diamond_46

I was unaware of any charges for the drinks in the RC over the last 15 years. I am usually at this property about 4 times per year. Drinks were always complimentary from 5PM to close.

We have not been at the property since the spring so maybe the offerings have improved. I certainly hope so.

I agree that they need to monitor who is using the club. We have been there at times when the door has been propped open to let anyone in and since the club reopened last December I have never seen anyone check with the guests for their room numbers and names.

AttorneyVin

HYATT REGENCY GRAND CYPRESS

Dates of Stay: Friday, 9/17/10 - Sunday, 9/19/10
Length of Stay: 2 Nights

In a nutshell, a truly beautiful resort in a great location - easy access to Disney and all Orlando Theme Parks! Beautiful fireworks views, and AMAZING service! This is a must-stay location in the Orlando area!

Now, for my detailed review:

My wife and I just completed yet another stay at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, and, as always, it was an absolutely AMAZING stay! The service at this property is top-notch and we loved every minute of our trip. Having stayed here multiple times before, our standards were high - and, as always, we were not disappointed.
We arrived around 6pm, and, as usual, left our car with the valet. The valet was very polite and courteous, taking our name and radioing ahead to the front desk staff to alert them of our arrival. Immediately upon entering the beautiful lobby, we were greeted by a porter by name and led to the front desk. Despite there being a slight line for check-in, there was little to no wait at all. We were greeted by name at the front desk, and the front desk agent was the same girl who usually checks us in - as always, she was extremely kind and helpful. She remembered that we were repeat guests and even remembered checking us in the last time we were there. She immediately offered us champagne and told us that she was sure that we had a beautiful room on the 15th floor. She even wished me a happy birthday - definitely taking that one step above and beyond to make sure that we felt welcome.
After chatting with her for a few minutes, we got onto the elevators and went up to the 15th floor. As promised, we had a perfect room with an AMAZING view! The highest floor that we had previously stayed on was the 10th, so we were very excited to be up on the 15th. I have to say, the 15th floor offered truly AMAZING views of all the theme parks and the fireworks. We were given a corner room, as we had requested. We much prefer the corner rooms, as they feel slightly larger due to the fact that you get two separate balconies. As always, we were very happy with our room.
The room was equipped with all the standard Hyatt amenities; an extremely comfortable king size bed, a very large and plush chair with ottoman, a large computer desk, a flat screen television with audio video inputs easily accessible, and a decent sized fridge/chiller which was perfect for chilling drinks. As for the bathroom, it had the standard Portico eucalyptus products and a large walk-in glass rain shower. One of my favorite Hyatt showers, as it provides just the right amount of water pressure.
As usual, we spent a fair amount of time relaxing at the pool. This property has a wonderful set of pools, complete with water slides, waterfalls, hidden grotto whirlpools and pool bar. Additionally, the resort fee includes all sorts of water amenities, such as paddle boats. Just when I thought that the pool could not get any better, there appears to have been additional padded lounge chairs with an amply supply of shade umbrellas. This is a very nice addition, which allowed me to relax and read in the shade while my wife was able to sit out and enjoy the sun. And, I note that they have also designated a large area near part of the pool as a "Quiet Area" which allows for total peace and quiet at the pool -- a perfect addition to a hotel that is near Disney and has countless children running around the pool.
As for food, we would truly recommend Hemingway's; but, this time, we changed things up and had dinner at The White Horse. This proved to be a very nice dinner. Amazing service and HUGE portions of food. I would definitely recommend this place for dinner. And, if you like sushi, I've been told that this restaurant has one of the best sushi chefs around!
As for the Regency Club, it was excellent, as always. The staff was extremely helpful and were always willing to go the extra mile. Unfortunately, this property no longer offers free alcohol in the Regency Club - but, that is not the property's fault, as it appears to be a new Hyatt Corporate Policy. But, for those wishing to enjoy a nice adult beverage, they are very reasonably priced as compared to the typical bar price - $3 for Beer, $4 for Wine, and $5 for mixed drinks. But, one thing I noticed at this property was that the management was trying to make up for the loss of free alcohol by adding more hot entree options - a different hot option each morning and evening. Great job Hyatt!
This time around we also decided to try the salon's spa and massage services for my wife. While I stayed in the room watching football, I bought her a one hour massage session. That was definitely well worth the money, as my wife was raving about the massage, and she came back totally relaxed. I would definitely suggest getting a massage at this property if you have the time.
All in all, yet another amazing experience at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando. We will definitely be back, and have already booked another stay in a few weeks. This is one property in Orlando that should not be missed! It's the perfect location for families wanting to explore Disney and the local theme parks without having to pay the theme park prices!

2358

Is it worth paying extra for the Premium or Executive Suites here? Do they offer much more than the regular rooms?

Can I assume I will get a decent room anyway as a Platinum?

AttorneyVin

As far as the Suites, I'm not sure -- as a Diamond, I've never been upgraded to one and have never seen them. I just know that Suites are very hard to come by at this property, as it's usually very busy.

As for a decent room as a Platinum -- not sure. As a Diamond, I almost always get upgraded to a very nice upper-floor corner room, but not sure about what they do for Platinum members. I can state, however, that this property is AMAZING about recognizing and rewarding Elite members, so I am sure that they will treat you right!

thc

I just finished a stay here. Overall, it's a good property. Everyone is very friendly there and helpful. The pools are nice and the quiet area is nice to be around if you want to be away from the screaming kids.

The lobby is one of the old style John Portman lobbies. It feels a little dated, but there's not much that can be done about that. Also, they still have old signs pointing to wrong locations. For example, I was looking everywhere for the Trellises sushi bar and the signs pointed to some location that clearly was not it. Then I realized that the sushi bar had been moved into the White Horse Bar & Tavern.

