Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Review
Overview & Pricing
The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach is located on Pacific Coast Highway directly across from the road from the ocean. In many ways this hotel feels likes a Hawaiian Resort with a number of pools, large families roaming around and nice ocean views, but it is very Southern California at its heart.
Key Stats
- Base Room Prices: $200 – $500 depending on season
- Award Costs: 20,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points or 10,000 points & $125
- Resort fee: $25
- Parking: $36 valet or $14 overnight city street parking
- My Stay: 3 nights Points + Cash and applied a Diamond Suite Upgrade.
Location
Located across the street from the ocean, this hotel is the only one with its own skybridge to get you there. While you do still have to actually go over PCH via the bridge to get to the beach, Hyatt has attendants handing out towels and chairs on the other side which makes things quite a bit nicer. Road noise is a bit of a problem at some places on property though, so keep that in mind, especially if your room is closer to the highway.
If you are flying into Southern California, the closest airport is SNA, with LGB fairly close as well and LAX not terribly far either. Flying into either SNA or LGB is quite a bit quicker and easier. On our trip we flew JetBlue into Long Beach and were at the hotel within 25 minutes with limited traffic. Within a 10 minute walk of the hotel is the Huntington Beach pier along with a number of shops and an beautiful new mall. Disneyland can be reached in about 30 minutes (the hotel runs a shuttle in Summer) and most of Southern California’s tourist attractions are within an hour.
Lobby & Check-In
The first thing you notice when walking into this hotel is the beautiful fountain framing the ocean behind it. The hotel’s designers did a masterful job of making you forget that you aren’t in some tropical destination. Turn left from the main entrance to find the front desk. I find this area a bit broken up and chaotic. The check-in desk is quite wide and there isn’t any line per se. This caused people to cut in front of each other. Luckily there is a Diamond/Platinum check-in counter on the far left as well.
My check-in experience at the hotel was very good. There wasn’t a wait at the Diamond desk so I walked right up and happily found out our suite was ready despite our slightly early arrival. The agent also recognized my Diamond status, explained the Club Lounge access and gave me a letter detailing my benefits on property. I was on my way to the room within 2-3 minutes.
Room Review
The SoCal Suite is the base suite that Diamond members are upgraded to when using a Suite Upgrade. I had emailed the property a few days before to see if we could get a better suite, but they were full. At 900 square feet this room turned out to be perfectly fine. It has two full bathrooms, a pull out couch in the living room and a king size bed in the bedroom.
The living room is fairly large with the couch and living area along with a desk and working area as well. My son slept on the pull out couch and even with it extended we had plenty of room to move around, were able to get to the balcony and I was able to work while the baby was sleeping in the bedroom. This setup worked perfectly.
As for the bedroom, it was quite large with a typical Hyatt king size bed. I found it comfortable, but I still think Starwood properties have better mattresses. The master bathroom had whirpool tub/shower combo. While I prefer a separate shower, it was large and worked well. Overall the room felt “resortsy” to me which I liked given the type of hotel this is. I also liked that the other bathroom had a shower so my son wasn’t sharing with us.
I did have one complaint about the room though. Because of the architecture of the building, most of these types of suites are located on the front of the property. This means you are closer to the ocean, but you are also closer to the road. Our balcony overlooked the main pool area and the ocean which was nice, but we were so close to the road that the noise made it difficult to enjoy the view.
Facilities & Food
As a full resort, the Hyatt Regency has a number of dining establishments from pool side restaurants to fine dining. We didn’t eat too much on property, although we did take advantage of the on site Italian restaurant for a little pizza and sandwiches one day. At $8 for a sandwich or about $20 for a pizza, it can’t be beat and the food was decent. They do charge delivery to your room, but it is on property so you can pick up the food as well.
The pizza restaurant and most others are located in a beautiful Mediterranean themed promenade section. Access to this area is a bit strange since you need to exit the lobby and walk down a corridor, but the vibe is relaxing and it is a great place to have a meal, but expect to pay more than you would outside of the hotel. Also nice, on two of our three nights, they also had live music in this area in the evening. Baby Elizabeth definitely practiced her dance moves.
