Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

Hello Flyertalkers!

We are excited to announce our opening of the Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center! The Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center is the first new build, full-service hotel in Tyson’s Corner to open in more than 20 years!

Full details can be found here: http://newsroom.hyatt.com/index.php?s=20295&item=123376.

Thanks!

Outstanding - I should be visiting in early June for a few nights to check it out.

Cool! I drive past it regularly and was wondering when it would completed and open.

I will be there in 5 days! Didn't even realize it was a new hotel when booked. Looking forward to my stay next week.

Tried to book it tonight but no rooms were available :(

I am looking forward to testing this property out sometime over the next few months.

I am mightily disappointed by this hotel. We work that area two to three days a month and have been doing so for many years. I was always annoyed by the absence of a first-rate full service Hyatt between Arlington and Reston and was looking forward to using this one as our go-to in the area. So much of the time we were patronizing some Starwoods and Marriotts in Tysons Corner and Falls Church along with the Hyatts in Arlington and DC.

However, this one just does not cut it. The rooms are not too badly designed although the thermostat has been placed out of the reach of anyone less than 5'5" (such as frantic), requiring one to climb precariously up on a couch to reach it. The desk chair is a conventional type chair without any adjustability, casters, or height adjustment. Although it is quite comfortable, it is not easy to work on the desk since it is difficult to move it around on the new carpeting and it is a bit low to use while working a computer since the reaching up position is quite tiring. The in-room safe is located at floor level making it a kneel-down affair to use it. Even the maintenance tech who was needed to make it work was not happy about the way they were located.

The biggest failing here (I am writing from the room) is that there is no real restaurant and no room service of which to speak. There is, in fact, something that is described as a restaurant but which is really a beer bar with a "scene" atmosphere. I am sure that it is wildly successful since it is jammed at happy hour and seems relatively busy all night. I am sure that the beer is good but OTOH the food is atrocious. It ranges from tasteless to severely over-seasoned with conceptions that range from the unsuccessfully adventurous to the completely ridiculous. Our first dinner had very little that was very good and much that was not to our taste (and we wonder to whose it might be). The saving grace was that it had no wine to speak of other than the house Canvas (BTW I wonder what happened to the very good Champagne Cuvee Hyatt of yesteryear?). There was no interesting bottle to try and the check was therefore relatively modest with only one fresh but mediocre Canvas Cab having been ordered.

Since we felt we might have ordered wrong the first night and were quite tired from a very taxing mortgage closing, the second night we fell down in the room after work and just decided to give the kitchen a second chance and try the room service. Just a salad to split and a couple of sandwiches would do just fine. This was a complete FAIL. Nothing was any good at all. I would leave my criticism at that except for the manner of serving and the follow-up.

The "room service" was delivered in a paper shopping bag packed as if to go on a picnic with everything in styrofoam and with plastic utensils, the water in large plastic cups. After everything was tasted and much discarded, the detritus was put back into the shopping bag and placed outside the door. Dutifully, room service was called and alerted that there was a pickup needed at our door. The response was (and I still do not believe this) that they "don't provide that service." So the front desk was called. The woman who answered apparently did not know of that non-service and said that she would herself come up for it immediately. Of course, more than an hour later it was still there and the next call was for the manager who was informed that if he did not want bugs crawling around and the soup (which was truly horrendous) leaking all over his new carpet, he best send someone up to get this thing. So there was now a second person coming up himself.

Aside from this, the general level of experience and hospitality training of the staff is inferior. This staff is very friendly and does want to provide service but in too many instances, it just does not know how to do it. I will not go into all the details of the restaurant staffers who, when asked, really do not know what ingredients are in many of the menu items and seem to fake it quite well creating quite a surprise when it is placed in front of you. I don't like being a guinea pig for a prolonged employee education period which was supposed to be finished or nearly finished before the place is opened.

And I surely do not like a "full service hotel" that has services that are pitched to the locals who come over for a beer instead of the business travelers who I imagine are their raison d'etre and should be supplying most of their revenue. They need to sell a lot of those beers to cover one $300 night, none of which they are going to get from me any more.

