Hyatt Regency Long Beach: A Category 3 With Stunning Views

Hyatt Regency Long Beach Review

This post covers a Hyatt Regency Long Beach review from a recent stay during the annual Long Beach marathon.

Here’s what John Ryan had to say about his stay at the property. John Ryan was also a guest on our MtM Vegas Podcast, This Teen Knows Vegas Better Than You: Best of Vegas with John Ryan.  He is an avid traveler and reader of the site. You can follow him on Twitter @vegasteenager.

Food

I didn’t eat on property but used pretty much all of the other amenities, and I have to say I can definitely recommend staying here.

Booking

This is a Category 3 Hyatt property. This means current point costs are 12,000 points a night. With the new peak and off-peak pricing starting in March, the points required will fluctuate between 10,500 points and 13,500 points per night.

Thanks to our Explorist status, we got upgraded to a Harbor View King room on the 15th floor and had some amazing views. This was done automatically on a sold-out weekend. Not bad, if you ask me.

Cash rates were out of the question–as high as $400. Because it was a busy weekend I actually got double the value Miles to Memories assigns to Hyatt points. 

Location

The Hyatt Regency Long Beach is located right across the street from a group of shops and restaurants and about a 5-minute walk to the beach. Nearby is the Hyatt Centric, which Ryan reviewed previously, sitting only a couple of blocks away and in a similar location. The Hyatt Regency is also right in front of a city park and features swans that you can rent and ride around on a pond. It is about 10 miles from Long Beach Airport (LGB), 20 miles from LAX, and 28 miles from John Wayne Airport (SNA). It is also in a great location next to the Pike Outlets and a close drive to the Port of Long Beach and L.A.

Hyatt Regency Long Beach Review – Public Areas

The hotel had plenty of chairs on two separate levels, and the lobby is really big. There was also a CVS vending machine by the gym, but there is a CVS a mile away that is likely going to be much cheaper.

To access the guest room, pool, gym, and all other entrances except the lobby, a room key is required.

The elevators were inconsistent, as some required a key and some didn’t. However, you could access any floor as long as you tap your room key. It wasn’t floor locked like some hotels which I found interesting.

Guest Room

The guest room was on the smaller side but had everything you need. Note that the nearby Hyatt Centric has 2 queen beds, instead of 2 double beds, but we still decided on the Hyatt Regency, due to the views we could get.

There were $4 dollar water bottles in the room, but they are free for World of Hyatt members of all levels. There was a desk, a large TV with Chromecast built in, and two chairs with a table in the middle. 

The furniture was starting to show its age, but it was almost 10 years old, so it was holding up pretty well overall.  

Views

This hotel had extraordinary views and it was incredible to see all the container ships docked out at sea, the beach, the harbor, and the Queen Mary, all in one view. 

Bathroom

The bathroom was ok and featured Pharmacopia toiletries, which weren’t very good in my opinion. To me, the bathroom felt small. The shower took up about half of the space which made it feel even more cramped.

Room Thoughts

Overall, this wasn’t a bad room and was just a bit small. Even on a packed weekend there weren’t any noise issues which was nice. The selling feature is the view though, it couldn’t be better. That will depend on your room location though so you may want to do your best to book into a room with a view, or ask for one before arriving.

Hotel Amenities

The pool was incredible with a large jacuzzi, and one thing special was the pool was heated to about 86º F. It was great to be able to use both the pool and jacuzzi.

The gym was great. While we didn’t use it, it featured two peloton bikes, as well as the normal gym equipment Hyatt features. 

Parking

The hotel offers parking at a steep price of $31 a day. We parked across the street at the aquarium parking garage and paid $16. I’d recommend doing research to see if it is possible to avoid such high parking fees. 

Staff

I had limited interactions with the staff except during check-in, and there was one hiccup. I was guaranteed 2 p.m. check-in, but the room wasn’t ready until almost 4. While not too much of a big deal, just keep that in mind. Otherwise, they were friendly and emailed me beforehand to inquire whether we had any special requests. 

The check-out was simple, and we did get a 2 p.m. late check-out. We confirmed we had no bill, and we went on our way. 

Hyatt Regency Long Beach Review – Final Thoughts

Overall this hotel was great and I can highly recommend it. I think it is important to try to get a harbor view room, if possible and if you’re into ships / water views. Even though I’m not into that, it was an incredible view. Hopefully my tip on nearby parking at a lower cost saves you some money on your visit. The only thing I would comment is that some parts of the surrounding area aren’t very safe, but otherwise I have nothing but positive things to say. I would gladly stay here again.