After a day at work this past December, I took the ferry across the bay and walked over to the Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero. I checked in early afternoon for a single night stay, and after being proactively offered a 4 P.M checkout, went straight up to the room. My wife was scheduled to arrive a couple hours later on the train, and she asked if we got an upgrade. I was honest and said no.
That’s because there were no better rooms in the hotel than the room I initially booked.
For an incredibly low rate plus 9,000 Hyatt points, I secured the hotel’s Presidential Suite for our evening in the city. This was my first overnight at the hotel in 4 years, and I was incredibly pleased. (I booked a standard room this summer, but ended up just using it for a day nap). The lounge was open and serving cookies and soda in the afternoon, the restaurant and bar were in full swing, happy hour and all, and the ambience was as lovely as ever, Christmas decor taking over the lobby.
After my wife arrived and I surprised her with the giant room, we went back to the club for hors d’oeuvres. While the cookies earlier in the day were great, unfortunately most of the dinner food at the lounge was mediocre at best, and some of it wasn’t completely edible. We made up for that with truffle fries and had a couple awesome drinks during happy hour at the Eclipse restaurant.
Back at the room, we kicked back in the living room and watched some television. We could hear kids in the room next door, but no real bother (though if we could hear them, I wonder how clearly they could hear the TV).
We also utilized the tub for a bath, which was comfortable for 2.
The bed was also quite cozy, and after several shows and dessert from a nearby restaurant, we passed out.
In the morning we went back to the lounge for breakfast, and were moderately satisfied with what they offered. Unfortunately there was only one station set for hot food, so no bacon or Scrambled eggs, here. Overall, breakfast was still pretty mediocre. But I was very happy with the calm atmosphere in the lounge. Given the vast size of the space, and the views all around, this was a fantastic area to lounge around in.
We saw a movie during the day and came back to pack up in the afternoon.
While the food offerings in the lounge definitely need improvement, I was ultimately happy with my stay here. I love the location near the Embarcadero (I took the ferry from Alameda, so very convenient), there are some decent restaurants close by, along with the one in the hotel, and the overall ambience makes me want to return again (this was my 7th visit). Admittedly the vast room I had might’ve skewed my opinion of the hotel just a bit. Regardless, I already have my next stay booked for later next year (also using a points upgrade).
Cheers!
Additional Imagery From Lounge and Suite:
