DENVER: Hyatt Regency vs. Grand Hyatt
 

I'm using a two-night reward stay in Denver and wonder which Hyatt should I stay at. Has any idea as to the differences?

Is your stay for leisure? On your own or with family? Both hotels are nice, but the Regency is a convention center property. A lot more going on there, but can also lead to congestion in places you may want to go within the hotel. It's a lot quieter at the Grand.

If you will accessing the Regency Club, then the Regency Denver is better- much larger. Really great service there, especially when Debra is on duty. VERY close to the downtown mall and short walking distance to a huge variety of restaurants. This is also a gorgeous hotel - lobby is quite spectacular. I've stayed there several times- weekdays and weekends - and never a wait to check-in for Hyatt elites. There is usually someone in the lobby to welcome you and make sure you don't wait. Front desk can't do enough for you.

Thanks for the input!

Any more opinions on the better property? I've read both of the property threads, both of which have a grand total of 4 posts. What is the best way to get to either property from the airport when not renting a car?

I had a very pleasant stay at the Grand when there was an unplanned overnight due to flight cancellations, but getting to/from there from the airport was rather painful. Took the "super shuttle" and it was a very lengthy ride with multiple stops at other hotels.

Just take the RTD Skyride - $10 into downtown Denver. Fairly efficient but you will need to walk a few blocks once downtown. The buses leave from the RTD public bus area which is near the rental car shuttle pickups.

http://www.rtd-denver.com/skyRide_SubHome.shtml

The Grand is showing some age issues and apparently they are planning on some renovations. The Regency is a beautiful hotel with an awesome gym and hot tup on the upper floors. Great views from the bar up there too! Both hotels provide excellent service - you really cannot go wrong either way!

depends
 

Regency is my choice.

SkyRide is definitely the way to go. They are coach-like buses that depart from to and from the airport regularly. Just stop at the RTD counter at the airport when you arrive and they will sell you a one-way or RT ticket. The buses are designed for airport travellers, so the driver will stow your luggage underneath before you board.

It's about a 40 minute ride on route AF from DIA to the Market Street Station, where you can take the free 16th St. Mall shuttle to within a block of either property.

My parents will be staying at one of these next month, so I'm curious about the accomodations too.

Are the rooms any different? How do they compare?

I have a lot of experience at both properties this year. Based on that, here is my updated opinion.

Things the Grand Hyatt has going for it:

Room quality for Diamonds is generally better. I've gotten a corner king suite every time I've stayed as the standard upgrade. It's a 2-room suite with a very nice bathroom.

Check-in and rate accuracy are pretty good.

Diamond lounge is welcoming.

Pricing is a bit more reasonable, both in room rate and on-property charges.


Things the Hyatt Regency has going for it:

Fitness center is significantly better than Grand.

Food quality and choices are significantly better than Grand.

FedEx onsite, pretty decent business support services.

Diamond lounge is welcoming as well.


In summary, I feel like the Regency is set up more for the business person. The Grand is a bit more accommodating and warm, but less in the way of food and business services. The Regency has never upgraded me past a club room, which are just regular hotel rooms with better soap.

Stay at the Grand Hyatt Denver and loved it. Book a AAA breakfast rate, and the breakfast in the resturant was amazing. Great crepes!

Great location to 16th street pedestrian mall.

However, parking is either self parking at $14 a night or valet at $24 a night.

There is a Fedex Kinkos in the building connected to the Grand Hyatt as well.

I'm flying in for a weekend stay to attend a buddy's wedding. Have a reservation at the HR but seeing this thread get recently updated has me debating on switching over to the GH. Has anyone stayed at either of the two properties on a FFN/BWB redemption? If you are diamond, did you get upgraded?

I have stayed at HR several times, GH once. These stays have been as a family of 4. If using an upgrade certificate, suites at HR are very nice, with a double-size murphy bed in the suite, which attaches to either a king or 2 dbl bed adjoining room. I agree with everything others have said about the differences between the two hotels, and I slightly prefer the HR over the GH.