BTW if Gold Passport Concierge does read this post, he/she should note that this front desk has not been informed that Diamond guests are supposed to be offered the choice of points or an amenity. He/she should also note that in more than thirty years of doing this stuff, I have never written a complaint letter to a hotel or hotel chain. I actually would be most pleased if Hyatt would fix this place so that I could use it as I had planned.

Good evening Monitor,

I'm so sorry to hear of the disappointment with the new Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner. If you can PM your stay details, we are happy to look into this for you.

Thanks!

Sarah

Thank you very much for your quick response but I really do not need you to look into it for me. I think that you need to look into it for your company's inquiries about its procedures and controls.

However, to aid your investigation of this hotel's failings, I will PM my details to you so you can have the dates of our stay and the days and times of our restaurant experiences.

I stayed here for one night very recently and quite enjoyed my room and the rest of the physical plant. I think it is a very attractive hotel located within easy walking distance of the Silver Line Metro. Yes, service is both friendly and a little "green," but it's nothing some focussed training won't fix. I didn't try the restaurant which is, indeed, a "scene" but instead walked across the plaza to Shake Shack, which I really enjoyed. There are also many nice, varied restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets right inside the mall, a few steps away. My only complaint was the lack of food in the Club Lounge, basically a few pieces of cheese and bread in the evening and oatmeal, muffins, bread and juice in the morning. Probably the skimpiest lounge spread I've ever seen at a Hyatt. The Club Lounge space itself, however, is large and extremely attractive and the Lounge staff are very friendly and helpful.

It may be a case where the property understands there are a number of decent eating establishments in the mall (a couple minutes walk) and providing a top class hotel restaurant is not feasible/profitable. I can't blame them for this decision. Is a bit early to call this a major failing - that may change once it gets over its teething period.

I do understand that thinking but one does not think that way if one is presenting a top-of-the-line full service hotel. Such an establishment, in order to be considered complete, must have a restaurant and room service whether or not it is profitable. Across the street, connected to the other mall, is the Ritz-Carlton which has definitely had problems with its fine dining experiments but which simply has settled into having something that is local and that has appeal to the business travelers who patronize the place and do not want to walk out into the mall for the chain restaurants that proliferate there.

Aside from a new restaurant across the street, everything in the mall connected to this Hyatt is a chain operation and I have been to them all many times with not one of them being worth a five minute walk from the hotel. They are no better than the average room service from almost any full service hotel.

So let us agree to disagree about this matter and let the TC Hyatt make a few coins off their beer bar while ignoring many of their company's best customers. I really cannot imagine anyone with some taste in food making repeat visits to that place.

This is true. I would think that if they are having the darn thing open at all, they would do just a bit more to bring it into line with what is customary at such places.

OTOH, it would make little difference to us if they did since the only thing we need in the morning is coffee and a bagel (or a croissant which BTW, were fairly good there) and in the evening, maybe a cookie or a Pepsi.

The staff was very pleasant and enthusiastic although not very sophisticated as many of the items (especially the French cheeses) had signs that were misspelled the first night we were there.

This is a Hyatt Regency, not a Grand, Andaz, Park nor Ritz-Carlton. You are aware HRs are just a notch above Hyatt Place/House :D. On top of that, is been opened maybe 2 months and if the biggest "failing" is no "real" restaurant, I think they are doing pretty well.

You have been to all 50+ eating establishments in that mall. Many times. Why? :confused:

Tyson Galleria across the way have 14 establishments, one may suite you.

The hotel has been open less than a month. There are some nice restaurants in the mall, certainly nicer than most hotel restaurants. Seasons 52, for example, comes to mind.

I am at the hotel now, sitting in the Regency Club. I can confirm the previous comments about the lack of food offerings - hardly any protein options. In the morning, there were muffins, toast, bagels, and a few pastries, along with some fruit and cheese. Oatmeal and cereal were also available. This is the only HR I have visited that has not had a protein for breakfast ... nary a hard-boiled egg!

It's hors-d'oeuvre time as I type this. There is some strange mushroom concoction, cold zucchini, squash and eggplant, and some cheese. Very unimpressed. However, there is an honor bar, and the space is very large and nicely appointed. They really do need to step up the food, though.

