Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Aug 2, 2020, 2:17 am
#527
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,550
Aug 2, 2020, 12:32 pm
#529
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: UA 2MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,167
The East Shore Tahoe Trail is between the main hotel tower and the cottages/beach. It's a well developed trail mostly along the lake that goes about 3 miles to Sand Harbor. There are several trails that lead to higher ground off the main trail. There are also many trails of varying difficulty, length, and elevation change within a 10-15 minute drive. The Mount Rose trail is one of the most well-known. It's about a12 mile loop with a 2000+ ft elevation gain to the summit of one of the highest peaks in the Tahoe region. Great views from the top !
Aug 2, 2020, 2:05 pm
#530
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Sacramento, CA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt,Marriott,BA,AS
Posts: 4,428
[QUOTE=madderlake;32576381
Also, do they rent SUP (paddle boards) on the beach there?
Thanks![/QUOTE]
Yes, but if you don't care about cost ! $40/hr. on weekdays. ??? on weekends- you have to call. See www.awsincline.com for more info
Also, do they rent SUP (paddle boards) on the beach there?
Thanks![/QUOTE]
Yes, but if you don't care about cost ! $40/hr. on weekdays. ??? on weekends- you have to call. See www.awsincline.com for more info
Aug 3, 2020, 6:04 pm
#533
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,731
Yes, but if you don't care about cost ! $40/hr. on weekdays. ??? on weekends- you have to call. See www.awsincline.com for more info
We brought our own bikes so I don't know what Hyatt charges for bike rental. There is a place in town (Village Ski Loft) that I think was $65 per day.with 4th day free. Another store in Truckee had a similar rate. However bikes are in short supply right now due to covid.
Last edited by Boraxo; Aug 5, 2020 at 1:53 pm
Aug 5, 2020, 1:06 pm
#535
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: sfo
Programs: United GS, Starwood Platinum
Posts: 594
our. recent stay
we just completed a 4 night stay, we are usually7 night guests in normal years having come for over 10 years myfindings
rooms are clean and ready for guests, no housekeeping but when we needed more towels or a quick sheet change it was done as planned
food is indeed limited, but servers are helpful and more than happy to accommodate, some of the old time valets, or bell hops are indeed working and those familiar faces are nice to see
i didnt go into the casino this time, just to be safe, face masks were ubiquitous , the beach was decently spaced but masks were scant but not unexpected given the outdoor social distancing
all in all a nice respite and our first hotel stay,
also we used points and parking was free and no daily fee so that was $60/room
rooms are clean and ready for guests, no housekeeping but when we needed more towels or a quick sheet change it was done as planned
food is indeed limited, but servers are helpful and more than happy to accommodate, some of the old time valets, or bell hops are indeed working and those familiar faces are nice to see
i didnt go into the casino this time, just to be safe, face masks were ubiquitous , the beach was decently spaced but masks were scant but not unexpected given the outdoor social distancing
all in all a nice respite and our first hotel stay,
also we used points and parking was free and no daily fee so that was $60/room
Aug 5, 2020, 1:46 pm
#536
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,731
I love the old staff too and good to see they are all working (as opposed to the H2C seasonal workers that were probably not needed this year).
Kudos to Hyatt for eliminating the resort and parking fees when so few services are available (or was that just due to status?) It is too bad that housekeeping was eliminated as that is one of the things I enjoy about staying in hotels but it seems to be de riguer now at IC and Marriott too (at least in USA). Hope to return here during ski season, if there is one. Wonder if "casino rates" are still available?
Kudos to Hyatt for eliminating the resort and parking fees when so few services are available (or was that just due to status?) It is too bad that housekeeping was eliminated as that is one of the things I enjoy about staying in hotels but it seems to be de riguer now at IC and Marriott too (at least in USA). Hope to return here during ski season, if there is one. Wonder if "casino rates" are still available?
Aug 5, 2020, 1:49 pm
#537
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 6,550
i got daily housekeeping. just texted the manager back daily to request it. i think it's standard for the manager to text all globalists prior to arrival. i always communicated a 2 hour window when the room would for sure be empty to make it easy for them to grant the request.
