An interesting discussion of the most underrated Hyatts got me thinking about underrated versus best. I love the Park Hyatts in the Maldives, Abu Dhabi and Paris – but few consider them underrated. They are discussed frequently, very good, but also quite fairly rated!
Park Hyatt Maldives Reef Residence
On the other hand you’ll find hidden gems among non-resort city properties that end up being excellent deals on points (e.g., Thompson Madrid, Andaz Prague, Park Hyatt Jakarta).
Many lower category hotels outside the U.S. often sit in surprisingly low redemption categories despite delivering a luxury experience (Park Hyatt Chennai; Hyatt Regency Doha at category 1). That’s because their categories are driven by room rates and they’re in inexpensive markets where the overall quality standard is high.
Park Hyatt Chennai
There are places like Hyatt Place Cabo, Lost Pines near Austin, and Hana-Maui which get strong endorsements for families, though each has a different vibe and amenity level.
“Underrated” can mean (1) a luxury property at a surprisingly low points category, or (2) a solid, under-the-radar hotel in a city/resort area that people rarely talk about but consistently exceeds expectations. Since underrated means different things to different guests, it’s important to understand what’s driving the evaluation and whether it matches what you’re looking for.
- Hidden gems
- Luxury for less
- Less-discussed because it offers something that isn’t popular among most guests
- Clean, cheap lodging
Here are some of the properties noted:
- Hyatt Place Cabo (San José del Cabo) Walkable to good restaurants, grocery stores, swimmable beach (rare in Cabo), decent free breakfast, only category 1 so just 5,000 per night at the mid-point so an affordable way to enjoy Cabo without paying resort and all-inclusive prices. But it’s not a resort!
- Hana-Maui Resort (Hawaii) Secluded, calm environment away from tourist crowds, oceanfront bungalows with amazing views, laid-back vibe, 24-hour pool, friendly staff. To some it’s the best or most relaxing option among Hyatt’s Hawaii portfolio. However when it was folded into Hyatt I looked at it and dismissed it because of the need for renovations to even have air conditioning in the rooms.
- Hyatt Regency Amsterdam Less touristy area but still close to main spots, extremely expansive breakfast buffet, has a club lounge, often overshadowed by Andaz Amsterdam. I picked it last year because the rooms are larger than the Andaz’s. They also accommodated me with a temporary room prior to check-in time when my suite wasn’t ready. Lots of great reports of elite upgrade treatment here. Overall I found it fantastic.
- Hyatt Regency Lost Pines (near Austin, Texas) Great for families (many activities), beautiful grounds, 40 minutes from downtown Austin and 10-15 from the airport except during peak traffic. Rates can be high but still value on points, they work hard to upgrade to junior suites which are true suites. My daughter much likes the kids club.
- Thompson Madrid Great city location, strong breakfast, stylish property. I’ve found Thompsons to be consistently good, actually. Guests love the ground-floor restaurant breakfast, though a few mentioned the rooftop breakfast for Globalists felt “mediocre.”
- Andaz Prague Gorgeous design, fantastic breakfast (e.g., Czech Benedict), centrally located, and not as hyped as other big-name Andaz properties.
- Lindner Hotels in Europe (Prague, Cologne) some are category 1 with great city-center locations, good breakfast, strong overall value.
- Hyatt Regency Vancouver (Canada) Good downtown location, great staff, decent breakfast, it’s a pretty standard Regency but I’ve had good experiences there myself and I love that they stand that tip is included on the breakfast bill for Globalists.
- Park Hyatt Mendoza (Argentina) I’m not sure it lives up to the brand, but it works really well for the pricing. Gorgeous building, centrally located, casino is tucked away so doesn’t impact the hotel vibe.
- Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay (Montenegro) Beautiful beach, pools with scenic views of Kotor Bay. Probably just, how much travel does Montenegro get from Americans? Along similar lines I’m looking forward to this year’s opening of the Hyatt Regency Zadar in Croatia.
