jetsetter

I checked in and asked for a suite upgrade on property. They were able to confirm a Lafayette suite.

The suite has a separate living room and bedroom with french doors. They did not have any of the suites available with a terrace.

Pros:
1. Great location central in Boston, less than 5 minute walk to MBTA subway Orange/Red line;
2. Lobby redesign looks nice;
3. Front desk staff;
4. Readily upgraded as a Diamond and proactively received breakfast, free internet, and 4PM checkout;
5. The breakfast includes an omlet station so the items are freshly made. Good spread.

Cons:
1. Building setup, have to take an elevator to lobby and then another to your floor. Rennovations still re how to access health club on th floor. Completion estimated April 2015.
2. Just average food at the bar.
3. Boston Hyatts involved in a labor issue where they outsourced housekeepers so while many kaept their job they are no longer Hyatt employees. Would you rather work for Hyatt or some local cleaning outsourcing company? Also MA state government employees still cannot stay at Hyatts even on out of state business travel due to this issue with the Boston Hyatts. This labor practice was not replicated outside of Boston so it must have something to do with the owners of the Boston Hyatts. The uproar has died down but it is still something we remember in Boston and it was a huge news story when it happened for weeks! There were protests all the time at the Hyatts.

Bottom Line: I'm thrilled here paying $127 a night but I would not want to pay $300 or $400 a night.

I will update the review as the stay continues.

Thanks PWMTrav for your report and observations. I agree someone that travels a lot might not be super impressed with the Lafayette, but this stay was for my dad and he said it was a room that you must have paid $2,000 a night for. Remember, we are not normal people here on this board. lol We on this board have experiences that 99% of people don't have. I work in a normal office with 500 people and I would say none of them are likely Diamond, as the company works mainly in state. I will say for the Lafayette suite it at least has a separate bedroom where you can close the door and also the bathroom is split with toilet & shower in a separate room. The things I would wish for would be for the outdoor terrace or for some sort of dining room table, but the front desk did offer to send up a dining room table if we needed one!

HSaxa

Echoing other recent reviews, especially JetSetter's above which nails it. This is a pretty mediocre, non-memorable hotel with dated rooms. Even as a Diamond, I'd consider a non-Hyatt property unless you need the stays/points.

dw

^ It really is a shame that the rooms were not touched at all when they renovated the lobby and meeting space. Even some small changes to the soft goods in the rooms (i.e. reupholstering the armchairs) would help at this point.

Miami305

I wanted to update since this post, having stayed in early February at this property.

We were on a third party rate stay, and without status, and not surprisingly given a room on 6 near the elevators and close by the walkway to the gym. Initially I was concerned about possible noise issues, but this turned out not to be an issue at all. The room was one of the quietest I have stayed in recent memory, despite its location.

The room itself was updated, and delightful. Nice touches, including putting a small charging extension from the headboard for you to plug and place your phone. Bathroom and room re-design were appealing. At the right price, this would certainly be a hotel that I would return to, especially given its location. In addition, I saw a cranky grouch who complained about some construction going on (perhaps rooms on higher floors?) that had woken her up. The manager on duty quickly comped her parking, and personally escorted her to her vehicle. A nice touch, and defused the situation completely.

PWMTrav

Is that how you get free parking? I joked about taking free parking as my diamond amenity, sounded like the front desk had heard that one before

gozetta

Not pleased with this hotel. First time here and I a staying in a newly renovated room. First off, the room number signs to my particular room are non existent. From the elevator I turn the way my number says to, then next set of signs does not include my room anymore. Hmm, am I on top of it? Nope, complete mislabel, should have turned the other way.

Second, there is no desk in this "corner room." No desk? That's a first.

Third, this room is spacious though only has three uncomfortable sitting chairs and a bench, no couch.

There are two large drill holes under the bathroom mirror where they may have initially mounted it too low. Exposed drywall.

Not a very good planning job here but not here long enough to go down and change.

Firewind

Good luck. You are into Marathon weekend dynamics. Sorry to say, this may end up explaining a lot about your circumstance. If it's any consolation, it puts me in mind of a stay at the big ORD Hyatt when I got the part of a suite that had a Murphy bed and bathroom - only. I was the highest Hyatt recognition - pre-Platinum or Diamond programs - and I was nice. They said they were full and had nothing else. Again, good luck.

luvFclass

Stayed at this property on the 28th w/points for one night. I Managed to grab the last room at this property on the 27th T-24h, and switched out an existing RSVP from the Hyatt Regency Cambridge (less travel on the T for me)

Being in the last room available for the evening, I was given a mini-suite on the 20th floor. It was a fairly large and renovated room with a view of the State House. ^

Hotel service was excellent with the front desk (Michael) being incredibly helpful with extra amenities & slippers that was promptly delivered to me via housekeeping. I found the base amenities to be lacking in the room, but was available upon request. I guess it not fair to compare to Hyatt properties in Asia that I have stayed at.

I liked that the windows slightly opened to allow for fresh air (I prefer fresh air to AC), but it was a bit loud for sleeping.