HOWEVER, it seems that the HR seems to get a lot of youth cheer/dance teams staying there on weekends, as has been the case the past 4 times I've done weekend stays in downtown Denver Hyatts. If you have RC access and are not interested in using the pool, this is not too big of a deal, but if you're doing a breakfast-included stay, things can get a little crowded at the Altitude restaurant in the mornings, resulting in long waits for a table. Our recent GH stay had no sports teams staying there, but we did see groups of young people walking from the HR to the convention center when we drove past that hotel. I have no problems with these groups, and our family is sometimes with one of those sports teams, but it definitely makes for a more crowded hotel experience.

Weekend rates for both of these hotels have been slowly creeping up over the past 18 months as the economy improves, but you can still get a weekend rate of about $119/night if your timing is right.

Redemption or paid -- it won't make a difference. As Diamond, you'll be given a club level room (or at least club access) at both hotels.

I've stayed at both many times. The GH often upgrades Diamonds to a corner room, which is larger, but not a suite. I've never seen a suite upgrade at either property -- in many, many stays.

Just got back from a three night stay at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center as I was attending the McKesson national user group conference. Beerfest was also going on (sold out :() so it was kind of crowded downtown.

It has been some time since I've stayed at a Hyatt as I'm a Hilton HHonors points piggy. But I had no choice on this trip since my vendor was paying the tab for my trip and wanted me to stay at the Hyatt Regency.

I have to say that I was very impressed by the hotel staff. The front desk really made me feel welcome on arrival and took the time to chat me up about my stay on departure. The wait staff at the Altitudes restaurant were great - friendly and always addressed me by name. A few of the waitresses spoke French as their first language; they appreciated my attempts to use my few words of fractured French which was a lot of fun. Today on my last breakfast in the hotel they came by to wish me a "bon voyage" as they somehow knew I was leaving.

The Hyatt Business Plan was a good deal for me - includes breakfast in the morning at Altitudes (buffet or anything off the menu along with coffee, juice or soda), free wired high-speed internet in the room, one free blouse or shirt pressing per day, free local and US long distance calls, and a bottle of water in the room.

I liked the bathroom inasmuch Hyatt included toothpaste (which I haven't seen at a US Hilton yet) and the shower water pressure was great. Flat screen TV in the room with a decent selection of channels. Large work desk. I will give the nod to Hilton as far as mattress comfort but the Hyatt was still very comfortable.

Overall I would say that Hilton could learn a thing or two from Hyatt about guest service and experience. Even though I am a no-status Hyatt guest, they really made me feel as though my business was important to them. I won't hesitate to try another Hyatt or two in the future and will definitely consider this Denver property again if I have to go to the Convention Center (even though there is a Hilton Garden Inn just down the street).

I've never stayed at either property, but I'm stopping off for one night before a guy's ski trip and I wanted to get opinions on which is the better hotel if using a suite upgrade.

I would say the Grand if you are going to us a suite upgrade because it's upgrade rooms.

Other than that, in my experience, there's not a ton to choose from between these two. They're a quick walk from each other and each has easy access to the 16th Street Mall/LoDo/Capitol Hill/etc.

I tend to find the Grand slightly better at the upgraded room levels.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the Regency is the Denver Convention Center hotel and can get swamped with convention guests while the Grand tends to have, at most, smaller meeting groups. Whether one or the other situation is better or worse is a matter of personal preference.

Thanks for the info, I ended up booking the Grand. Since it's a personal trip, I'd prefer to stay away from the giant convention crowd and it was even a little cheaper than the HR.

I love the rooms and location at the Grand. They always treat me very well.

Any info re: parking (garages or lots) nearby these Hyatts?

The Regency has an underground parking lot, which you can either valet, or park yourself. I don't remember the prices, so you might be best off calling...

The price between self and valet park is very close. Don't quote me on this, but I think it's 22/26 or 26/32.

