Despite having absolutely no idea what a “Hyatt House” was, I didn’t hesitate for an instant when booking the reservation. The location seemed perfect, and the price was right, so why not? It looked more than ideal for a simple overnight stay with easy access to the Denver International Airport (DEN).
A full review of my 1 night stay at the Hyatt House Hotel at the Denver Airport
Curiosity got the best of me a few days after making the reservation, and I found myself doing some research to figure out what the “House” sub-brand was all about. Long story short, this is Hyatt’s line of extended-stay properties that have a bit of a youthful flair sprinkled in to keep things interesting.
To put it in better context, it’s basically the opposite of their more upscale properties (such as the Grand Hyatt at the Incheon Airport in Seoul).
First impressions
To be honest, the first thing I thought of when walking through the front door on my way to the reception desk was “cheap”. Not cheap like “Motel-8 cheap.” but more like “IKEA cheap.” You know…stylish but not very high end. It wasn’t a bad feeling though, and the staff was more than friendly and went out of their way to greet me and to make sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable.
The room (it was more of an apartment really)
That cheap feeling followed me all the way to the door of my room, thanks in large part to the dull and dreary corridors slathered in unappealing finishes. Did I make a mistake in booking this room? I wasn’t expecting a plush boutique experience or anything, but so far my expectations had not yet been met.
Thankfully, I was pretty much blown away as soon as I stepped into the room. Scratch that. This wasn’t a room. It wasn’t even a suite. It was a full-blown apartment with a full-size kitchen with a separated bedroom and bath. Very much unexpected, and very nice!
The bedroom
The bathroom
The view
Final thoughts
While not the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at, the Hyatt House at the Denver Airport was certainly one of the most comfortable. Perhaps the most comfortable considering it was basically an apartment. I felt right at home here, thanks in large part to the full size kitchen and large squishy couch in the main room.
Hyatt Houses very nicely-designed properties (very similar to the Aloft chain of hotels), and feature open spaces and lounges focused on promoting social gatherings. I’m about as introverted as it gets, so none of these “social” features are very interesting to me . However, I can certainly understand how intriguing it would be to road warriors who crave social interaction when traveling.
The only negative thing about this stay was the noise from the people in the room above. All was quiet until about 2am when they arrived, stomping all over as they unpacked and got settled in. Annoying as hell considering that I had to wake up at 4:40am to catch my flight back to San Diego that morning. Oh well. I know that it wasn’t directly a fault of the Hyatt itself, but word of warning to anyone considering staying here: the floors and walls are thin. You will hear your neighbors!
Despite the noise issue, I’d stay here again without question. But I’ll make sure to bring ear plugs next time…
