Review: Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights

Ben Schlappig
June 30, 2017
13

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I had two nights in Dubai after the first portion of my trip. I was staying not only during summer (where it’s hot in the Middle East), but also over Ramadan, which is typically the quietest time for hotels in the region. If you’re looking to score a deal on a hotel in the Middle East, visit in June through September, as you can stay at most top hotels for very little.

I could have stayed just about anywhere for cheap, but for this stay I decided to try the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights, which is fairly new, and is one of the few Hyatts in Dubai I haven’t stayed at. It’s near the airport, and was just under $100 per night.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights signage

I’ve reviewed several other hotels in Dubai, including the Park Hyatt Dubai, W Dubai Al Habtoor City, and St. Regis Dubai. So let’s take a look at the new Hyatt Regency.

The Hyatt Regency was a short 10 minute drive from the airport, and is massive. There are two towers, though I believe the hotel only takes up one of them — the hotel has 461 rooms.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights exterior

The lobby was much nicer than I was expecting. I thought it would have low ceilings and be dark, when in reality it had high glass ceilings and lots of natural light. It almost felt like a greenhouse.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights lobby

Reception was difficult to find at first, since the setup wasn’t as obvious as at other hotels. Rather than having traditional front desks, they just had long tables towards the back of the lobby where associates stood. The check-in experience almost reminded me more of an Andaz than a Hyatt, given that there wasn’t formally a side for the associates vs. the guests.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights lobby

At check-in I was informed that I had been upgraded to a suite as a Globalist (which I’d hope would be a given when staying at a hotel in Dubai in summer, given how low occupancy is).

The associate explained that due to Ramadan (more accurately, I assume due to the low occupancy associated with Ramadan), the club lounge wasn’t being used for breakfast or the evening reception. Instead I could have breakfast at Sufra Restaurant between 6:30AM and 11AM, and then the evening drink and snack selection would be at La Tablita, which is the hotel’s Mexican restaurant. That would be available from 7PM until 9PM, though they’d only serve alcohol starting at 8PM (once the sun set).

The associate also explained that the pool was closed for an extended period of time due to “unforeseen circumstances.” This hotel is still new, so that’s a bit confusing…?

Eventually I had keys to my room on the 28th floor. I turned left from reception and headed towards the elevators.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights lobby

Oddly there was all kinds of construction in the lobby, which I couldn’t really make sense of, given how new the hotel is. The signage said “we’re freshening up so you can make the most of being away.” Shouldn’t the hotel still be “fresh,” given how new it is? 😉

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights renovation

I took the elevator up to the 28th floor, where my room was located. The hotel’s elevators were super fast.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights elevators

Upon exiting the elevator I turned right and walked to the very end of the hallway, where my room, 2805, was located.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights hallway

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights room exterior

This was a proper suite with two separate rooms, and I’d estimate it was maybe 800 square feet. There was an oddly shaped living room, with a couch and chair facing a TV.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite living room

The TV was hung on top of a large table of sorts, and next to that was the desk.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite living room

On the table was a coffee machine as well as some tea.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite coffee machine

There was also a welcome amenity consisting of some whole fruit and sweets.

Hyatt Regency Dubai welcome amenity

Below the TV was the minibar, and one cool thing about this hotel is that all drinks and snacks in the minibar are free. Now, ultimately it’s not that great of a selection — there are a few types of chocolate, some still and sparkling water, and some soft drinks. However, it’s still a very nice thing for them to offer.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite complimentary minibar

Off the living room was a half bath, with just a sink and toilet.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite guest bathroom

Then there was a door leading into the bedroom, which featured a comfortable king size bed.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite bedroom

Across from the bed was a TV as well as a chair by the window.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite bedroom sitting area

A door off the side of the bedroom led into the master bathroom. It had a sink, toilet and bidet, tub, and walk-in shower.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite master bathroom

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite bathtub

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite shower

Toiletries were provided by Pharmacopia, which I quite like, at least compared to Hyatt’s other standard toiletries.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Pharmacopia toiletries

I’ve seen pictures of the views from some rooms at this hotel, which include the Burj Khalifa in the distance. Unfortunately my views weren’t quite as exciting, and were largely of the tower next door.

Hyatt Regency Dubai junior suite view

Overall I thought the suite was functionally designed and large, though at the same time very generic. It didn’t incorporate any sort of local design.

The in-room Wi-Fi was fast and free, so I had no problem staying connected in the room.

I had breakfast both mornings in the restaurant, given that the club lounge was closed. The restaurant is located on the lobby level, and is reasonably nice. I was surprised by how full it was, actually, given that it was during Ramadan (I took the below pictures when the restaurant emptied out a bit). The hotel seemed to be full with tour groups from Japan and India, so a vast majority of the guests seemed to be from those two countries.

Hyatt Regency Dubai breakfast restaurant

The breakfast buffet was reasonably good, though not amazing. Here’s the thing — the Middle East probably has the best breakfast buffets in the world, even better than in Southeast Asia, in my experience. Relatively speaking, this buffet was just okay. Ultimately we all have different personal preferences, but I was a bit disappointed by the lack of Indian dishes, which are my favorite. Furthermore, some of the other things I had weren’t great (for example, the falafel was hard as could be).