- Park Hyatt Jakarta (Indonesia) Amazing suites, excellent breakfast, top-notch service and a category 4.
- Hôtel du Palais Biarritz (France) former palace, opulent setting, near beaches, indoor & outdoor pools, lavish breakfast/brunch with champagne and lobster. Commenters call it a great “splurge” or treat. Rarely mentioned in typical discussions.
- Hyatt Place Bangkok (Thailand) Category 1 or roughly $100/night, very fresh rooms, decent breakfast, good location. It’s not ‘spectacular’ but excellent value – something you find at a lot of cheaper brands in Bangkok (e.g. Holiday Inn).
- Hyatt Regency Doha (Qatar) even the best brands like Mandarin Oriental are shockingly affordable in Doha, especially out of season, so when you get a solid brand (that is often elevated in the region to begin with) it becomes strong value. This is semi-luxury at category 1, good pool and spa, excellent breakfast – just exceeds expectations for most.
And Doha is actually worth a stopover (though in my opinion not as much for a long stay) – worth 36 hours just to visit the Museum of Islamic Art. It was I.M. Pei’s last major design, he rejected every location suggested and built a man-made island in the water which makes a magnificent approach. It’s worth seeing the items of everyday life from the 12th century (although there are pieces on display at Qatar Airways’ al Safwa lounge, so if you can’t make it into Doha you can still get a taste in the airport).
- Park Hyatt Chennai (India) amazing as a category 1 with great suites and breakfast. When I stayed there I paid $99 a night, had an amazing suite and Globalist breakfast was honored at the buffet or via room service. And the spa was excellent and super cheap. You could hear traffic below from the rooftop infinity pool, however.
- Hyatt Regency Bali Sanur Beachfront, multiple pools, an all-day club lounge for Globalists, turtle sanctuary onsite. It’s considered a solid Bali option with good perks, although when I make the trip to the other side of the world I tend to look less for solid value and more for extreme experience.
- Alila Jabal Akhdar (Oman) Dramatic mountain location, extremely luxurious experience, and Oman doesn’t get that much attention. Some that have been call it a top-5 Hyatt worldwide. I have yet to visit.
- Hyatt Regency Rochester (New York) Here’s one mentioned that I disagree with. I found the property quite mediocre, though the bar was decent. Not a great area, the Starbucks on the ground floor had several aggressive homeless engaged in conflict with the staff when I was there. The hotel is downtown and near the river and some call it “better than expected.”
What are your most underrated Hyatts, and which category do they fit into – great value, better than expected, or some other reason?
Hi Gary, what do you mean PH Mendoza doesn’t live up to the brank standard? I’m anchoring an Argentina vacation around a stay there. Curious about your and others’ take? Thanks.
The Hyatt Regency Rochester is probably the single worst Hyatt Regency in the USA. Forget about downtown Rochester. This franchised property is awful. Look at the reviews. It’s amazing that Hyatt has not de-flagged it.
There was quite the group of Americans who were buying Montenegrin citizenship in anticipation of Montenegro eventually joining the EU. The EU then convinced Montenegro to shut the application window around 2 years ago. But of the folks whom I know that did this and visited the country, Hyatt wasn’t where they stayed when visiting Montenegro.
It has been some time since I have been there, but the Hyatt Boston Airport is pretty nice.
When I was going with regularity, I would fly in the night before my business started, get upgraded to a harborview room, in the summer have a nightcap by the fire pit, enjoy a very competent breakfast and then take the water taxi to Seaport or Long Wharf to start my work. It always took the bite out of being away from the dog.
