JBKettle

Thanks. I knew it wasn’t Irvine, but couldn’t remember which city it was. I shall now refer to it as HR- Irvine-but-not-really-Irvine/SNA

59Impala

the "real" HR Irvine was reflagged a couple of years ago in fact.

dougzz

I stayed at the HR Orange in April, booking through Expedia. Awful room. Dark, scratched furniture, general sense of grime and dust. The bathtub had a really nasty mark. The idea that this was a room in an upscale hotel was laughable. Certainly wouldn’t return.
I get they give the nicer rooms to status members booking direct, but this room just had no place in a HR.

Matt4200

This HR definitely isn’t an “upscale” property regardless of status. Not sure if you just see the overall HR brand as “upscale”, but I’ve been to several HR’s that are not “upscale”, including this one.

HR as a brand overall is designed for business travelers so they’re not too focused on aesthetics as they are a decent place to sleep.

I can say though it is an upgrade from the Hilton Garden Inn next door having stayed at both.

dougzz

Hyatt’s description of the Hyatt Regency brand, not mine. https://www.hyatt.com/development/ourbrands Upper-Upscale

Surely one of the main purposes of branding is consistency. If a brand offers an inconsistent experience it’s almost inevitable they’ll be judged on the poorer experiences.

Matt4200

In my experiences with Hyatt consistency is the last thing they have. In fact the ONLY brand I’ve found to have consistency is Hyatt Place, every other brand of Hyatt varies widely based on state, city, country and largely price point.

A $400 a night HR is going to have significantly higher quality rooms, dining and amenities compared to a $100 a night HR which HR OC happens to be, being in the same brand means nothing in Hyatt. There’s actually several threads discussing how specific properties fit more into different brands than what they actually bare designated.

dougzz

I don’t doubt you, and I’m sure you have much greater experience of Hyatt than I do. I paid a lot more than $100/night. But the rate paid is an irrelevance, if you claim upscale you set an expectation. I’ll be in no rush to return to a Hyatt. In terms of consistency I have exactly the same issue with Hiltons, unless you’ve been before you have no idea what to expect.

Matt4200

I definitely wouldn’t pay more than $120 a night to stay at this property. I just stay there when I need a cheap Hyatt to earn points/bonuses/promos and elite nights.

I don’t blame you, you had a certain expectation and they failed you in that aspect.

As far as Hiltons for my family traveling a lot I’ve found a lot of consistency with the Garden Inn, Doubletree and Hampton Inn Brands personally, which is cheap low to no amenities but it does the job and is much better than a Motel 6 and slightly better than Holiday Inn.

If you do decide to try other Hyatts I would try a Fast Track promo even if you don’t intend to complete the challenge you get temporary status which helps a lot or get the Hyatt Credit Card which also gives status along with tons of points (enough for plenty of free nights). If you don’t want to do either Chase also allows you to convert UR to Hyatt points which significantly lessens the cost on most stays by paying with points.

Sydneyberlin

I wish this was true but it isn’t. Wether it’s Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott- it’s often really hard to understand why they use which sub brand for what property. Age of the hotel is a really big factor there in my experience but as someone else has said, the price tag often gives a clue too. If you include properties globally, this further complicated things as prices and/ or standards vary immersive depending on the individual market.

Saying all that- I agree, the Orange County Hyatt Regency is a particular let down, even for a Hyatt Regency and even if you’re Globalist member who books direct. So not surprised at all to hear about above experience if not even booked directly.

drnilescrane

Staying here now. I think the former club is now the "Residence Suite" on the 17th floor.

This property has started to fustate me recently. I always can get a good rate and I can find free parking easily on the street. The facilites have gone downhill in recent years.

Yes, it's nice they upgraded the Starbucks - but now they don't have the Hyatt Regency standard grab and go market available in the off hours. The upright eliptical broke in the gym... so it's just gone. Same with the water fountain in the gym. Same with an espresso machine at TusCA.

Clearly they got halfway through the renovation, stopped it because of COVID, and they seem to be be full enough now they don't feel the need to finish it and Hyatt isn't going to make them. Everything they haven't touched feels very worn, and the work they have done feels like the bare minimum corporate would allow. They're also constantly cycling through weird side businesses... now they have a yoga studio?

It's just odd. When I started staying here the place used to be owned by Xenia Hotels & Resorts - who were fantastic and run a tight ship at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress/Park Hyatt Aviara. Current ownership (Shanghai Construction Group) is terrible and is starving the place of capital and care.

Whenever you raise concerns it's just "tough labor market" as an excuse. I want to start staying at the Westin but... Bonvoy. Ugh.

gadberry

The parking lot floods when it rains. Your car could get stuck in a huge puddle. Stay away from the low areas. For the price you pay for parking they should have a parking structure.

slariz

Rates for an upcoming stay to visit Disney aren't that different for 2 rooms of Two Queen Deluxe (which appears to be fully renovated?) compared with a 2-bedroom suite (which appears to be unrenovated?) I'm assuming I should stick with the 2 rooms and request connecting? My hesitancy is that the connecting part would not be guaranteed but hoping with globalist status they would make sure to honor the request. I'm also considering the Hyatt House closer to Disney. The stay would only be for Disney, nothing else.

gadberry

I'm surprised no one answered your question yet.

NJTeacher

Would love to know as well as I will be staying as a Globalist in August. Only experience was last summer (non-Globalist) and was given a renovated room. We were very pleased with it.

T-15.01

Recent stay as Globalist. Upgraded to a bigger room in north tower. Old, tired, meh.
calling front desk takes 5-6 minutes each time for an answer. Terrible.
Restaurant doesn't accept to go orders over the phone....only in person. Hardly efficient to order in person if attempting to save time.
wake up call tells me it's March, in August? What the.?
internet spotty at best.
​​daily housekeeping not replacing toiletries or coffee on a multi night stay.

Have another reservation coming up for here, which I've just cancelled and will go elsewhere. Won't come back here unless reviews change for the better. Terrible property that doesn't reflect normal Hyatt consistency at all. Big let down.