I recently had an opportunity to stay at the Grand Hyatt Denver for a four night midweek stay. I was looking forward to checking it out, as it’s one of the top-15 hotels in Denver on Tripadvisor and the most well-regarded Hyatt property. It has a good location in downtown Denver, two blocks from the 16th Street Mall and about .75 miles from Union Station. It is downtown Denver, so you can see the tumbleweeds blowing down the street after 9pm (especially right around the hotel), but the hotel is well-located nonetheless.
That said, I was a bit disappointed overall with the stay. It just doesn’t seem to be running smoothly right now. They give you the option of deciding when you want housekeeping (an idea I love), but my time choices were disregarded each day by housekeeping…one day they never showed up at all. The club lounge (which looks great) is closed and the only open restaurant was understaffed and running with significant hiccups. Breakfast options were the same every day with no rotation and the staff seemed harried and stressed out, forgetting basic requests. The business center was closed and I was never able to get a seat at any of the lobbby computers to print out things that I needed. I had similiar issues getting an available treadmill in the smallish fitness center in the mornings. The property could use some maintenance.
There are positives: a nifty “rooftop” tennis area on the 4th floor with a great running track is a nice alternative to the crowded fitness room and the lobby/lounge area is beautiful. Even so, I would probably choose to stay elsewhere in Denver in the near-future and give the Grand Hyatt a chance to smooth out some of the post-pandemic bumps.
Grand Hyatt Denver Bottom Line Review
Bottom line: The Grand Hyatt Denver feels like a property that hasn’t quite gotten back on its feet after the pandemic. During my stay, it seemed understaffed throughout the hotel (especially the restaurant) and the public spaces that were open were quite crowded. The room and some of the public areas could use some sprucing up and, while I appreciate the attempt to make the interior design feel cozy, it was all a little dark and spartan. It’s an OK points option in Downtown Denver, but I would probably try something else next time.
- Points Price: Category 3, 9,000-15,000 points per night. Bookable using a Category 1-4 certificate from the Chase Hyatt Card.
- Cash Price: There is a fair amount of seasonal variation. The nights that I was there, it was ~$200, but it can easily be upwards of $300-500/night (or as low as $150)
- Points Value: It’s often a very good value for a points redemption or a category 1-4 cert. Rates are usually $250+, making the point value well above our reasonable redemption value for Hyatt points of 1.6 CPP.
- Resort Fee: None.
- Parking: Self-parking is available for $38/day and includes in & out privileges. Valet parking is also available for $52/night.
- Turndown service: None.
- Housekeeping: Everyday for all guests. They allow you to choose the time of day for your service, but in practice this was disregarded.
- Internet: Very good. Able to stream (I was actually here when we livestreamed the #3Cards3Continents draft), cast and zoom throughout the property
- Dining:
- Courier Kitchen and Bar is open for breakfast daily from 6:30am-11am (11:30am on Saturdays and Sundays) and dinner from 3pm-11pm daily. There is a happy hour from 3pm-6pm. There is also a grab and go option called Courier Market that is open for breakfast and lunch from 6:30-12pm daily (although it seemed like you could still order grab and go and to-go growlers of beer for the entire day).
- The Fireside Lounge is open for drinks, but only Thur-Sat from 5-11pm. It was closed for the entirety of my stay.
- Spa: None. There is a small, indoor pool (no hot tub) with a nice view from floor-to-ceiling windows next to the fitness room on the 4th floor.
- Fitness Room:The small fitness room is located on the 4th floor. It’s unremarkable and has an assortment of 5-6 weight machines and free weights alongside 6 cardio machines (treadmills and ellipticals) that were often full in the mornings. There is also a nifty outdoor, rooftop running track and tennis court just outside the fitness area.
- Hyatt Globalist Elite Benefits:
- Suite Upgrade: I booked a standard room and was upgraded to a 780 sq ft. Executive Suite on the 5th floor pre-arrival. The suite was functional and spacious, if somewhat sterile and dark.
- Club Lounge: Not open when I was there in June 2022.
- Free Breakfast: Buffet breakfast was served daily at Courier Kitchen and Bar on the main floor (you could also choose to grab and go from Courier Market). Overall, I wasn’t impressed. I was there for four nights and the hot and cold items were the same every morning, including seemingly powdered eggs and soggy hashbrowns. There is an omelet/egg station that I took advantage of every day. The restaurant seemed understaffed and the servers very stressed out, forgetting things like the check and to-go cups of coffee multiple times.
- 4PM Late Checkout: Applied automatically without asking.
- Free Parking: Yes, free valet parking on award stays.
- Would I stay again? I would be willing to try it again but, in the short term, I’d stay elsewhere and give this property a chance to get back on its feet.
- Grand Hyatt Denver pros:
- Good location in downtown Denver, near Union Station and the 16th Street Mall.