As far as the rest of the hotel goes, it looks beautiful. I have a room on the top floor. It is modern and well-lit. Unfortunately, I realized last night that my room phone was dead after I had already prepared for bed (I needed toothpaste). I re-dressed myself and ventured downstairs to get some from the front desk and inform them of the phone issue. I was told it would be fixed this morning. When I returned back to the hotel from work around 1800, it was not repaired. I also noticed some dried urine on the toilet seat, which I had yet to put down - gross.

There are motion activated lights under the nightstands that are very helpful for when you get up in the middle of the night. Too bad for me - one of the lights keeps turning on randomly throughout the night.

I'm going to swing by the front desk in a few to address the issues. Overall, I think it is a very nice hotel, and a much better option than the HR Reston or Hyatt Dulles. As a bonus, it is connected by a covered walkway to the new silver line of the Metro for easy access to downtown DC. It is also right next to Tyson's Corner Center, a large shopping mall with plenty of food options. The attached restaurant, Barrel and Bushel, has a great beer selection, as well as an outdoor bar and patio. I have not tried the food.

If anyone has any questions about this hotel, let me know.

The B&B does have a good beer list but we have tried to eat their food twice and liked nothing. That is not very important and is not dissuading us for stopping in again toward the end of next week. But that restaurant is off-limits to us since the food is so bad.

Tonight's specialty in the regency club: Room temperature fried pork egg rolls! Yum!

Sounds like they've upped their game!

I had the food the first week they were open. I think they are trying hard, just too much salt and other spices in the food. It was of good quality but flavor could be improved.

I live nearby and have my first booking for visitors and have a few questions for anyone who has stayed.

1. Anyone know if the club is open/closed on the weekends?
2. Anyone try the King Suite yet? Thoughts/comments?

I have eaten at B&B twice in the last 2 weeks and think that there are good options on the menu. Some of their "signature" dishes like the hot fried chicken were just plain awful but the burgers were good as well as the chili (my favorite) and many of the apps. The deserts are also good and on the small side (cheaper too) which were perfect for our groups. The weather has been mixed recently but having dinner and drinks on the patio has been great when the weather cooperates. I have been to much worse "hotel restaurants" than this one and given the endless amount of choices in the mall, food should be fairly easy to nail in the area.

I had a stay here a couple of weeks ago and while not a bad as Monitor's stay, there are kinks to be worked out.

A few short points:

Didn't get best available as a Diamond at check in (I asked but was ignored)

Regency level rooms are the same as non-Regency level rooms. Saw both because of a room type assignment mistake - bed and connecting room status. I think I did get best available after the screw up but as noted, same room with a different bed (and not connecting). I guess I should add that I believe my observation is accurate (?). The desk agents stated that the Regency levels were on 5 (above the pool level) and on the floor above my original room, the floor I ended up on (forgot the #s). I asked about what seemed to be an odd set up, Regency levels almost 20 floors apart, but I wasn't having much luck with the front desk folks and didn't keep the questions rolling :rolleyes:. (The website supports me though)

Website verbiage
Club
Standard

The view sucks. More verbiage from the hotel's website

I've seen some beautiful hotel views in my lifetime, but this wasn't one of them. I might be picky, but a concrete patio isn't a beautiful view (there are also roads and part of the Silver line metro to see too --- whooopeee /sarcasm off). As for action, none. During the day it's virtually empty and at night one gets to watch other people eat in the outside tables and chairs of one of the mall's restaurants.

The view room/no difference than a non-Regency level room are probably not a big deal until someone is looking for an award night and all that is available is one of the name changed rooms (Or 1) one really thinks that a mall hotel has views --- that person will be disappointed, and 2) someone pays more not knowing any better).

The newness of the hotel is nice. New things just feel better in a hotel (at least for me). Hopefully the staff gets up to speed sooner rather than later and this hotel can become a return to hotel rather than simply another stop on my road to 50 different Hyatts.

Cheers -

Open, acc'd to hotel.

Was just reading through this thread because I grew up in the area and was curious about the hotel. I noticed this comment and was somewhat confused. While most of the restaurants are chains, there are definitely some that are well above the average mediocre food I get from room service. Specifically, I'm thinking of Coastal Flats, which I suppose is technically a regional chain (three locations total). I used to go there somewhat frequently when I lived/worked in the area, and it was quite good if you like seafood. Maybe the quality has declined?

