Hyatt Regency Miami: Bottom Line Review

My wife and I just wrapped up a two-week stay in Florida and Anguilla with a week of vacation at the marvelous Zemi Beach House and a work week at the Hyatt Regency Miami (we also stayed at The Confidante on the way down). I’m not a huge fan of most Hyatt Regencies, as I find them to often feel like drab, massive convention hotels with little personality. Many, including this one, are showing their age.

We absolutely loved staying at this location. We took nightly walks around the river, over the bridge to Brickell and around Brickell Key. From our room, we could watch the boats go down the river and see the Brickell Drawbridge open.  The hotel is located almost right in between the South Beach and Key Biscayne Bridges and you can be on either island within 15-20 minutes outside of rush hours. Lots of great restaurants are nearby and Little Havana is a short drive away. There is very easy access to public transit if you want it. The Poseidon Ferry to Miami Beach is right outside the door.

That said, the rooms are tiny and worn (our suite was less than 450 square feet, albeit with a great view). Both the valet and the housekeeping left much to be desired..we asked for daily housekeeping (available for elite members) and only received it once…after we called the front desk because we ran out of toilet paper. The breakfast was “meh.” The hotel has probably the worst fitness area I’ve seen in a Hyatt Regency. It’s a property that I want to love because of where it is, sort of like the Hyatt Centric Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately, it didn’t give us many reasons to.

Hyatt Regency Miami Bottom Line Review

Bottom line: I would never stay in this hotel if it didn’t have this location. Conversely, I’d be tempted by almost any hotel that does. It’s really all about where the Hyatt Regency is. If you need/want somewhere with a superlative location downtown, it’s very useful.  If you don’t, stay somewhere else. It would take very little to give an FM “thumbs-up” to this property because of where it sits, but food, service and facilities make it a mixed bag.

• 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: Huge event-based variation.  We paid cash for the week I stayed and the suite we stayed in was $178/night, well below other downtown Miami properties. The week of our stay, with several corporate events in the hotel and next door at the Knight Center, the cash rate for a standard room was $650.
• Points Value: At times when the hotel doesn’t have a lot of event traffic, prices can be between $100-$150/nt which would make it a so-so redemption.  However, rates can soar well above $500, making the point value well above our reasonable redemption value of 1.6 CPP.
• Resort Fee: None.
• Parking: Valet is $47 per night with in & out privileges. There is self-parking across the street in a garage that is accessible via a covered walkway from the Knight Center. Rates are $10 for up to 4 hours, $20 for 4-24 hours. No in and out privileges, so clock starts over every time you leave and come back.
• Turndown service: None.
• Housekeeping: Requested everyday (an option for elite members). Receieved it once during our five-night stay after we called down to the front desk because we ran out of toilet paper.
• Internet: Very good. Able to stream, cast and zoom throughout the property
• Dining:
  • Breakfast: There is a sizeable buffet breakfast served from 7am-12pm at Riverview Bar and Restaurant, as well as a grab and go option called the Market. The buffet is $32++ ($40 after) and was mediocre. While there was a very large selection of fruit, pastries and hot dishes, nothing was very good.  The fruit and pastries were old 3 out of the 5 days and I ended up just having the same eggs, potatoes and sausage the last three after trying some of the other hot dishes and finding them lackluster to unappetizing.  I’d feel pretty incredulous if I paid $40 cash for this. Coffee, juice and espresso included.
  • Lunch & Dinner: Riverview Bar and Grill Restaurant serves dinner from 4-11pm (midnight on Saturday).  There is also a grab-and-go option called “The Market” open from 6:30am to Midnight.
• Spa: None. There is a small pool that’s in poor repair.
• Fitness Room: The worst gym that I’ve ever seen in a Hyatt Regency.  Almost hilarious how small and claustrophobic it is for a 600+ room hotel.  They put mirrors quite literally over all over the walls and the ceiling to make it look bigger.  It doesn’t work. It has two treadmills, three ellipticals and two bikes sitting cheek-by-jowl in front of the tiniest “weight training” area I’ve seen.  We drove to a nearby gym where I’m a member and never used the one in the hotel.
• Hyatt Globalist Elite Benefits: Suite Upgrade: We booked into the suite, so there was no upgrade.  They did give us a suite with a lovely view right over the river and the Brickell Bridge.
  • Club Lounge: None.
  • Free Breakfast: Mediocre buffet breakfast served at Riverview Bar and Grill.  Charges for gratuity and service charge were removed along with F&B.
  • 4PM Late Checkout: Applied automatically without asking
  • Free Parking: Free valet parking on award stays, otherwise $47.
• Would I stay again?  Maybe, if the price was right. The location is absolutely incredible, right on the riverwalk and across the bridge from Brickell and Brickell key. The front desk was very helpful.  That’s about it.  Uninspiring rooms, lackadaisacal service and mediocre-below average F&B keep this from being a win. But, if I needed to be downtown I would consider it for location alone.
• Hyatt Regency Miami pros:
  • Location, location, location. Right on the river, across the bridge from Brickell and it’s plethora of restraurants.  Connected to the Knight Center which has both convention and concerts. Knight Center has a Metromover station (above the parking garage) with free transport downtown or to connections with Metrorail and Bright Rail to Fort Lauderdale. Right in between the bridges to South Beach and Key Biscayne.
  • Nice river and city views from many rooms.
  • Very helpful front desk.
  • Did I mention the location?
• Hyatt Regency Miami cons:
  • Property showing it’s age.
  • Mediocre food and beverage.
  • Room was fairly worn and small for a suite (427sq ft).
  • Housekeeping seemed in complete disarray and we only were serviced once in a five-night stay and then only after we called the front desk.
  • Absolutely no street parking around hotel. Only options are valet and parking garage.
  • Small, rundown pool area.

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