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I recently had a two night stay in the Bay Area that was bookended by a late arrival the first night and an early departure the last morning. Because of this, I wanted a hotel near the airport. The Grand Hyatt SFO was on peak pricing for the two nights that I was there, so I chose the Hyatt Regency SFO instead. It was a very pleasant surprise…and at almost half the points price of the Grand Hyatt.
Hyatt Regency SFO Bottom Line Review
The Hyatt Regency SFO is a very good-value points option near San Francisco Airport. While not on the AirTrain like the Grand Hyatt, a free shuttle operates every 15 minutes for the vast majority of the day. The reception and guest-services teams were terrific and provided excellent elite recognition. The Bay-side rooms have a lovely view of San Francisco Bay and the south end of the SFO runways (where it looks like you’re about to land in the water). Good breakfast, fitness area and common spaces makes this a an all-around winner for an airport stay.
- Price: This is a category 3 Hyatt and costs 12,000 Hyatt points per night standard, 9,000 points off-peak, and 15,000 points peak. The cash rates usually hover in the $200-$300 range. It was 12,000 pts/night when I was there.
- Value: Very good. Given the cash prices, it’s difficult to find award nights that don’t provide at least 2.0 cents per point value.
- Location: Good. While it’s not on the AirTrain like the Grand Hyatt SFO, it’s only 8-10 minutes away by free shuttle. The Bay View side faces the south end of the runways at SFO, providing some fun planespotting.
- Room: I stayed in a massive, 1400 sq-ft Premier Suite with floor-to-ceiling bay view windows. It has a wet bar, full sectional sofa and a huge bathroom with a wraparound sink and soaking tub.
- Parking: Self-parking is $40 and is located in a garage adjacent to the hotel. There are walkways connecting to the hotel on the first and fourth garage floors. Valet parking is currently unavailable.
- Airport Shuttle: Every 15 minutes from 4am-1am, every 30 minutes from 1am-4am.
- Resort/Destination Fee: None.
- Internet: Great, able to stream easily throughout the hotel.
- Service: Very good. Excellent reception staff, good restaurant service and a very-responsive guest services team that can provide most things you need via text.
- Turndown service: None.
- Dining:
- 3SIXTY Bistro/Bar/Market is located in the atrium and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily from 6am-11pm. The bar stays open an extra hour until 12am.
- Spa: None.
- Fitness Room:There is a nice-sized fitness room that has a variety of cardio options as well as a good selection of free-weights and resistance machines.
- Hyatt Globalist Elite Benefits:
- Suite Upgrade: I booked a standard room and was proactively upgraded to a huge, top-floor “Premier Suite.”
- Club Lounge: One the ninth floor with lovely views. While the lounge is “open,” there is no service, so it effectively just serves as a place for meetings/hanging-out or if you need to print something.
- Free Breakfast: From the menu at 3SIXTY Bistro. There are some excellent options, including NY Steak and Eggs, Dungeness Crab and Avocado omelet and a smoked salmon eggs benedict. Very good food and service. F&B and gratuity were comped.
- 4PM Late Checkout: Applied automatically without asking.
- Free Parking: Free self-parking on award stays. Valet wasn’t running when I were there in January 2023.
- Would I stay again? Yes.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- In better shape than many Regencies, with recently-refurbished public spaces
- Good views on Bay side of hotel
- Excellent elite recognition and service
- Good restaurant/bar
- Convenient shuttle
- Multiple common areas for work/meeting with excellent views and privacy
Cons
- Requires a shuttle to get to the airport (unlike the Grand Hyatt)
- Still has the Hyatt Regency convention-hotel feel
- Lame pool area
Image Gallery
Hyatt Regency SFO Premier Suite
3Sixty Bistro/Bar
Hyatt Regency SFO Club Lounge
Hyatt Regency SFO Fitness Area and Pool
Hyatt Regency SFO Common Areas
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Thanks for the review Tim! Appreciated the updates and the pictures.
I stayed a few times pre-covid. My experience tracks Zee’s. I always got a decent buffet breakfast in the lounge, and it was a terrific value as a (then) category 2, especially compared to the Grand.
Glad to hear they’re doing a decent restaurant breakfast. Is free self-parking on award stays just for globalists? Or everyone?
Did I see that there was NO door between the bathroom and the bedroom?? The only problem for us is that we take 5 am flights and the shuttle does not run till 4 am,, not enough time to make the flight!!
In the suite, there isn’t a door between the bathroom and the room, but there IS a door between the toilet and the rest of the bathroom. The hotel shuttle runs between 1am and 4am, it just switches from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes. So, you could take a 3:30 shuttle and have plenty of time.
I’ve stayed here and other Grand Hyatt is not a good value and would choose this property 100% of the time. Good post!
This hotel is my primary SFO hotel. They are good about upgrading me to a suite — just not as big as the one shown in this blog article — as a Globalist, but I have to ask at check-in since otherwise they don’t assign them to me. Breakfast is in the restaurant and they have been very quick to serve me even right at open when it’s been just me and a few pilots grabbing breakfast.
Reception is nice and efficient. Free airport shuttle is convenient, but can get crowded. It shares with a Marriott hotel nearby.
I used to stay there several times per year before covid. The lounge wasn’t great, but it wasnt terrible. It had some tables on the wrap around balcony. I had been upgraded to a suite several times, but not every time. It actually used to be a cat 2, so a great deal for 8000 points.
Hey Tim,
One quick question: I see that they FINALLY reopened the doors to the lounge. Are the pictures correct that there isn’t even a bottle of water or soda offered in the lounge? No food or packaged snacks?
Fascinating review. I have stayed here 5 times, every February because of an event our daughter attends. I hate it, it is by far the worst Regency I have stayed at, in fact so bad that twice I have received full point refunds for our 2 night stays. There is a good reason that it is only Category 3.
Great to hear that they are FINALLY offering a decent breakfast for Globalists. For years it was a garbage mini buffet that was slightly worse than a Hyatt Place breakfast.
Thanks Tim.
-Brian
You’re 100% spot on. They’re extremely loathe to grant upgrades to globalists. I’ve stayed at this property five times last year and if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s cheaper than the grand hyatt, I wouldn’t have stayed here.
I did enjoy the breakfast offering and the gym. The lounge was not open as of late Nov 2022.
That’s correct. They have the space open, but there’s no food or beverage. They told me at reception that there would be bottled water, but I never saw it.
From your description of the buffet that was offered in lounge, maybe we hope it stays that way…for breakfast anyway
Ha, stayed there many years ago on a Priceline stay, and parked on the street a block away to save on the parking charge. Per Google Street View, the side street a block north still has no signed parking restrictions and is not packed with cars. Easy way to save $40/day
Good tip!