Nope. You are correct. Coastal Flats had slipped my mind when I wrote that comment. The food was very good the last time that I was there about three or four years ago although the service was inexperienced and clumsy.

Despite what I have written and despite my general distaste for this place, I need to be in the area this Thursday and Friday nights and they had a killer rate of $89.10 while the Tysons Westin was at $145 and the Arlington Gateway at $165. Even with the parking charge, the company's budget will come out way ahead so I will see if there has been any improvement there in the last month or two.

I picked up the same rate for this weekend. The rates seem to be coming back down to earth for this hotel. I just ate at coastal flats this week and it was pretty decent. Given the addition on all of the new restaurants in the area (Founding Farmers, Eddie V, and Shake Shack) there should be no shortage of great food within walking distance or a $5 Uber.

Thinking of getting out of the house this weekend. For those who have stayed at the HRTC, is it worth trying over the Hyatt Arlington, or stick with the HA until the kinks are worked out? FWIW, the HRTC is $10 more than Arlington. Many thanks.

For "getting out of the house," I think Tysons would be more of a change of pace with more options-shopping, movies, restaurants etc. HA is virtually in DC-just across Key Bridge--but if you want to go up a few blocks to Clarendon there are of course many bars, restaurants, clubs.

At the HRTC right now and amazed at the happy hour business being done at that beer bar in the lobby. I guess that they decided that it would be more lucrative to pitch the restaurant that way and leave real food to the mall restaurants and Eddie V's.

That is where we had dinner and when we arrived there a bit before 7, the dining room was sold out until 830 so we took a booth table that was open in the bar. It was large and comfortable and we each had appys, split a salad (a huge crab and shrimp chopped deal) and a bottle of wine (quite pleasant and knowledgeable sommelier) and got out for not much more than $105. I think that when we are hungry, a reservation for the real dining room may be necessary on a weeknight since the bar scene was jammed as were the tables with a 40s-50s crowd (lots of suits). The food was good but everything had a touch of spice so be forewarned if that is not what your taste buds like.

So when we walked back to the hotel about 815, the beer bar happy hour was still in almost full blast with its crowd that skewed younger (very few suits) than that at Eddie V's.

ETA: Right across the patio from Eddie's was a sign announcing that something called "Earl's Restaurant" would be opening in the fall. Nothing like making a hotel and a couple of office buildings a happy hour and restaurant destination. It appears to us that it will work just fine but we will still need to get in the car for some of that Falls Church ethnic food that has always been our staple down there.

I thought I would add my two cents. The hotel is quite beautiful and in a good location for shopping, movie, etc., and a good choice for a night away from the homestead.

We were upgraded from a regular room to a plaza view. The room was decent size, nice bathroom, comfortable bed. The TV kept switching off by itself, so they do need to work a few kinks out. I could understand mentions of views on the DC-facing side, but I agree that there aren't many views from the plaza side worth spending much time on.

The hotel more or less sits on top of a nice mall. Being Friday night, the mall was busy but it was big enough that the number of people was not overwhelming. Food options included your usual fast food, Gordon Biersch, TGI Fridays, Brio, a Mexican restaurant, La Madeline, and a few others that I am sure I am forgetting. Out on the plaza is a Shake Shack and, as others have mentioned, the B&B, Eddie V, and a coming restaurant called Earls. It unfortunately seems to be a Canadian joint rather than connected to the Earls in Arlington, but it also appears that it will be one of the very few branches in the U.S. It's nice to see something a little different.

The lounge is very pretty inside, but they need to send their folks to Baltimore or the Grand DC for some training and to get a better sense of how things should be done. The attendants were all very nice and friendly, but they just didn't seem to have gotten the training on what I think many would consider routine things like having ice available for drinks, refilling the milk in the coffee machine, having knives out in the morning for guests, and refilling the drinks fridge. These are relatively minor training issues that easily can be rectified as long as the employees are given the proper tools and training. However, I sense they are not. This is less of a "complaint" than a "you can do better" moment. For those collecting DN points, the lounge is open 24/7.

