Hyatt Place

We recently tried the new

From the outside the hotel is unprepossessing. It looks pretty much every other mid-scale motel on the market. We understand that the Hyatt Place properties were all Amerisuites at one time, though there may be some new purpose built ones now. Ours was located adjacent to a large luxury mall on the south side of Denver. The large number of office complexes in the area obviously account for the location - I'm guessing that the target audience is business travelers and not Nordstrom shoppers. Since we were staying on a weekend night, the rates were as comfortably low as the place was uncrowded. We did see a couple of families which makes sense at the prices we saw, especially if you're looking for something just a bit more upscale from Motel 6.

What strikes you when you first enter is the impression that you've mistakenly popped into a Starbucks instead of a hotel. The front desk looks distinctly like the counter for a coffee shop or something similar. We didn't understand the concept at first: one does not interact with the staff - one uses the handy kiosks for checking in. We committed a faux pas and tried to communicate with a live human being at the desk who, if this had been an airline would have just pointed at the kiosks and told us to use them and quit bothering him. Obviously, our live human had not trained at Southwest Airlines and he cheerfully checked us in sans comments. As a matter of fact, so low key was the approach that we didn't realize that there were kiosks to use till Mary saw it in a promotional video in the room. We really would have tried the kiosks had we been aware of them, if only to see if it would be possible to glide through life without interacting with others.

The counter adjacent to reception, such as it is, features a display of cold and microwaveable food items. Many's the time we've flown somewhere and arrived quite late or been delayed and forced to stay overnight in godforsaken places like, say Lagos or Dallas. In most cases by the time we arrive at the hotel, whatever food service they had on-site (which is usually little or none) would be closed. After spending the day in the seventh circle of Hell that is modern day airline travel, we usually could use a nice sandwich and maybe one or two (or in my case, five or six) nice cold beers. By removing any human interaction beyond that needed at a Starbucks, Hyatt Place has arrived at a solution of sorts. I can't vouch for the food being offered but from appearances it looks about as good as that offered in any coffee shop or snackery and probably better than an interstate convenience store. And there's wine and beer. So you still have that.

Seriously, if presented with a choice in hotels near airports when we're delayed overnight or when we arrive somewhere late in the evening, I'm going to be much more inclined to take a Hyatt Place for this reason alone. I know they'll have something to eat on premises. Well, at least something more than the year and a half old peanut M&M's in the mini-bar.

The lobby is arranged to facilitate meetings, with lots of nooks and crannies, just like Thomas' English Muffins. Some even have curtains to pull across the entrance in order to give a little privacy. Being out of the main lobby and the traffic therein is a big plus for business travelers who don't want to have to meet customers or clients in bars or restaurants. Even topless bars and restaurants.

The rooms are spacious and are more properly described as mini-suites. Although they have a separate sitting room area there is only a divider (no door) to isolate the bed from the rest of the room. For people on business this is pretty nice as they have a larger sitting area to work or relax in without having to make due with either the bed or the usual uncomfortable chair provided in standard business class motels.

There is a large sectional couch in the sitting area and it's pretty comfortable to sprawl out on while watching TV, working on a laptop, or reading. There's plenty of room for two people to do all of the above. There is a semi-monstrous flat screen TV on a swivel mounted in between the bed nook and the sitting room, so it could be viewed comfortably from either location.

The subtly Japanese influenced design in the rooms is attractive in a minimalist way and there are some higher end features like granite countertops. The room came equipped with a coffee maker and real cups - not plastic or Styrofoam. The bed was big and comfortable, with fitted cotton sheets and a down comforter. The comforter was too hot for us, but a cotton blanket was also provided.

The carpet is contemporary with a muted pattern. Inoffensive and not as likely show stains. Storage was a little limited but since the usual guest will be a business traveler who's living out of a rollaboard anyway this shouldn't really be considered a drawback.

As mentioned earlier, the Hyatt Place we stayed in had been acquired and converted from an Amerisuites (we believe) instead of being purpose built. When the place was renovated they put the money into the lobby area and the room décor. What wasn't changed were the bathrooms, which are slightly dated, and an older in-room A/C unit which was fairly noisy. Due to the noise from the A/C, a rather too warm comforter and a bout of indigestion from way too many tapas that evening I found myself too uncomfortable to sleep and snatched a blanket and settled down on the sectional sofa. I actually enjoyed a fairly good night's sleep on the sofa after the liberal internal application of some Rolaids Soft Chews.

The next morning we breakfasted in the eating area attached to the lobby that they have called the Kitchen. There's a free continental breakfast every morning and one can purchase made-to-order items also. There's also 24 hour service with pizza, salads, soups and the like which we didn't try (the tapas again). The continental breakfast was fine and much better then ones we've encountered in other suite motels which shall remain nameless.

Hyatt has a winner here for the business traveler who isn't looking for a five star experience. We liked it enough that in cases where we need to just spend an evening in a motel we'd look for a Hyatt Place to do it in.