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Houston is having a moment, and 2024 is the perfect year to take some time to explore The Bayou City. The city offers many hotels to choose from - with options ranging from gracious old restored mansions, to cute little inns that are tucked into cute residential neighborhoods. But, with all of these being great options, one property, which belongs to an international chain, happens to stand out in location, service, and convenience - The Hyatt Regency Houston.
With 995 rooms, my initial expectation wouldn’t be that this hotel would be service oriented, but I was wrong. I happened to be at the hotel over a very busy weekend, when Beyoncé herself had taken over Houston, and every hotel, with her massively successful Renaissance tour. The hotel was packed and the entire lobby was a glittering sea of silver as soon as I entered after my uber pulled-up from the airport. I checked-in and was welcomed with a smile, bottled water, a room upgrade, and a thorough explanation of what the hotel had on offer. Despite how busy it was, The Hyatt Regency staff made the time to make my check-in experience personal. Einstein Bagels has an outpost off the lobby, which is a perfect place for a quick breakfast sandwich or salad to go.
The lobby is a massive open atrium where glass elevators shoot up and down at top speed. At the center of the lobby is a bar/restaurant, “LobbiBar”, serving casual, good food like burgers and steak, and delicious cocktails. I found the margarita to be quite a good one. After receiving my keys, I made my way over the the elevators and shot up to the 14th floor where I exited and found my room, a “High Floor Double”. The Hyatt Regency offers different categories of rooms and suites here, and some have fabulous views over downtown Houston and beyond. The VIP Grand Suite offers over 1,400 square feet of living space, and feels almost like your own urban apartment at the center of the city.
In my room, I found two cozy double beds, a desk, a large flat screen television, charging station everywhere, which is always convenient, and a large bathroom. The bathroom was bigger than expected and made it comfortable for someone like me, who takes a long time to get ready, to feel right at home. In my entryway, there was a mini bar and coffee station for the morning. The coffee is replenished daily and the fridge is a perfect spot for storing a bottle of wine to sip while getting ready for the evening.
I checked-in for two nights and was excited to explore town. The Hyatt Regency staff are great with offering recommendations of what to see or where to eat.
Within the hotel, steak lovers can enjoy an outpost of Shula’s Steak House, but I wanted to check out what was further afield so I explored some of the more local spots. The staff here also recommended some sites to see and do such as ATV tours, The Museum of Fine Arts, and even a food walking tour.
The front desk was always happy to replenish me with fresh bottled water when I entered the hotel or upon request in my room.
The Hyatt Regency is so well located that you can actually walk around, in a city that is mainly geared towards driving. Nearby you’ll find cute coffee houses, shopping, convenience stores, and more. Being so large, there are rooms for meetings and conventions, but The Hyatt Regency Houston has mastered the art of offering small scale, personalized service and attention - but in a big way. This is not common and this was my big takeaway here. If you are traveling to Houston in 2024, stay here and be delighted by all that this property has to offer.
