I spent three nights in Vancouver this past weekend, and tried out three different hotels. The first hotel I checked out was the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. On one hand I had a really hard time justifying staying here, since the rate was the same as many of the Virtuoso and American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts properties in Vancouver, which are an absolute bargain in the off season.
That being said, by my math I would end the month one night short of completing Hyatt’s Endless Possibilities promotion, which would basically “cost” me 20,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points. Now that I live in hotels I doubt I’ll have any problem completing the promotions from hereon out, but the first four months of the year were very Starwood-centric for me due to to where I traveled to.
Anyway, I arrived at the Hyatt Regency at around 3PM. The hotel is located on Burrard Street, which is close to a lot of the high end shopping in Vancouver. It’s a nice area to be in, but then again downtown Vancouver is pretty centralized, so almost anything is within walking distance no matter where you stay.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver exterior
Hyatt Regency Vancouver entrance
Check-in was located inside the (rather sterile and generic feeling) lobby, to the left.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver lobby
The associate checking me in was friendly, and quickly processed my check-in. She informed me of all the benefits I’d receive as Gold Passport Diamond member, including:
- Complimentary in-room internet (though there’s a $5 upcharge for the premium internet)
- 4PM late check-out
- Regency Club access
- A welcome amenity (I chose the 1,000 Gold Passport points)
For what it’s worth I paid a rate of ~$170CAD, which was the “My Elite Rate” for that night. I was also presented with a letter outlining the benefits of being a Regency Club guest.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver welcome letter
Like I said above, the lobby felt really generic, and almost a bit awkward in terms of the furniture placement. There was a legitimate Starbucks inside the lobby (as opposed to a coffee shop which just “proudly serves Starbucks coffee”), as well as the hotel’s restaurant, Mosaic Grille.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver lobby
Hyatt Regency Vancouver lobby
Hyatt Regency Vancouver lobby Starbucks
The elevators were interesting in that you’d go to the keypad by the elevators and enter the floor you wanted to go to, and then it would tell you which elevator to use. Then you wouldn’t have to push the button inside the elevator. It was sort of a similar setup to the St. Regis Bal Harbour, though there you just swipe your key and it automatically takes you to your floor.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver lobby
Hyatt Regency Vancouver elevator buttons
My room was located on the 29th floor, which is the same floor the Regency Club is on.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver hallway
I was assigned a Regency Club King, room 2905.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver room entrance
Hyatt Regency Vancouver floorplan
The room was spacious and felt fresh, thanks to the fact that it was recently renovated. There was a fairly wide entryway with the bathroom and a closet to the left.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room entryway
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room entryway
The room featured a king bed, chair with ottoman, and a desk with an office chair.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room
The bed was comfortable and faced a large flat screen TV.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room TV
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room TV
I appreciated that the desk had several outlets on the front of it (including for USBs), so I didn’t have to get on my knees in order to charge my laptop.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room desk
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room desk
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room desk plugs
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room chair and ottoman
Back near the entrance was a large closet right by the bathroom.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room closet
The bathroom was a decent size and featured a sink, toilet, and shower/tub combo.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room bathroom
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room bathroom
The shower/tub combo was odd. On one hand the fixtures seemed rather nice for a shower/tub, though it only had a “rainforest” shower head.
