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Two Double Beds Room
310 sq. ft with 2 Double beds.
A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view.
Business Plan Room
310 sq. ft with a King bed or 2 Doubles.
A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view.
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Oyster Review Summary
Photos and review by Sara B., Oyster Expert Hotel Investigator.
Updated: May 20, 2010
Pros
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Cons
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Bottom Line
The 888-room Grand Hyatt feels every bit as big as it is: Rooms are dark and loud, lines often wrap around the check-in desk, and the gym is in disrepair. But it's conveniently located steps from the Metro Center stop in the Penn Quarter and within a 10-minute walk of the White House and convention center.
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Grand Hyatt Washington - Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C.
Grand Hyatt Washington - Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C.
Rooms at Grand Hyatt Washington
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Two Double Beds Room
310 sq. ft with 2 Double beds. A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view. |
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Business Plan Room
310 sq. ft with a King bed or 2 Doubles. A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view. |
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One Queen Bed Room
310 sq. ft with a Queen bed. A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view. |
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Grand Club Room
310 sq. ft with a King bed or 2 Doubles. A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view. |
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One King Bed Room
310 sq. ft with a King bed. A Surrounding building, or interior atrium view. |
Oyster Hotel Review
Contents
Scene
An 888-room hotel in the Penn Quarter that feels vast and impersonal
The lobby
The 888-room Grand Hyatt is one of the largest hotels in the city -- and feels every bit that big. The hotel is centered around a soaring 12-story atrium with five restaurants, six elevators, and a blue tiled lagoon with a piano propped on an island in the middle. Between the escalators ferrying guests to and from floors, the crowds spilling out of the Starbucks, and the lines that can form at peak hours around the check-in desk, the building feels more like a mall than a hotel.
With the elevators are at the far end of the main entrance, it can feel like a short hike to get to a room near the middle of the atrium. Rooms themselves are ordinary in just about every way except for the 42-inch LG flat-screen TVs and the iHome iPod docks. The décor is dark and stale, the lighting oddly yellow, and and noise from the halls, other rooms, and the atrium can be a problem. Located six blocks from the White House and steps from three Metro lines, the hotel is convenient for getting around D.C. With more than 40,000 square feet of event space, the Grand Hyatt is a business hotel first and foremost, and it feels like one -- big, crowded, and impersonal, with a staff that's there to crank guests in and out.
Compared to its closest neighbor, the Marriott Metro around the corner, the Grand Hyatt's rooms are slightly larger and better equipped. But the Marriott has a nicer gym and pool. Plus they're both free, whereas the Grand Hyatt charges a $10 fee to use the gym, and I found much of the cardio equipment to be in disrepair. The Hyatt has a more lively vibe than the Marriott, but it's also typically more expensive. Both hotels are equally convenient to the Metro Center subway stop, so unless you have to stay at the Grand Hyatt on business, it's worth price shopping.
Service
With so many guests, service can be sluggish and elevator waits can be long.
The front desk
With 888 rooms spread over 12 stories, the Grand Hyatt is one of the largest hotels in the city. It's so big that velvet ropes are set up at the front desk to keep waiting guests organized during peak hours. Though I had to wait only about five minutes to check in, another guest complained of waiting almost 15 minutes. With the staff cranking guests in and out, service can be impersonal and sluggish. The concierge was fairly knowledgeable -- he was quick to answer my questions about Metro stops and was able to point out several tapas restaurants within walking distance (and even boasted of being able to write upside down on the map since he marked up so many every day). But my request for toothpaste took half an hour.
- With so many guests, check-in and checkout can take a while; service requests can be sluggish.
- Turndown service upon request only
- Concierge available from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Room service Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday and Saturday 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
- Elevators can be slow, even with six elevators servicing 888 rooms on 12 floors.
Location
Located in the Penn Quarter, steps from Metro Center stop, and within a 10- to 15-minute walk of the White House and the Washington Convention Center
Located in the compact section of the city called Penn Quarter, the Grand Hyatt is a safe, convenient option for both business and leisure travelers -- full of restaurants and shops (well-known franchises, mostly), but still close to the major sights and monuments. In recent decades, this once-seedy section of town has been revamped -- the most notable addition is the Verizon Center sports arena, host to high-profile concerts, the Capitals, and the Wizzards (about a five- to 10-minute walk from the hotel). What makes the hotel especially convenient is its underground tunnel to the Metro Center subway station -- a stop for three of the city's five metro lines.
- Access to the Metro Center stop within the hotel, and thus access to three of the city's five metro lines; plentiful buses and cabs
- Within six blocks (five to 10-minute walking distance) of the White House, Verizon Center, and Walter E. Washington Convention Center
- Close to Spy Museum, Ford's Theatre, and Chinatown
- 10-minute walk to the nearest section of the Mall; 20-minute walk to the Washington Monument
- Urban neighborhood that's easily walkable and full of shops, services, and restaurants, but few of those are within the immediate blocks around the hotel
- Near stores like Macy's, H&M, and Barnes & Noble
- Parking is $39 a day, by valet only.
Rooms
Unremarkable rooms with 42-inch flat-screen TVs and iPod docks -- and lots of noise
One King room
With poor lighting, drab décor, and dark wood furniture, the rooms won't excite anyone. But, at 350 square feet, they are slightly larger than the rooms at the Marriott Metro around the corner (and the flat-screen TVs are bigger). Plus, the beds are comfortable and cleanliness isn't a problem. However, beware of the noise, a common complaint among guests. It can come from anywhere -- the halls, the room next door, the street, or the atrium, which half the rooms face. Everything seemed to simmer down around 9 p.m., but from my 10th floor room facing the atrium, I could still hear noise.
- Standard rooms are about 350 square feet, about average for D.C.