I’ll let the pictures of the buffet mostly speak for themselves otherwise.

Hyatt Regency Dubai breakfast buffet

At check-in it was explained to me that while the club lounge isn’t serving breakfast or evening snacks at the moment, it’s still open should I want to grab a water or coffee. So I decided to check it out. The lounge is located on the 32nd floor, and is a large space.

Hyatt Regency Dubai club lounge

Again, this comes down to personal preference, but I found the decor of the lounge to be a bit out of place. The lime green and purple tables and chairs didn’t even go with the rest of the hotel, and certainly don’t give you any sense of place.

Hyatt Regency Dubai club lounge

There was an espresso machine, as well as a fridge with soft drinks and water, so I took advantage of that a couple of times.

Hyatt Regency Dubai club lounge coffee machine

Hyatt Regency Dubai club lounge soft drinks

Since the club lounge wasn’t serving anything in the evenings, those with club lounge access could instead enjoy drinks and snacks in a partitioned off area of La Tablita, the hotel’s Mexican restaurant. It was a pretty cool and quirky restaurant, in my opinion.

Hyatt Regency Dubai makeshift club lounge evening reception

Unfortunately the food selection was minimal, with just a couple of types of cold cuts, a few hot options, finger sandwiches, and desserts. Hopefully the selection in the lounge is usually better, and this was just a watered down selection due to how few club guests there were.

Hyatt Regency Dubai makeshift club lounge evening reception

In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, the hotel had a gym and spa. The spa was a pretty good size, and had decent equipment.

Hyatt Regency Dubai gym

The pool was closed, though, which seems like a sin in Dubai in summer (not that I would have used it anyway).

When I checked out on the last morning there was a charge on my bill for premium internet. As a Globalist member you get free premium internet, and when I brought this to the associate’s attention, she said that Globalist members only get free basic internet. I had to show her the policy on Hyatt’s website before she’d take it off.

Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights bottom line

Ultimately the Hyatt Regency is fine, though Dubai has too many good hotels for me to return here. I’d potentially recommend this place if you had a quick overnight and wanted a place near the airport. Perhaps the hotel would have been better if the lounge were open and if the pool were open, and if it weren’t actively under construction in many public spaces.

This hotel just sort of left me confused, though. It didn’t incorporate any local elements into the design, the immediate area around the hotel isn’t great, it didn’t have any nice outside areas (not that you’d enjoy those in summer, but…), etc.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad hotel. But Dubai just has too many good hotels for me to return here, especially given how just about everything is reasonably priced in summer.

If you’ve stayed at the Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights, what was your experience like?

Conversations (13)

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AnnieR Guest
July 2, 2017, 5:30 am

Checked in for a three night stay as a Diamond member checked out after the first night. Couldn't stand the construction noise ,the poor quality F&B and base low level room allocated overpowered with a strong damp smell which affected my breathing .I inquired if another room was available but was ignore .... Hyatt getting worse and worse and worse no matter what level of property .

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Alvin | Young Travelers of Hong Kong Diamond
July 1, 2017, 12:10 am

"The spa was a pretty good size, and had decent equipment."

What equipment did the spa have? ;)

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Vineet Guest
June 30, 2017, 9:54 pm

@Lucky/Ben

The room assigned to you seems like an Executive King, not a suite. If it is a suite, its one of the worst Regency Suites I have seen (I've been here over 2 dozen times, and also on site visits).

Also shocked they assigned you the clearly worse view, the rooms on other side of the hallway have a view of entire Dubai Skyline (in the distance).

This hotel has very expansive hydrotherapy facilities...
@Lucky/Ben

The room assigned to you seems like an Executive King, not a suite. If it is a suite, its one of the worst Regency Suites I have seen (I've been here over 2 dozen times, and also on site visits).

Also shocked they assigned you the clearly worse view, the rooms on other side of the hallway have a view of entire Dubai Skyline (in the distance).

This hotel has very expansive hydrotherapy facilities that are worth checking out with experience showers and wet lounges.

You din't miss anything with the pool, its ordinary and tiny (Relatively for a hotel this size). The area isn't in the top 3 main areas of Dubai, there are no Hyatts with *good* locations in Dubai. There are none in the pipeline either (The Palm Jumeirah property perhaps, not sure how far away from opening it is but certainly not soon)

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MP New Member
June 30, 2017, 7:36 pm

Hyatt Creek Heights Dubai is the among worst Hyatt hotels ever if you look for status benefits, in my experience.

I keep warning others about the property all the time.

My stay as a Diamond member last year:
- lounge check in was a huge inconvenience for staff
- my key card was coded so that I could not access the lounge floor
- tricks played with suite upgrade and available floors,...
Hyatt Creek Heights Dubai is the among worst Hyatt hotels ever if you look for status benefits, in my experience.

I keep warning others about the property all the time.

