Downtown Miami Hyatt Regency REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

I know there are 2 Hyatts in the downtown Miami area--anyone have any opinions on which is better. I'll be down there mid-Dec, for a weekend, so rates seem pretty cheap at both. As a Diamond, I would hope to be upgraded to a better room or Regency level, but would appreciate any comments. Thanks.

Blow them both off. Forget about your kiss-... points and status. Stay at the Biltmore in Coral Gables. The Biltmore is ---well, the Biltmore.

If you have to have your ego stroked, then stay at Coral Gables. There is a nice salsa club on Thursdays and Saturdays. You MUST dance. Any one who can't "enchufe" or "siete moderno" will feel out of place. In which case, stay at the Biltmore.

Avoid the Miami Hyatt. It was one of the worst hotel stays in my life. The housekeeping staff left my door unlocked and ajar twice. Luckily, nothing was stolen. I complained to the manager after the first incident and it still happened again.

[This message has been edited by TropicalFlyer (edited 10-18-2000).]

I have stayed at both properties and it depends on what you are planning on doing your stay. Coral Gables is nice property with well appointed rooms, some with balcony overlooking pool area. Two Sisters restaurant is great as is the lounge.

Downtown Hyatt is better location and my view from the 23rd floor balcony over the water was absolutely stunning. Gym and pool are poor as is service. Taxis hound you when you exit and parking seems limited if there is a convention. Hyatt downtown is next to a busy drawbridge, even up high, we could hear boats passing.

If you plan on not leaving the hotel much, Coral Gables is better. If you prefer a grand view, pick the Hyatt downtown. A lot of flight attendants stay there and they have very low rates on weekends. Last note, you can get a view of the water from the high floors of Coral Gables as well but I prefer the balcony/cabana type rooms over the pool.

As for the Biltmore, it is in a class all its own. Modeled after the Giralda clock tower in Seville, Spain, it is very charming and luxorious. The suite at the top many refer to as the Al Capone suite since he stayed there. The swimming pool is amazing and has been used in movies in addition to training for synchronized swimming events in preparation for the Olympics. It is one of the largest in the Continental US by far.

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"Fly me to the moon and let me earn alot of miles."

I stayed at the downtown location twice this year. Both times I was up graded to a Jr. Suite on a high floor facing the water. I also stayed at the Coral Gables in March. Again, I was upgraded to suite patio facing the pool. Very nice room. The rooms at the coral gables are much nicer. The bathrooms at the downtown are motel style. Coral Gables dose not have a regency club, then again the downtown location doesn't have much of one to speak of.

The Hyatt Regency Miami is certainly a satisfactory hotel.
In its day it was an exceptional hotel but the South Miami area has had a flood of new 4 and 5 star stellar properties over the last few years all competing for the same customer.
The bar has really been raised. And will continue with more anounced new hotels coming.

The Hyatt Regency Miami is well located and within walking distance to other area hotels,attractions and steps away from the excellent Capital Grill.
You might want to consider upgrading to the club floor as there are no mini bars in the guest rooms.
The hotel has a new general manager and I wish the new in house team well.
The hotel and its team have been very good to me over the years.
I am very excited about Hyatts new property getting ready to open on South Beach.
Enjoy your stay.


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AA & Starwood,Marriott Platinum
Hyatt, Hilton Diamond
Swissotel Club Gold
U/A 1k



[This message has been edited by 777 global mile hound (edited Mar 13, 2004).]

Hyatt Regency Miami - Update
 

I noticed that the HR Miami has just recently doubled their rates to about $300.00 per nite. There have been no upgrades in services or amenities to accompany these changes.

Service is sloppy. This is an '80's hotel with few upgrades since then. A number of airline crews overnite, including BA. (You know the rates they're paying.)

The rooms remain as I remember them 10-15 yrs ago.

There is construction everywhere and soon the views from the primo rooms and suites (river, bay, ocean) will be gone.

The RC is minimal. The 1 staff person usually spends the 6-8 hrs reading the paper and taking offense to being asked a question or asked for a beer, wine, or cocktail.

The main dining room remains closed, leaving only the coffee shop and sports bar.

I suspect that they are just doing what they can until the views are blocked by new structures and the property is sold for a new high rise condo.

If you can find this on Priceline for a pre-cruise stay, it's a good move. Other than that...

Your impressions of the hotel are entirely correct. However, I was there last week and Riverwalk Cafe remains open. It is a full service bld restaurant. So, if staying there that is an option, albeit not a good one!

I agree with everything said. The ONLY two pluses for this hotel are : (1) you get credit for a Hyatt stay, and (2) its location, which is near the courthouse and other office bldgs in downtown Miami, where I usually have to visit once or twice a year on business. For leisure visits to Miami, I would recommend you consider another property.

The employees at the hotel indicated they are awating funds for a major renovation. I suspect rthe hotel will not be turned into condos as it is connected to a city owned convention center. Moreover, the real estate market has become very poor with many planned condo buildings being cancelled.

It reached its prime in the early ninties and really is suffering.

Not Much Fun at HR Miami
 

I am currently at the HR Miami on a one-night stay before leaving tomorrow on a cruise. We arrived at 3 PM, and only 1 of the 2 rooms (award rooms) that I had reserved was ready. At check-in I was notified that the Club was closed for renovations - you would think that the Diamond folks would have told me this as an FYI when I made the reservations!

The 5 of us schlepped up to one room, and awaited the call from the front desk letting us know that the second room was ready. After an hour I called down and was told that it was ready and that they would send a key up right away. Well, 3 calls and 35 minutes later and no key arrived. I had to go to the desk where a clearly agitated clerk had to seek out the bellman who, with the keys in his pocket, was still chatting away at the concierge desk. He was oblivious to the fact that so much time had passed and we were waiting for him.

When we made our way back down to grab dinner in the restaurant we found that it too was closed for renovations. We wound up eating from a limited menu in the bar, as my wife was too tired to traipse out to find another restaurant nearby.

Sorry about the rant, but it was also meant to be a warning to others with upcoming stays at this location!

On the plus side, the room is nice, big, water view and comfortable...

Hyatt Reg. Miami: Avoid 24th floor
 

Hey there,

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Miami for one night in a Regency Club room that was located on the 24th floor (Club floors are 23rd and 24th).

The room itself was OK, but I got hardly any sleep during the night. There was some technical devices (maybe a/c) on the rooftop that made constant noise (loud noise!). Called the frontdesk and asked if it could be stopped, they said they'll fix it. Nothing happened. Called them again, nothing happened, again. Nobody asked if I wanted to change the room or anything, no excuses either.

I wrote the GM and goldpassport when I came back home but did not get any answer up to now. I think I'll ask again in the next few days. Frankly said, I expect some compensation.



So just my advice to future guests: Try to get a room on the 23rd floor in case you booked the Club floor!


Cheers, Jonathan

Did you ask to change rooms? I have never been refused a change of room except in the extremely rare case of a hotel being 100% fully booked.

Thanks for the tip. It might be a good idea to start a thread with noise in hotels such as this HR Miami/24th floor. I quite often have to change rooms because of AC/ventillation/vibration problems/Ice Machine/Elevators.

Same here. If the AC is not working, or there is noise coming from some where, I will definitely request for a change of room. Most of the times, I get move to a "better room".