The Hyatt Place hotel in Hayes, West London (United Kingdom) is closing on October 31, 2022.

“West London” is somewhat misleading – although Hayes IS officially within the London borough of Hillingdon, it would take you 90+ minutes on public transportation to reach the parts of London that a tourist might want to visit.

The hotel used to be called the Hyatt Place Hayes Heathrow. That name became a problem when a much better-located Hyatt Place was opened on Bath Road, with runway views. But, perhaps more importantly, the hotel in Hayes was not easy to reach from Heathrow airport and did not offer an airport shuttle. Heathrow? Not so much…

The hotel itself is nothing special, either. Yes, the rooms are clean and spacious. The breakfast is better than your typical Hyatt Place breakfast in North America (although not free for all – only for Globalists). But it is still a mediocre 3-star hotel unsuited for independent tourism, business or airport stopovers.

So, why is the news of this hotel closure spreading so widely?

1.It was a Hyatt

To be a Hyatt Globalist while living in Europe takes dedication. There simply aren’t that many Hyatt hotels around. And there are no credit card shortcuts to earn elite night credits.

A Hyatt… ANY Hyatt… in Europe is something for Hyatt elites to keep their eye on.

2. The hotel was cheap.

Spending 60 nights in a Hyatt hotel is a very difficult hurdle to meet for those who travel mainly around Europe and Asia.

So, if a British resident found themselves a few nights short of earning or renewing Globalist status –> a quick staycation / mattress run in “west London” in late fall was the thing to do…

3. You could realistically spend a few nights there

Only recently were the majority of Hyatt’s “airport hotels” in Europe downgraded to award category 1 status. (examples include the Hyatt Place hotels in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and indeed London Heathrow) When those hotels were assigned to category 2, 8,000 points is actually a relatively expensive way to “mattress run” – I value 8,000 points at $140.

Moreover, those aforementioned airport hotels are perfectly fine for a one-night stay before or after a flight. But for spending a week because you need more elite night credits? You’ll struggle to find supermarkets, cinemas, etc. anywhere near those airport hotels. The Hyatt Place West London Hayes, however, is very close to shopping, supermarkets, restaurants, cinema, etc.  It might not be located in the nicest neighborhood, but at least it was a “real” neighborhood.

Bottom Line

I have checked into this hotel more times than I care to remember. I didn’t always stay – wink, wink – but I’ve made my way to this hotel on many occasions.

Like nearly every other blogger, I would not care about this hotel closing if it were a Courtyard, Hampton or Holiday Inn Express. But because it is a Hyatt Place, the news is sad…  🙁