Review: Hyatt Regency Bellevue

This is actually my second time at the property.  I was here for oneworld MegaDO, but the trip was such a whirlwind I never really got a chance to enjoy the property.

I wouldn’t do too much enjoying this trip, although not a horrible stay.  The lobby area of the HR Bellevue is actually quite nice.  There are bamboo trees, fireplaces and lots of different places to find a quiet seat for a meeting or to get some work done.

Check-in was uneventful.  There was actually a girl I knew there who used to work at a Hyatt I frequent in Denver and she recognized me as one of her co-workers was checking me in.  I was handed a key card and didn’t think much else.  It was late and I wanted to go catch some sleep.  The room was comfortable and in a good state of repair. Standard bed, desk and bathroom along with a refrigerator.  I also received what I thought was my Diamond amenity, but I’m sure turned out to be a nice gift from a contact I had at the property.

I woke up the next morning to grab a quick workout.  I wanted to grab a bottle of OJ to have some breakfast before heading across to the gym (it’s in a separate building across the street).  I stopped by the coffee shop in the lobby and was told they don’t do room charges.  Okay, not really the hotel’s fault but a pain in the butt to walk back up to my room and get a credit card (this would come in handy later) to buy myself some OJ.

I had realized I didn’t receive a Wall Street Journal at my door that morning which is very odd.  Hyatt is great at delivering benefits, one of the reasons I switched most of my business to them.  I stopped at the front desk and mentioned that something seemed wrong with my reservation, since I also hadn’t gotten any information on the club at the hotel.  The front desk clerk informed me that was because I wasn’t a Diamond member.  I assured him  I had just squeaked by with over 100 nights last year and asked him to double-check.  He told me he wouldn’t be able to give me access to the club because he couldn’t verify my Diamond status.  I encouraged him to call Gold Passport and then went across the courtyard to the gym.

The gym was well-equipped with new aerobic and weight-lifting stations along with a pool.  Again, in a kind of random set of unfortunate circumstances, there was a construction crew working outside the window drilling through the facade of the building.  Even with my headphones turned up all the way it was really loud.

After a workout it was back to the front desk to see if I had attained Diamond status yet.  😉

The person I was working with before had left but another gentleman was aware of the situation after I explained it to him.  But, before he would hand me my room keys he said he need to see ID.  Normally I wouldn’t have ID with me while working out, but since I had to go back up to my room earlier because of the coffee shop I had a credit card with me.  After some gentle prodding, he accepted my credit card in lieu of a drivers license.  I understand the need for security.  But, the fact that I approached the desk and talked about the problem I had and the fact that I was able to verify my room number and the status issue along with a credit card in my name, one would think this would be plenty of identity.

My last stop before heading to my meeting was to the club for a quick bite of breakfast.  Most of the Hyatts I stay at do an above average job on lounge breakfast, and this property was no exception.  Great selection of pastries and breads, fresh fruit, smoked salmon and hot oatmeal.  Plenty of juice and bottled water along with an espresso machine.

The other big plus to this club was an outdoor seating area and an uncharacteristically sunny morning in Seattle.  A beautiful view to enjoy some smoked salmon and a bagel.

I didn’t receive a newspaper the second day even though some other doors had one in front of it, so the Diamond status issue never did work itself all the way out.  I had a fairly early departure the following morning, so no second stop in the club.  I called down for my car from valet and then headed downstairs.  When I found the bell desk, I was reminded exactly how early it was (for some).  I’ve blurred the face to protect the innocent.

Despite some of the small bumps and bruises, I do really enjoy the atmosphere of this property.  It’s a testimony to Hyatt’s consistency that this is one of the only instances I can really recall where benefits weren’t applied correctly.  Maybe I should have been more annoyed by all the small issues.  I’m sure there was a time where I would have been.

And, just a little side note about Bellevue.  Microsoft offices everywhere, no surprise.  There’s a mall in downtown Bellevue and I needed to grab something from the Apple store.  I snapped this picture on my way out.  If you look in the background of the picture, you’ll see the very small Microsoft logo in the distance.  Probably the only place in the country where you’ll see a Microsoft store 3 doors down from an Apple store.  I’ll let you guess which store was busier.  🙂

Anybody know which store opened first in this mall?