The Hyatt Regency Long Beach offers a decent amount of inclusions on a free night stay. It might be a decent affordable option to use as a base for exploring Los Angeles.

Booking

I had a Category 1-4 free night certificate expiring with Hyatt. While I would prefer to use them for a better purpose, I needed to do a staycation instead. We thus ended up at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach for a one-night stay. Category 4 hotels with Hyatt charge between 12,000 and 18,000 Hyatt points per night. Cash prices aren’t too bad here unless you’re here for the Grand Prix.

There is a $28 nightly resort fee at this hotel. A list of inclusions can be found on their website. The key inclusion for most is going to be the $10 daily food and beverage credit that can be used at the quick service market and the one hour swan boat rental right outside the hotel. Remember that if you’re booking an award stay, you don’t have to pay the resort fee. Plus, Globalists will get it waived for all eligible rates, paid or award. You’ll still get the benefits of the resort fee even though you won’t have to pay the fee.

Earning World of Hyatt points

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

Chase has a couple of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points that can transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 rate:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred card (refer-a-friend link) that offers 75,000 points for spending $5,000 in the first three months.
• There is currently a limited-time offer (refer-a-friend link) on the Chase Ink Business Preferred that gives an excellent 100,000 points for spending $8,000 in the first three months.

The Hyatt personal credit card (not an affiliate link) offers a 30,000 point bonus when spending $3,000 in three months. On top of that, you get 2X earnings during the first six months until you reach $15,000 in spend. At most, this is a 45,000 card for spending $15,000–and most certainly not the 60,000 bonus it claims disingenuously claims. But, on the bright side, if that $15,000 spend happens within the same calendar year, you’ll also get six elite night credits and a Category 1-4 free night certificate.

The small business version of the Hyatt credit card (refer-a-friend link) offers a limited-time 80,000 point bonus when spending $10,000 in three months. The main appeal here is the easier path towards earning elite status (5 elite night credit for every $10,000 in spend per calendar year), but it also gives up to $100 back on Hyatt purchases.

Arrival and First Impressions

We arrived at the Hyatt Regency to find an easy-to-navigate parking garage directly adjacent to the hotel entrance. Parking at the hotel costs $40 nightly for self-park or $45 for valet. It’s covered for free if you’re a Globalist here on an award stay. It might also interest you to know that over the years I’ve been here, the parking garage seems to consistently be open for those exiting in the morning without needing to scan out (we left before 10AM).

Just inside the entrance on your left is an area they transformed into a kids play area. There are a number of activities to have fun with, including a Nintendo Switch. Thus potentially those who identify as being kids at heart can have enjoy their time here too.

The front desk is just beyond play area and the staff this time was pretty efficient in welcoming us in and getting us on our way. With the way the sunlight enters the building later in the afternoon in the summer, the light seems to potentially blind the staff working the desk, which is a bit unfortunate for them.

The Room

We made our way up to the 10th floor where our room (1018) awaited our arrival.

Inside, we found a room that was of decent size with a single king bed and ample lighting. The bed was comfortable and the room lacked any elegant design. If you’re here in the summer, I’d recommend leaving the shades drawn. It did get a little warm in the room with the sun creeping into the room.

The room also had a chaise lounge chair by the window. You’re not going to be able to look outside when seated here, but it offers a decent spot to watch TV.

Across from the bed is the desk, with plenty of water for our one night here.

The TV is immediately to the right of the desk. I would have preferred it mounted up on the wall to save some counter space. There is a mini-fridge available just below it that worked decently well.

The bathroom was simple, if a bit compact.

The one thing I would have preferred fixed was the shower. I don’t like it when showers require you to get blasted with cold water at the start.

Toiletries are by Pharmacopia, the standard Hyatt Regency offering.

The view from the room was pleasant. You get a nice view of the swan boats circling the property. You also can see the lights in the harbor.

Breakfast at Tides

Tides is only open Saturdays and Sundays at 7AM, just down the escalator in the lobby. The price of the breakfast is $28/adult, $14/child (children under 5 are free). I thought it would be more like a restaurant, but instead the space is a bit more like a breakfast you would expect in a conference center (but not enclosed by any walls).

The entrance to the restaurant eating area is located just inside of where the pool can be found. Usually there is someone at the front who asks for your room number, hands you a bill to start your meal, and then tells you to sit at any open table. The one thing I’ll say about this place is that you certainly don’t need to wait for anyone at the end of service to get your bill. An 18% gratuity is automatically applied to your bill, though the only service you’ll get is someone to clean your plates.