Aug 5, 2020, 5:19 pm
#538
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 405
Just finished a 5 night stay as well.
- Hotel was very busy. I even thought of extending my stay and it was completely sold out the rest of the week.
- Mask wearing is almost 100% and I believe required under state law, even in outdoor areas, other in your seat at the beach/pool or in the water (or otherwise while eating/drinking).
- Got a nice upgrade to a double queen room on the cottage green. No suites were available. This was a big win for our agenda because we could access the green and beach easily with kids and we can park directly at our room, which is convenient for going out for hikes or activities. Room is small but location and balcony make it worth it.
- We rented from the bike shop on premises and found their prices were a little pricey but understandable given the on-resort location and quality of the equipment. Flume bike shop (mentioned above) seemed to cater to mountain bikers and we found their road/kid bike offerings pretty weak even though they are right on the East Shore Trail. Highly recommend the East Short Trail, just be aware there are some significant grades if you take your kids. My son (5) enjoyed the tag-along experience. Regular hybrid bikes are $39/day and kids equipment (whether bike, tag-along, trailer or attached seat) were $29/day.
- Globalist breakfast is at Lone Eagle as others have mentioned. Buffet is included but not a la carte. Buffet seemed pretty safe with plexiglass barriers between the food and the diners and servers filling up your plate according to your instructions. Food was good quality. They have a weird reservation policy where you are allowed to reserve a table, but not allowed to reserve an outdoor table. So it's a reservation for inside, but outside is all first come first served. Going before 8:30am every day meant outside was easy to get. For what it's worth, we generally have not dined inside since March but the ventilation is very good here with many doors and windows open on all sides.
- I attempted to charge all my food to my room and use points to redeem against the charge with the 25% rebate promotion. They weren't able to help at the front desk and WOH concierge said it must be done at the actual restaurant (a bit difficult at the pool bar where a line of people who just want to order a beer is waiting behind you in masks in the sun and I have no confidence the bartender is going to know the protocol for redemption). I heard reports of other hotels allowing aggregating with room charges then redeeming, but it didn't seem to work here.
- Housekeeping needs were easy to coordinate with the manager texting system.
- Hotel was very busy. I even thought of extending my stay and it was completely sold out the rest of the week.
- Mask wearing is almost 100% and I believe required under state law, even in outdoor areas, other in your seat at the beach/pool or in the water (or otherwise while eating/drinking).
- Got a nice upgrade to a double queen room on the cottage green. No suites were available. This was a big win for our agenda because we could access the green and beach easily with kids and we can park directly at our room, which is convenient for going out for hikes or activities. Room is small but location and balcony make it worth it.
- We rented from the bike shop on premises and found their prices were a little pricey but understandable given the on-resort location and quality of the equipment. Flume bike shop (mentioned above) seemed to cater to mountain bikers and we found their road/kid bike offerings pretty weak even though they are right on the East Shore Trail. Highly recommend the East Short Trail, just be aware there are some significant grades if you take your kids. My son (5) enjoyed the tag-along experience. Regular hybrid bikes are $39/day and kids equipment (whether bike, tag-along, trailer or attached seat) were $29/day.
- Globalist breakfast is at Lone Eagle as others have mentioned. Buffet is included but not a la carte. Buffet seemed pretty safe with plexiglass barriers between the food and the diners and servers filling up your plate according to your instructions. Food was good quality. They have a weird reservation policy where you are allowed to reserve a table, but not allowed to reserve an outdoor table. So it's a reservation for inside, but outside is all first come first served. Going before 8:30am every day meant outside was easy to get. For what it's worth, we generally have not dined inside since March but the ventilation is very good here with many doors and windows open on all sides.