I'm thinking about an off-site parking lot. What about street parking (if any) on the weekends?

DENVER: Grand Hyatt or Hyatt Regency
 

I have an event at the Denver Press Club and am spending 2 nights in Denver. Should I go Grand or Hyatt Regency? I'm a Diamond on a trial membership and would ideally like a suite upgrade - which has nicer suites? And do both have clubs for me to use? I am also a swimmer (I see both have pools).

Thanks

The thread below provides some additional comparisons between the Grand and HR. I've never stayed at the Grand, but I have used suite upgrades twice at the HR. The suites are enormous.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...ty-advice.html

I've stayed at both and prefer the Grand but will stay at the Regency if it is less expensive - it's that close of a contest between the properties.

I've used suite upgrade certs several times at both hotels. The Regency's suite upgrade is for a lockout with a Murphy bed, full sized refrigerator, etc. For lack of a better description, it is merely another hotel room that doesn't have a bed.
The Grand's suite upgrade is an actual suite, where there is a separate living and sleeping area. It is not a lockout.
I prefer actual suites vs lockouts so I give the Grand the nod on that front.

Both have great staffs, both have great club lounges, both have great restaurants, both are a very short walk from the 16th street mall.

Agreed: I like the GH over the HR, as the HR seems way too basic. The GH gives me a feeling of elegance, especially in some of their suites..

Though the restaurants at the HR (Altitude) are better than the GH. The prime rib is amazing ^^^

I've always stayed at the HR Denver because previous reviews stated that the Club at the GH is is much smaller and has fewer breakfast and evening offerings. Has anyone stayed at both recently and can make some comparisons?

LOL! I've stayed at both within the last 6 months. The GH Club may be slightly smaller in terms of square footage but there was no noticable difference in the breakfast offerings between the two properties. As for evening offerings, the GH had very nice spreads. And the GH had fewer people using the Club than the HR so it was less picked over.
The HR had a better view out the windows than the GH but I didn't see any difference in the offerings.

It used to be much smaller -- and a joke really. Just a two-room suite turned into a club. However, that changed entirely not long ago when the GH opened a much larger new club. For my money, they skipped right over the HR with that club. It's of international standards.

Thanks to you both !! Will definitely try the GH next time. Is there any mountain view (to the west) from the GH Club or is it on something like the 3rd floor?? We've been very happy with our mountain facing room, Club, and staff at the HR. There was a new Embassy Suites that went up across the street over the past 2+ years which cut down on the expansive view from the Club and many of the high floor rooms. But I like Hyatt's so much that I wouldn't think of staying at the ES !

Due to its location, I very much doubt that you'd get a mountain view. I had a lower floor room facing west and all I saw was buildings. I can't remember my higher floor views.

If you are on one of the higher floors, you stand a good chance of seeing the mountains.

However, with the amount of haze we have had in Colorado this summer, you may not have a perfect view.

Which of these two hotels is the best pick for a couples-weekend stay using a DSU? A quiet room/suite is the most important issue for us. (Not a fan of those connecting-room-suites, are those the only option at the Regency?)

No, not at all. The Regency has many more larger, nicer suites at their disposal. I've been in many of them. The connecting rooms are for your staff -- not an unrelated neighbor. ;)

On the right weekend, with a little work in advance with the hotel VIP manager, you could end up in a really, really nice suite. Far greater odds than the two nice suites at the Grand.

I like the Grand, especially for a weeknight business stay. In fact, I'm in it right now, but for a special suite stay, I'd put my money on the Regency. No question.

Thanks AZ Travels the World, Regency it is then! ^

Any updates for a solo, non-Diamond traveler using a free night but not DSU? Seems like Grand Hyatt is maybe a little nicer, smaller, and closer to downtown sights and museums? But Regency is more highly rated on Trip Advisor.

I have stayed at both they are both about the same walking distance to the 16th st mall area and the free electronic buses that run frequebtly down there