Hyatt Regency Vancouver - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Oct 15, 2020, 12:27 am
The Sheraton is at least a 10 min walk from the closest subway station.
Oct 15, 2020, 3:04 pm
Hyatt Regency Vancouver
Hyatt Regency Vancouver
655 Burrard St Vancouver, BC CA V6C2R7
Hyatt Regency Vancouver = Quarantine Stay (15 Photos)
Hyatt Regency Vancouver
In anticipation for mandatory self-isolation upon entry in Canada, I had originally booked a flexible reservation at Fairmont Vancouver Waterfront, however when Hyatt announced the very juicy promotion starting October 1st, I changed my reservation from Fairmont to Hyatt Regency and I burnt a couple of Globalist suite upgrade certificates to be 100% sure I would have a suite for 14 days. I suspected the hotel would have low occupancy and that I could possibly get a suite without using a TSU but anyway I have not had to use one of my upgrades this year yet so they might expire unused. Despite the less than ideal circumstances I was quite happy with my stay, how the hotel handled the communication before the stay, how they took care of us during, and I can recommend this property.
Room
Prior to arrival I asked the hotel what is the difference between the junior suite and the executive suite because the latter is a bit more expensive but barely bigger (70 square meters for the jr suite vs 74 sqm for the exec suite). I was told the exec suite is one large room whereas the junior suite is more akin to two separate adjoining rooms, one with a living room and one with a bedroom. The main advantage of the junior suite is that it has two full bathrooms which is convenient for a quarantine stay so I decided to stick with the standard Globalist upgrade rather than target a higher room type.
The room was probably not as luxurious as Fairmont would have been but it was a fraction of the cost especially if I wanted to be guaranteed to have a suite, so it would be hard to argue about the value proposition of what I received at Hyatt. In addition to having two full bathrooms, there were also two mini-fridges, plus a balcony off the bedroom to get some fresh air once in a while during those two weeks. Despite the name “junior suite”, there was nothing junior about the suite – most hotels use that naming convention when the room is simply a larger version of their standard room; here it was a formal suite. We could see mountains from the room, although with so many high buildings on each side of the hotel, it would be hard to call it a view. The only negative I could say about the room is that I wish it had a stand-alone shower rather than a shower in a tub, or in at least one of the two bathrooms.
Service
Service was very good before our arrival with staff explaining the current situation for quarantine stays and they handled a last-minute date change to our stay very quickly. In addition, staff was helpful and responsive during our stay when I had miscellaneous requests for extra items for example more water, shaving kits, dish soap, and they were also helpful for printing and sending urgent documents by courier on my behalf.
Dining
There is currently no restaurant open at the hotel and therefore no room service available during covid, however the hotel allowed deliveries from outside vendors to be brought to our room, either from grocery stores or from restaurants. Their breakfast offering has also been modified due to covid; they brought a couple of bags at our door every morning. At the beginning of our stay I thought the content of the bag was a bit too focused on fattening bakeries but they were flexible enough that when I asked if we could get alternatives such as healthy cereals with milk instead of bakeries, they were happy to oblige. Also they did not mind giving us different kind of fruits upon request rather than having the same every day. On some mornings they also added some variety as well for example some days we had a snack mix with nuts, a chocolate bar with sesame seeds, or a cheese tray. Overall I felt like what they brought to us was fair and a decent replacement to a normal breakfast.
Wifi
Wifi worked well during the entire stay with speeds of 20 Mbps.
Overall
Overall while it might not be easy to draw clear conclusions about this hotel since it was not a normal stay, given my interaction with staff, the state of the room and the price tag, I can recommend this hotel and I would consider coming back.
Oct 16, 2020, 10:14 am
I’m also looking for a hotel to complete my isolation in Vancouver soon, and the HR is one of the hotels I’m currently considering (along with Residence Inn and the Delta).
When booking for your isolation, did you book simply book the cheapest rate online or were you supposed to contact the hotel directly for a special isolation package? Did they provide any kind of housekeeping or bin-clearing services? And how did you sustain yourself over the fortnight? 100% external meal deliveries apart from breakfast?
Oct 16, 2020, 11:07 am
Regarding food we bought an electric pan online which was delivered to the hotel in advance of our stay. Many of our food deliveries were actually from grocery stores rather than a restaurant and we could have home cooking for many days of the stay. The hotel gave us dish soap, plates, and cutlery which we washed ourselves every day rather than ask them every time for clean ones. They were helpful at every step of the way for all miscellaneous requests.
Oct 16, 2020, 11:15 am
Nov 22, 2021, 12:02 pm
Booked 2x connecting rooms on points/free night certs. Globalist concierge incorrectly told me that only premium suites had connecting rooms, so I wasn’t able to use an expiring suite upgrade cert. By the time I learned that was incorrect, all standard suites were booked.
However, on the way to check in, saw that one opened up, and was given it (when I asked) on checkin.
The suites have an unusual setup I haven’t seen before. A center “room” with a bathroom and sitting room with a pullout couch, but no bed. It can be then connected with either a king on one side, or 2 double room on the other to form a full suite.
With our suite + normal room, they just unlocked both connecting doors, and we had all 3 rooms, which each had their own door.
On checkin, the receptionist made a point of giving us free breakfast for our entire family of 6, which had never happened before. I typically get offered 2x breakfasts per room when I do connecting rooms, but this the first time I’d been explicitly offered breakfast for our entire family.
Breakfast was very good. Standout roast potatoes. Excellent pancake stacks for the kids. Good pastries and service.
The outdoor heated pool was small, but a nice break and nice to have outside during COVID.
The hotel isn’t as new and modern as the Regency Seattle we’d stayed at the night before, but certainly wasn’t shabby or worn.
Self parking was free with our award stay below the hotel, though our SUV (a Toyota Sequoia) barely fit the height requirement, and we had to use a side entrance even then.
Would absolutely stay again, especially if we could get the same suite setup.
Jun 4, 2022, 1:15 pm
I made a last minute change to stay at the HR Vancouver and had to use a certificate to book a 2 Doubles room. My concierge was able to reach out to the property and confirm a King bed. I was then further upgrade to a King City View with Balcony (no suites available online, and I didn't ask at check-in).
My room was on the north side of the 20th floor out of 34. When I arrived, I noticed that packages with 4 pairs of slippers, four toothbrushes, and four toothpaste tubes had been left. Two extra pillows were also left, so I had 6 pillows. The pillows were a bit soft, so this was actually really helpful. The room is decent-sized with a real desk, a nice spinnable chair, and a bed. The TV is a tad small but is Chromecast enabled. The bed was wonderful - incredibly plush mattress, soft pillows, good covers that felt a lot less thin than they looked. This was easily one of the most plush mattresses I've had in a HR. The balcony was nice with two chairs and good views of surrounding buildings and mountains. The bathroom was also pretty attractive with good tiles and a shower-tub combination. Luckily, the curved rod made it spacious, and the shower head had great pressure. The included umbrella was much appreciated.
Service was very friendly - easy check-in. No issue with 4 PM checkout.
Breakfast is on the 2nd floor - I was told by the front desk when I asked that it was the buffet. I probably could have ordered off the menu, but I didn't want to argue. The buffet was actually pretty good - pancakes much tastier than they looked. Good omelette. Service was a bit leisurely but quite friendly.
Regency Club is, of course, still closed.
Destination dispatch elevators worked well.
Overall, I thought this was a really nice stay that beat out many of the US HRs I have stayed in.
