Calm and Relaxing: A Review of Hyatt Regency Coral Gables

After just a brief one night stay, the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables has become a reliable option we would consider again for our next trip to Miami.

*Hotel *façade* of the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables*

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Booking the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables

We needed just a one-night stay at the end of our Carnival Horizon cruise. While we could have in theory departed back home the same day, I didn’t want to feel rushed and wanted to give Miami Hyatt hotels another chance. We were a bit disappointed by the Hyatt Regency Miami and I heard the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables was pretty good. On top of that, it’s only a Category 4 hotel in Hyatt’s program, meaning stays are between 12,000 and 18,000 points per night.

Naturally, I used a Category 1-4 free night certificate from my account to book this stay. While I want to say that the best use of those certificates is towards a Category 4 hotel, that’s not exactly true. The best use is towards a stay that you need, paying with this certificate what you would otherwise be willing to spend in cash. It may or may not be a Category 4 hotel, so don’t stress out about the categories quite as much.

If you’re using cash, room rates tend to hover between $200 and $300 per night. Personally, I’d be more likely to use points since I value points at 2 cents each.

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 of the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables

We arrived at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables by mid morning after our early departure off the Carnival Horizon. We took the free trolley (more on that later) and it was only a few minute walk from the nearest trolley stop. It’s practically just around the corner, making it a simple walk anyone can do.

*Arriving to the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables*

Once inside, we found the front desk hidden behind some pillars (I didn’t feel comfortable taking a pic of the front desk so close to the staff). I knew we were here too early for check-in and the front desk confirmed our room was not yet ready. They completed most of the check-in process, gave us temporary access to the pool, and promised a text when the room was ready (which they did provide). We then had some time to explore the property and the area.

I’m a fan of the decor at the hotel. It feels classic without a sense of stuffiness and it looked well-maintained.

And there is plenty of seating in the area, making it great if you need a place to rest while waiting for a car or others.

While we didn’t use it, I could totally see myself having a drink at the bar in the lobby.

How we passed the time

Loyal readers of the blog probably recall that we took the time to walk over to Versailles for lunch. This is a much longer walk, but it felt good to work off the meal.

Along the way, we got a look at a rather old-looking gateway to the Coral Gables community.

And we stopped by a playground (the Coral Gate park), which was a decent detour but we didn’t mind. It’s a nice playground that the kids enjoyed that had some built-in shade and good bathrooms.

We received a text that our room was ready while we ate, so he headed back to the hotel after we finished.

The Room

We made our way up the elevator to our room for this stay (706). We would find out that they upgraded us to a studio suite, which was nice of them.

Living area

Immediately on the right side of the room as we entered is the living room. There’s a nice couch and chair setup with a small coffee table. We did make good use out of the setup as we ended up eating dinner in the room.

For the record, the couch does have a pullout bed inside it in case you need another bed. We ended up not using it for our one night.

In the corner of the room is a functional desk. I enjoyed the natural lighting it provided as I caught up on a little bit of work.

This area of the bedroom also had its own TV. We ended up using the TV here more than normal since we had dinner inside our room. There can be a bit of glare during the day but no problems at night.

Underneath the TV is a small dresser and in-room safe.

The view from our room was of the hotel pool. The kids ended up going to the pool with Jenn before me, so I could keep my eye on them before coming down.

Bedroom

Directly across from the living area is the bedroom. As Char is modeling, it’s a comfortable king-sized bed with plenty of electrical outlets near the bed. No complaints with this bed as it allowed us to get some good sleep.

This side of the room also had its own TV. I found it a little strange that there are two TVs in the same room (there is no partition between the bedroom and the living area). If one TV is on, it might be tough to hear the other TV. But I suppose it’s done this way so people could watch from the comfort of the bed. We didn’t really use this TV.

The cabinet by this TV housed a narrow mini-fridge.

There is also the basic coffee and water setup that’s pretty much standard at hotels these days.

Bathroom

The bathroom is nicely decorated, with a tasteful wallpaper around the room and a functional single sink. Having a backlit large mirror is easy on the eyes, though I have to admit the mounted toiletry on the wall is a little out of place.

The shower has one pane fixed in place, but they clearly know that people don’t want to get sprayed with cold water. That’s why the shower controls are on the opposite wall. Thank you for doing that.

Shower amenities are the typical Hyatt Regency standard (Pharmacopia).

The hotel pool

On Floor 5 you’ll find a nice outdoor pool. It’s not a zero-entry pool, but that wasn’t a problem for us. The main concern, though, is that there isn’t much shade if the sun is high in the sky. So bring your own sunscreen and hang out in the umbrellas by the chairs.

There’s also a single jacuzzi off in the corner. It’s incredibly small, which is why Char is giggling so much. I’m not that much of a fan of it being so close to the corner rooms, so don’t think of it as very private.

If you get hungry by the pool, there is a small poolside cafe. There’s only one employee working the area, and if that employee steps away, then the cafe will close for a bit.

We ended up ordering a piña colada ($18) and a virgin version of the drink ($8). The alcoholic version was pretty strong.

There is a gym but I have no pictures of it

Floor 5 also is home to the hotel’s fitness center. From what I saw of it, it seemed like there was a decent selection of machines and free weights. There were a lot of people working out in the gym, so I decided to come back later. Well, I did come back later and the gym’s lights were out, so I assumed I was good to take pictures. Then, as I turned on the light, I saw someone shirtless in the back of the gym grunting profusely and I immediately turned and left. So forgive me for having no pictures of the gym this time!

Eating dinner in our room

I do want to call out how excellent the local area is around the hotel. In particular, there is a very beautiful outdoor dining area right outside the hotel. If we weren’t so exhausted from the cruise, we probably would have dined here. Instead, I resorted to some takeout.

I ordered some food from Piccola, which is a small Florida-based chain of Italian restaurants. It was simple enough ordering food on their website.

So we had a little pizza party in our room. The pizza was tasty and the crust was flexible. I liked that all the toppings didn’t fly off when picking up the pizza. We would love to come back and try more food next time.

Breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables

We unfortunately left too early on our morning of departure before breakfast opened. Globalist breakfast is served at Two Sisters, which seemed like it would be good. We’ll have to come back in the future and try it out. Our flight out of MIA would depart around 8 AM, which meant we left before the restaurant opened.

Its location is better than you might initially think

The hotel isn’t physically close to the downtown Miami area or to the port area. So you would be forgiven if you thought it’s not convenient to get from that area to the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. But, there is a free trolley that runs between the port and right behind the hotel. Not needing to transfer at all makes this super convenient. We actually met another family at the hotel who is doing the same thing but in reverse: they’re leaving for a cruise after their stay.

The alternative would be to take Uber or Lyft, which was running about $30 for the same journey. I don’t know about you but I’d rather take the free option that takes a tad longer (solely because it makes stops along the way).

The other nice thing is that it’s relatively close to the airport. So if you have an early flight and want to stay somewhere that’s better than the normal airport hotel, come here. It’s a quiet neighborhood and not anywhere near the flight path, so there are no noise issues here.

Recommendation: Yes

We were happy with our stay at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. The service is friendly, the room is comfortable, and we loved the area around the hotel. It’s awesome the hotel is a Category 4, which makes it pretty cost-effective to stay if you have a Category 1-4 certificate. The only thing at the hotel we wanted to do but didn’t get a chance to do is have breakfast at the hotel. I think it’s likely we’ll end up here again, and if we do, I’ll provide an update on the breakfast at Two Sisters.

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