There are certain things we expect from chain hotels, either in terms of the guest experience, or in terms of what we get in exchange for our loyalty. After all, one of the benefits of staying with certain hotel groups is knowing what to expect.
That being said, there are some hotels that follow the rules and provide the experience we expect, and there are others that technically follow the rules, but don’t do so in spirit. Here’s a story about a property that fits into the latter category.
In this post:
The Hyatt Regency Blackfriars’ cheap club lounge setup
Reader Terence recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency Blackfriars in London, and shared the following message with me:
I keep debating with myself whether this is an offence in principle or simply me being petty. As you know, Hyatt is pretty good about elite benefits, including breakfast — in general. To my surprise, Hyatt Regency Blackfriars recently updated the policy, and made it a pretty bad experience for breakfast unless one pays up.
There is no dedicated lounge at the property, so they re-purposed the lobby bar as a lounge/club — eligible members can visit for complimentary soft beverage and coffee/tea. It also has a skimmed version of evening service — options are limited. I only had some soft drinks before dinners out.
For the breakfast, they send eligible members (Globalists and club guests I presume) to The Cricket restaurant. The catch is that the options there are also underwhelming. It consists of some cold cuts and pastries, with an addition of sad hot noodles. Why the hot noodles? I guess Hyatt specifically request something hot like eggs for breakfast?
With these, they got away with a more decent (or acceptable) breakfast meal for Globalists. Not even scrambled eggs, let alone bacon/sausages.
Other Globalists commented online that there used to be a full English option available for Globalists at the other restaurant. Recently, they removed it. You can only pay £25 for an “upgrade.” But again, is £25 actually an upcharge or simply the cost for a Full English even in London?
I don’t particularly care about breakfast during one stay, but the game played there and the precedent for other bad actors.
Below are some pictures he shared with me of the setup.
My take on the games this hotel is playing
For those who don’t necessarily have context on World of Hyatt Globalist benefits, let me explain what’s going on here:
- The hotel has closed its “proper” club lounge, presumably to cut costs, and has instead created a makeshift club lounge setup by utilizing other public spaces in the hotel
- The hotel continues to sell club rooms, though to the hotel’s credit, they clearly disclose online that food and drinks are served at different venues
- If a hotel has a club lounge, World of Hyatt Globalist members receive access to that lounge; they’re not then entitled to restaurant breakfast, separately, though as a courtesy, many hotels will also invite club guests to have breakfast in the restaurant
Basically, this Hyatt Regency is clearly doing the absolute minimum required by brand standards. The hotel is technically maintaining a club lounge setup, though seemingly in part so that it doesn’t have to offer a proper restaurant breakfast for Globalist members, among others.
On top of that, the hotel’s club lounge spread just seems really pitiful. I assume Hyatt Regency properties are supposed to have at least one hot dish in the lounge, so they just place some sad noodles out? That’s quite underwhelming. Beyond that, based on what I’ve read online, the evening spread is really disappointing as well — it’s similar cold cuts to what you’ll find at breakfast, and there’s only cheap wine and beer, and not any liquor.
So Terence asks if this is an offense, or if he’s just being petty. I don’t think he’s being petty — this whole thing comes across as very cheap. That being said, it’s also not an offense, in the sense that the hotel is technically following rules.
My takeaway here is simple — I’d vote with my wallet, and would choose to stay elsewhere. It’s clear this hotel is looking to cut corners where it can, and those aren’t the kinds of hotels I like to stay at. It’s a sad way to do business, because I can’t imagine that many people who experience this setup leave with a positive impression about their stay. It almost feels like it’s designed to be punitive, in hopes of people wanting to pay to buy-up to the full buffet.
It’s quite a contrast to some other mid-range Hyatt properties, which go above and beyond to offer a nice experience for club guests.
Bottom line
Not all hotels are equally generous with how they approach their guest experience. The Hyatt Regency Blackfriars in London seems to be especially cheap when it comes to its club lounge setup. The hotel has a makeshift setup, and does the bare minimum, seemingly also in an attempt to avoid having to provide full restaurant breakfast to Globalist members.
