This past week I was in New York(ish) for the Freddie Awards and to speak at the Loyalty@Freddies conference, both of which were held at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City. I had never been to Jersey City before, and based on my schedule figured that it would make sense to stay at the host hotel. I’ve reviewed many of the Hyatt options in NYC, including the Park Hyatt, Hyatt Herald Square, Hyatt Times Square, Hyatt Union Square, Andaz Wall Street, Andaz 5th Avenue, and Grand Hyatt, so was excited to be able to review a property that’s just a stone’s throw away.
The Hyatt Regency Jersey City is a Category 5 Hyatt property, meaning that a free night redemption costs 20,000 World of Hyatt points, or if there’s Points + Cash available, it costs 10,000 points plus $125. Since I booked last minute and the hotel was nearly sold out due to the conference going on there, the paid rate would have been $499, so redeeming points was most definitely the better value.
However, paid rates here are often quite reasonable, typically cheaper than many of Hyatt’s Manhattan locations. There’s a PATH station just outside the hotel, so you can get to Manhattan in just over 10 minutes.
The Hyatt Regency is right on the Hudson, and has a pretty cool exterior that almost looks like a ship.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City exterior
Like I said, I had never been to Jersey City before, but I loved the views. Having such an incredible view of the Manhattan skyline is pretty special. Being on the Hudson on the Jersey side reminded me of being in Kowloon overlooking Hong Kong Island.
View of Manhattan from the Hyatt Regency Jersey City
The Hyatt’s lobby is on the third floor, though there’s some seating on the ground floor as well, just inside the main entrance.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City street level seating
From there I took the escalator up, and check-in was immediately to the left.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City escalator
There was no line at check-in, and while the associate who checked me in was friendly, she didn’t do anything to recognize my Globalist status. She thanked me for being a World of Hyatt member, and told me I’d receive free Wi-Fi. She didn’t mention anything about free breakfast, a room upgrade, etc. I didn’t ask about a room upgrade, given that I knew the hotel was sold out, and they had only been selling standard rooms.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City reception
My room was located on the eighth floor, so I took the elevator up several levels. My room was quite a ways down the hallway.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City hallway
For a standard room I was reasonably impressed. There was a closet on the right, and then the bathroom to the left.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room entryway
The room featured a comfortable king size bed, with a night stand on each side. The bed itself was extremely comfortable, though the pillows were on the small side. I’m not sure why Hyatt does this, but it’s a common problem at their hotels. Am I the only one who loves big pillows?
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room
Across from the bed was a large console that had a TV as well as the desk area.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room
The desk had a rolling leather chair, though unfortunately it didn’t have any armrests, which I don’t love when working for extended periods of time. Also, while there was an outlet to the side of the desk, I wish they had installed some into the actual desk, which doesn’t seem like too much to ask for a modern hotel.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room desk & TV
Also on the desk was the self serve coffee setup, which I didn’t take advantage of. The hotel offers free coffee in the lobby in the mornings, and there’s a Starbucks just a short walk away.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room coffee machine
Underneath the TV was the safe and mini-fridge, which had two bottles of complimentary water.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room fridge
By the window was a large “L” shaped couch, which could seat four. It could probably also comfortably sleep someone, if needed. It was one of the better hotel couches I’ve seen, and I also liked the table that could easily be moved around.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room couch
Unfortunately my room didn’t have much in the way of views. I imagine if the hotel hadn’t been as full I would have at least been upgraded to a partial Manhattan view room.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room view
The bathroom was back near the entrance, and was fairly basic. It featured a sink, toilet, and shower/tub combo.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room bathroom
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room toilet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City king room shower
Toiletries were provided by KentMD, which I don’t love, but they’re not terrible either.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City toiletries
Overall I thought the room was comfortable and a decent size. The room felt pretty fresh, and the in-room Wi-Fi was fast.
The hotel’s third floor lobby was massive, with lots of great seating options. There were communal tables, couches, high-top seating, etc.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City lobby
Hyatt Regency Jersey City lobby
There were two iMacs with a printer in the lobby, which were free to use (including printing).
Hyatt Regency Jersey City business center
Towards the back of the lobby was the bar.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City lobby bar
Then past that was the restaurant, where breakfast was served. This hotel doesn’t have an executive lounge, so as a Globalist member you get breakfast here.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City restaurant
The breakfast menu read as follows:
At check-in they didn’t tell me any restrictions about breakfast, so I assume I could have ordered off the menu or had the buffet breakfast. I decided to have the buffet breakfast, which was reasonably good. I’ll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast buffet
Included with the buffet are custom made eggs, pancakes, or waffles, so I decided to have a veggie and cheese omelet, which was tasty.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City breakfast eggs
Overall it was a solid breakfast, and the servers in the restaurant were extremely friendly.
The hotel also has a 24 hour gym as well as a pool, which are located on the first floor. The gym was fairly small, but had good equipment.
Hyatt Regency Jersey City gym
Hyatt Regency Jersey City gym
Hyatt Regency Jersey City gym
The pool was on the small side, though I guess it’s a luxury to have in a NYC adjacent hotel. I could never imagine using a pool like this, but then again, I don’t like pools, and I also don’t have kids, so… 😉
Hyatt Regency Jersey City pool
Hyatt Regency Jersey City bottom line
The Hyatt Regency Jersey City is a good option to consider if you want to visit NYC but prefer to stay in a quieter area. This hotel typically seems to have pretty good rates (just not during my stay), and as a Category 5 property, it’s a pretty good value. In this case I didn’t get an upgrade as a Globalist member, though my standard room was perfectly nice.
Overall I found the staff at this hotel to be friendly, especially given that it was so full.
Personally I don’t think I’d return anytime soon, since there are a lot of other NYC area hotels I’d like to see. However, for the right person it could be a good option — I actually sort of liked Jersey City.
Have you ever stayed in a NYC adjacent hotel? Do you have any that you recommend?
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