Around the World & Nearly Dead – Grand Hyatt Washington DC Review
In late October of last year, I embarked on a nearly three week around the world journey. Starting with a few days in Washington DC with my family, I eventually made my way up to New York before flying to Europe and then on to Hong Kong.
Some time between Amsterdam and Hong Kong, I developed a bad cough which ultimately morphed into a nasty flu by the time I returned home. (Hence the name.) Ultimately I was bed ridden for nearly two weeks upon my return, but it was still worth it.
- Around the World & Nearly Dead – Intro & First Flight
- Hotel Review – Grand Hyatt Washington DC
- Hotel Review – Intercontinental Times Square
- Exclusive Photos: Come With Me Inside of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) On Its First Day
- Lounge Review – Korean Airlines Business Class Lounge JFK Terminal 1
- Lounge Review: CLUB S.E.A. – Sala Respighi Lounge Milan Malpensa
- Hotel Review – Grand Hyatt Macau
Overview & Pricing
The Grand Hyatt Washington DC is one of a number of Hyatt properties in the Washington DC area. We chose the hotel for its location and ultimately ended up paying a cash rate of $119 per night. (Although this hotel can cost upwards of $400 per night when busy.) Paying cash ended up being a much better deal than the 20,000 Gold Passport points the hotel costs and it also allowed us to use a suite upgrade.
See: A Case for Redeeming Points at 1 Cent Each & Why it is So Hard to Gauge “Value”
We arrived at the hotel at 7am following our redeye flight from Las Vegas. Surprisingly the hotel allowed us to check-in and had a standard room available for us. I had booked the hotel last minute and didn’t even think about using one of my Diamond Suite Upgrades.
After entering the room and quickly looking around (but not touching anything), I decided to head back to the front desk to see if I could apply one of my upgrades. Thankfully they were nice enough to do that and we were given a conference suite.
Location
The Grand Hyatt Washington DC is in a great location near quite a few restaurants and just a couple of blocks from Washington’s very busy Chinatown area. We found the hotel was within walking distance to most of the sites. For example, the White House is about four blocks away while the National Mall is about 10-15 minutes away by foot.
Thankfully for those who don’t like to walk, the DC Metro blue line has a station in the basement of the hotel. We didn’t take the metro and enjoyed our walks, but it is a convenient option for getting around the city.
Lobby & Check-In
I have found through my travels that Atrium style hotels can be hit or miss. The Grand Hyatt certainly has one of the nicer atriums I have seen. I also understand that it may have already been renovated or it will be renovated soon.
Our check-in experience was simple as mentioned above. The agent was friendly, quick to help and had no issues with my last minute request to use a Diamond Suite Upgrade.
Room Review
The first room we were given was a standard room overlooking the atrium. It was located on the exact opposite end from the elevators making for a long walk. Other than being slightly small, it was nice overall.
While our suite didn’t have a name, it was clearly a room used for conferences. The suite consisted of a bedroom which was really just a standard hotel room that was connected to a living room with a conference table, kitchen and living room area. We were able to use the pull out couch.
The rooms were nicely decorated and fairly comfortable. While our original room was on a high floor, unfortunately the suite was very close to ground level. Thankfully the insulation was decent and we only heard a slight amount of noise. Overall it was a very nice place to stay and a bargain at $119 per night.
Related: You Will Want to See What I Found at the Grand Hyatt Washington
Facilities
As a city hotel, the Grand Hyatt Washington DC doesn’t have a ton of facilities to speak of. Hotel guests do have access to the FIT Club at Washington Center which includes a full gym along with an indoor pool. The FIT Club is located in an adjacent building which is connected to the hotel lobby. It wasn’t overly far, but it wasn’t exactly close either.
Food Review
We didn’t have a chance to eat at the hotel’s restaurant or with room service, but we were granted access to the Grand Club. The Grand Club served continental breakfast in the morning and appetizers in the evening with a cash bar.
I found the spread at lounge to be average with your normal selection of fruit, meats and cheeses for breakfast and a normal compliment of dips and one hot item in the evening. The food was alright, but not varied or tasty enough to replace a meal. The lounge staff was fantastic though.
Conclusion
The Grand Hyatt Washington DC is an all around great hotel to stay at. We found the location to be great, the room comfortable and the staff friendly. It was the perfect place to stay for a busy weekend of sightseeing in the nation’s capital. In the next part I will cover some of the family friendly activities we enjoyed.
More Photos
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
[…] The hotel is in a great location, in the middle of Penn Quarter with Ford’s Theater a couple of blocks away and the White House within a 10-15 minute walk. If you prefer not to walk, the DC metro has a station in the basement of the hotel. Rates can fall below $200 per night at times so check before you redeem an award night. Rates are typically higher in the summer so likely a better opportunity to redeem then. Read Shawn’s review of his stay at the hotel here. (Grand Hyatt Washington DC Review). […]
[…] Hotel Review – Grand Hyatt Washington DC […]
Staying at the hotel now, checking out on 3/25.
Nice hotel except for the construction. Bed is not as comfortable.
Since I’m not diamond, have to pay extra for the club access.
I thought picking outside room vs inside room will avoid the construction noise. Still getting lots of traffic and siren noise. I was told by front desk that construction will be done end of April.
I have no idea why they need to remodel the lobby, it looked fabulous from previous pictures posted online.
Current going rate is around $400 for std room. I used 15000 points with 20% rebate from hyatt visa. Better deal in my opinion.
I agree about the lobby. It looked fine to me. 15,000 points instead of $400 is definitely a great deal. Thanks Amanda!
Hey Shawn!
Glad you enjoyed the property. I was just there for Valentine’s day and it was a bit different to say the least. The construction in the atrium starts bright and early and the sound reverberated all the way up to our high level room.
One thing, the property was recently downgraded from a level 5 to a level 4 hotel. It now costs 15,000 HGP per night. Hope you’re feeling much better!
Good point. I had forgotten it was lowered during the recent changes. Did they say when the construction is expected to be completed?