Technically, we can’t fault the hotel, since it’s following the rules. That being said, this is certainly a hotel I wouldn’t give any business to.
What do you make of this club lounge setup? Would it impact your decision to stay here?
Hyatt flagged properties seem to disproportionately be able to play games without consequences. Regardless of flag, the owners that play games should be publicly identified with their entire portfolio.
I just stayed at this Hyatt on Sept 2-7 as an Explorist w/ a Club access award, the spread was better than what's shown in these pictures.
There were scrambled eggs, and cook-to-order eggs / omelettes were available on request at the Cricket Club. There were a nice pastry spread (not in this reader's pictures).
The Club at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile did have a much better spread and KILLER views, but the...
I just stayed at this Hyatt on Sept 2-7 as an Explorist w/ a Club access award, the spread was better than what's shown in these pictures.
There were scrambled eggs, and cook-to-order eggs / omelettes were available on request at the Cricket Club. There were a nice pastry spread (not in this reader's pictures).
The Club at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile did have a much better spread and KILLER views, but the setup at HR London Blackfairs was fine to me. Upgrade to full breakfast were offered at GBP 15.
If the reader stayed there this week, I wonder if the hotel are short-staffed due to the Tube strike and scaled back the offerings.
I just stayed here a couple of weeks ago. While I lament that they have a separate, cheaper breakfast spread for the Regency Club, this pics are not what they were doing 2 weeks ago. As Explorist mentions, there were scrambled eggs and even made to order options. Again, perhaps it’s the tube strike.
I will admit when I was told at check in that I could upgrade to the full English breakfast for...
I just stayed here a couple of weeks ago. While I lament that they have a separate, cheaper breakfast spread for the Regency Club, this pics are not what they were doing 2 weeks ago. As Explorist mentions, there were scrambled eggs and even made to order options. Again, perhaps it’s the tube strike.
I will admit when I was told at check in that I could upgrade to the full English breakfast for 15£, I was upset, but after seeing the spread, it was totally adequate. Definitely not the best HR by any means, but acceptable when you compare the price to the Churchill.
The evening spread was also pretty good, with gratis alcoholic drinks and some decent food options.
I think you let them off a bit too easy. We've become accustomed to brands like Marriott giving wide latitude to its properties to interpret rules however they like, even if it means openly flaunting them. Marriott doesn't think they need to enforce brand standards because of their scale, but I think Hyatt does.
Hyatt clearly doesn't intend for properties to provide essentially a continental breakfast to Globalists and charge extra for basics like...
I think you let them off a bit too easy. We've become accustomed to brands like Marriott giving wide latitude to its properties to interpret rules however they like, even if it means openly flaunting them. Marriott doesn't think they need to enforce brand standards because of their scale, but I think Hyatt does.
Hyatt clearly doesn't intend for properties to provide essentially a continental breakfast to Globalists and charge extra for basics like eggs. If they don't enforce a true breakfast, that important Globalist benefit becomes useless, and they can't afford to be as lax as Bonvoy is. They need to step in here and tell the property they're not living up to brand standards, and/or change the terms to specify "minimum hot food offerings consist of eggs,..."
Whenever you stay at scummy hotels like this, always 1 star them on google and tripadvisor saying why. Its literally the only thing they care about.
This is so sad, since I was considering this hotel for our trip next summer. Not anymore and I'd gladly keep my booking at the Andaz. Another reason I didn't book this hotel was because they had blocked out points booking for good 2 months during May - July for both standard rooms and suites, while the same rooms and suites were available for Cash booking. I raised this with the Globalist Conceirge, but they...
This is so sad, since I was considering this hotel for our trip next summer. Not anymore and I'd gladly keep my booking at the Andaz. Another reason I didn't book this hotel was because they had blocked out points booking for good 2 months during May - July for both standard rooms and suites, while the same rooms and suites were available for Cash booking. I raised this with the Globalist Conceirge, but they didn't do anything and refused to open a case with Hyatt.
