Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency LAX International Airport
The Hyatt Regency LAX has taken an interesting path to becoming the Hyatt Regency LAX. The property was a Hyatt a long time ago (over 50 years). During my travel life, I’ve always known it as the Radisson.
When Hyatt first took it back over, they branded it The Concourse. It was managed by Hyatt but still had serious problems from a physical plant standpoint. I was hopeful this property would turn out well. The other full-service options near the airport are less than desirable. My initial “go-to” property at LAX was the Sheraton Gateway. Really nothing special but worked out as a member of the SPG program. More recently, I’ve stayed at the Hyatt Place LAX/El Segundo. It’s a newer property, but a bit further away. The shuttle can be a bit of an issue. The Sheraton is a 20-minute walk to the United terminals, 30 minutes to American Airlines/Tom Bradley. I like controlling my own destiny as opposed to waiting for a shuttle, hence the hope for a positive experience at Hyatt Regency LAX.
The property had a significant amount of renovation work to do. They completed most of it late last year. My brief stay was…brief. I’ll try to hit more areas of the property the next time I stay. For now, here’s a quick summary of the guest rooms.
Getting There
If you head towards either Terminal 1 or 7, you’ll come to the entrance to the airport loop. I generally fly into Terminal 4 or 6/7, so from that side you cross to the parking garages and head towards the center of the loop. You’ll see some LAX signage, then a small courtyard you can cross over to. If you’re traveling at night, the lit pillars are a great landmark. Once you pass through the courtyard, hang a left. You’ll see the hotel a few hundred feet down diagonally across the intersection. It normally takes me about 10-15 minutes to make the walk.
Guest Rooms
I was in a standard king guest room for my brief stay. The design/color scheme was simple and bright. There were two seating areas in the room. There’s also a flat-screen television, a coffee station and small refrigerator. While I liked both seating areas, I would have appreciated a true desk instead of the small table with two chairs.
The bed was comfortable, as expected. Night stand lights are convenient, as well as a variety of both regular outlets, USB outlets and audio input/output. Simply put, there’s a lot of technology bedside.
There’s also a small open closet, some drawers and a safe. My room had a robe hanging up.
The bathroom was compact and clean. A shower (no bathtub) and a round rain shower head complement a simple back-lit white vanity.
The Final Two Pennies
The Hyatt Regency LAX is a Category 3 hotel in the World of Hyatt program. That means 12,000 points a night for a regular room, 17,000 points a night for a club room or 6,000 points and $75/night for a Points & Cash booking. I’ve seen rates at this hotel under $200 at times, so you’ll want to consider whether it’s cheaper to pay cash than use points.
Overall, I found the room product to be more than satisfactory for an airport hotel. The close proximity/short walk and brand new rooms make this an easy choice when you need to stay at LAX.
The post Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency LAX International Airport was published first on Pizza in Motion
Regency Club transformation was recently completed. It’s a nice space with a few seating areas plus a private meeting room. I’ve only sampled the food a few times – breakfast has a good variety & usual Hyatt Regency Club fare to start the day well. Evening food makes for nice nibbles, and the chocolate mousse cake last Friday was outstanding, and made me wish I had been bold enough to walk out with 2 slices ;). Perhaps it has just been my timing, however the 4 evenings I have visited the Club I didn’t see hot foods. Not to worry though, I don’t go hungry with the other offerings here!
The Restaurant Unity One LA has never failed to satisfy my desire for real food. Over perhaps 10 stays! I like it when I can get a satisfying meal without leaving the hotel, and this works well for me. They have a range of styles, perhaps 6, each including a starter, lighter main, & main. A few seating styles are available.
They have an all day cafe area that serves again an impressively wide range of hot and cold choices, ranging from noodles to sandwiches, gelato to doughnuts ;). You can see the chefs at work through the day. Seated area is good and open.
The bar area somehow also has ambience, despite being in an airport hotel! Food choices are some usual tasty hot bar fare, as well as some items from the restaurant menu. Again, have never had a miss!
Both restaurant and bar staff are attentive and have good customer service. Even with a month between visits, they recalled how I like my water, and which glass of red / white wine I prefer!