The food is a bit of a letdown. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

At least Char enjoyed herself, but I’d rate this as a very uninspiring offering, on par with what you might find in a lower-quality conference breakfast or a domestic US lounge breakfast.

Please don’t waste your money here. Though Char was only 4 at the time we dined here, she was still charged for a breakfast–I didn’t protest it since it was covered by our Globalist status anyways. But there is a better option for you waiting just upstairs if you want to eat breakfast here.

Market | Bar

Market | Bar opens at 6AM daily. During past stays, we’ve come here for the Globalist breakfast. The food isn’t going to win awards but it’s far fresher than the food available in the buffet and I thought the taste was a bit better than you would get at, say, Starbucks. Perhaps I’m underselling it a bit, but if you have a choice between breakfast here and the buffet downstairs, it’s no question–come here for your breakfast. I’d go so far as to say everyone is better off coming here (both paying guests and Globalists). The only reason to go to the buffet would be if your room rate includes breakfast and you don’t get an option.

Everyone does get $10 daily here due to the resort fee. You could use that towards breakfast, but if you already get free breakfast from your status, I’d say a pint of Haagen Dazs ($8) to cap the night might be fun.

Pool

Just outside Tides is where the hotel pool could be found. It didn’t seem heavily used throughout our stay (perhaps given the other attractions in walking distance). The one thing that did seem nice about it was the existence of a small play area for younger children. Char didn’t want to leave when she saw it.

There is a small Hyatt Regency branded van that seems to have prices of drinks listed inside it, suggesting that it doubles as a bar, but we never saw it in use.

Lastly, it seems like towels are distributed via room charge. I’m not sure if the hotel has a problem with people stealing their towels but apparently they do have some controls in place to limit theft. We didn’t use the machine during our visit, so I can’t comment on how well it works.

Fitness Center

You’ll find a rather basic fitness center on the lobby level. I only found it sparsely used during our stay, suggesting that despite its somewhat small size, it’s perhaps large enough for this hotel. There is a decent variety of machines and free weights. The main downside of the fitness center is the lack of natural lighting.

Swan Boats

As part of your resort fee, you get one hour free on the swan boats just outside. You’ll want to make a reservation by accessing the QR code provided to you at check-in and use the associated promo code to get your ride free. We booked the ride the same day we checked in, which unfortunately meant that most time slots were already filled (including all lighted swan boats).

We ended up choosing a time slot that was immediately before the lighted swans. If you’re wondering if that would result in your swan boat also being lit, I’m sorry to disappoint you as it might be the case that at the end of your ride, everyone else’s boat is lit up except yours.

Heading just outside the hotel, you can easily find where the boats roam the lagoon.

Despite making a reservation, you’re going to have to wait in the same line as everyone else. The line can move a bit slowly if people didn’t reserve in advance.

Once we made it through the line, we found an employee who helped us board our ship. They directed us to just avoid trying to go under one of the bridges that isn’t tall enough for the swan boats.

We only stayed about 45 minutes out on the water, which was plenty of time for us. It did indeed get a bit dark on the water and it was a little sad for Char that everyone else’s swan boat lit up except ours. Still, it’s nice to be able to have the opportunity to come out here (and nice that it’s free for anyone here on award stays).

Dinner at The Ordinarie

If you’re like me and have an interest in dining at Resy restaurants, there are a couple that are in walking distance of the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. We tried out The Ordinarie and found it was pretty tasty. The servings are large and there is a good drink selection for those wanting to imbibe. We did dine here a bit earlier in the evening (before our swan boat ride) and it wasn’t crowded at all. I’d recommend the place if you’re in the area.

If you’re walking between The Ordinarie and the hotel, there’s also a small urban playground that’s good for kids pretending the floor is lava. Don’t expect much to do here, but it’s a good place to burn off some extra calories after dinner.

Recommendation: A Good Use of Cat 1-4 Certificates

I feel I am always on the search for Hyatt hotels that offer a good use of Category 1-4 free night certificates. The Hyatt Regency Long Beach offers a decent value for those certificates. On top of the free night, resort fee also covers the swan boats and the daily f&b credit. The best part is that everyone gets those for free when staying here on an award night.

I’d say the hotel is in a decent spot, making it suitable for exploring the Greater LA area. Of course, that also depends on where you want to be. If you have hopes of exploring the South Bay area, this is going to be the best Hyatt by far. If you’re looking to be in Hollywood, maybe less so.

Where do you like to use your Category 1-4 free night certificates?