Thursday, January 19, 2006

Grand Hyatt San Francisco (California, USA)



Location, location, location: this Hyatt is one of a few number of hotels located directly within a block of the heart of downtown San Francisco, the Union Square. Unlike the Westin nearby, Hyatt's entry is from the Stockton Street side, not from the Square (Post St.) side. To avoid the valet overcharges, there is the Sutter/Stockton Garage located conveniently, diagonally across the street.

The hotel could use some updates in the lobby, which always seems to be on the dark side. As any other Hyatt hotels, the Grand Club level (akin to the Regency Club level) allows you to have a separate breakfast area in the designated Club Floor. Breakfast up there is standard fare of juices, bagels and toasts, cold cuts, fruits and yogurts, coffee and tea, and a good supply of newspapers. If you get a window seat, you will consume breakfast with a nice view of the city.

On higher floors, silence envelopes your surrounding. You have the vista of this beautiful city in front of you and the vibrant Union Square beneath you but without all the cacophony of downtown noises. After ten or eleven at night, the City goes to sleep anyway, not like New York and Tokyo that stay up late and party on (not that there is anything wrong with that.)

Hyatt's almost square-like building makes the corridor within much shorter than a typical hotel, which can be a nice feature, eliminating the need of trotting a long way from the elevator to your room. The Hong Kong Ritz Carlton has a similar feature. It works for me.


Grand Hyatt San Francisco
345 Stockton Street,
San Francisco, California, USA
Tel: 415 398 1234 Fax: 415 391 1780