Hi - I couldn't find the master thread, so mods please feel free to move this.
I stayed at the new Hyatt at Olive 8 2/4 - 2/5. I asked the front desk agent when they opened and she said 8 days exactly. The hotel seemed nearly empty when I arrived - no one in the lobby and no other cars in the valet. Although I did arrive at 10pm so the late hour might've contributed to the empty feeling...
Check in/out & Valet
Valet - quick and efficient, just what you'd expect.
The front desk was excellent. She (the front desk agent) had the process down pat and no issues in the reservation. Seemed like she was more experienced than just 8 days on the job... Wonder if they brought in some people from the Grand Hyatt next door...
They did a big speech about the new world-class spa and the new 5-star restaurant in the hotel... I hadn't eaten any dinner yet, so I was already chomping at the bit to get some food... but then she informed me that neither the spa nor the restaurant were open yet. Hmmm just a tease then. However then she said the hotel was offering 50% off room service to all guests: EXCELLENT!
Lobby
So since it was so late when I arrived and I was in a rush to get some food and sleep, I don't remember too many details of the lobby... everything looked brand new though (obviously)
Room
The room was great - I have no status with Hyatt (Platinum soon...) and so got no upgrade. The standard room however was plenty spacious with a huge bathroom, big flat screen TV, chair and very comfy bed. One interesting note: they have the European-style cardkey lights – you have to leave your card key in the slot to keep the room lights on. When the front desk agent told me about that she asked if I was familiar with those kinds of rooms and I said, “yes, I’ve stayed at European hotels like that.” To which she replied, “oh good, well there’s lots of other European elements to the room.” I smiled not really knowing if she meant European architecture or styles or if there was going to be a bidet in the bathroom! (No bidet…must’ve been the purple bed spread…
)
The bathroom had marble flooring and counter top, with a walk in shower.
One thing I didn’t like however is that the shower is open (see the picture) and although the shower head is next to the glass part, you still feel a draft. I couldn’t get quite warm enough in the shower with all the steam escaping… wish they would’ve put in a sliding glass door…
Bathroom had all the typical Hyatt amenities, nothing special.
The desk had these inputs: correct me if I'm wrong, but that's an HDMI port... so just in case you were carrying your Blu Ray player with you... or PS3 or whatever. Might be useful for long stays, but I had no use for it for one night. Still it's something I've never seen before...
Couple more photos of the entry way and mini bar (mini bar has a fridge below, but is not stocked)
Sliding mirrored door to the closet.
Mini-bar
Room Service
Excellent service – ordered the angus burger and a beer and it was there in 20 minutes. I believe it was regularly $16, but thanks to the 50% off the whole meal cost me $19! I’ll take that deal any day.
Check out/Valet
Again, great experience. The only catch was that they didn’t have any regular sized envelopes at the desk… must’ve gotten lost during the opening.
Funny experience at the valet however – I had called ahead to bring my car up – when I get down there I saw my car and hand the attendant my ticket. The guy immediately turns and sprints down the stairs to the garage before I could say anything to stop him. 2 minutes later when he realizes his mistake, he comes sprinting back completely winded and could barely speak he was breathing so hard.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this hotel – maybe not the greatest location and a far walk from downtown proper, but for me it was perfect. I’ll be frequenting this hotel in the future…