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.
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?
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