the bed.
Hyatt Place Managua suite bedroom
The bathroom could be accessed from both the living area and bedroom, as it had two doors. It featured double sinks, a toilet, and a walk-in shower.
Hyatt Place Managua suite bathroom
Hyatt Place Managua suite shower
Toiletries were the same I’ve found at virtually all other Hyatt Place properties.
Hyatt Place Managua toiletries
This hotel had some interesting artwork…
Hyatt Place Managua artwork
Overall I thought the room was awesome — like I said, I’ve never had a suite at a Hyatt Place, and the room felt fresh and modern.
The Wi-Fi in the room was also fast and free.
Hyatt Place Managua Room Service Menu
While we didn’t order anything, the Hyatt Place Managua does have room service, which most Hyatt Place properties don’t have.
The room service menu read as follows:
Hyatt Place Managua Gym & Pool
The Hyatt Place has a solid gym on the ground floor, right by the elevators. It can be accessed 24/7.
Hyatt Place Managua gym
Hyatt Place Managua gym
Hyatt Place Managua gym
The hotel also has an outdoor pool, open daily from 6AM until 10PM.
Hyatt Place Managua pool
Hyatt Place Managua Bottom Line
While our stay was quick, I’d return to the Hyatt Place Managua if returning to the city. At 5,000 points a night it’s an absolute steal, and it was also my first time ever getting a suite at a Hyatt Place, since most Hyatt Place properties don’t have them.
While Hyatt Place isn’t a generally a full service brand, the hotel felt fresh and was well appointed, and that’s more than I can say about some of the other hotels I’ve stayed at in Managua. Furthermore, in terms of amenities it felt more like a full service hotel than a limited service one.
My problem with chain hotels is that the design are pretty uniform across the world. We travel to another country only to feel like we're in America.
I have been to Nica 4 times in the past 12 years on business, and usually stay at the Seminole Plaza. I had planned to stay at the Hilton next time but will give this thought when the time comes.
Layout was nearly identical to our suite at the Hyatt Place LAX--even the same furniture. Pleasant surprise as an Explorist since we had just paid for a standard room.
Hyatt Place is hard to beat for the for the point redemption, last time I cancelled because the internet was down and I need to get some work done. Being able to walk to the Galerias Santo Domingo is a nice perk of staying there. If I'm paying in Managua, I prefer the Hilton for their benefits. I always get a room upgrade, they give a full breakfast rather than continental and the executive lounge...
Hyatt Place is hard to beat for the for the point redemption, last time I cancelled because the internet was down and I need to get some work done. Being able to walk to the Galerias Santo Domingo is a nice perk of staying there. If I'm paying in Managua, I prefer the Hilton for their benefits. I always get a room upgrade, they give a full breakfast rather than continental and the executive lounge always has a full dinners worth of options. The last 2 times I went the executive lounge was closed(I think due to things be slow but they've slightly picked up since then) so they gave us a free meal in the restaurant(at their offering, we didn't ask for anything) with wine.
I travel through Managua often enough that I have a driver I contact when I'm there. He is always reliable and gives local prices no matter who you are.
Came here just add a bit about the art piece. It's of Volcán Masaya which, according to google maps and my own experience, is about 30 minutes from the hotel. It's an active volcano and totally worth the visit.
Source: Lived in Managua for two years
We stayed there last month for a quick overnight after the late night arrival from Ft. Lauderdale.
Such a shame you missed breakfast. The buffet was stupendous - on par with really nice ones in Europe or Asia - not even remotely resembling the usual ones in US Hyatt Places (and its competitors). Also the pool was lovely in the daytime. We agreed that we'd stay there again in a heartbeat. No Globalist upgrade...
We stayed there last month for a quick overnight after the late night arrival from Ft. Lauderdale.
Such a shame you missed breakfast. The buffet was stupendous - on par with really nice ones in Europe or Asia - not even remotely resembling the usual ones in US Hyatt Places (and its competitors). Also the pool was lovely in the daytime. We agreed that we'd stay there again in a heartbeat. No Globalist upgrade but we needed 2 beds so maybe that's why. Really glad we went then cuz it's travel lockdown for me now.
Lucky, kudos to you for doing an actual review - going to the gym and pool to take pictures, etc. - even though you were only there for 6 hours and surely wanted to get some sleep. Much better than some other sites, where a short stay results in a “review” with comments to the effect of “we were only here for a short time so I didn’t go to the pool, but there was one.”
Stayed here a couple of years ago. Booked transportation through the hotel. Really enjoyed our time there. It was a new build (about three years ago). Also, a lovely mall and supermarket are right next to the hotel. The breakfast was very well done as well as room service. Great food and reasonable prices.
Lucky, That art piece is the volcano about 15 minutes from the Hyatt Place!
That’s a beautiful piece of art. It reminds me of Calvary, except there’s only one cross, but certainly beautiful nonetheless.
My last couple stays at the PH NY have lacked any sort of welcome amenity (I don’t count apples as one) so maybe their team should head to Manuaga to learn a thing or two....
I had to google Managua to know it is in Nicaragua
Is it a newly built hotel or an old one?
Lucky, the key question is: did you eat outside the hotel?
@ Johm -- I didn't eat at all... we just slept.