Now I know having given the above glowing report, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, this property ticks all the boxes…
@Yvonne, thank you for filling in the gaps. I was wondering why on earth there was no mention of whether or not there’s a Regency Club and for choices either there or in the restaurant…nicely done.
jakesd, the lounge wasn’t open when I was last there. I also arrived late at night so couldn’t speak to restaurants. I’m hoping to make a more complete review in the near future. But, I did want folks to know what the new room product looks like.
Thanks, Yvonne. The club wasn’t open when I was last there. Glad to see it completed!
Stayed there a few times, always arrive towards midnight. Night staff have been an issue…regularly told they have no rooms left, even with a prepaid reservation. don’t recognize status, etc. Ive found that you need to arrive before 8pm to get a smooth experience. The rooms are nice, the workout room is great. But all that requires actually getting a room 🙂
Matt, that’s interesting. On those occasions where you had a prepaid reservation, were you ultimately given a room?
Thanks for the review. I stayed there when it was converting from the Radisson to an HR and was surprised how friendly the staff were, including a call from one of the Managers asking what my amenity preference was, and when I declined the wine, they offered to get me a couple of craft beers instead! They were excited about the rebranding and it definitely looks much nicer than before. I agree about having an actual work table, but it appears to be a trend to move away from functional workspace to a more chilled environment.
WHY, I think airport hotels are even more a “business traveler” domain, hence the reason I think a desk is key. I’ve enjoyed the few interactions I’ve had with the staff so far, even when it was The Concourse. Hoping that’s a continuing trend.
I like this hotel for an overnight at LAX, it has a club though there were no hot items in the evening when we were there, overall, it’s pretty basic offerings for a Regency Club. And they have a nice 24 hour self-serve deli/restaurant in the lobby with some nice, though pricey, offerings, which is very convenient for travelers staying there.
I’m glad they decided to brand as a regency, since that gives us the club for breakfast. However to me the rooms feel more like modern, new build Hyatt Place rooms. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the rooms, except perhaps the lack of a desk, but they don’t feel like new Hyatt Regency rooms.
To me it kind of feels like the property should be branded as a Hyatt, not as a Hyatt Regency.
As long as I can find an attractive rate here, it will be my go to property at LAX, especially if I need Hyatt stays.
-David
David, I can see your perspective on Regency versus HP. I think the reason why you might not feel it’s a Regency is that there really aren’t too many new-build Hyatt Regency hotels in the US. I think the style of the bathroom feels less like a full-service hotel, but I still like it.
Just got back from a two night stay there; overall a nice place but they have some work to do. Moving in chronological order through my stay:
I was dropped off in front of the hotel, typically I don’t need help with my bags but I had three of them and a venti coffee from Starbucks that I was not going to spill. I would have appreciated someone offering to help me juggle my bags.
Check in was efficient and polite. However, they could have offered to get someone to help me with my luggage as they saw me juggling everything when I walked up to the desk.
When I check in I’m typically asked if I have stayed at that hotel previously. If I haven’t I’m given a rundown of the amenities of the hotel (i.e. pool, gym, restaurants, etc.). Not this time; I had to ask where the elevators were.
The room was nicely designed and what I would expect from a Hyatt.
The renovations looked poorly done. There was dirt (possibly mold) between the two window panes. The fixture on the shower covering the plumbing was loose. The HDMI panel for the TV did not work. The bedside lamp would not turn on because the bulb had been stuck inside of it rather than inserted into the socket, and the sliding bathroom door was crooked – the door opened and closed fine but it shows poor workmanship.
I was able to fix or ignore most of the items. I did ask someone to come up and fix the HDMI port (my hands couldn’t reach behind the TV) and a very helpful and courteous person fixed it in a few minutes.
Overall, a good value and incredibly convenient to LAX. The renovations done to the rooms need to be looked at to make sure they are up to standards (particularly the windows). The staff – while good – could be more proactive.
Those sound mostly like punch list items (sloppy QC after construction). I often wonder if I’m the only one who uses those HDMI ports. 🙂