Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport Review

Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport Review

The Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport is a twelve floor, 347 room property on the shore of Lake Washington.  It is a relatively new property having opened in 2017.  I had some expiring Category 1-4 free night certificates so decided to book a stay-cation.  The hotel is a Category 3 so an award room is typically 12,000 points.  Standard cash rates are in the $130 range.

Location

The Hyatt Regency is located in the city of Renton at the very southern end of Lake Washington.  It is about a 20 minute drive to Seattle with no traffic and 15 minutes to SeaTac Airport. The property is in a development with office park and apartments.  It is a suburban property and you really need a car to stay here.

Directly next door is Boeing’s factory where 737s are assembled.  I spotted some 737 fuselages being delivered by train.

On the opposite side of the hotel is public Gene Coulon Beach Park.  In the summer there is an open swim beach.  In the park there is an Ivars fish bar (a Seattle institution) where you can get a cup of clam chowder or fish and chips.

If you want other food and shopping options, Renton Landing, a shopping center with a Target and movie theater, is a 10 minute walk or quick drive.

Check In

I booked my room just the night before my arrival, so that may have been one reason for some of the challenges I faced with check in.  I arrived around 3pm and there was only one person ahead of me at the desk.

My room was available.  I had been pre-upgraded to a lake view room, but not a suite.  I checked and there were still suites for sale, so I asked about an upgrade as a Globalist.  The agent said none were available.  I explained I saw some on sale, and she maintained that here were none.  She then went and talked to another staff member and came back and said there actually was one but it didn’t have a water view.  Given that option, I decided to stick with the standard room with better view.

The desk agent looked for a letter for me (as a Globalist) but couldn’t find one.  So she just showed me another customer’s letter (blocking out the name) that explained Globalist benefits.  Breakfast would be served at the onsite restaurant, Water’s Table.  The Regency Club was open for prepackaged snacks but not breakfast or happy hour.

Since I was booking a free night as a Globalist, parking was included in the garage across the street ($16/night if paying).  I believe if you park on the lower level, you can directly access the 1st floor of the hotel through a tunnel.  You have to take your ticket and get it validated at the front desk.  I did this but it didn’t work so I had to go back in to get it done again.  It is an annoying process; you should just be able to use your room key.

Room

I was assigned Room 1001, a King Bed Lake View room.

The room is small – you enter directly into the room with no type of hallway or entry that is standard in many hotel rooms (I did peek in another room and noticed that room had the more standard entry, so I believe not all the rooms are this small).  Next to the door is a small open closet.  A large TV is mounted on the wall.  A tiny desk is opposite the closet and door.

A large window takes up one wall with a lounge type chair located under it.

The king bed is against a built in headboard with lights on each side as well as uplighting built in to the wall behind.

Between the bed and the bathroom is the coffee set up, safe, and mini fridge.

Two bottles of water are in the room but labeled as $5 each.  Not sure if these are free for those with elite status or not.

The view is of Lake Washington with Mercer Island and the city of Seattle skyline in the distance (on a good day).  There was some dock work on the lake which is why you see a crane outside the window.

Bathroom

The bathroom feels like a standard Regency bathroom.  It is relatively small with just a single vanity, toilet, and shower.

The shower is large with both a standard shower head and handheld wand.

The controls are on the opposite wall which means you can turn on the shower without getting wet.

The bath products are the standard Pharmacopia in refillable bottles.

Pool & Gym

The pool, gym, and spa are located on Floor 1 (one level down from the lobby).

The pool is completely indoors but is set up with loungers and even cabanas which seems strange.  I guess it might be helpful for parents watching their kids play in the pool.

There is also a large indoor jacuzzi hot tub.  The gym is pretty standard for a Regency.

Regency Club

The Regency Club is located off the lobby on Floor 2.  It is a small space with no outside seating.  However the views are nice.

There is a large kitchen area.  During my stay, they had some packaged snacks, soda, juice, and coffee available all day.

Breakfast & Restaurants

During my visit, breakfast for Globalists was being served at the Water’s Table restaurant; though typically I imagine it would be served in the Regency Club.

Water’s Table is the main restaurant at the hotel.  Located on Floor 2 (same as lobby and Regency Club) and overlooking the lake, it offers dining all day.

The service in the restaurant was very good.  My server had been working at various Hyatt properties for seven years.  The food was good and huge portions.  I ordered a main with a couple of sides and it was all taken off of my bill as a Globalist.

On the same level is The Market which also serves some hot food items throughout the day.

On Floor 1 is Dock & Drink, an outdoor restaurant currently covered by a tent for winter.

Overall I found the service to be average, it seemed that a number of the staff I interacted with were new/under trained or just not very friendly.  The one exception was the staff at the Water’s Table that were fantastic.  I have read in FlyerTalk discussions that the hotel often plays games with their upgrades for Globalists so I don’t think mine was an isolated issue.  I do get that some people would rather have a lake view than a suite with a bad view; but at least give the Globalist guest a choice rather than lying about availability.

My room was nice but extremely small.  The website advertises the base rooms as 330 sq ft but doing some basic measurements (not exact but I erred on the generous side) I calculated the room to be about 200 sq ft plus another 70 sq ft in the bathroom.  The furnishing are all in great shape though the TV had a few issues with picture quality and connection to the Chromecast.

In the summer I think the property would be a fun place to be with a family; eating outside next to the water, playing at the park next door.  If you are wanting to see the city, then stay at one of the properties downtown (Regency, Grand, or Olive 8).  If you want to be close to the airport in a more natural setting, I think the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport is a decent option.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.