- I attempted to charge all my food to my room and use points to redeem against the charge with the 25% rebate promotion. They weren't able to help at the front desk and WOH concierge said it must be done at the actual restaurant (a bit difficult at the pool bar where a line of people who just want to order a beer is waiting behind you in masks in the sun and I have no confidence the bartender is going to know the protocol for redemption). I heard reports of other hotels allowing aggregating with room charges then redeeming, but it didn't seem to work here.
- Housekeeping needs were easy to coordinate with the manager texting system.
Aug 7, 2020, 2:28 am
#539
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Hilton, Hyatt House, Del Taco
Posts: 5,382
Overall enjoyed our stay last week.
We stayed during the week and never had issues getting beach chairs for the family of 4. You show up to the beach where there's "beach concierge", they take you to an available set of chairs, get you towels, get the umbrella set up if you want. The concierge guy said they never ran out of beach chairs that day, although they did run out of towels on occasion. Beach very crowded, though. Chairs are spaced out, but people walk right by you all the time, and vast majority are not masking of course because they're going in/out of water. I liked the beach, but I wish they'd do a better job of cleaning the chairs and leftover trash/food. I showed up the next day at 9.30am when it was nearly empty and found some food in the sand around our seats which must've been left there from the day before. I swam around, felt nice. Water's a bit chilly and I don't like cold, but even in the morning when the temp was ~75F, I still found the lake water to be tolerable to swim in.
Covid: As with presumably all Hyatt properties, there are hand sanitizers everywhere in the common area. Hotel is pretty diligent with the rules, although not necessarily enforced. But as with anywhere, there are people who choose not to care. If you worry too much about this, then it's totally understandable but you're probably better off staying home. At the beach and poolside, everyone takes the masks off. What really got me was the smores thing at night. Huge throng of mostly just adults gathered around the firepit, talking and laughing, zero social distancing, and no one was masked.
Room very nice and clean.
Gym open. Had like 7 Pelaton machines.
Breakfast had BUFFET (as someone mentioned above)! All-you-can-eat, although it's not self-serve. All the spread behind plexiglass, and you tell one of the 2 employees standing back there what you want. Bacon, 2 kinds of sausages, hash brown, eggs, oatmeal, cereal, waffle, pastries, berries, pineapples. High quality stuff.
As mentioned above, you can and should reserve a table for restaurant, but you can't reserve outside table. I booked dinner. Did not want to eat inside, so waited 30min for an outside table... which is fine. The view is great from the patio.
Dinner at Lone Eagle Grille... expensive, but not outrageously priced. Kids' menu is 3 courses: fruit cup, entree, ice cream or create-own-cookie. Entree choices are steak, simple pasta, chicken tender, king salmon. My younger one was on the verge of getting chicken tender and I managed to convince her to try the salmon instead! I don't eat steak, but my older daughter loved the steak. Younger one seemed a bit apprehensive at first of the salmon, but then she devoured it. I had some leftover bits and pieces from her plate... that salmon was one of the best I'd had. So I don't think $23 is a bad deal if you're getting salmon or steak, and I wish I could've gotten the kids' meal myself. They also bring a big thing of different complementary breads, and my $28 fish and chips were not that great but huge portion and I could not finish it all.
Asked about 2pm checkout as a Discoverist. The first guy I asked said they're mostly not granting late checkouts right now due to Covid, but he said I could ask again the morning of checkout. So I did, and this time I was granted a 1pm checkout. First time ever that I was not given the usual 2pm checkout (another Hyatt later in the trip offered it to me without me even asking), but I guess it's a new world we live in and we all have to be understanding.
Due to max 4 people per elevator rule, it pays to stay on a higher floor. If you stay on the 3rd or 4th floor, you could be waiting a long time esp in the morning to find an elevator that can accommodate your family.
View from the room: So in the tower, each room has a large window that does not open and is orientedparallel perpendicular to the lake shore. But then this large window has a little side window portion either to the right or left of it that does open and either faces towards or away from the lake, depending on which room you're in. Every other room will be equipped with the side window that faces the lake, every other room with the side window that faces away from the lake. It might be a matter of luck as to which room you get.
I was charged the resort fee and parking fee. I am just Discoverist, though.
