The Hyatt Regency Miami is in large need of a remodel and repair. Its location is both a blessing and a curse. But the breakfast is good.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: The New Pirates of the Caribbean
• Review: Hyatt Regency Miami (this post)
• Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 1 – Booking and Room
• Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 2 – Main Dining
• Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 3 – Lido Marketplace
• Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 4 – Quick Service Restaurants
• Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 5 – Specialty Restaurants
• Review: Carnival Horizon Western Caribbean Cruise – Part 6 – Ship Programming
• The Ship Features on the Carnival Horizon
• Camp Ocean on Carnival Horizon: A Good Kids Club (Mostly)
• Excellent Internet with Carnival Wi-Fi
• A Lackluster Experience with AT&T Cruise Package
• Spin to Win: The Carnival Cruises Casino
• Carnival Drink Packages Are Not Worth The Money
• Is Carnival’s Faster to the Fun Worth Your Money?
• Ocho Rios: Entryway to the Heart of Jamaica
• Cozumel: A Potentially Fun and Festive Mexican Port
• Calm and Relaxing: A Review of the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables
• First Friday Feast: Excellent Cuban Dining at Versailles

Booking the Hyatt Regency Miami

We came to the Hyatt Regency Miami with the intent to stay a single night in Miami before our cruise departs the following day. Thus we developed the idea to choose somewhere simple for the stay, emphasizing location over comfort. As I also had an expiring Category 1-4 free night certificate (one that would expire within a week of our stay), this seemed like the best option for us. This hotel is a Hyatt Category 3, meaning stays are between 9,000 and 15,000 Hyatt points per night.

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 Miami

We arrived at the Hyatt Regency Miami at night to find a massive amount of traffic in the area (I’ll explain why later). While we could have taken public transportation to the hotel, our flight was delayed coming in and needed to make our dinner reservation so we took a car instead. Sadly, the traffic in the area contributed to us missing that dinner reservation.

Once inside, we found a swanky-looking front desk. The agent quickly checked us in, recognized my Hyatt Globalist status, and described where we could get breakfast in the morning. We were proactively offered a 4PM late checkout thanks to my status. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about a room upgrade.

The hotel lobby was simple, with a large artistic pillar in the center. I didn’t quite understand the theme as it appeared to change with each area we passed.

The Room

We made our way up the elevator to Floor 20 where we found our room for this stay (2030).

Once inside, we found what was perhaps one of the oddest room layouts we’ve been to in a long while. Immediately upon entry, you’ll see a half-wall surrounding the restroom area with the bedroom behind it. I guess it’s like a studio, where the whole space is just a single room (aside from the toilet and bathtub)?

Bedroom

We had two queen beds in the room, which were firm enough. The pillows were flat and the sheets thin. You’ll see in the picture below that some of the lights in the room were burnt out. That’s a bit disappointing that housekeeping didn’t bother replacing them.

In between the beds is a table with a couple of outlets and a noise maker. I feel like seeing a white noise machine in the room is an indicator that the room doesn’t have good sound insulation. Well, it’s not the noise from the street that’s the problem. Instead, it’s incredibly loud in the room at night from the A/C unit. It sounded broken with the noise it spewed out all night long. So rather than fix the A/C, I think the cheaper solution was to put this machine in the room. This kept Jenn and I up at night.

Across from the beds is the TV and a small dresser.

In the corner next to the TV is a desk, coffee machine, and bottle water. Perhaps it’s prudent to call out here that the entire floor is carpeted in the bedroom area. But unfortunately, the carpet was also sticky. Gross! Especially since the kids kept forgetting to sit on the bed instead of on the floor. I don’t know what to do with the kids sometimes…

The view from the room wasn’t bad. We had a view of the water and bridge. The lights are on pretty much all night long but it wasn’t distracting when we were trying to sleep. While there was a small balcony, it was sealed off and the sliding door couldn’t be opened.

Bathroom

I already mentioned the partition between the bedroom and bathroom is weird. It’s also disappointing when someone needs to use the light to see the sink and wash their hands but the light creeps into the bedroom where others are sleeping.

As for the sink itself, it’s pretty basic. I don’t think there’s anything noteworthy to talk about.

The bathtub/shower combo could use some work. What we found to be a problem was:

• The tub drained very slowly. When taking a shower, you’re standing in a pool of water. That made us wonder if the drain was clogged.
• The water temperature fluctuated while in the shower quite a bit. You might want to shower during off-hours if you want a smoother experience.

Also in the bathroom area is the walk-in closet.

Hotel Features

At check-in, the hotel provided the following fact sheet. We didn’t get a chance to visit the fitness center. And I believe the pool was closed while we were there despite what the fact sheet implies.

Breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Miami

Thanks to my Hyatt Globalist status, we received free breakfast in Riverview Bar & Grill. The restaurant is open daily between 7AM and 11AM. This ended up being the best part of our stay.

Globalist members get to order off the menu or choose the breakfast buffet for up to two adults and two children. We chose buffet since it was the simple option.

The buffet is off in the corner of the restaurant and was actually pretty decent. There is a lot of variety and the quality was actually pretty satisfying. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

On top of the steam trays, buffet attendees can also get an omelet or fresh eggs.

As the name of the restaurant suggests, you can get a view of the “river” while eating. It’s partially obscured by some trees but it’s still peaceful.

Its location is a problem

There is a serious love/hate relationship that I have with the hotel’s location.

First, I think the Hyatt Regency Miami is located in a decent part of town, walkable to (free) public transportation, parks, and even to the cruise terminal if you don’t mind a very lengthy walk. It’s located in a spot that would leave me satisfied in almost every other situation.

But the real problem is that drawbridge–the very same one that could be seen from our bedroom. Perhaps it’s just bad luck, but in the evening, it seemed to cause massive traffic jams fairly often. When the bridge is up, everything completely shuts down for about 10 minutes according to our Lyft driver. The hotel is immediately next to that bridge, making it impossible to avoid. When the bridge lowers and you’re walking around, you better watch out as drivers seem to become extremely impatient. Road rage seemed common.

That drawbridge ruined the experience when we were outside the hotel. It’s only fitting that I call it out.

Recommendation: No, and nothing more than a one night stay

If you’re keeping notes, there are a number of major issues I called out about this hotel:

• The noise at night made it a bit restless for us.
• Plumbing issues were less than ideal.
• The carpet was sticky, making us think the room was unclean.
• It’s difficult to get around when the drawbridge is up.

But I should also point out one more thing. We were here for one night, and around midnight, an employee knocked on our door very loudly. I answered and the employee mentioned I had a safe that needed to be opened. When I responded no, he just looked at his paper and left. No apology for having the wrong room and waking us up so late at night. It just seemed like a rude interaction.

All of this combines to me saying no, this isn’t a hotel I would recommend.

That said, there could be some level of value if you want to stay here for a single night. Ultimately it depends on where you want to be, and the reality is it could be convenient for you strictly based on that. I would say to limit your stay to just a single night. I can survive poor sleep for a single night, but it’s personally hard to do that multiple nights in a row.

What is your go-to hotel before a Miami cruise?

Suggested reading:

• Case in Point: The Way I Value a Hyatt Point
• The Value of a Hyatt Elite Night
• Hyatt’s Brand Explorer: A Fun Way to Engage with Hotels