Hyatt Hotels: Good Value for the Business Traveler
Written: Dec 26 '00 (Updated Jun 04 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comfortable room, nice open lobby
Cons: Food is pretty expensive
The Bottom Line: Hyatt provides efficient, friendly service, very nice rooms and prompt room service at a reasonable price. What more can a business traveler ask for?
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| diverpam's Full Review: Hyatt |
I recently spent several days at the Hyatt Hotel in Irvine,CA. The hotel is about 10 minutes away from John Wayne Airport and hotel offers a regular airport shuttle service. It does not offer a local/shopping shuttle since they have only one bus. Beware if you plan on staying there and not renting a car.
Nice,Comfortable Room
My room was nice and large, with a king size bed, love seat, chair and desk. The television was located in the armoire directly in front of the bed, which made for easy viewing. It also swiveled out so you could watch from the love seat on the side of the room as well.
The bed was very comfortable and there were plenty of pillows. I had a hard time staying awake past 9 pm so I was grateful for the nice, cozy bed.
The bathroom had a hair dryer, large towels, and lots of toiletry items including shampoo, conditioner, two kinds of soap, sewing kit, and shower cap.
Good Food
I ordered room service breakfast every morning and really enjoyed it. (That's about the only thing I really like about business travel.) The breakfast special included two eggs, bacon or sausage, toast or pastries, coffee or tea, and a choice of juice. The scrambled eggs and bacon were consistently good and hot. One day I received an assortment of premium tea bags, another day I got only Lipton. Service was prompt -- one day it arrived in 10 minutes! (I was glad I didn't decide to hop in the shower right after ordering.)
I had dinner in the Chinese/Italian restaurant, Ciao Mein one night. The food was quite pricey, but it was good. I had the tangerine chicken, a salad, and a wonderfully evil dessert. It was a giant fortune cookie stuffed with banana cream and served with a scoop of Haagen-Daas ice cream and caramelized bananas!
This restaurant has one of the hardest to read menus I have ever encountered. It is printed on a brown/gold shiny paper with practically no contrast between the type and the paper. If I hadn't perused the menu outside in the lobby (in full light) before going in, I would never have been able to read anything on the menu. (I jokingly asked the waiter for a flashlight, but I would have been grateful if he had brought one.)
Take my advice, read the menu before you go inside or carry your own flashlight!
There is a more reasonably priced restaurant (with easy to read menu) located next to Ciao Mein, but it is not open in the evening. I had a burger and fries there for lunch one day. The burger was very good, with a generous portion of guacamole on the side.
Nice Lobby Area
The hotel has a lobby bar that closes at 8pm and a sports bar with limited menu that stays open way past my bedtime.
There is also a small gift shop in the hotel, as well as a pool and health club that advertises massages. I was tempted to try a massage, but I didn't.
The hotel lobby was beautifully decorated for Christmas with large gingerbread house located within the hotels fountains. The lobby also features a grand piano that was set to play Christmas carols. I enjoyed sitting next to the piano sipping a glass of Merlot (overpriced at $8.25 a glass).
Prompt Service
Check-in and check-out were both quick and efficient. Everyone I encountered in person or on the phone was friendly and helpful. I received my wakeup calls as requested each day and the USA Today was waiting at my door each morning.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
diverpam
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Member: Pam
Location: Collierville, TN
Reviews written: 263
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~~~~So many oceans...so little time!~~~~
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