There are lots of amenities and activities here. I played tennis and the courts are very nicely maintained. I only wish some more people had been there for me to hit with.

As a Diamond, I was upgraded at first to an Executive Suite, but I didn't like it and asked to be switched. The executive suite is basically two regular rooms. One room is a sitting area and the other room is the bedroom. The rooms are connected via doors, but the doors won't stay open. And so it felt claustrophobic and I would never have used the sitting room if I had stayed in that suite.

I was moved to a junior suite, which was much better. It was much more open and didn't have doors separating the two rooms. In addition to the sitting area and the bedroom, there was also a small kitchenette, although it wasn't stocked with any sort of dishes or cups, so I'm not sure how you are supposed to use it. Anyway, I'm not sure why this room is lower in category. I much preferred this room.

Overall, the room was very comfortable. I did notice a lack of outlets near the desk which was strangely put in the kitchen area. Also, the closet door is annoying because it's a sliding door that serves simulataneously as the door to the closet and the bathroom. So you have to constantly push the door back and forth.

I picked the Diamond amenity. I chose a full bottle of wine and the amenity of the day which was some meager blueberries wrapped in a sugary gelee. I've seen better at other resorts.

The club lounge was really nice and never crowded. I personally never care about free alcoholic drinks in the lounge that much, but for those who are interested, alcoholic drinks are not free in the lounge.

The breakfast club lounge service had 1 hot item, and then the usual assortment of cold cuts, pastries, smoked salmon, cheeses, fruit, etc. The first day it was egg & sausage croissant sandwiches. The 2nd day it was apple & raisin pancakes.

The evening service was impressive as well. I missed the first evening for the main food, but for the cordial hour, there were all sorts of chocolate desserts--cake, mousse, tarts--all chocolate. The second evening had coconut shrimp as the hot appetizer, and then lots of salads and cured meats. There was also shrimp pad thai noodles served cold and lots of other different types of salads. I missed the cordial hour for the 2nd evening, so I don't know what was served. Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the food.

During the day, they have nuts, snack mixes and lots of different cookies and one special "snack." the first day, it was white chocolate bark with cranberries and the second day it was fudge.

I also liked that the lounge had fountain sodas. I know some people would prefer cans because of their portability, but I like the taste of fountain sodas better.

At checkout, I struggled to have the resort fee removed. At first, I was only offered a 50% discount. I then asked to speak to a manager, and the manager waived it, however, she made it clear to me that everyone pays--Diamond or not--and that she was doing an exception for me. So I guess they are less generous with this now, because I see in previous posts, other guests had their resort fee waived with no issues.

There are other nice touches--a glass of champagne at check-in, prompt and thorough house-keeping, free printing in the club lounge.

The hotel was lacking a spa, which disappointed me. there is a small salon that offers massage, but it's really just that. It's not a full service spa like the "Hyatt Pure Spas" that are present at other resorts.

The location of this hotel is ok. They advertise themselves as adjacent to DisneyWorld, which is true, but they are on the other side, away from the theme parks, so it's still about a 15-20 min drive. I wasn't going to the theme parks, but was going to one of the disney hotels for dinner and was surprised how far it was.

The hotel is near a nice outlet mall, and there is a shuttle that will take you there (run by the mall itself, not Hyatt.) but otherwise, the area outside of the resort is kind of boring and just full of chain restaurants.

In summary, this is a nice place, but I only stayed here for the Hyatt credit. If I didn't need the credit, I would have stayed over at the Ritz.

FD1971

Based on the majority of the comments, I am not so sure about this, I never really felt that they went out of their way for me as a Diamond+

Chances to get a good room as a Plat are slim, I do not even think that Diamond members are guaranteed a decent room, when the property is full.

Rooms are always identical in many aspects anyway, however the floor and view can make a difference.

peachy3

Hey thc,

Thanks for the great report - I'm looking to stay here soon for 5 nights as well. The resort fee will total a whole 22.5x5 if I do - so I was wondering what terms you were discussing to get it removed! We aren't going to be using parking or any of the other facilities really, so it would be really handy

Thanks in advance!

thc

I told the manager that I have never been charged this as a Diamond at any other Hyatt Resort (which is true--actually i've never even had to ask.) And the manager finally relented and said that for this one time, she would remove it, but that in the future, I should know that everyone pays it.

AttorneyVin

How did you manage to get a Suite Upgrade? Did you use your Diamond Cert? Did you ask at check-in? I have stayed there MANY times and have spoken with the GM about it; he has told me that Diamonds are not comp'd Suites at this property.

peachy3

vincent: there are always exceptions mate, always :P

thanks for the info thc

pclee

I think Junior suite is higher category. they normally cost 50-100$ more than Executive suite.

thc

Dunno. I didn't use an upgrade certificate. When I checked in, the front desk attendant just thanked me for my Diamond loyalty and offered me a suite. I just assumed it was one of those random acts of generousity, similar to when I got the presidential suite once at the former PH San Francisco and also at the current GH Buckhead.

thc

Thanks. the word "junior" threw me off.

pclee

can you elaborate of the kitchenette? i forgot what they had.......

thc

From what I remember, there were two small refrigerators: 1 for for food and 1 for wine. there was also a kitchen sink and lots of counter space with a coffee maker on the counter (nothing fancy like Nespresso or anything.) I did not see any dishes, silverware or glasses, but I didn't open every cabinet or drawer, so it's possible I missed them.

I don't remember any sort of heating device: stove, oven, microwave, etc.

I didn't really spend too much time looking in this area of the room, so it is probably best that you verify with the property itself