An exciting urban city surrounded by natural beauty, Seattle is a spectacular gem in the often-sunny summertime. I’ve made the Grand Hyatt Seattle my launching point from which to explore Seattle on multiple visits. While the hotel common spaces such as the lobby are functional and somewhat ordinary, I really love the rooms at this hotel. In this Grand Hyatt Seattle review, I’ll show you why it’s my go-to hotel in the city.
Previously I’d stayed at the Grand Hyatt Seattle for a few nights at a time, but most recently I only had a one night stay there. For one night I used my World of Hyatt free night award that was put into my World of Hyatt account when I reached 60 nights at Hyatt properties during the year.
The Grand Hyatt is also a great choice for the free night award that comes with the Chase World of Hyatt credit card on anniversary of card renewal. The Grand Hyatt is a category 4 property which means 15,000 World of Hyatt points. The cash rate for the night I stayed there was $388 a night. That’s a great value for a free night award. Whenever I do pay cash for a hotel stay instead of using points, I always let Pruvo monitor my reservation for price drops!
The view of Puget Sound from the Grand Hyatt Seattle.
Check-in and Room Assignment at the Grand Hyatt Seattle
Check-in was quick and because of my Globalist status with Hyatt, I was told I had been upgraded to a suite on the very top floor. Having stayed at this hotel before I knew that the prime view from the rooms is of the Puget Sound and the islands off Seattle.
When I got to my suite on the 30th floor, I didn’t like it. The rooms were dark and had a downtown view rather than a water view. It was only a one night stay but I decided to go back to the front desk and see what they could do about grabbing me a room with a water facing view.
The staff was well meaning and had no issue with my asking for another room. They told me that Globalists usually get assigned to the very top floor, but I explained that for me the view was more important than the floor. The front desk staff switched my room and gave me a gorgeous suite called the Emerald Suite. I thanked them for making the change and I totally enjoyed the suite and the new view!
Using my Hotel Room Scorecard I broke down the individual elements of my Emerald Suite at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, which scored a 30 of 40 points.
Location (5/5)
The hotel is an easy walk after using the light rail from Sea-Tac airport to downtown and getting off at the Westlake District stop. This is a huge plus. The Pike Market, which is probably the number one destination of most visitors, is only a few blocks away. I walked to the International District for dinner, and that only took me 30 minutes or so. There are movie theaters and shopping nearby and my new favorite coffee house, Fonte Coffee Roasters, is a quick walk from the Grand Hyatt.
Lighting (4/5)
Because the suite was a corner suite, it has a living room area and also a large master bedroom area. The master bedroom area has two floor to ceiling windows, one beside the bed and one on the opposite wall behind the desk. This allowed for abundant natural light throughout the suite.
During the less sunny times of year, which let’s face it is most of the year in Seattle, this natural lighting would feel good. There was no overhead lighting in the suite but rather lamps on the desk, and on the bedside tables. The lamps did not have dimmer switches so only provided one level of lighting.
There was a standing lamp in the corner of the living room. The lamp lighting was adequate, though if you were reading you’d want to be in the seats nearest the lamps. The lamp on the desk did provide enough light for working.
Window Access (2/5)
All three windows in the suite had a small window at the bottom that could be opened. I almost didn’t notice this.
Small window by the floor in the master bedroom.
I’m not sure that anyone would open it and have never seen a window like this in a hotel room. It is curious though as to why it was designed like that.
One feature of the room that I did not like and made no sense to me was how the electronic curtains worked. They are blackout shades that open and close up and down.
Lace curtains provided the first layer of curtains.
There are two windows in the master bedroom, one facing the Puget Sound and one facing office buildings that are close to the Grand Hyatt.
Office building just across from the suite.
The living area had its own switch for the electronic curtains but the bedroom had only one switch for both curtains. See where I’m going with this? There were workers in those office buildings all hours of the day. Any hotel guest would want to control each curtain separately. After all, say you’re in bed or sitting at the desk. View of office buildings—bleh. View of Puget Sound—YES please.
Electronic curtains half way down.
Puget Sound view from the bedroom!
Bed Comfort (3/5)
The bed was OK, neither too hard nor too soft. I liked that the pillow selection was varied from soft to hard, so there was no need to perhaps call for other pillows.
Master bedroom and master bedroom video.