Finally, we did not go to B&B, in part based on the reviews here and in part because it was always busy. People seemed in good spirits. There was a band playing in the Plaza on Friday night as part of a summer concert series so many were hanging out, listening to music, and chatting.

Do they need to tweak things and make improvements? Yes. Was it our favorite Hyatt in DC? No. Would/will we go again? Yes. It was a nice break.

I'm at the hotel now in a King Suite. It's ok, though the description isn't entirely accurate. There's no mini bar, no wet bar, and the "Separate work area with oversized desk and enhanced lighting" could also be described as a bar-height dining table with an overhead lamp.

Haha I have never checked the room description against the actual room before, that is pretty funny that there were those differences. I liked the room a lot and it was great for our needs. The bathroom was huge and had plenty of space for 2 people. The fridge was weird because it was in a cabinet which was extremely hot. I think it is a worthwhile DSU upgrade and beats the usual parlor room that older Regency's provide.

Stayed here in a Regency Suite with a connecting room as family plan for 1 night.... Just some thoughts
-Diamond Amenity is nice- choice of Food options and Beverage options. We went with bottle of wine and pretzel with pimento cheese
-All the suites face the plaza-> seems like festivals are frequent and loud. Definitely not a good option there. Wish that the suite had a tub; there really is enough room there..
- Even billed as connecting; the suite doesn't truly connect to another room. There was a vestibule that they could close the outer door. Not really a great option with kids as the door locks were still in operation...
- pool was small, little cold but serviceable. Nice that there is a life guard (probably VA reg).
- Club is solid. Looks like a reasonable spread at breakfast.. good quality fruit and teh pastries seemed fresh. Didn't really spend much other time there...

I was debating between here and the Ritz (great weekend rate with FHR). I chose here due to the proximity to Shake Shack and the playground. If I had known about the loud festival I would have chosen the Ritz. Fortunately NotFlyingBabyWu is a great sleeper...

FDW

I don't get how any suite can call itself a suite without some sort of tub. That shouldn't be.

I agree, although I've seen apartments without bathtubs. (Apparently this is legal in some jurisdictions.)

I agree but it's not uncommon... the Andaz 5th Avenue only has tub in their Splash suites I think and I've been to a bunch of older build but renovated hotels that have replaced the shower/bath combo with just a shower...

FDW

Very uncommon here in Asia. Surprised to hear about Andaz!

Andaz 5th in the Splash Suite has both a standalone large tub separate from the usual shower that's in all rooms.

In their next category up, one bedroom suite with a view of the library, there's a large shower that has a foot soaking bath (basically a large tub and a stool in the shower stall). This is the first time I've seen this in a hotel. It's a good idea if it's kept very clean. [I didn't use it.]

Nice Suite, some kinks to work out
 

We came for a family "staycation" using a Diamond Suite Upgrade. We stayed in an ADA compliant suite (I think it was a Vast Suite?) The suite was very large ~ 725 sq ft. It had a king bed in a separate bedroom, huge en suite bathroom with double sinks, separate room for toilet, huge walk in shower with bathtub, half bath off the living room which had a dining table that seats 6-8 + a large couch with coffee table and chairs). Overall, we were really impressed with the room both in terms of size and what it contained. We were a bit disappointed with the cleanliness which may have just been due to the person we got, not a hotel-wide issue. There were some spots on the floor (toothpaste or wax, that we easily removed ourselves but shouldn't have to!), some hair behind the bathroom sinks, etc. generally just not 100% spotless, which was disappointing especially given how nice the room was.

The Regency Club was very nice but the staff were overwhelmed at breakfast. There is not a visible place for people to bus their own dishes so as a result many people left their dishes on the tables. The club staff were running around trying to keep the food and drinks stocked and couldn't simultaneously also bus tables which meant a handful of tables had dirty dishes on them for quite some time. The breakfast was very good (fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, bagels, oatmeal, cheeses, meats, pastries etc.).

Our kids loved the pool but we missed not having a hot tub. Proximity to the mall is great if you're interested in that (it wasn't a draw for us).

We would definitely stay again but would hope that the hotel could find it groove with the lounge and room cleaning.