Originally Posted by
hotelfanatic
Is this a good location for tourist? We will be going in early Oct. Thanks!
I had a one night Guest of Honor award stay here (9/14 - 9/15); overall, it was a good stay, and I would definitely consider returning.
Accessibility:
Getting to the hotel is no problem - from Barajas airport, take the Metro line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios and then transfer to Metro line 10 to Gregorio Manaron (1 stop). The hotel is almost directly above Gregorio Manaron (~200 m walk).
Location:
The hotel is about a 30 min Metro/Bus ride from the Prado and Retiro park but is very close to the Natural Science museum. Overall, the hotel is located in a more business-district area of Madrid. When we were there, the area around the hotel was fairly sleepy (many shops were closed and restaurants did not open until 1-1:30).
Check In / Rooms:
I checked in around 11 PM, and check-in was a breeze. Since I was on a GOH stay, I was upgraded to a corner suite on the 6th floor overlooking the street in front of the hotel. In the room was a half bottle of Crianza Rioja wine, a note from the hotel, a small fruit plate, and 2 chocolates (1 dark, 1 milk) from the turndown service. Hyatt Regency branding is prevalent around the hotel; the bathroom had the Pharmacopia-branded toiletries and contained both a shower and a tub. Room was clean and spacious.
The continental breakfast for Globalists and GOHs is supposed to be in the Hyatt Regency club on the 1st floor, but I was escorted to the restaurant when I went downstairs the next morning. Awkwardly, my GF who came down after me was escorted to the actual club, but she presented the business card that contained the breakfast details to the person running the host stand. My breakfast was outstanding; the restaurant buffet spread had eggs, bacon, sausage, Iberico ham, and various pastries. The club breakfast was a continental (no hot items) and had a more limited selection of cold cuts. Regardless, no breakfast charges appeared on the bill.
Overall - I liked this hotel (aside from the awkward breakfast issue) and would return if convenient. The fact that this was only 12K points (normally 15K as a Cat 4) as opposed to the 17K (normally 20K as a Cat 5) Gran Via Hyatt made this better.