- Very large standard rooms and good-sized suites.
- The 38th floor club lounge looks nice, but was closed.
- Sweet lobby lounge area.
- Cool, if somewhat unusual, outdoor tennis court and running track on the fourth floor.
- Grand Hyatt Denver cons:
- Parts of the property feel a dark and dated.
- Seemed VERY understaffed, especially in the restaurant.
- Neighbourhood gets pretty quiet at night, I heard some women talking about not feeling safe walking around solo after dark.
- The F&B quality left something to be desired.
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I recently stayed at the Hyatt Centric a few blocks away that opened last year, and I thought it was great. I had stayed at the Grand Hyatt pre-covid and it was my go-to in Denver, but it was 50% more expensive for my dates so I thought I’d give the Centric a try.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall I thought it was very good and would absolutely stay again if the price were right.
Thanks for the info! That’s one that I’ve looked at, I’ll have to give it a try next time.
Totally agree. Was v disappointed with my recent stay. Rooms are outdated, breakfast and food generally is v disappointing
I have been a Hyatt member for more years than I care to disclose! Lol! I am a Explorist, however my son is a Globalist. He loves the Grand, however my personal opinion is once you stay at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center two blocks down the street from the Grand, you’ll never go back! The Hyatt Regency Convention Center is everything that the Grand is not i.e., bright, full of light, massive windows, and the hotel lobby, and gathering area over at the Market and the lounge where the television is located you can just hang out there all day!. I love the fact that it is only one block from the 16th Street mall, where I tend to go over to the pavilions shopping area to eat dinner. At the end of the day it comes down to your choice of how each property makes you feel. One thing to keep in mind, is that the Grand is located in the financial district on 17th Street with all of the banks. And then the Regency is located near the 16th Street mall, performing arts center, and the Denver pavilion shopping area, and not to mention the Convention Center itself which is directly across the street. Therefore, having said all of that, there’s just so much activity going on that even when you’re out late at night you don’t even feel uncomfortable. The Grand is in an area where after the 9:00 to 5:00 workers have gone home it’s quiet, and you may not feel safe walking around late at night. Both properties are Hyatts, and at the end of the day you can’t go wrong with either one of them. CAB
Thanks very much for the comparison. Also wondering about the Thompson which is expensive in points at category 6 but has decent cash rates.
Thompson is great, though I found service in the restaurant to be slow resulting in cold food delivered twice
Hi Eric! I have not ventured over to the Thompson property as of yet. Looking to go there very soon. I will write a review on my Google Local G page which you can read there. I will say that part of the city is right off of the 16th Street Mall and Market Street ,therefore it is near Union station, Lodo area. It has a total completely different vibe than the central business district where the Grand is located and also the Convention Center. Alot of bars and restaurants nightlife etc… When I do stay there, hopefully soon it will be a weekday so that I can avoid all of the nightlife on the weekend. CAB
Thanks so much CAB for the info!
Great! Thanks for the info!
The Hyatt regency is 1 block from the 16th street mall, but the grand is just under 2 blocks. They are literally 3 blocks apart and 16th street is in between them.
Overall, downtown Denver isn’t in the best shape right now though.
Hi Scott! Yes.
There are some areas in downtown Denver, that are a bit more challenging since the pandemic and that would be in the lodo area around Coors Field. Stay safe and healthy out there!
Booked a room here for my wife after my father-in-law passed. Mentioned this to the front desk when adding my wife to the reservation, and got an unsolicited upgrade to a 1500 square foot suite (as Globalist). Now my go to Hyatt in Denver.
Tim, I think I stayed in that exact room for a long weekend event downtown!
Lol, I noticed I had the same room as some other reviews from Globalists. It seems like some properties have certain rooms that they use for Globalist upgrades and I have a strong suspicion that this might be one of them.
Ouch, the service issues are unfortunate to hear. I had an excellent one night stay last October, perhaps that was just luck, but here’s what I wrote on Flyertalk:
“I keep hearing about the low cash rates but it was over $200 when I needed it in early Oct, so I redeemed points. Overall, I am very impressed. This is one place where staff really cares across the board.
Before the stay, the concierge manager reached out and asked if I needed anything. No sales pitch like do you need a tour or paid room upgrade, instead she asked if I needed extra free amenities in the room. I said upgrade would be nice. Sure enough, upgraded to a nice suite. Mild expression of disappointment at lack of breakfast for Explorist (not pushy by any means) got me $25 dining credit which could be used any time (and I used it for dinner). There was a conference and the food venue was packed. Nonetheless, the bartender took care of my to-go order, no less than drink-ordering customers. When the dessert didn’t come out, he gave a replacement and took off the charge. Fantastic service.
Excellent city property and excellent value at category 3.”
Thanks for the info! You’re certainly not alone, there’s a lot of folks that love this place. That makes me think this is more of a temporary bump than a long-term downhill.