Family beach resorts need pools and this one has them despite the limited amount of land they have. On the far end of the property is the Crazy Kids Pool (my nickname for it) where you will find waterfalls, a baby pool and a bunch of children running around. For a more relaxing experience, you can find a more traditional lagoon style pool in the middle of the property and they also have a small area called the “Spa Grotto” with only hot tubs. Very peaceful.
To finish off the facilities review, I did have a chance to check out their very large and well equipped gym. With just about every type of machine along with free weights, you won’t have an issue getting a workout in. They also have a full spa in case you are looking for a steam or massage while on vacation and if you need a break from the children, a kids club is available for a fee, although we didn’t get to try it out.
Internet
Normally I wouldn’t put this in its own section, but the internet at this property is TERRIBLE and there is no premium option. I found the internet unusable and I eventually had to switch to tethering to my phone. I did reach out to management and all they did was offer to have me talk to tech support. I travel enough to know it isn’t my equipment and declined to waste my time. This is apparently a known problem at this property. I think it is time for them to upgrade.
Club Lounge
As Suite Guests (or Diamond Members) we received access to the Club Lounge. The lounge is located on the 4th floor directly above the lobby and serves continental breakfast in the morning, appetizers in the evening and then dessert a bit later (Cash bar in the evening). If you are staying in another part of the hotel it can be quite a trek to get to, but thankfully our room was around the corner.
This is my second time staying at this hotel and I found the lounge to be adequate. I can’t say this is a great lounge, but I have been in far worse. At breakfast they usually had a decent hot item along with high quality meats and cheeses and at night, the spread was a little worse, but tolerable. The staff was great though and I found the drinks were always stocked no matter what time I visited. One thing to note is that the lounge is on the small side and can get quite busy during peak times.
Conclusion
I have now stayed at this hotel twice, once in a regular room and once in a suite. It is a four star resort from top to bottom and one I will eventually return to, although probably not right away. The internet issue was frustrating enough, but my biggest problem was honestly the road noise. I stay in a property like this to relax and it was too loud to sit on my balcony and listen to the ocean. With that said, we enjoyed the pools, the ocean and the rest of the hotel. If you can get over the few shortcomings then this is definitely a hotel to consider.
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I’m surprised by your internet comment. We stayed there 2nd week of September and I was shocked at the speed of their internet. I had 85mbps down and 39mbps up.
Wow that is shocking. I guess it has to do with where on property you are.
We were on the 4th floor of the middle building down the hall form the Regency Club. May ask for that location next time.
Thanks for the review — and this place goes on the no-go list for us, precisely for the issue you highlight. Nothing worse than a resort with awful road/traffic noise spoiling the resort ambiance — the reason you’re on vacation. Your posts reminded me that Daraius at MMS at end of 2015 had this property as his #1 Hyatt “beach hotel.” (I looked back at that post — and to be blunt, I suspect he never stayed there…..)
Wish there was a service somewhere that did a credible/reliable job identifying hotels (of all brands) truly located directly on the beach, and not a hop, skip and a long jump (over the noisy interstate) away. IHG/Holiday Inn’s are notorious for this — they say “beach hotel” — but when you get there, you realize you’re more likely on an interstate in a beach town…. (like Huntington Beach)
Still, have been at some Hyatt actually directly on a beach….. Daytona, Clearwater — and tempted to try Miami South Beach (now that it’s been lowered to cat. 4) Walked by the overpriced non-inclusive Hyatt in Aruba too…. gorgeous setting to be sure. (and all this separate from the super Zilaras — yes they’re on the beach. ;-))
Our family of 7 (our 5 kids are in their 20s) spent 10 nights there over Christmas 2014. Before the holiday we had the place to ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed the beach, hot tubs, fire pits, the Club Lounge… all the things you mentioned, plus the spa. If you are a guest at the hotel, you have access to the spa facilities. There are hot tubs, relaxation rooms, and these crazy showers that spray from every conceivable angle. With 4 of us in each room the spa access was great. We ended our afternoon around a fire pit with a drink, then a soak in the spa hot tub, a cup of tea in the relaxation room and an over-the-top shower.
Also, we found an outdoor nook tucked away between two of the buildings with sofas and a fireplace. We hung out there every night after dinner playing cards.
We are trying our luck at the Hyatt in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this Christmas. But Huntington Beach will always be special for us.
Great review! Can’t wait to stay there