My stay as a Diamond member last year:
- lounge check in was a huge inconvenience for staff
- my key card was coded so that I could not access the lounge floor
- tricks played with suite upgrade and available floors, check in staff unable to explain room types
- the room/suite finally given had extremely dirty windows, even for Dubai sandstorm standards and the last sandstorm was about one month before my stay, practically unable to see out
- the bathroom flooded as soon as I started using the water, and it took hours to get it fixed, it also took long time to get through to the reception after I was probably flagged as inconvenient guest, nobody picked up the phone
- still unable to use the bathroom as the water in bathroom taps was totally brown even after I kept it running for hours
- mediocre food options
- overcrowded pool with no proper arrangements to keep guests in order
- complaints not listen to properly, no desire to learn from feedback, manager on duty promised to meet upon checkout but cancelled last minute

In fairness, I brought all these issues up the next morning, and was compensated quite well but still checked out and have never returned.

Nowadays not even Hyatt loyalist anymore.

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W Guest
June 30, 2017, 6:22 pm

@Rob- The Grand Hyatt Dubai is an amazing hotel and it is extremely close to the airport. Some rooms even have a view of the Burj Khalifa

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W Guest
June 30, 2017, 6:19 pm

@Lucky- Have you ever reviewed the Grand Hyatt Dubai. If Not, it's an amazing hotel and you should definitely stay there if you get a chance. When I was there the service was excellent as well was my room.

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Mark Guest
June 30, 2017, 6:18 pm

This place leaves me cold. Even in the hot temps there.

It's time do dislodge from Hyatt and Starwood and stay at the original Ritz Carlton,
even if they don't kowtow to an upgraded suite and you have to stay in a standard room.

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J Guest
June 30, 2017, 6:15 pm

Maybe it's just me but I'd negotiate for something if they closed the pool without any advance notice on the website, especially if it's been closed for a while. At the very least they should mention it on the Hyatt booking page.

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David W Community Ambassador
June 30, 2017, 5:55 pm

I've stayed here twice and both times were enjoyable enough. Drivers did have trouble finding the hotel though, since it was so new.

One thing that stood out was the reception area - where you were helped was a new setup. Both my stays, reception was at the lit-up desk at the right of this photo: https://cdn.onemileatatime.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Hyatt-Regency-Dubai-9.jpg/

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ghostrider5408 Member
June 30, 2017, 5:37 pm

ROB, I would stay the airport hotel, taxi to where ever you want to visit.

Lucky I have stayed at this hotel and the Grand which I much prefer, older property but more refined. If you looked around at your room you will notice that the hotel is modular. Tip off are the bathrooms. Poor quality in finish and installation. Same with the rooms modular. ( I am a partner in a general engineering...
ROB, I would stay the airport hotel, taxi to where ever you want to visit.

Lucky I have stayed at this hotel and the Grand which I much prefer, older property but more refined. If you looked around at your room you will notice that the hotel is modular. Tip off are the bathrooms. Poor quality in finish and installation. Same with the rooms modular. ( I am a partner in a general engineering / construction Co)

The F&B in the RC is excellent and they put out small amounts and keep replenishing so that its always fresh.

Again the Grand is a much better selection, in our opinion we travel to and through Dubai several times a year.

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Rob New Member
June 30, 2017, 4:47 pm

Lucky, what would be your go-to hotel in Dubai for a one-night stay not too far from the airport. We arrive at midnight and are leaving the next evening. Like you mentioned, there's too many hotels to choose from!

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James Guest
June 30, 2017, 4:45 pm

Out of curiosity, did they offer sahoor and/or iftar services?

I know you are not muslim, but maybe they inform you?

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Miro Guest
June 30, 2017, 4:11 pm

Stayed here and did not like it much... too much construction going on, inside and outside as well, with lots of noise, mostly during the night.

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

AnnieR Guest

July 2, 2017, 5:30 am

Checked in for a three night stay as a Diamond member checked out after the first night. Couldn't stand the construction noise ,the poor quality F&B and base low level room allocated overpowered with a strong damp smell which affected my breathing .I inquired if another room was available but was ignore .... Hyatt getting worse and worse and worse no matter what level of property .

Alvin | Young Travelers of Hong Kong Diamond

July 1, 2017, 12:10 am

"The spa was a pretty good size, and had decent equipment." What equipment did the spa have? ;)

Vineet Guest

June 30, 2017, 9:54 pm

@Lucky/Ben The room assigned to you seems like an Executive King, not a suite. If it is a suite, its one of the worst Regency Suites I have seen (I've been here over 2 dozen times, and also on site visits). Also shocked they assigned you the clearly worse view, the rooms on other side of the hallway have a view of entire Dubai Skyline (in the distance). This hotel has very expansive hydrotherapy facilities that are worth checking out with experience showers and wet lounges. You din't miss anything with the pool, its ordinary and tiny (Relatively for a hotel this size). The area isn't in the top 3 main areas of Dubai, there are no Hyatts with *good* locations in Dubai. There are none in the pipeline either (The Palm Jumeirah property perhaps, not sure how far away from opening it is but certainly not soon)