Although everyone loves the Park Hyatt Vienna, the real bang-for-the-buck in Vienna is the Andaz at Cat 3 (although some will say the Lindner at Cat 1). The Andaz may be out of the center, but it’s a short ride to anywhere as it’s next to the main train station and a short walk to both the Belvedere (Klimt!) and the Military Museum, which gets short shrift in talks about Vienna. If you have any interest in history, it’s excellent, including the car Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in (complete with bullet hole) along with his blood soaked uniform and, for aviation buffs, the world’s oldest manned aircraft, from the 18th Century. (It’s a French balloon from the Napoleonic Wars, if you’re confused.) Excellent breakfast, both buffet and menu, great rooms, rooftop bar, and the umbrella/coat hooks all have Sigmund Freud’s head on them.
@jfhscott – Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor? Probably had my strangest staff interaction there ever, and the property certainly needs some love, at least washing the windows. https://viewfromthewing.com/i-got-yelled-at-by-a-hyatt-manager-for-the-first-time/
Great post, Gary. For those with the Chase Hyatt cards, finding worthwhile category 1-4 to use the ‘free night’ on can be a challenge sometimes. You’ve found some of the best options to-date, even if you have to go ‘far away’ to reach some of them. Thank you.
Hyatt is the best option in certain ‘unusual’ markets. For example, if you need to overnight in Dar es Salaam, say before a visit to Zanzibar or the Serengeti, the Hyatt Regency is decent. Or, if you end up in Port of Spain, the Hyatt Regency Trinidad is probably the best in the city. Again, these are probably not for everybody, but good Hyatt properties that I can personally vouch for.
On the luxury side, although it may not be ‘under’-rated I’ve been impressed with the Alila acquisition by Hyatt, especially if you can find a good point redemption rate. Their Maldives Kothaifaru is exceptional (like the Park Hyatt, but newer). Ventana Big Sur includes meals, which is nice (and hard to find places to stay in that area as it is). Many of the Park Hyatt’s in Europe (Paris, Vienna, Milan, etc.) also have affordable point redemptions compared to cash prices, so it does feel like you get a lot of value out of them as well. Hoping to try the new London PH soon.
Given World of Hyatt’s clearly deliberate and relentless drive to put the squeeze on its members’ ability to earn significant numbers of redeemable points, these (mostly) overseas “gems” — along with Hyatt Places in the US — may be the only properties that are likely to remain affordable to most members for redeeming with points, while the highly coveted over-the-water Maldivian bungalows get less and less affordable (sort of like what happened to SPG awards before Starwood’s demise)…
RE: Hana Maui Resort, we just stayed there and we were in a room type that the website does not say has AC but it had AC. I think that the website may not be properly updated. Don’t know if they all have AC now or just some of them, but it is certainly more than the website says.
And yes, it is a fantastic place to stay
@LXF – My wife and I stayed at the PH Mendoza while visiting wine country. I would say most everything was good but not great. Rooms were nice, service was decent, breakfast was good. My biggest complaint is that the hotel has a large casino which has an entrance from the lobby. This both makes the lobby smell of smoke and creates a good amount of extra foot traffic. Don’t anticipate it being the best hotel you’ve ever stayed in, but it still makes a pretty good base from which to explore the city and surrounding area.
Also have experienced Hyatt Regency Vancouver and can also recommend it. Very friendly staff, work hard to make sure you have a good stay. They restored my faith in Hyatt after horrible experience in two Park Hyatts
Very helpful, Gary. I’ve only been to the Hyatt Sanur in Bali- all three times I’ve been there. Outstanding value, beautiful grounds, reliable upgrades. Lovely Executive spaces with excellent selections.
I’m reserved for a total of three nights in March at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, and I’m pleased to see I made a good choice.
Thanks again.
I’ll vouch for Gary’s recommendation of the PH Chennai. Extremely nice property, right next to a forest, with the pool overlooking that forest.
I didn’t hear traffic during my stay that I can recall, but it’s possible that’s an issue.
I had planned on staying at the Hyatt in Rochester two years ago when doing a vacation/kind of mattress run through Quebec/SE Ontario provinces. Sounds like I didn’t miss much. I did unfortunately stay 3 (yes 3) nights at the Hyatt Place, Niagara NY because it was $99/night. It and the town of Niagara are down and out. Enjoyed Niagara Falls though.