Anyway, I don't think this property is along in having a sh**** club lounge. We recently stayed at Hyatt Regency Calgary and their Club lounge was smaller than the Suite we had booked for our stay. It also had two hote (or supposed to be hot) options everyday - one pre-made egg and one meat. So, as a Vegetarian, I was limited to Egg options only (and that too I couldn't choose). While the location was fantastic, I didn't think the Club Lounge was worth the upgrade cost for those paying for that facility. The evenig options were even worse and one of the days had no vegetarian options.
I had similar experience with the Club Lounge at Grand Hyatt Washington DC, although they had more variety, and on several days, they were offering buffet option in the restaurant.
We are going to London in two weeks, and I was going to book the Hyatt Regency Blackfriars. Globalist benefits are important to me, so I'll now be booking elsewhere. Thanks for the heads up!
So far, based on my research, HR Churchill has the best Globalist benefits, including the club lounge. Andaz Liverpool stree comes second, because of its amaing breakfast buffet. Park Hyatt is also good, but it is not in the main tourist area.
Can't beat The Churchill for location :)
It may sound like a broken record but I will say it again. I gave up on hotel loyalty probably 5 years ago and could not be happier. I hand pick more boutique style local hotels wherever I go and I have to say my experience has been amazing. No hidden fees, no BS, no excuses. usually a boutique hotel is family owned or belongs to a much smaller local hotel chain so their success...
It may sound like a broken record but I will say it again. I gave up on hotel loyalty probably 5 years ago and could not be happier. I hand pick more boutique style local hotels wherever I go and I have to say my experience has been amazing. No hidden fees, no BS, no excuses. usually a boutique hotel is family owned or belongs to a much smaller local hotel chain so their success depends on guests coming back and sharing great reviews. It amazes me that when I go to Europe and stay at smaller hotels, I am always asked many times if they can do anything to make my experience better and at the end of the stay that ask if I can leave a good review on Trip Advisor or Google. Also in Europe, I don't remember last time breakfast was not included in my rate, water is always available for free in my room and you are treated like you should.
Indeed. I moved to primarily non-network properties at about the same time. Being a regular at most. They get to know you and you get to know them. They appreciate the loyalty and reciprocate. The service level is higher. And, the value of that reciprocation far out-strips the value of points and benefits at a network hotel.
Accor hotels are absolutely fine as long you aren't looking for true luxury. Maybe you won't get the level of personalised service available at top boutique properties, but equally they won't insult your intelligence by trying to cut corners in every possible way.
Fairmont and Raffles are fairly top luxury hotels though. And even in upscale, brands like Mondrian and Sofitel are great.
@Eve, I'm not knocking those brands, but they're a very small proportion of the Accor portfolio (Sofitel maybe has 120, the others are in the double figures, there are also couple more high end brands like SLS and Banyan Tree) which is super strong in the 3-4* space.
I'd would not be surprised if the concept of a club lounge disappears in the next 5-10 years, with very few exceptions. Funnily, I would say the Hyatt Regency brand *would* be one of those exceptions (I think business hotels in cities under brands like Marriott and Hyatt Regency would want to keep a club lounge), but it is clear that this hotel doesn't see the value in providing the lounge.
I’m one of those who chose to vote with my wallet. I had originally booked two rooms as a Globalist before this downgrade in benefits was implemented recently. Thankfully, I learned about the change before my trip and switched my stay to the Conrad instead. I did waste a Guest of Honor award on the second room, but I simply won’t give business to a hotel that treats loyal customers this poorly.
Three different cheese cubes is PREMIUM.
Quit whining everyone--you all just argued that we are in the "golden age" of travel. Go to an expensive restaurant if the free food is not good enough for your taste.
I’d avoid the Hyatt Regency Blackfriars. I stayed there as a globalist and was also underwhelmed. It was previously an IHG Crown Plaza property and even though it’s been lightly/partly renovated, it still has an overall cheap/dated vibe.
Being in the golden age of travel means that for my next visit to London I'm staying in South Kensington, a much more attractive area than Blackfriars, in a junior suite that's at least 50% bigger than the 24sq. metres on offer here, with a better breakfast thrown in and the real possibility of an upgrade to a proper apartment, for over £100 less than what Hyatt wants to charge those unfortunate enough to be slaves to their scheme.
I've heard enough about this property cheaping out constantly that I think I'll just avoid it in general...