Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review
My mom and I had a two-night stay in Mid-July at the Hyatt Regency SFO, and overall, this hotel served its purpose. We spent most of the time in our room, but the pool was great, as was the service overall. In this Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport review, I’ll discuss the amenities, along with the food and beverage, room, and service.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – Booking The Room
I booked this hotel for $140 per night for two nights using the state government rate. Unlike Hilton and Marriott, there is no requirement to be on official business to use this rate. And because my mom works for the local school district, I confirmed with Hyatt that we are allowed to use this rate. The $140 per night rate also applies to every night of the year, so even though we ended up staying at this hotel one extra night, the rate didn’t change, which is incredible. In comparison, the regular cash rate was $240 per night.
For our stay, the points cost was 12,000 points. But, this hotel is a Category 3 Hyatt hotel, which means that the hotel will cost 9,000 points for off-peak nights, 12,000 for standard nights, and 15,000 for peak nights. Had we used points, we only would have got about 1.16 cents per point, which isn’t a good value.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – The Location
This hotel is located about 10 minutes from San Francisco Airport (SFO). It is also located in Burlingame, so you are not too far from Downtown Burlingame, which has a small number of shops and restaurants. There is also a bus stop right out front that will take you to Downtown Burlingame in about 10 minutes.
Hyatt Regency SFO Hotel Shuttle Issues – Be Concerned?
Overall, I’d give the hotel shuttle a mixed review. We had just traveled to Bangkok, which was an almost 24-hour journey, so we were exhausted. Fortunately, I called the hotel and we were picked up in about 3 minutes. Awesome! The shuttle was full, but it was primarily because it is shared with the Marriott down the street.
But, it was a bit of a different story on the way back. Our flight left at 6:20 AM, so we went downstairs at around 3:50 AM. We waited for about 10 minutes, which was fine, but when we were picked up, the seats were completely full. The shuttle driver said he’d be back in 15 minutes (and it could’ve been full again when he came around). We were the first ones to wait, so that meant we’d be the first to get on. I then decided to ask if we could stand instead of sit. His response was “oh yeah, you can actually stand”. This isn’t rocket science! So after being packed like a sardine onto the bus, we made it to the airport.
I’m glad that the shuttle was there in the first place and that we did get on, but it was a bit ridiculous the bus was so full in the first place. But, two hotels of that size shouldn’t be sharing one small shuttle bus.
The Hyatt Regency has over 789 rooms, while the Marriott has 685; that’s 1474 rooms. I get that not all guests need that shuttle at one time, but each hotel should have its own shuttle for that amount of numbers. For this reason alone, I’d definitely recommend staying at the Grand Hyatt at SFO instead.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – Check-In
I called in May for our July stay to see if I could get us an upgrade to a bay view room, and the front desk agent cheerfully obliged. Sure enough, I saw on the World of Hyatt app on the night before check-in that I was upgraded! Also, what was even better was the fact that even though we arrived from Thailand at 9 am, the World of Hyatt allowed us to check in then. So when we got to the hotel, all we had to do was go to the front desk and pick up our keys.
Hyatt Regency SFO Hotel Layout
This is a very large hotel, both in terms of the number of rooms and for overall size. The hotel is shaped like a square dome, and there are also atrium-facing rooms because of the shape. This kind of hotel design can only be found in older hotels, as there is less land required if you build up. Also, because of the hotel design, there are also long walks to the elevator, which I will discuss below.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – The Room
Our room number was 317 – which was located on the third floor. We weren’t too far from the elevators, but if you are far enough away, it can be a 500-foot walk. So if this is an issue, I’d recommend asking the front desk for a room close to the elevator.
I found our room to be fine. Most people stay at airport hotels for only one night, so because of that, the rooms aren’t always in the best shape. I found this hotel to be in better shape than I expected, but there were some scuffs on the furniture.
When you enter, on the left, there is a bathroom, which has a shower and bathtub combo. There is also a toilet in the middle and a sink on the right. The drain in the bathroom looked a bit odd, and I’m not sure how this was missed. The toiletries were from Pharmacopia.
This room isn’t very open, so you have to walk through a narrow hallway to get to the main room. On the right, there is a desk with an office chair. Further down there is a television above a set of cabinets. There is also a chair and coffee table at the end of the room. To the left is two double beds, along with a bedside table in between. These beds were very comfy as well. There were also 3 pillows on each bed.
There were also views of the San Francisco Bay, along with views of Runways 28L and 28R. The views were excellent, and I saw a large number of widebodies landing throughout our stay.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – Food and Beverage
We didn’t eat at all at the hotel, as the prices are quite high, but there is a restaurant on the second-floor 3Sixty Bistro, which is where breakfast is served for Globalist members. The menu is:
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – Amenities
The Hyatt Regency SFO has a fitness center and a pool. I was also happy to discover a hot tub in the pool area, which I used during our stay, and found great. There are also some small cabanas, which are free for any guest to use on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The gym was quite large, and the equipment is from Life Fitness. There is also a Regency Club located on the 7th (top) floor, but when I asked the front desk about it, they said it is still closed due to “COVID”.
Hyatt Regency SFO Service
Airport hotels are airport hotels and thus I found the service to be as expected and generally good. Other than the shuttle bus hiccup that I talked about above, I found the front desk agents were very friendly and eager to assist. This is a very typical Hyatt Regency hotel and although not perfect, it delivers just fine.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Review – Bottom Line
Overall, I liked the Hyatt Regency SFO hotel. I found it to be perfectly fine for our two-night stay. The rate we paid couldn’t be beaten, so I’d return for $140 per night, but I likely wouldn’t for $300. The shuttle bus issue was annoying, so if the Grand Hyatt was $50 more, it would be probably worth it for no shuttle and nicer rooms. It may be the less desirable of the SFO Hyatt hotels, but it is still worth a look.
What are your thoughts on the Hyatt Regency SFO? Have you had issues with airport shuttles before? Let me know in the comments below!
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
People still stay at the HR Sfo because it’s less than half the price of the Grand.You likely won’t get the Grand Sfo without paying close to double
So when u won’t pay the premium you will likely end up at the HR.