Don’t know if it’s under the radar or not, but the Ottawa Andaz is nice (as long as you don’t go down the skid row like street near there) and so was Ottawa.
+1 on HR Vancouver
Love this post!
Stayed at Hyatt Kotor Montenegro last July. Was upgraded to a 2 bedroom residence and it was amazing. Expansive breakfast, elite HH, and received 2 bottles of wine and several sweets during our 4 day stay. Great stop if going to Croatia. (note its not on old town Kotor though)
I would add the Hyatt Regency Sofia (Bulgaria) to the list. Close to the main sights and it has a good Regency Club. It did go from category 1 to category 2 recently.
Second C_M that the Military History Museum in Vienna is incredible. (My favorite exhibit: the manual of military commands in all the languages spoken in the army.)
I’ll nominated the Hyatt Place Kent Narrows (across the bay from Baltimore) as an excellent under-rated hotel. Probably the nicest HP I’ve ever been in, right on the water, great friendly staff…
Hyatt Place Cabo is on a very busy road that gets a ton of backed up traffic in the late afternoon/early evenings when everyone is getting off of their day shift. And yes there is a decent beach, but its blocks away. Can’t imagine a family staying here for a vacation with a ton of far better options in the area.
The Hyatt in Amsterdam was a nice find so glad it made the list. Another place we enjoyed and isn’t considered high end is Andaz Mayakoba. Been here a few times and love it.
We just returned from a week at the Hyatt House Tokyo Shibuya. One of the few HH that has 4 types of suites, including a 2 bed room suite. They accept SUAs (in theory) and the rooms are large for Tokyo standards and even come with a washer/dryer in the room. We got the room for 12-15k plus an SUA so it was an incredible deal.
Regarding the request for underrated Hyatts. I’m guessing there are those like myself who have their favorite Hyatt property, even in the 1-4 class, and they ain’t saying for fear of fouling the oasis.
The Regency in Amsterdam doesn’t feel that far away and is tucked in a nice neighborhood with plenty to do. The breakfast is probably the best hotel buffet i’ve seen and the staff have always been very receptive including Whats app chatting with me before arrival and if any issues arise (one of my rooms didn’t get club access).
Hyatt Regency Tashkent
Category 3. Upgraded to a suite as Globalist. Excellent breakfast and lounge in the evening. Nice spa and gym. Rooftop pool although I stayed there in winter. Inexpensive laundry service.
@jfhscott and @gleff HR Boston Harbor is a sad story. I was living in Boston when it opened, and it was a popular destination in the summer evenings to just go hang at the bar for their stunning view. It remained an adequate–if not particularly notable–option until COVID. Sadly, it shut completely during COVID (I happened to be a guest on their last day of operation) and has never returned to its former state since. All of my post-COVID stays have been disappointing. The rooms are in desperate need of rehab, the breakfast as gone way downhill, and the old staff is long gone.
Indeed, given the only real alternative is the painfully dated and out-of-the-way HR Cambridge, the Hyatt situation in Boston is really quite sad.
Hyatt Rochester is a total NO!
High crime area, untrained staff, clientele are often very sketchy, ‘restaurant’ is low quality. Even the breakfast is barely edible. Staff is often distracted and act like it’s like their first job in life. Check your bill in advance. You will know far more about Hyatt procedures and rewards program than they do.
@ Gary — You really should try the InterContinental LeGrand in Paris. Having a Club Lounge makes a HUGE difference, and they have an excellent one. Also, the rates are significantly lower than the PH Paris. If you aren’t an Ambassador member, beomce one, and use your BOGO to book a 1 BR suite at the LeGrand and pay for Club access (if it isn’t already included). The decor at the PH is gaudy and dated, and the atmosphere is snooty.
I refuse to stay at ANY Hyatt properties since they cheated me out of my 120,000 points several years ago in their program turnover.
@Gene.
Love your comment on PH Paris. Definitely not worth the hype!