Hyatt Centric Atlanta/Buckhead: Bottom Line Review

On a recent trip to Atlanta, I was able to stay at the new Hyatt Centric Buckhead.  Opened in December of 2021, it’s Hyatt’s newest property in Atlanta and features two restaurant concepts from James Beard award-winning chef Hugh Acheson.  I’ve grown to like the Hyatt Centric brand a lot and was excited to check this one out.  In fact, I cancelled a reservation at another property to make this stay happen.  The early reviews have been mixed, but I was looking forward to it.  Maybe it was my expectations, but it struck me as a (admittedly incredible) rooftop bar in need of a hotel.

That rooftop bar is great though, with panoramic views of Buckhead and downtown Atlanta.  While I probably wouldn’t stay in the hotel again, I’d absolutely make it a point to enjoy a sunset and evening lights from the bar.   If only the rest of the hotel would follow suit.

Hyatt Centric Atlanta/Buckhead Bottom Line Review

Bottom line: Located in Atlanta’s trendy Buckhead neighbourhood, the brand new Hyatt Centric Buckhead seems like it should have everything going for it.  Unfortunately, the location, sandwiched between the massive Lenox Square Mall complex and Highway 400, is suboptimal.  The rooms are small and awkward, the traffic noise in the most expensive view rooms is terrible and the internet is some of the worst that I’ve experienced in a major hotel chain.  Although it is in Buckhead, it’s about a 20-30 minute walk through mall parking structures and condos to get anywhere in Buckhead that you’d want to be (although right by the Marta Gold Line). The people are nice and the rooftop bar is incredible, but there’s too many options in Buckhead to make this appealing.  Stay somewhere else and visit the bar for sunset.

• Points Price: Category 3, 9-15K points per night or a Category 1-4 Certificate from the Chase Hyatt Card.  Interestingly enough, it seems to often be at the high end of that range, even though the cash rates don’t seem to support it.
• Cash Price: It seems to vary quite a bit but hangs out in the $140-$200 range.  For the night I stayed, the cash member price was $138 (and the points price was peak at 15k), well below the Reasonable Redemption Value of 1.6 cents/per point.
• Points Value: Overall, fairly average-below average, especially since it often seems to be at peak pricing.  I didn’t see a single night in the next two months that would reach 1.6 cents per point at peak and it seems to usually be the least expensive of the Buckhead Hyatt properties.
• Room: The standard rooms are listed as 379 square feet, but the hallway and bathroom collectively take up almost half of that.  The actual living space feels tiny, with a king bed taking up almost all of the remaining room.   I was upgraded to a city view room on the 14th floor.  While the views were great, the city view rooms sit, literally, right on top of a six lane freeway with a MARTA train track in the middle.  I like white noise, but this is LOUD. I woke up several times thoughout the night to an assorment of big rigs and crotch-rockets.  I actually had to ask to switch to a “mall view room” because of the noise, something I never do.  When I did, the Front Desk Agent told me that they have to do it a lot, as it’s a common complaint.
• Resort Fee: None
• Parking: $32 per night with in & out privileges, $42 for valet.  Free parking at the mall across the street (which is where the valet will park your car).
• Housekeeping: Daily.
• Internet: Laughably terrible.  It required a sign-in each time you opened a device, would kick me off every thirty minutes or so (including during zoom meetings) and couldn’t support streaming.  For a new hotel, it was pretty shocking how bad it was. In the morning, I heard several folks complaining about it, saying they gave up and used their hot spots.
• Dining
  • Breakfast: Good, not great.  Breakfast is served at Mont Royal restaurant on the ground floor.  Globalists are able to order anything from the menu, which includes seven items, two of which are appetizers from the dinner menu.  Great bagels.
  • Lunch & Dinner: Mont Royal serves breakfast from 7am-10am, Happy Hour from 3pm-5pm and dinner from 5pm-10pm.  It’s a lovely space and has a Montreal-steakhouse inspired menu from James Beard Award-Winning Chef Hugh Acheson, but seems to have mixed reviews.
  • There is a very cool outdoor “rooftop” bar called Spaceman on the 15th floor that is an attraction for both locals and guests.
• Spa: None, but there is a tiny outdoor semi-heated pool on the 2nd floor.
• Fitness Room: Ok. Cardio ( 3 Treadmills,2 Ellipticals), yoga/stretching gear and a smattering of weight equipment, without enough to do much of a resistance workout.  Hard to do much more than cardio.
• Hyatt Globalist Elite Benefits: 
  • Suite Upgrade: I was upgraded to a 14th floor corner “City View” room before arriving.  This is simply a normal King/Queen room that features a  floor-to-ceiling window with a good view of Buckhead and a little downtown Altanta.  It had a walk-in shower and and in-room Keurig machine.  They only have four suites on the hotel and there was an event for local influencers spotlighting the bar (that I was not a part of), so all four suites were sold out. They did proactively look, however.
  • Club Lounge: None.
  • Free Breakfast: Served off of the menu at Mont Royal Restaurant.  F&B and gratuity comped.
  • 4PM Late Checkout: Yes
  • Free Parking: No, except for Globalist award stays.  There is copious parking across the street at the Lenox Square Mall, however.  I wouldn’t leave valuables in the car, but it seemed like it would be ok for an overnight…and that’s where the valet will put your car anyway.
• Would I stay again?  No, for me this was a disappointing property in comparison to other Hyatt Centric stays I’ve had. There’s just too many other good places to stay in Buckhead. Cash rates make it a poor value for a Hyatt 1-4 cert in most instances.  (see Greg’s list of best Category 1-4 hotels).  I would come back to the rooftop bar for an evening drink, however.
• Hyatt Centric Buckhead Pros:
  • It’s in Buckhead.
  • Brand new hotel.  Restaurant and rooftop bar look great.
  • Marvelous Rooftop Bar.
  • Very convenient to two MARTA stations (Red and Gold Lines).
• Hyatt Centric Buckhead Cons:
  • About as inconvenient a location as possible and still be in Buckhead.
  • Globalist recognition at check-in was marginal; had to ask about benefits and where/how to use them.
  • The worst internet that I’ve ever experienced in a Hyatt property.
  • Small, awkward standard rooms.
  • One-half of rooms (the City View side)  are directly over the 400 freeway…LOTS of traffic and train noise.

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