In spite of some issues, I really liked it. Wife couldn't enjoy it as much as she's more sensitive to people's behaviour wrt Covid. But I loved staying in a clean hotel with a private beach.
We stayed during the week and never had issues getting beach chairs for the family of 4. You show up to the beach where there's "beach concierge", they take you to an available set of chairs, get you towels, get the umbrella set up if you want. The concierge guy said they never ran out of beach chairs that day, although they did run out of towels on occasion. Beach very crowded, though. Chairs are spaced out, but people walk right by you all the time, and vast majority are not masking of course because they're going in/out of water. I liked the beach, but I wish they'd do a better job of cleaning the chairs and leftover trash/food. I showed up the next day at 9.30am when it was nearly empty and found some food in the sand around our seats which must've been left there from the day before. I swam around, felt nice. Water's a bit chilly and I don't like cold, but even in the morning when the temp was ~75F, I still found the lake water to be tolerable to swim in.
Covid: As with presumably all Hyatt properties, there are hand sanitizers everywhere in the common area. Hotel is pretty diligent with the rules, although not necessarily enforced. But as with anywhere, there are people who choose not to care. If you worry too much about this, then it's totally understandable but you're probably better off staying home. At the beach and poolside, everyone takes the masks off. What really got me was the smores thing at night. Huge throng of mostly just adults gathered around the firepit, talking and laughing, zero social distancing, and no one was masked.
Room very nice and clean.
Gym open. Had like 7 Pelaton machines.
Breakfast had BUFFET (as someone mentioned above)! All-you-can-eat, although it's not self-serve. All the spread behind plexiglass, and you tell one of the 2 employees standing back there what you want. Bacon, 2 kinds of sausages, hash brown, eggs, oatmeal, cereal, waffle, pastries, berries, pineapples. High quality stuff.
As mentioned above, you can and should reserve a table for restaurant, but you can't reserve outside table. I booked dinner. Did not want to eat inside, so waited 30min for an outside table... which is fine. The view is great from the patio.
Dinner at Lone Eagle Grille... expensive, but not outrageously priced. Kids' menu is 3 courses: fruit cup, entree, ice cream or create-own-cookie. Entree choices are steak, simple pasta, chicken tender, king salmon. My younger one was on the verge of getting chicken tender and I managed to convince her to try the salmon instead! I don't eat steak, but my older daughter loved the steak. Younger one seemed a bit apprehensive at first of the salmon, but then she devoured it. I had some leftover bits and pieces from her plate... that salmon was one of the best I'd had. So I don't think $23 is a bad deal if you're getting salmon or steak, and I wish I could've gotten the kids' meal myself. They also bring a big thing of different complementary breads, and my $28 fish and chips were not that great but huge portion and I could not finish it all.
Asked about 2pm checkout as a Discoverist. The first guy I asked said they're mostly not granting late checkouts right now due to Covid, but he said I could ask again the morning of checkout. So I did, and this time I was granted a 1pm checkout. First time ever that I was not given the usual 2pm checkout (another Hyatt later in the trip offered it to me without me even asking), but I guess it's a new world we live in and we all have to be understanding.
Due to max 4 people per elevator rule, it pays to stay on a higher floor. If you stay on the 3rd or 4th floor, you could be waiting a long time esp in the morning to find an elevator that can accommodate your family.
View from the room: So in the tower, each room has a large window that does not open and is oriented
In spite of some issues, I really liked it. Wife couldn't enjoy it as much as she's more sensitive to people's behaviour wrt Covid. But I loved staying in a clean hotel with a private beach.
Last edited by evergrn; Aug 8, 2020 at 2:07 am Reason: wrong word
Aug 7, 2020, 7:15 am
#540
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 392
@evergrn - wow this is all super helpful, thanks for taking the time to document everything! Interesting to hear that the beach is packed even during the weekdays right now - I wonder if that will change in a few weeks once kids go 'back to school' (whatever that means whether virtual or literal)? I'm holding out to visit this property until then hoping the crowds might thin...