Review: Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg

Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg opened in April 2009 in a newly developed area of the city by the Iset River embankment.

On arrival, the front desk associate welcomed me as a Diamond member. I received an upgrade from a standard room to a Club room.

The room had a unique design.

View of the room as we entered:

Twin beds:

At the side of the room were the work table, television, minibar and sink.

There were two complimentary bottles of mineral water on top of the minibar:

There was a welcome plate of fruit (not the Diamond welcome amenity as I opted for 1,000 welcome points), as well as a handwritten welcome letter from the GM.

The lavatory and shower/bath were behind yellow glass doors and separate to each other.

Shower/bath:

Cupboard and drawer (for baggage storage) behind the bed:

There was a panoramic view of the Iset River embankment and Oktyabrskaya Square (as well as the Cathedral-on-the-Blood on the other side of the river) from the room.

It was not possible to open the window. The building was specially designed to withstand the cold winters – there are three layers of glass and hot air is pumped in the gap between each layer to insulate the building.

The Regency Club Lounge located on the 18th floor is open from 6:30am to 11pm daily. Access is by key card.

There is a PC and a printer available for guests’ use in the lounge.

We enjoyed a panoramic view of the Iset River embankment, Oktyabrskaya Square and the Cathedral-on-the-Blood from the lounge.

The Lounge is only staffed when evening drinks and canapes are served between 7 and 9pm daily. On the first evening (Friday), there was an amazing selection of food in the buffet – Thai grapefruit and tomato salad, salmon sushi, cured ham, cheesecake, macarons, chocolate moose etc. There were only 5 other guests in the Lounge.

In contrast, on the second evening (Saturday), the buffet selection was quite disappointing (the canapes, such as potato salad, gherkin etc weren’t particularly appetising). The lounge was also much busier (around half of the tables were occupied). Unfortunately, the food was not replenished, so at around 8:30pm there was hardly any food left.

Breakfast is not served in the lounge. Instead, guests who are eligible to use the lounge can enjoy the full buffet breakfast free of charge in the Cucina Restaurant (see below). After the stay, I contacted Hyatt Gold Passport to ask if, as a Diamond member, I would be able to receive 2,500 points because breakfast was unavailable in the lounge (see this thread). Hyatt Gold Passport confirmed that I was eligible to receive 2,500 points and credited my account.

The breakfast buffet is available in the Cucina Restaurant on the 4th floor from 6:30am to 10:30am (weekdays) and 11:30am (weekends/public holidays). There was a very good selection of cooked and continental breakfast options.

The changing rooms, indoor pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and hammam are located on the 20th floor. The fitness centre is located on the 21st floor. The facilities are open from 6am to 11pm.

The staff at reception were friendly and welcoming.

The indoor pool is quite small (15 x 4 metres, with a depth of 1.5 metres). One design flaw was the floor area by the pool – it was incredibly slippery and, for this reasons, it is mandatory to wear slippers. There are lounge chairs around the pool, with a great panoramic view of the Iset River embankment.

The hotel is very conveniently located within walking distance of the main sights in the city centre.

The main railway station is around 10 minutes (2.5 km) away by car.

Overall, we had an enjoyable stay at Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg. I would recommend this hotel.