So not to get too much into my hotel pet peeves involving showers, but I just don’t get it. As far as I’m concerned, showers should only have rainforest shower heads under two conditions:
- The shower is large enough to host a party (not that you actually would, but we’re just talking about the general size, since that way you can easily step away from “under” the water)
- In addition to the rainforest shower there’s a handheld shower head, so that you can also get water at some sort of an angle
But without either of those, I found it to be totally impractical.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room bathroom
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room bathroom toiletries
In terms of the room’s views, it faced the surrounding buildings. Not a bad view, but not amazing either. If I turned my head far enough I could even see the water.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room view
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club King Room view
As I mentioned earlier, as a Gold Passport Diamond member I received complimentary internet, though for $5 I could upgrade to “premium” internet. Fortunately the premium internet was actually fast, so it was $5 well spent.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club entrance
In terms of the Regency Club, it’s definitely on the small side, maybe the size of two standard rooms. It feels pretty crowded with all the seating they have, though the lounge was never too full.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club
There was even a balcony, which I appreciated.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club balcony
Then there was a business center with a couple of PCs.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club business center
In terms of the food spread, the hotel had light snacks and soft drinks available all day.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club buffet area
There was a coffee machine, which I made plenty of use of.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club coffee machine
They had several types of cookies and shortbread throughout the day, as well as snack mix, trail mix, and nuts.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club daytime snacks
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club daytime snacks
Then from 5PM till 8PM the lounge featured the evening service. The spread was okay. It was marginally better than you’d get at most Hyatt Regency properties in the US, though not considerably so. It featured veggies, olives, cheese, mussels, potstickers, etc.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
Then there was an “honour” bar, with beer, wine, and cocktails available for purchase.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club evening spread
The breakfast spread (served from 6:30AM till 9:30AM on weekdays) was also fairly good, and consisted of a variety of meats, cheeses, croissants, bagels, cereal, fruit, muffins, oatmeal, etc.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club breakfast spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club breakfast spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club breakfast spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club breakfast spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club breakfast spread
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Regency Club breakfast spread
The attendants were the highlight of the club lounge. Tony in the evening and (I believe) Kate in the morning were just top notch. I can’t say enough good things about how friendly and professional they were.
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there’s a nice gym on the fourth floor with plenty of equipment.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver gym
Hyatt Regency Vancouver gym
There was a pool just outside the gym, and the water temperature was quite nice. There was also a hot tub.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver pool
Hyatt Regency Vancouver pool
Hyatt Regency Vancouver bottom line
Ultimately the Hyatt Regency Vancouver met my expectations. The hotel is fairly generic for the most part, and physically there wasn’t any aspect of the property that blew me away. The one thing that stood out to me was how good the service in the club lounge was.
I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to return, though after the amazing stays I had at two properties on my subsequent nights for only marginally more, that may prove tough to justify unless there’s a great promotion…
Ben, you are right in that Kate and Tony in the Regency Club are the highlight of this hotel. They both treated us like life-long friends. Kate checked me out of the hotel from inside the Club and actually found a mistake on the billing and immediately sorted it out. Then her printer malfunctioned and she said she would bring the folio up to the room in a few minutes. Just as the bellman rolled...
Ben, you are right in that Kate and Tony in the Regency Club are the highlight of this hotel. They both treated us like life-long friends. Kate checked me out of the hotel from inside the Club and actually found a mistake on the billing and immediately sorted it out. Then her printer malfunctioned and she said she would bring the folio up to the room in a few minutes. Just as the bellman rolled up with the cart, she showed up with the final bill, two bottles of water and a thank you card. Just amazing for a run of the mill Hyatt!
Very impressive electrical outlet.
Man, I'm not a total asshole, but was that a drop ceiling in the entryway of your room?
I meant "without a shower review"
@lucky - I love your shower reviews. Keep it coming when you start living in hotels across the world too.
Any hotel review with a shiwer review feels incomplete.
Thanks for the review. Since I live only two blocks away from here, never could justify staying in DT hotels.
I've had many a coffee stop in the lobby, and its definitely just a basic lobby, no real ambience of any kind. Kind of sterile. Glad to see the renovated rooms are nice enough though!
@Lucky-
Would love a TR on B6's 32T suites once it starts flying!
@ Lexi -- Hope to try it when they start flying it!
They got Fruit Loops! That's it! Im IN!
Agreed, hate those Zyklon B, er, rainforest showers.
I think those are mussels, not scallops :)
@ Alex -- Whoops, yep. It was the next hotel I stayed at that had scallops in the club lounge -- my mistake!
You forgot to mention your other pet peeve......small pillows :)
Had a week long stay there a couple of years ago and came away with the feeling that it was a "nice" property as staff were so good. However if we were returning to Vancouver would not hesitate to stay elsewhere if the price was right.
I would love to know how your footwear and dress "ensures your safety" in the lounge. You'd think it's a construction site from that wording. Or there are aggressive bouncers who really hate flipflops.
Plain vanilla in my opinion.
Not even slightly impressed with that lobby or room.
Club looks nice, though.