I am going to apply for the Hyatt Chase Visa and will get two free nights. This trip to San Francisco this fall will be my first time to SF and would like some advice on which hotel to choose. I have read the the reviews of the two hotels in the threads and still don't have a clear picture of which one to choose.
Well - the Grand Hyatt's rooms were renovated within the last year and has a good location right at Union Square with all the shopping and the theater district right outside. The Hyatt Regency's rooms are "older" but the Regency Club (although you probably will not have complimentary access) is reputed to be one of the best domestically (I've never been). Location is also very good but different - some rooms have a view of the bay - you're near the Ferry Building (basically a gourmet food market). Aside from these comments - I would like to add that usage of your free credit card nights in San Francisco is probably not the best usage of those free nights - either property should not cost you more than $200 per night. There are quite a few properties where redemption of those free nights could save you quite a bit more money and get you a much better hotel experience.
The Grand Hyatt is more in the center of tourist activities and close to cable cars which will take you on a scenic ride to Fisherman's Wharf (suggest sitting outside on the right hand side of the Hyde Street line). Rooms on the 20th floor or higher of the hotel will give you wonderful views.
GH SF has been one of those properties that has underwhelmed me every time I have stayed there. However have to agree that this is not the type of property I would redeem those free nights for unless I was 100% certain they were going to expire before I could use them somewhere really outstanding.
Would the Grand Hyatt in Berlin be a better choice? My next big international trip may be to Germany and the Czech republic. Unfortunately no Asian trips (where I understand many of the better Hyatts are located)
What I would do is check the paid rates for the base room for your dates in the various locations - and then obviously use your free nights where it is the highest. My first instinct was that the GH Berlin would be more expensive - for a weekend in Oct its about 200 Euros - so I thought that would be higher than the HR / GH San Francisco - but for 2 weekends in Oct rates at those 2 properties are very high ($400+) - not sure why since that's probably close to 2x the regular rates.
I've never been to the GH in Berlin so can't really offer anything useful. We are in the situation ourselves where we have the 2 credit card nights expiring at the end of May but not going anywhere outrageously expensive to redeem them.
I was in the same predicament last year and ultimately booked my two credit card nights at the Park Hyatt in Aviara. It was the best I could do given no huge trips and the nights expiring at end of December for me. Regarding San Francisco, I prefer the Regency...simply because the staff is wonderful, the Regency Club is AMAZING, and the rooms (especially on the Club floors) are really cool. Can you say TVs in mirrors in your bathroom? However, the hotel caters more to business travelers as the location is on the Embarcadero and off of Market St. However...given this is your first time to San Francisco...I would agree with prior posts and say go with the Grand Hyatt in Union Square. You could try Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf too...just depends really on what you are looking for.
Maybe it's time to start planning a trip to Asia. Park Hyatt Paris - Vendome is another Hyatt for your consideration in Europe.
We have stayed at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf and actually liked it better than the GH in Union Square. The room was better and our main issue with the GH was the noise levels from adjoining rooms. We had to call security to rooms on both sides on our last stay, with one room having a drunken argument at 2.00 a.m. in the morning. Didn't help that they started up again at 6 am. when the hangover kicked in. I thought it was pretty pathetic we did not get so much as acknowledgement or an apology for paying $400 for having to put up with being in the middle of an episode of a soap opera. Never again will we darken the doorstep of the GH.
As a local, I prefer the GH Union Sq but it does have major lobby remodel going on & not sure when that will be completed. If you do stay there, stress high floor so you can get a good view & try for the renovated king corner rooms which are very nice. Love the location, lots of good restaurants within easy walking distance. GH Berlin is a great hotel in a good location & the rooms are modern, with super large bathrooms. Oct in both cities is a very busy month as they host a lot of conferences. In SF, Oracle is 10/1-4, & that is one HUGE conf; it's followed by Fleet Week, also a city-wide biggie & every week that month has a very large conf at Moscone Center...thus the high room rates. Good luck & enjoy your free nights.
I would give a resounding YES to this. SF Hyatts are pretty standard and you can get value in the City (depending on conventions, etc. in the area). With respect to the GH SF location, the new subway construction is making the neighborhood somewhat difficult to navigate these days. The HR SF has easier BART and Muni access--and arguably a better lounge.
While there are certainly more expensive Hyatts that would represent better "value" for the free credit card nights, one has to factor in the cost of getting to those locations (e.g., Tokyo, Sydney, Zurich, etc.). Not everyone will be able or willing to spend $2,000 or more to get to a Hyatt that has an additional $250 per night "value."
Thanks for everyone's opinions. If I make the trip to SF I will probably end up at the Taj Campton Place. I found out I have enough Taj Innercircle points for one free night and one points+ cash night. Their points are hard to use in the US as there are only three Taj hotels and I won't be going back to India anytime soon.
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