Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown Review

I have been on and off to West Palm Beach over the last few weeks and always stayed at the Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown. Why? First of all, I am a big Hyatt fan and the hotel was close to my project sites. The rates were great and low and since the first time I stayed here, I felt at home.

Location

The Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown is, as the name suspects, centrally located in the downtown area of West Palm Beach. From here it’s a short car ride to the Brightline Train Station. Just a short walk away is Morton’s – The Steakhouse. If you don’t know Morton’s, it’s an upscale steakhouse chain. It’s also one of my favorite chain steakhouses in the United States. Just two blocks from the hotel, past Morton’s – The Steakhouse, is Palm Beach’s waterfront. It’s not the ocean, this body of water is called Lake Worth Lagoon and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean. Take a stroll along the waterfront and check out South Cove Natural Area Boardwalk or cross the Royal Park Bridge over to Palm Beach and the actual ocean beaches along the coastline.

The best place in town for shopping and dining is Rosemary Square (formerly CityPlace). It’s just past the earlier mentioned Brightline train station coming from the hotel. The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service to Rosemary Square and other destinations within a two-mile radius. Don’t forget to check out the Manatee Lagoon, especially during the winter months aka manatee season.

Check-In

The Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown has an integrated parking garage with three levels. Usually, the ground level is full and there is no space to park there. Even if you haven’t checked in yet, just drive up to the second or third parking level and park anywhere at the free spots. There is a door on the west side of the parking garage to access the elevator. Normally you would swipe your room key to enter. But as a new hotel guest, you can just ring the bell and they will remote unlock the door for you. Take the elevator down to the first floor and the check-in counter is next to the elevator lobby.

Nobody else was in the lobby to get checked in, so it was a quick and easy check-in. The hotel waives the parking fee for Globalist members even on revenue stays. It seems some staff members don’t know about that Globalist Perk at this property. If you park here, just ask them friendly if the free parking is still an available perk to Globalists. I also asked if they had suite upgrades available and was already prepared to get the bad news of them saying that there are no suites available. But after a quick check with the manager in the back office, this was the first time they granted me a complimentary suite upgrade. Even that it was a stay for three nights. The upgrade got previously denied even for one-night stays. I was very excited about getting upgraded as there are only a very limited amount of suites at this property.

After grabbing my room keys and the parking placard, I headed upstairs to my room, which was actually on the top floor of the hotel. I dropped off my small bag to grab my suitcase out of the car and place the parking pass on the dashboard of my car.

King Bed One Bedroom Suite (w/Sofa Bed) (Room 513)

This is one of the few suites this Hyatt Place has to offer. It’s a corner room and offers 750 square feet of space to relax. It has a path-through bathroom which also has a closet with iron, ironing board, and PJs. Opposite of the closet is the vanity with a mirror and the usual amenities like soap and towels. A small closet with drawers is just next to the vanity and gives you extra storage space. Past that is the toilet to the right and the bathtub/shower combination on the left. The bathroom has sliding doors on either side. Once you passed through the bathroom you end up at the bedroom section of the suite.

The king bed is against the wall and facing outside but there is a wall between the rest of the room. There is a nightstand and lamp on either side of the bed. Only one side has easily accessible power outlets, on the other side, you have to unplug the light or the alarm clock to find a spare power outlet. I wish power outlets would be a little bit easier to access on both sides.

Opposite the bed is a flatscreen TV mounted on a small shelf. Unfortunately, this hotel doesn’t offer Hyatt’s Chromecast integration. Hopefully, they will upgrade soon, as it is one of the best features Hyatt offers. Hyatt was always at the forefront of connectivity. Next to every TV is a panel with multiple types of connections to connect all kinds of devices to the TV. But nowadays everything is wireless.

If you walk straight into the room instead of going right through the bathroom. you will get to the dining area. Which has a small kitchenette with a sink, small refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker. Next to it is a dining table with six chairs around it. Great for a meal with the whole family. The dining table looks more like a meeting table with the office chairs around it. Either way, plenty of space and well lit, as there is a light right above it.

Just past that is a huge living room area with an oversized corner sofa-bed and another TV on a small shelf. Next to the TV is a work desk with a chair. On top of it are a lamp and a room telephone. The desk is big enough to set up a laptop and work comfortably. But as it is right in front of a window, you might have to close the shades to counteract eyestrain. Overall there are a lot of windows in this suite but no good view. The only somewhat good views are from the round-corner part of the suite where you look down onto the intersection in front of the hotel. As all the buildings around the hotel are taller than the hotel itself, you are very limited if it comes to views. The streets are narrow and other apartment buildings and a parking garage are within viewing distance of your room. So if you want privacy, you have to keep the shades closed at night. You don’t have to worry about the bedroom area of the suite, as it is behind another wall inside the room with no view of the windows.

Overall the suite is very spacious but at some point feels a little bit empty. Don’t get me wrong, I love the wide-open space but it just feels like there is something missing. There are multiple panels with buttons to control the different lights of the room. The panel next to the room door has a button to turn all lights off when you leave. Great to save some energy. The room has one issue, it’s the main room door to get into the suite. If you don’t pull or push it close all the way, it won’t lock. So make sure, especially when you leave your room, that you pull on the handle to close the door all the way.

Public Areas

All the amenities of the hotel are on the ground level of the hotel. There is a small business center next to the elevator lobby. It features two workstations and a printer. On one of the desks are some flyers and for whatever reason a few issues of a german magazine called “Der Spiegel”.

On the far end of the elevator lobby is the entrance to the fitness center and spa area. You wouldn’t even assume that there is a door. The fitness center is rather small and has basic workout equipment.

Unfortunately, there is no swimming pool at this hotel but instead, the hotel has two large hot tubs. The spa area has its own restrooms and also a few showers. In the spa area are also some pool loungers.

The hotel also has a few meeting rooms you can rent and one of them got transformed into the breakfast room, as the hotel is currently undergoing renovation on the lobby level. Unfortunately, there is no mention of this process on their website. For customer transparency, this should be mentioned either way. Even though all amenities are available and none are closed. Some just got temporarily moved.

Dining

Make sure you have a World of Hyatt account. World of Hyatt is the loyalty program of Hyatt and members get free breakfast. I have stayed here multiple times and only during my very first stay on my very first morning I got asked by one of the associates for my room number and she checked it off a list. The next morning was a different person at the breakfast bar, but I never got asked again and nobody else either. Maybe just a random check?

The breakfast at the Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown is your usual breakfast buffet with cage-free eggs, steel-cut oatmeal, whole fruit, all-natural bacon and sausage, Greek yogurt, and lots more. Breakfast also comes with the usual coffee from a dispenser but you can order Starbucks coffee with the gallery host for an extra charge.

Hyatt Places offer a 24/7 dining menu from which you can order. After 11 p.m. items on the dining, list are limited to only a few. But gets you by until the morning. There is also a grab-and-go market at the front desk, where you can pick up snacks, salads, pastries, and sweets.

Next to the main entrance from the street is a large bar area which opens late afternoon and is open until midnight. Perfect after a long day to wind down and relax. The bar area just got freshly remodeled and looks amazing. The bar has the same food menu as the 24/7 gallery market.

Conclusion

The Hyatt Place West Palm Beach/Downtown is probabyl the best hotel to stay in West Palm Beach. There are more luxurios options on the other side of the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach or other cities along the ocean shores. I liked the central location in downtown and thanks to the complimentary shuttle service, you have easy access to nearby attractions and events as well as shopping and dining locations. Staff was great and as usual, I always feel welcome and at home at a Hyatt hotel. That’s another quality of the Hyatt-Brand.