The Grand Hyatt in San Diego is a large, two tower, hotel located very close to the downtown area and about 10 minutes driving away from the airport. It is located adjacent to the water. In other words a good location. Coupled with being close to the Green Line tram and you can get around San Diego pretty easily from here.

To/From Hotel

The cab was about $16 from the airport including the airport exit fee. I took Uber on the way back and it was less than $7!

Check-In

I arrived late in the evening having travelled from Europe. There was a separate check-in for Platinum and Diamond members. The agent was friendly and managed a bit of banter even at the late hour. She explained the benefits of access to the Grand Club and directed me to my room.

Room

The hotel had allocated a room at the end of a corridor. This meant it was relatively quiet and relatively large. A big picture window had blackout blinds and a blink to ensure privacy. The king bed was up to the Hyatt standard. There was a separate sofa, desk and a flatscreen TV.

Soon after I arrived I could hear fireworks outside and opened the blinds to see a short display from the harbour. Not sure what that was about!

Bathroom

Whilst refurbished to the new Hyatt standard, the tub seemed unchanged. Most Hyatt King bedded rooms now seem to have showers, but I was grateful for a chance to soak. There were plenty of towels but no bathrobe. The standard Hyatt toiletries were provided.

Noise

The hotel seemed to play host to a number of people in their 20’s/30’s spending a weekend away. This was fine until they were drunkenly shouting in the corridor around 3am. There are signs, but it is hard to know what the staff could possibly have done about it.

Grand Club

The Club has its own floor in the hotel, although it is large, it does not occupy the who area. Serving breakfast, lunchtime snacks and more in the evening, there was always plenty of space. Unfortunately, an investment company was holding a conference and the delegates in the lounge (identified by their badges) were very loud. I learned all sorts of things about property investment in the USA. They also used the lounge as a crèche to park their kids whilst they went to the various workshops. The kids were often better behaved than their parents.

The morning had scrambled eggs as the hot item and the evenings had warm snack items, as well as cheese, olives, crisps, cakes etc. There was a very good selection and the items were replenished as people used them. Breakfast had a wide range of cereals, breads, muffins, fruit but no espresso machine which I found a little odd.

There were fridges stocked with soft drinks and water.

The staff were friendly and the tables kept pretty clear.

The Pools

There are two pools, one for adults and the larger one which links the two towers. Whilst I did go and sit outside on one day, the pool was not over busy and it was great to sit out in the fresh air after 20 hours travelling.

Transport

A five minute walk gets you to a Green Line station where you can purchase a ticket for a single journey ($2.50) with cash or card, or a day ticket for $5. The trams were about every 10 minutes and generally you could get a seat. If you want to explore there are good maps on the platforms. As I don’t drive this was a good way to get around town, when walking wasn’t an option.

Overall, a good stay at a solid property.