I know that I started a thread for the newly added Peabody Orlando Hotel to the Hyatt Family, but since it appears no one has started an official review thread and since it appears they have since changed the name, I am starting the review thread. Mods, please merge if you see fit
{The preliminary discussion thread is at
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...on-center.html}
I took advantage of a local offer that was put out to the Orlando community this weekend. They held what they called a "Welcome Weekend" event where they opened up the hotel to community. They had free access to the pool area and tastings. Along with this event, they were offering a special weekend rate of $59.
While I booked too late to get the $59 rate, I was able to snag a $79 rate, which is still very good for this hotel.
First and foremost, I will say that this is a very welcome addition to the Hyatt Family. The hotel is large, well situated to the Orlando Convention Center, and the staff seems eager to please.
Parking is either via Valet or Self Park in the attached garage. Self park is $16 a night, and although I was supposed to be charged this, it somehow never made it to my folio
. No complaints here. The valet seemed to be running smoothly, but I do not have first hand experience with this service. The garage is attached via a covered walkway. It is maybe a 3-5 minute walk from the garage to the front desk.
The front desk seemed to be well staffed. Although you can check in at the main front desk, there is also a Concierge Desk across the lobby on the right hand side that is coded for PLT / DIAMOND GP members. I did not see this until after I had stepped up to the regular desk, but then again there was no line at this point, so no worries.
The front desk agent who checked me in seemed very pleasant, but it is clear that they are still learning OPERA. Also, it appears that they are not as versed on GP benefits as we are accustomed to. I write this off to being a new acquisition, but this is an obvious issue. I also realize now that I was not offered a welcome amenity or points... I will need to follow up on this
I had booked a king on a high floor and was offered a king on 18 at check-in. Since I had 4 suite upgrades that expire in Feb, I asked if I could use one of those. After a phone call, I was told that this would have to be done via a call to the DM desk prior to arrival. However, they were kind enough to upgrade us to a Metropolitan Suite, room 22001, on the 20th floor. Upon asking about breakfast, I was told about the Regency Club and given key access to the lounge on 26.
The suite I was given and the Regency Club were both in the Regency Tower (this is the newer / taller tower). The only issue is that the elevators are localized, so we had to change elevators to get from the room to the club. One set services floors 22 and below and the other serve 22 and above. You can change elevators in the lobby or on 22.
22001 is a corner suite that consists of an entryway, standard bath, living room, and king bedroom. It can connect to the adjoining room to become a larger suite. It is a comfortable size and well appointed. There are multiple windows with different angles, and also a balcony. The view from this room of the resort area is amazing. We were able to watch the EPCOT fireworks from the balcony.
The decor of the room is a modern twist on the 70;s. Lots of greens, wood panel, etc. The room was comfortable and had no housekeeping or maintenance issues. AC worked well. There were three TV's. One in the living area, one in the bedroom, and one in the mirror of the bathroom. (kind of cool, have seen this at Caesars in AC as well)
The only oddity of the layout is that the bathroom is off the main entry so, you have to walk around the corner from the bedroom, through the living room to the bathroom. Not that far, but some will not like this. There are nifty little sensor driven lights that will light the way if you are up at night. One is located under the night stand and another in the bathroom. I found these to be rather cool.
As previously mentioned, the Regency Club is on 26. 26 is keyed off in the elevator, so you have to tap your key. When you come off the elevators, you go to the left and down the hall... Do not be fooled by the CLUB sign and double doors immediately off the elevator.
The club is large by my standards of Regency / Grand Clubs. It has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the convention center and is ideal for watching Magic Kingdom fireworks. The evening spread was decent. They had honor bar beer / wine / liquor, and comp sodas as expected. There was a variety of marinated vegetables, cold cuts, egg rolls, some kind of potato/mushroom ravioli. Nice spread, comparatively. One thing I will note is the lack of a cooler with waters/sodas, etc. They are brought out by the attendant from the kitchen. The club is available 24 hours, but I do not believe you have access to these beverages outside of service hours.
The dessert spread in the evening was nice as well. More than the standard cookies at some properties. Overall the lounge was not crowded at all during our visit, and other than an annoying family with whiney kids, it was a very pleasant experience. The staff in the lounge seem friendly, but can often drift to the kitchen, not to be seen. We did not see the breakfast options as we were up later than the 10 AM cutoff. I am never a fan of lounge breakfast in the first place.
There are multiple pools. THere is the new family play area pools with the waterfalls and the zero-entry pool. There are also hot tubs in this area. Most of the families seem to end up here... There is also a second pool area on the 4 th floor of the original tower. This pool seemed much quieter and had a pool more suited for swimming laps. This seemed like a ghost town, probably due to lack of occupancy in that tower.
The fitness center looked very nice, though we did not have time to utilize it. There is also a spa.
There are multiple restaurants. We did not dine in any of these, but the B-Line Diner in the original tower looked pretty cool and is open 24 hours I believe.
We had an enjoyable stay here and will be back for sure. As previously mentioned, my only real concern is the lack of knowledge and execution of Diamond benefits. I don't think they are stingy. They just do not seem clear on things yet.