Mystery Check: Grand Hyatt Berlin
This hotel has been inspected by our Contributor Niklas Ziegler
Membership: Hyatt Gold Passport
Tier Level: Diamond
Room booked: Grand King
Room received: Grand Suite (applied a Suite Night Certificate)
Points: 6 out of 10
The variety of luxury hotels in Berlin is immense, making it quite difficult to decide where to stay. The selection this time was quite simple though - due to the ITB many hotels were already sold out or charged horrendous prices. After a successful submitting of a Best Rate Guarantee Form and applying one of my soon-to-be-expired Suite Upgrade Vouchers, the Grand Hyatt seemed to be the best deal.
I arrived early in the morning and just wanted to drop off my luggage - to my surprise, the suite was already available and the friendly front desk employee proceeded with the in-room check-in. While I absolutely love the minimalistic design of the public spaces, I was quite shocked when we entered the so called "Grand Suite". A 50-sq.-metre room is not what I had imagined. Although it was furnished in a wonderful style, the living and bedroom felt cramped and extremely tiny. There was not even a space for two small cabin trolleys - in fact my colleague had to use the living room to unpack his suitcase. My biggest concern was the view though - the suite was facing the elevator area, meaning that everyone who left the elevator was able to look right into our living and bedroom. Black out curtains were of course installed though I quite appreciate daylight in my hotel room.
Fortunately the bathroom was much better, as it had the same size as the living room and featured a rainforest shower as well as a big bathtub. (and an adorable rubber duck ;) ) The toilet was separated, double vanities were available as well as plenty of toiletries by June Jacobs, nothing to take home, but a nice smell.
Due to my Diamond status and our suite we had access to the Grand Club on the top floor of the hotel. Even tough the quality of the cold snacks was good, the selection itself was rather disappointing and not comparable to their competitors. We were also quite amused that our reservation for a meeting room got lost and no one was informed when we inquired about it. This shows that the Grand Hyatt Berlin did not change a thing since the stay of Mr Travel Executive in June 2015.
But wait, it’s a Grand Hyatt, so there must be something good about it?! And yes, there is indeed something great about it: The complimentary access to the Club Olympus SPA & Fitness. Is there anything better than relaxing in the jacuzzi after several kilometers of walking and hard negotiations at the ITB? I don’t think so. The pool temperature was ideal and the jacuzzi is huge, add a stunning view over Berlin, and from that moment on we were talking about a great experience.
Breakfast is served in the Vox Restaurant downstairs and convinced us with a good variety of top quality food. You can’t go wrong to start the day with freshly baked bread, fresh orange juice and a glass of sparkling wine. While a bigger selection of fruits would have been appreciated, we left breakfast more than satisfied and were ready for another hard day at the ITB.
Ultimately I should have informed myself more about the current room situation. Since the biggest room has already 46sq.-metres, there was no urgent need for a suite. It is still disappointing that Hyatt emphasis such a cookie-cutter policy. When returning to Berlin, the Grand Hyatt will most likely not be my first choice. Nevertheless it is a solid option and if the price is right, worth considering.
The hotel has been booked via a best rate form and the hotel was not directly aware of our presence. Therefore this review has not been influenced in any way.