Bathroom (4/5)
There was one master bathroom in the suite. The bathroom was large with a separate tub and shower stall. There were abundant hooks for towels, but only one sink. The bathroom was very similar in size and design to the bathroom at the Park Hyatt Aviara, except that the Park Hyatt has two sinks. In a suite this size and given the space in the bathroom for another sink, designing a suite master bathroom with only one sink struck me as odd.
Bathroom had a single sink.
Nice big tub!
Shower had great water pressure.
Interior Appointments and Furnishings (4/5)
The wooden floor entry way to the suite was lovely.
Lovely suite entry way.
The rest of the suite was carpeted and the carpet was in good shape. The furniture in the living space was perfect. Two big chairs and comfortable couch with a square table in the middle created a great space for hanging out, working, or watching TV. It’s not a large space but it is totally functional.
Living room is well designed and comfortable.
View from the living room into the master bedroom.
The desk chair was ergonomic and I found it comfortable, which is often not the case in hotel rooms. The desk was also nicely placed by a window offering both natural and lamp light.
Desk and chair made for a functional work space.
Beside the bed and next to the window was a comfortable chair and ottoman. This was the best place in the suite to take in the views of Puget Sound and beyond.
Cozy chair and ottoman beside the bed.
One feature I appreciated was that both the living room and master bedroom have their own thermostat with settings for heat/air. It’s great to give guests the ability to control temperatures separately for each room.
The suite was missing a full length mirror. I can’t imagine I’m the only hotel guest who likes a full length mirror somewhere in a hotel room. It’s such an easy feature to include in a room.
It does seem that hotels are trending towards providing fewer of them in rooms. However, this Grand Hyatt suite had four waste baskets!
Electronics (5/5)
Plugs and outlets were plentiful and well-placed throughout the suite. There were outlets near the beds and universal plugs and USB charging ports at the desk. The TV in the living area was well placed in front of the couch and the TV screen in the bedroom was positioned so a guest could watch from either the bed or comfortable chair.
Snack and Minibar (3/5)
There was a small empty refrigerator under the entertainment center in the living room. Unless I missed something, there was no minibar. Seems unusual for a Grand Hyatt, or at least ones I’ve been in before. The coffee maker was placed on a shelf near the closet.
Hotel Service
During this stay, the service I encountered at the Grand Hyatt Seattle was better than it had been in the past. The front desk staff was very easy going about my room change and followed up a few times to make sure I liked the new room. They were also very good about helping me figure out the logistics for the next leg of my travels.
The hotel delivered a beautiful, delicious fruit plate as my welcome amenity, which was many times better than the bruised fruit I received at the Park Hyatt Aviara.
Delicious fruit plate as a welcome amenity.
There was one very weird incident though: unannounced window cleaners.
At about 10 a.m. while sitting in the suite living room, I heard a noise coming from the bedroom. I walked to the bedroom and, lo and behold, a man was dangling outside cleaning the window.
Now, I’ve been in hotels before and seen men and women cleaning windows, but window cleaning with no notice…that’s a first and a real fail on the part of the hotel.
Usually a notice is given to guests when these types of hotel services are being done. I sent an email to the hotel manager letting him know that I did not receive any notice and how startled I was. I thought it was important for him to know that someone messed up by not sending out notice.
Within a day I did receive an email back thanking me for letting him know and apologizing. Good follow-up on managements part.
The Upshot
Cash prices in season can be high, so that makes the Grand Hyatt a great choice for points, points and cash, or free night award stays. If you book a cash night, do what I do and let Pruvo monitor your reservation for price drops. Pruvo is free and it’s the easiest way to save money on all your hotel rooms.
The food and service in the Club Lounge is always spot on, and the suite, especially the views, are wonderful.
Many of the rooms at the Grand Hyatt face the water, so even without an upgrade, I’ve enjoyed the view from standard rooms. Be sure to request that Puget Sound view.
The location can’t be beat. It puts you close to everything you’d want to explore, as well as any mass transit you’d use. Each stay at the Grand Hyatt reminds me that when I go to Seattle, this is a great hotel choice.
Shelli Stein is a health and fitness entrepreneur who travels the world in search of culture, food, and fun! Besides contributing to PointMeToThePlane, you can find her at Joy in Movement.
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2 comments
Did the lounge access come with the Emerald Suite or was it because of you elite status?
HI Char, I do hold Globalist status so that would grant me lounge access. You ask a good question about the access coming with the suite. I’m sorry but I don’t know the answer. You might reach out to Hyatt. Thanks so much for reading!