Great Location & Quality: A Review of Hyatt Regency SF SOMA

We had a weekend stay at the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA and enjoyed our time here. Its location is very convenient, especially to use the BART.

*Hotel *façade* of the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA*

Booking the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA

We needed to come into town to visit family, which required us to once again look for a place to stay in San Francisco. As you might expect, there are lots of choices to stay in the city. While searching, we found an excellent rate for the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA ($163/night), which compelled us to book this hotel. (In case you’re curious, SOMA or SoMa means “South of Market Street”, which is the main road cutting through Downtown San Francisco.)

The Hyatt Regency SF SOMA is a Category 5 hotel in the World of Hyatt program. That means free nights cost between 17,000 and 23,000 points per night. Between paying that points rate or the $163/night cash rate, I’ll gladly pay the cash any time. Remember that points aren’t free and we booked a great rate that demonstrates that principle.

For us to use Hyatt points on the stay, the rate would have to be more than double since I value points at 2 cents each.

Destination fee

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco SOMA has a daily $35 destination fee (plus tax). This fee is waived for any guests here on a free night or Globalists on any rate, and you’re still entitled to the benefits listed below. So what do you get?

Daily $15 credit at The Market
Two bottled waters
20% discount to the Exploratorium Museum
$5 discount to the California Academy of Science
25% discount for the Big Bus Tour
20% off bike rentals
Postcards to take home

We’ve been to both the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Science before, which are worth going to if you have kids. Personally, I don’t think the benefits provided don’t come close to reimbursing guests for the fee. But at least we didn’t need to pay it thanks to my Globalist status.

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 SF SOMA

We had a flight that landed late in the evening. Thankfully, the hotel is easily accessible via BART (take the line from SFO all the way up to Montgomery), which made things easier with the kids. Just head back a little bit to 3rd Street off Market and you’re there.

For those interested, parking costs a whopping $79/night. Parking is free for Globalists here on a free night award, but it wasn’t a factor to us on this trip.

Once inside, we found the lobby with plenty of seating available. There was so much space that it seemed like a popular spot for conference-goers to hang out.

Alex took a moment to soak in the vibes near the bar (in an age-appropriate fashion of course).

The front desk is just off to the right from the entrance. Once there, we found a friendly agent who walked through the features of the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA, including what we would get for our Globalist status. In theory, there are some good benefits available for Globalists, but of course that depends on how much value you get from the lounge (more on that later). There were no upgrades available from the standard two queen room we booked.

The front desk then provided some boxed water for our stay. I’m sorry, but can we talk about this briefly? I’m not a fan of boxed water. It’s unclear to me if it just degrades over time, but boxed water always has a flavor to it and I find it off-putting. I get the environmental aspect, but it doesn’t help the environment much if water I am unable to drink it because it no longer tastes like water. There’s your hot take of the day.

The Room

Our room for this stay was all the way up on the 36th floor in Room 3614.

Bedroom

Inside our room, we found two queen beds, which were pretty comfortable. The decor in the room is pretty simple, with images of San Francisco on the walls, but we liked it.

Next to the beds is a small table. We ended up not using this at all, but it’s nice having a place for a snack or in-room dining.

Across the room from the beds is the rather large TV and the desk. No complaints at all from me on the desk, as it works with optical mice and it gives both a view of outside and the TV.

Back by the entrance is a closet (not pictured) and a tall mirror plus mini-fridge. It’d be nice if the mirror were a true full-length mirror but it works if you just want to check out your upper body.

The view from the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA was of other tall buildings. It wasn’t a bad view by any measure but I do wish they cleaned the windows more frequently. (I recognize that’s not a simple request to clean the windows of a tall building.)

Bathroom

The bathroom is nicely decorated, with both lighting in the mirror and elsewhere in the room. One thing that I always wonder when entering a room is if they provide enough towels for the number of people on the reservation. No complaints here as they did provide four.

