The Hyatt Regency Valencia is in Santa Clarita, city about 30 miles north of Los Angeles. Apparently Valencia merged with three other unincorporated communities to form Santa Clarita in 1987, so the Hyatt Regency is in the Valencia “neighborhood” of Santa Clarita. In addition to the location of Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia is the headquarters for Princess Cruises and Sunkist.
I wanted to visit Magic Mountain so I booked two nights using points. The cash rate for the Cateogry 3 property was around $180/night plus 12% in taxes and I was able to book a free night with 12,000 World of Hyatt points, so I went that route. The hotel does not charge a resort fee but parking in their garage is $18/night.
Location
Flying into LAX, it took me about 90 minutes in traffic to get to the Hyatt Regency even though it is only about 35 miles. It is about five minutes east of I-5, the main North/South freeway.
The hotel is located in the Town Center development that is across the street from a large mall. The back of the property faces a golf course. Magic Mountain is a convenient 7 minute drive away.
Parking is in a shared garage across the street from the hotel. I was using points so I didn’t have to pay for parking, but it looked like there was some free parking on the street.
Check In
I arrived around 6pm on a Monday and there was no line to check in. I was given a parking pass to put on the dash of my car. While I was greeted as a Globalist, the agent didn’t explain anything about the property, so I had to ask about breakfast. I was proactively upgraded to a Junior Suite on the 5th floor.
The lobby is fine; the property overall is on the smaller size by Regency standards, with 244 rooms, so the lobby isn’t huge like other hotels in the chain.
There is a small market in one corner of the lobby and Greater Pacific, the hotel’s restaurant and bar, is off to the side of the lobby. This is where breakfast is served.
The elevators are located behind the restaurant and you need to tap your room key to access the guest floors.
Room
I was assigned to Room 517. The hotel has a total of six floors, with floors 2-6 being guest rooms.
As you enter the Junior suite, the bathroom is on the left and the closet is on the right.
In the closet you’ll find the safe, coffee set up, and iron/ironing board. There are two light switches by the door. One turns on a hallway light and as far as I could tell, the other one didn’t do anything. Similarly there is a panel of three switches by the bed; none of which do anything. I’m guessing they are left over from a previous renovation.
The living area is straight ahead as you enter. A couch faces a wall mounted TV and desk.
There is a mini fridge under the desk. Behind the couch are two chairs and then you get to the bedroom area.
The living room window looks out onto the eight lane McBean Parkway. It is noisy and the windows are not sound proof at all, so if you are sensitive to sound, you may want to bring ear plugs.
As this is a Junior Suite, the bedroom isn’t closed off from the rest of the room, but it is to the side and feels slightly separate.
The King bed faces a wall mounted television. There are reading lights and power outlets on each side of the bed.
Bathroom
The bathroom is next to the room entrance. It has a true door that can be closed for privacy.
The bathroom is small for a suite with a shower that looks recently added (likely in place of a tub) as it doesn’t match the rest of the bathroom design. There is a single wall mounted shower head.
The single vanity is between the shower and toilet. The products are standard Regency brand Pharamcopia. For some reason my room didn’t have any facial tissues. Not sure if that is standard at the property or just an oversight.
Pool and Fitness Center
The pool is located on the ground floor off the lobby in a courtyard at the back of the property towards the golf course.
There is a seating area outside of the pool area with a fireplace.
The pool area has lounge chairs as well as a separate hot tub.
The pool was busy during the day with kids. As I was leaving around 6pm I saw a lot of cars pulling into the parking garage picking up kids in swimsuits and towels. It seems like there were a number of families using it as a community pool.
The fitness center is located on the 2nd floor overlooking the pool. It is small, but considering it isn’t a huge property, it is probably adequate.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served in Greater Pacific from 6:30am to 11am. Below is the menu, though check the website for the most up to date menu.
As a Globalist you could order an entree off the menu or have the buffet. The first morning I had the Breakfast Burrito. The fruit was nice but the breakfast burrito was either bland or, if you added the salsa, very spicy.
The next morning I had the French toast. I was disappointed that unlike the photo on the website, there were no fresh strawberries but instead a strawberry syrup. Looking at the menu it does say “strawberry spiced syrup” so the text is correct even if the photo is misleading.
The Hyatt Regency Valencia is a decent property. It is well maintained and clean. I think Category 3 is an appropriate level for this property. My guess is that most people staying at the hotel are either on business or going to Magic Mountain as it isn’t much of a city location. Still it is nice to have a full service Hyatt in Santa Clarita rather than a Hyatt Place, which would be more common for this size of town.
