Hyatt Regency SFO at 1,000 points + $62.60 for $235 room night

Hyatt Regency SFO at 1,000 points + $62.60 is a little misleading since I actually booked the Hyatt Gold Passport Points + Cash rate at 4,000 points + $55.

The reason why I figure my Points + Cash stay cost only 1,000 points is I will be rebated 1,000 points with the  Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond Welcome Amenity points and I will earn another 2,000 points from my targeted Hyatt offer of 2,000 points on my next three stays Sep 1-Nov 30, 2014 – Hyatt Gold Passport targeted offers Sep 1- Nov 30, 2014. Hyatt Gold Passport Points + Cash stays are eligible paid stays for promotion bonuses.

I needed to be in San Francisco for a morning flight to Newark EWR for my trip to Oslo, Norway. Or I could have got up at 3am in Monterey and drove to San Francisco without a hotel night. I felt rather rested today for Oslo, so it worked out best staying in a hotel the night before my Oslo flight.

I checked several SFO hotels and decided the best deal for me was Hyatt Regency SFO.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport is a category 2 hotel award with Hyatt Gold Passport for 8,000 points per night. Being a weekend night, airport hotel rates were high. Hyatt Regency SFO was listed at $235.08 after tax.

I called Hyatt Gold Passport and there was Points + Cash award availability. You still have to call Hyatt Gold passport customer service to check for Points + Cash awards.

I even used one of the four suite upgrades in my Diamond member account. I might regret spending the upgrade for a one night stay if I use them all up and then want a hotel room upgrade before March 2015. In the last two years I saved the upgrades and never used them on one night stays and then ended up not using all four suite upgrades before they expired. Suite upgrades are not too useful at most Hyatt Place hotels.

Seating for seven is nice if you are at the hotel for a conference. This was one of the few times I stayed at Hyatt SFO when I was not there for a conference.

The bedroom has no doors which might be undesirable if you did have guests and a messy bedroom.

There was a desk area off the main sitting room..

Beside the desk was a Keurig coffee maker.

The bathroom was standard Hyatt Regency.

I like the toothpaste amenity standard for Hyatt Hotels. I have a few small tubes of AquaFresh in my toiletries bag from Hyatt stays this year. One of those toothpaste tubes is probably a $10 value in Norway.

I got a kick out of this sign on the Hyatt SFO bathroom counter.

KenetMD Skin and Hair Care

1. Shampoo. Lather, rinse with cold water. Don’t repeat.
2. Condition. Concentrate on the ends of your hair. Skip the scalp.
3. Wash. Sparingly and only where you need it. Keep your shower short and not too hot to avoid dryness.
4. Moisture. Pat dry and apply body lotion to your damp skin. If it’s cold outside, use a little extra.

Be well when you stay at Hyatt.

Hyatt SFO Regency Club

The sign stating Regency Club opens at 6:30am had me a little stressed. Then, I found my key worked to open the door at 5:30am. Inside the lounge there were bananas and cereals and milk, along with the coffee machines. By 6:00 am the lounge attendant was unwrapping more items like salmon and cheeses.

Coffee helped me open my eyes.

Two computer stations and newspapers including San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury, New York Times and USA Today.

Hyatt Hotels are the original atrium design hotel that contracted with architect John Portman in the mid-1960s for a revolutionary atrium hotel lobby design when the Hyatt Regency Atlanta opened in 1967.

Parking at the hotel garage is $24 per night (no tax) and earns Hyatt Gold Passport points.

All in all, my stay cost 1,000 points + $62.60 for the $235 base room rate I upgraded to a suite. Actually, only 643 points since I also earned 275 base points and 82 points with the 30% Diamond elite bonus points from the $55 cash portion of the award stay.

I be well with Hyatt to start my two week trip to Norway.

*****

Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.

Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. Check out current hotel loyalty program offers across all the major chains in Loyalty Traveler’s monthly hotel promotions guide.

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