Wilbur

There is nothing intrinsically less-good about the Hyatt than any other choice in Austin. No one hotel there is amazing, really.

The key is to not eat in the hotel, since there are plenty of places far and near that will serve you better food.

- Black's or Kreutz' down in Lockhart for barbecue
- Hula Hut or Austin Java for "Austin fare"
etc. etc.

aba030

I've been staying at this property virtually every other week for the past several months (I've been traveling to Austin every other week for the past 2 years). Some of my thoughts are as follows:

- The diamond suite upgrade gets you into an executive suite, which essentially has a regular room plus a second room with a dining table, couch, extra TV, a bar area, and an additional full bathroom. Ton of extra space...
- The diamond breakfast is the full breakfast buffet in the Southwest Bistro (SWB - hotel restaurant). They offer a great spread and also have made-to-order omelettes. I've never had dinner at SWB, but I've ready some pretty solid reviews on Yelp.
- Self parking is $12 per night, the lot is right next to the hotel. I've never done valet parking at this property.
- I've been using Hyatt certificates (purchased at Costco) for the past couple months at this property, and I always have trouble with stays posting to my Gold Passport account. However, a call to customer service with my confirmation number gets everything taken care of very quickly.
- I always elect for the 1,000 point diamond amenity, so I cannot speak to the food/beverage amenity.
- As mentioned in other posts, there is no Regency Club at this property.
- I haven't used the fitness center (who has time for this when there are margaritas to be had all around downtown?), but I've heard the facilities are more than adequate.
- I don't feel as though I get any overly special treatment for being a diamond member (it's generally not even acknowledged at the check-in desk). However, when not using a suite upgrade, I always get a river view room, and on occasion (or pretty much whenever I ask), I get a river view room with a balcony.
- For restaurants, I highly recommend traveling south on Congress Ave. to Guero's (Mexican), South Congress Cafe (they offer 20% off all food items on Sundays through Wednesdays), or Magnolia Cafe (for late night eats, this place is open 24 hours). In addition, you can travel north on Congress across the river to a few other great places including La Traviata (Italian) and Manuel's (Mexican). For other restaurant (or bar) recommendations, please feel free to PM me.

Other properties I've stayed at in downtown Austin include the Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Intercontinental, and The Driskill. Of these locations, I'd say the Hilton and Hyatt rank at the top of the list. Now that I've moved over to Gold Passport from HHonors, it's the Hyatt Regency Austin all the way for me!!

SoManyMiles-SoLittleTime

The river-view rooms have a great...view.

The parking is in a lot next to the hotel. It seems to be some kind of commercial or public lot. When I stayed, there was nobody collecting on exit, so I guess sometimes parking is free.

The exercise facility was fine. It's on the first floor, and has a view.

aba030

The parking attendant seems to get off work around 5 or 6 in the evening. At that point, the parking lot exit gate remains open until the attendant returns in the morning (I'm not sure of the exact time).

RTWSTARALLIANCE

We are on property very soon. Associate will come in from Houston then outlet shopping the next day. Arrival afternoon and evening. We will have a rental car. But in terms of walking how many minutes from downtown and is the walk safe? What time would be right for being at the Hyatt or near the bridge to see the bats this time of year? Thank you. Any and all comments or comments on treatment of Diamonds appreciated. Thanks.

oc2005

We stayed there late last March and the bats came out around dusk, which was a little after 6pm at the time but would be probably a little over an hour earlier now since we haven't changed our clocks yet. We couldn't see the bats at all from the Hyatt; the best viewing seemed to be if you walk down the path in front of the hotel/river until you pass under the bridge. There is a grass field there that people seem to gather on every night to watch the bats.

As I Diamond I got a river view room, breakfast buffet, 1,000 points, but nothing more. Property was just ok and we liked Lost Pines much better which beautiful in the spring with the wild flowers.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thank you. Still wondering about walk to downtown.

spgplat21

The walk is completely safe in my opinion. Obviously I don't recommend walking around completely drunk in any city in America, but I lived in the area for several years and never had an issue walking home late at night.

The question of the walk to downtown really depends on where you are going. Downtown is technically right across the river so it's not far at all, but if you are going somewhere close to the Capitol building which is on the north edge of downtown, it could be a pretty far walk. The hotel is approximately a 10 minute walk away from the 2nd street restaurant/bar district and maybe a 15-20 minute walk to the middle areas of downtown around 6th St.

This is not a good time to see the bats as the peak time is around August. They generally don't start coming back from Mexico until mid-March so it's possible you may see some but I wouldn't waste my time on it. In the summer they come out after dusk so if you wanted to go anyway I guess that would be the time to check it out.

As a diamond I've always been upgraded to a River/Downtown view but I think the room itself is the same as the standard room just with a better view. The breakfast is a pretty standard buffet during the week, but they bring out some extra things on the weekends(carving station, waffle station, etc) which make it a pretty solid hotel buffet.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thank you for the quick replies.

austin_modern

You apparently havent stayed at the W.

Zantaine

I had a recent stay at the Hyatt Regency Austin for 2 nights this past weekend. As a Diamond member here are my observations.


Pro’s:
Some of the best customer service when it came to face to face interactions at any hotel I’ve ever stayed at period. (Quite the opposite experience on the one phone call to the front desk I had though)

Diamond Status was recognized at checkin (11:30PM) and I was offered points or an amenity the next day since the kitchen was closed.

Great location – easy to walk downtown or drive

AMAZING complimentary breakfast (for what it was) a big fan of the egg station. We were offered the buffet or we could order items off of the menu if we preferred. Gratuity was even included both times we ate there.


Con’s:

“Upgraded?” to a River View Room. (Like others have mentioned, I wouldn’t expect anything better than this unless you pay for it or use a suite upgrade)
$14 a night for self parking (right next to the hotel though)

No mention of late checkout

No Club

If my Con’s seem petty, it’s because I really can’t complain about anything else. Overall I was extremely pleased with my stay considering I paid a rate of $104 a night and the complimentary breakfast averaged $40-$50 for the two of us. I would certainly return to the Hyatt Regency Austin!

joanek

I am a fan of the semi-recent upgrades at this hotel--but not a fan of the huge jump it took in award categories last year. NO way this hotel is worth 15k points a night.
(and I'm basing that on stays of 10 or so nights a year over the past 12 years.)

krazieman

Has anyone stayed in the deluxe suite at the Hyatt Regency in Austin?

I'm booking 2 nights there in January and wanted to know what it was like. It was $485/nt for the deluxe and $1310 for the presidential which was only a 20sq ft difference.

bworrell

I'm staying here right now. Staff is excellent. Disappointing that there is no club, but I'm sure the breakfast tomorrow will make up for it.

I'm staying on an IBM rate that gives an additional $10 off food and beverage -- since the breakfast is free that's paying for a few other things. The parking is right next to the hotel but a little steep (in my opinion) at $14.

Diamond recognition was great at checkin -- was offered 4pm late checkout. Upgraded to a corner river view room -- nice room but still a little small.

Very close walking distance to some great places. We selected Ginger Man for great beer, Lamberts for "nicer" BBQ, and Trifecta for Bourbon and people & dog watching on the sidewalk.

aba030

I received a complimentary upgrade to the presidential suite a couple months ago. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures. If I remember correctly, the second room of the suite had an 8 seat dining table and a huge couch. It was a ton of space, but honestly, I wouldn't have paid anywhere near $485 or $1310 for it. I think the executive suite which is given with the diamond suite upgrade is more than sufficient.