- Beds are comfortable with soft cotton sheets, synthetic pillows, pillow-top mattresses, and down duvets (the hotel offers queens, kings, or two doubles).
- Bathrooms are more spacious than those around the corner at the Marriott, water pressure is sufficient, and toiletries are Portico, but the lighting is poor.
- Tech amenities include a 42-inch LG flat-screen TV, and iHome iPod docking station.
- No in-room safe (guests can use the safe deposit boxes at the front desk for free).
- Comfortable Herman Miller desk chairs
- The lighting is strangely tinted yellow, which means a generally dark, dreary feel.
- In-room Wi-Fi (and throughout the hotel) is $10 per day.
- Noise is a common complaint. Some of the din is masked by white noise from the air-conditioner, but some guests find the AC noisy as well.
Features
Expect to be nickel and dimed, from the gym to the Internet.
Indoor pool
Guests pay a fee for nearly every extra at the Grand Hyatt, including the gym ($10 per day, per room), which is spacious and packed with equipment, but budget extra time to find a machine that works. I struck out three times in a row.
- $10 a day gym entrance fee per room. Gym is large -- nearly 15 cardio machines and a wide selection of weight machines and free weights -- but the cardio equipment has seen much better days. Some machines had signs saying they were broken, but others I attempted to use were broken as well.
- Free access to the indoor pool right off the gym, but it's not an inviting setting; open 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Wi-Fi costs $10 a day (both in-room and throughout the hotel).
- Business center consists of four PCs. Rates are expensive -- $2.65 for five minutes, and 53 cents per minute thereafter (plus a $99 deposit on the credit card). Printer is 75 cents per page (black and white), $1.59 for color.
Family
Not a bad option for kids, but there are better alternatives
Although the hotel doesn't have the most kid-friendly atmosphere, it's not a bad place to bring the family. With connecting rooms, children's menus, and rollaway beds at $20 per stay (not per day), it's a fairly economic option. However, between the escalators and the lagoon, plus the vastness of the hotel, you'll want to keep an eye on the little ones. A better option for families would be the nearby Embassy Suites Convention Center, which has much bigger rooms, plus free breakfast and free cocktails (for the parents, of course).
- Connecting rooms link kings to kings, queens to kings, a king with two doubles, but not two doubles with one another.
- Cribs are free; rollaways cost $20 per stay.
- Children can use the pool if accompanied by adult (and may not mind the dreary setting).
- Kids' menu at the Grand Café includes scrambled eggs with hash browns and chicken sausage ($6) and cinnamon French toast ($5); lunch menu includes burgers, turkey sandwiches, and soup ($3 to $6).
Food
Five restaurants, including Starbucks, a sports bar, and a bistro
The Grand Cafe
Guests will find some variety among the four restaurants (plus a Starbucks) -- the Grand Café is the only one with a breakfast buffet, and Cure emphasizes seasonal local ingredients -- but in general most of the dining spots serve standard American fare for inflated hotel prices.
- Grand Café -- open for breakfast and lunch; basic American food. Breakfast buffet is $19; fruits and cereals from $6 to $10; eggs, pancakes, and French toast from $13 to $19. Lunch: salads and sandwiches from $13 (Caesar) to $18 (crab cake sandwich); mains from $13 (pasta) to $18 (market fresh fish).
- Cure -- open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; four levels, open fireplace
- Cure has an emphasis on salting and curing; nice selection of cheese ($4.50 for one, $18 for five); appetizers from $9 to $14; soups and salads from $9 to $12 for (heirloom tomato salad ); mains from $14 (smoked Pennsylvania ham mac and cheese) to $24 (Angus beef flat iron steak).
- Grand Slam -- sports bar on ground level with 11 plasma TVs. Also has video games and the occasional D.J.; open for lunch and dinner until 1 a.m.; appetizers from $5 (soup of the day) to $32 (48 wings); sandwiches from $6 (hot dog) to $13 (crab cake); mains from $10 (fish and chips) to $22 (full rack of ribs)
- Zephyr Deli -- deli with reasonably priced soups, sandwiches and breakfast items; build your own sandwich $5.50 (half) or $7.25 (full); breakfast items $2.50 to $6.
- Starbucks just off the lobby
Cleanliness
Furnishings in the public areas are worn, but rooms are generally well maintained.
Some of the seating areas in the lobby are frayed and worn, but rooms are generally well kept up. Showers are beginning to show a bit of wear -- I found a few specks of mildew in the hard to reach corners -- but all in all, the rooms are clean and well cared for.
Bottom Line
The 888-room Grand Hyatt feels every bit as big as it is: Rooms are dark and loud, lines often wrap around the check-in desk, and the gym is in disrepair. But it's conveniently located steps from the Metro Center stop in the Penn Quarter and within a 10-minute walk of the White House and convention center.
Hotel Features
| Number of Rooms: | 888 |
| Pool: | Yes |
| Fitness Center: | Yes |
| Spa: | No |
| Internet Access: | Yes |
| Pets Allowed: | No |
| Cribs: | Yes |
| Kids Club: | No |
| Jacuzzi (in room): | No |
| Casino: | No |
Hotel Information
| Location: | Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C. |
| Toll Free Bookings: | 1-888-776-9783 |
| Website: | Official Site |
| Address: | 1000 H Street, Washington, DC 20001 (See Map) |
Travel Guide
Your Recently Viewed Hotels
Things You Should Know About Grand Hyatt Washington
Address
- 1000 H Street, Washington, DC 20001
Hotel Is Also Known As...
- Grand Hyatt Washington Dc
- Hyatt Washington Dc
- Washington Dc Hyatt
- Grand Hyatt Hotel Washington
Room Types
- One King Bed Room
- One Queen Bed Room
- Two Double Beds Room
- Business Plan Room
- Grand Club Room
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