I did not order room service, or eat on site, as the foodie options are too great within a 1/2 mile radius of the property IMO.

The location is fantastic, as I was visiting family in the Chinatown core, and walking everywhere was incredibly close
for ppl interested in the core (Theatre District, Back Bay, Boston Common area, Financial District, South Station etc..) area without a car.

Good value on points ( during peak occupancy days like this past week with graduation ceremonies going on all over the city), and be even better on cash/points (I tried for this option, but it never materialized) for a non Diamond member like me. My room rate would have been $499+taxes that evening, so I was happy with overall value of my 15k points.

jayer

I would rate the hotel and dining as solid but not exceptional (except the bedding was great). For a downtown location in a major city the pool was small and the Regency Club. . .well, they don't have one. Which seems really odd for a large downtown hotel in a major city.

There is a new "Silver Line" from the airport into downtown on all the subway maps. Except it is not a subway but an express bus service that has it's own dedicated lanes for about half the trip. But you still have to fight your way through traffic in the Ted tunnel with everybody else.

mapletree

Been staying here recently...not thrilled with the place. Last week's stay was particularly disappointing:
* When ordering room service for the morning at 10pm the night before, was told I couldn't so do...had to wait for another 30-45 mins b/c operators were too busy. We spent 3-4 mins arguing about how this was silly and that I would be asleep in 30-45 mins...operator finally took my order. Call would have been have the length if she had just taken the order in the first place
* Room was nice, shower needed some help (shower plate had come off...looked very shabby)

I got one of those marketing emails after my stay asking for feedback, and for the first time I filled it out. Manager wrote back quickly - was a very well written note apologizing for the trouble. Also offered some points as an apology. Was impressed how Hyatt handled the situation.

Travellingwithbaby

Hi. Not sure if the Hyatt Regency Boston has recently changed the name of their suites. Reading back a couple years on this thread, I only see mention of the Lafayette Suite. I don't see that suite name listed on Hyatt.com anymore. I just used a DSU and was booked into an Executive Suite. Does anyone know if that has a separate sitting area with a door from the bedroom? Thanks!

dw

Yes, whether it makes sense or not, following the renovation this property changed the names of all of its room categories. (But why the standard rooms are now called "signature" makes absolutely no sense to me.)

The old "corner rooms" are now called "junior suites", which actually makes sense as they really were junior suites. And the old "Lafayette Suites" are in fact now the "Executive Suites"

And of course, the "City View" rooms are a new category of standard rooms on the highest floors, which, IMHO were created just to take those rooms out of award redemption inventory.

Boraxo

Is it easy to get to the convention center via the T? Or should I just take uber/taxi?

Normally prefer to stay in Back Bay but the rates are pretty absurd due to convention.

Based on the reviews here, I'm thinking Cambridge might be a better bet...

oc2005

T is super easy to get to from Boston Financial Hyatt (to Downtown Crossing), and slightly further walk to Chinatown and Park St stations. If you are going to Hynes Convention Center you either have to change lines or walk a little further from the hotel to the Park St station to get on the green line.

No T access from Cambridge Hyatt (unless you take their free shuttle).

Uber works great in Boston, although often can take longer than the T if during heavy traffic, and I'd over half the time I used them, they had a high demand surge surcharge.

I recently spent about 10 days at each of these hotels, and neither is perfect, but both are tolerable. My personal pluses/minuses of each are:

• Service - Cambridge Hyatt wins; slightly more friendly service throughout.
• Hard product - Boston Hyatt wins hand down; Cambridge needs a major renovation (which I think they said was happening) vs. Boston was recently updated and is rather nice.
• View - Unless you get super lucky with the Boston Hyatt, the Cambridge Hyatt has much better views (of the river or Cambridge).
• Diamond Breakfast - tie; both about the same
• Suites - Cambridge suites are larger than the Executive Suites at the Boston Hyatt, but Cambridge suite were much noisier (since the standards suites they upgrade to are immediately next to the elevators, which were VERY noisy).
• T access - Boston Hyatt wins BY FAR. Easy walk to the T vs. having to wait for the free shuttle every 30 minutes at Cambridge Hyatt (which goes to Kendall T stop, Harvard T stop, Cambridgeside Galleria, and BU T stop)
• Restaurants nearby - Cambridge Hyatt is very isolated -- long walk or uber/taxi/shuttle to most restaurants (but great restaurants if you Uber it. A couple of Cambridge restaurants to check out are: Oleana, Giulia, Orinoco, Clover, and Sophra.) Boston Hyatt has tons of great options within 5 or 10 minute walk (Legal Crossing is right across the street, Panang and other great restaurants are a short walk to Chinatown, Piperi was great casual Mediterranean a 10-15 minute walk).

So in summary, neither hotel is perfect, but I personally slightly prefer Boston Hyatt since it was upgraded more recently, was quieter, and is easier to get places via T/foot.

Hope this helps!

BobR

To be fair it is possible to walk to the Green Line from the Cambridge Hyatt, its a 10 minute walk across the bridge.