The shower looked nice but, sadly, this is one of those times where you’ll need to be blasted by cold water to take a shower. You could funnel it into the hand wand if you figure out the controls before getting wet. Or if you’re tall enough, you could angle it away from you. There’s also no way to fully enclose the shower to help control moisture in the room and keep warm while showering…

…but guess what? I didn’t realize there was this cutout in the glass until after I used it on our second night. So you could potentially not get wet if you’re smarter than I am.

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

Breakfast at La Société

At check-in, the front desk provided a welcome letter and vouchers for breakfast. Unfortunately, they only provided four tickets at check-in (one for each guest), but I needed another four for our second morning. It was easy enough to ask the front desk to provide four more the next day.

Breakfast is at La Société, where the breakfast hours are as follows:

Monday – Friday between 6:30AM and 10:30AM
Saturday – Sunday between 7:00AM and 11:00AM

You’ll find it on the first floor just beyond the lobby bar. Just note that the entrance is somewhat inconspicuously between a pillar and a wall.

The host quickly ushered us into the dining area, which looks like an outdoor area. It reminds us a little of how the Thompson Central Park NYC in that regard.

Our breakfast vouchers entitled us to the buffet, which is hosted around the corner. We liked the variety and thought the food was pretty fresh. There is some variety that changed things up on our two-night stay, but just two quick comments. The hard boiled eggs were cooked perfectly and the chicken sausage was a bit dry. But otherwise, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

At the end of breakfast, we asked if there was anything we needed to sign. The server provided a receipt where we could leave an additional tip if we wanted. He confirmed that the coupons fully covered costs and that this is optional.

The Regency Lounge

It’s a bit hidden, but the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA does have a lounge on the first floor. If you’re a Globalist or your room includes access, you’ll find it in the restaurant, just past the piano.

If the hallway is roped off, expect the lounge to be closed (such as during breakfast). But if the rope is removed, you’re free to scan your room key to come inside.

The lounge is a beautiful space, with plenty of seating. It would be better if it had some views, but that’s just a minor complaint. Partly because it’s somewhat hidden and partly because breakfast is in a restaurant, this space seemed unused. I stopped in a couple of times and found no one around.

I debated hanging out here with the kids and with Jenn one evening, but decided it was more comfortable to spread out in our room.

In the evening, there is an honor bar. There’s a fridge with options available for $8 a drink. The fridge is locked, though, so you’ll need to track down the employee to purchase.

If you want non-alcoholic beverages, there are options like soda and juice.

And coffee, if you’re in the mood.

Evening service

There’s a small spread available in the evening. It’s not enough to be a meal replacement, so it’s best to think of this as pre-dinner appetizers.

On a tray is a cheese pizza. With a couple of slices missing, it’s proof that someone at least made it into the lounge besides yours truly.

There’s also cold cuts, cheese, and plenty of light snacks.

And just underneath are some fruit and yogurt.

I think having breakfast in the restaurant is better than in the lounge. I also think having an evening spread doesn’t mean it needs to be a meal replacement. So I’m in the camp that I think what they have is nice enough, but it seems strange that no one shows up. We were here over a weekend, so maybe the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA is more popular during weekdays than weekends?

The Market

Included with our destination fee is a credit at The Market, which is right by the elevators.

You’ll find some quick-service breakfast items and coffee available at the counter.

Alternatively, there are all sorts of packaged snacks, chips, beer, and wine. You could use the credit towards alcohol, but we stuck to picking up some refreshments for the kids.

Odds and Ends

There is a fitness center open 24 hours a day on the 3rd floor. We didn’t get a chance to visit it on this trip given we were walking around the city all day while here (and that’s no exaggeration as we did 22,000 steps over hilly terrain).

Recommendation of the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA: Yes

We definitely felt like we got a great deal on the room rate at the Hyatt Regency SF SOMA, but even if it were in the $200-250 range, I think it offers a good value. I don’t like the destination fee, but unfortunately it’s the trend, so make sure you add that in when comparing prices. Its location is pretty good if you’re using public transportation. It’s not the best if your intent is to go to the Fisherman’s Wharf area or want to go to the Golden Gate Bridge, but otherwise it works. We liked how clean the hotel felt and the breakfast and lounge were an added bonus.

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