For the Love of Hyatt

Obviously, we love to travel and experience new places, but something that comes along with it is lodging accommodations. For the most part, we would not consider ourselves resort or all-inclusive travelers and tend to like small, unique properties whether it be hostels, a cabin or treehouse in the woods, or an agriturismo in Italy to name a few examples. However, unless we are using Barclay Arrival credits, the cost of staying in these places can add up quickly which is where hotel points come in handy. 

From experience, our favorite hospitality group is Hyatt. We earn points for Hyatt by regular spend on cards that earn Ultimate Reward points and then transfer them to Hyatt Gold Passport to redeem free nights. These cards include the Chase Ink (office stores and buying gift cards for places we normally shop at, cell phone bill), Chase Sapphire Preferred (travel expenses, eating out), and Chase Freedom (rotating quarterly categories so food, gas, and Amazon). For reference, M's intro posts on credit and travel rewards can be found here and here.

It doesn't matter which Hyatt category (1-7) it is. They outdo themselves in more ways than one including rooms, breakfast, and customer service. 

The Rooms

The properties and rooms at every category are nice in our opinion. On the lower end of the spectrum, this particular hotel is a Category 2 and requires 8,000 points per night (in contrast to the Category 7 properties that are 30,000 points per night). This room came with a kitchen that had plates, silverware, and anything else one could possibly need.

A living area.

A bedroom separate from the living and kitchen area for a comfortable night's rest.

And enough space to get ready for the day.

Breakfast

But our favorite thing about this Hyatt was the breakfast and the build-your-own omelette bar. Yes, we sure do love food, especially when it is good quality, and Hyatt takes the cake when it comes to continental breakfast.

The breakfast potatoes, fresh squeezed orange juice, and even the individual jars of honey were huge hits at the table.

Customer Service

Last, but definitely not least is the customer service that Hyatt provides. Sometimes this means a personal escort and tour of the room at the higher categories. At the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach, it meant providing us with a food credit because our two bed room requested was not available for the night, and we had to take a king-sized bed with fold-out couch instead. These were all things they did not have to do, but Hyatt sure goes above and beyond to make you feel at home. 

They also have a good social media presence, interacting with their customers (@HyattTweets, @HyattConcierge) and hosting giveaways to build their customer rapport. One of their latest giveaways was to celebrate their 200th Hyatt Place opening by giving away 200 free Hyatt Place nights over the course of a week and a half. All you had to do was tweet or Instagram a picture of your stay at a Hyatt Place with #HyattPlace #HPEntry. 

Some of our friends think we are a little crazy because we tend to take pictures of the hotel and room each stay. Literally, the bags drop the minute we enter the room and the camera comes out! But now they are convinced, since we each won a free night at any Hyatt Place in the country. All it took was a couple of minutes of our time and a few pictures.

A's winning picture entry from the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach.

M's winning picture entry of the hotel lobby.

Okay, enough on our love for Hyatt for now. We cannot be the only ones with an affinity for a certain hotel brand. ;) Or maybe we are just that crazy. What is your favorite hotel property, group, and/or hotel experience thus far?