Hyatt might not be the largest hotel company in the world, but it is certainly one of the fastest growing hotel chains. They seem to be building and acquiring new hotel brands at a record pace. As a result, it can be hard to keep track of all of these brands as there are now 26 of them. Understanding the differences between them can not only help you book the right hotel but by staying at different Hyatt brands, you’ll be able to earn a free night certificate as we explained here. Regardless, hopefully this article will help you make sense out of them all so that you can select the right one.
Alila
These are very high end hotels with most of them being in Asia. There is one in the U.S. called Ventana Big Sur, an Alila Resort. It’s a very popular resort for travel hackers but it’s not really on my list of places to go anytime soon. I’ve seen some YouTube videos on it and I just don’t really see the value. If we go to one of these, it’ll probably be one in Indonesia. However, you should know that I am definitely in the minority here as just about everyone that has been there raves about it. Before you spend that amount of points, I’d read up on it and watch as many videos as you can. While that one is really expensive, some of the others outside of the US are actually really cheap.
The hotels look stunning. Besides the U.S. and Indonesia, you can find these hotels in India, Oman, Malaysia, China, and the Maldives.
Andaz
These are interesting properties as they are very high end but they don’t really seem to share the same vibe. Some cater more towards business travelers while others are more of a higher end leisure destination. Regardless, you can expect just about everything about these hotels to be high end. Usually a very solid choice if you’re looking for luxury but again, check out the pictures first to make sure it’s the vibe you’re looking for.
One of the highlights of these hotels are the on-site restaurants. You can expect a high end culinary experience with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. You can find these hotels around the world.
Caption
This is one of the newest Hyatt brands and it seems to be another one of those hotels that are trying to cater to the under 35 set. There’s a lot of funkiness to it and the lobby has a pool table. Kinda of a “not your father’s hotel” type of place. A lot of the focus seems to be on the lobby while the small rooms don’t really impress according to reviews on Google. Having stayed at similar hotels, I can relate. I’m not really sure anyone really loves these hotels but these companies keep making them. Be sure to check Google reviews before booking.
Destination by Hyatt
These are a rather unique collection of hotels that can by anything from a resort to a private home rental. The common theme is the boutique nature of the property. I stayed at a Destination by Hyatt on Maui and it was basically like a condo on VRBO which was nice since we had a full kitchen. Since one hotel will be much different from another, be sure to read up on the one your interested in and check one some pics and video.
Dream Hotels
Hyatt alread has Dreams all-inclusive hotels but now they have Dream which are regular hotels. Putting that confusing name aside, these are upscale, hip hotels in places that are known for nightlife like New York City, Hollywood and Nashville. There’s only a few of them right now. Think of a hotel for people looking to party. Many more locations are planned.
Grand Hyatt
Just like the name implies, these are some of the largest hotels in the Hyatt portfolio. While they certainly welcome and cater to leisure travelers, they also tend to do a ton of business with corporate meetings and group events. You’ll likely see all sorts of business types at the hotel. One of the absolute favorites is the Grand Hyatt Kauai which is where we stayed. While the hotel is massive and parts of it were absolutely beautiful, the room was OK and the prices for everything were incredible. There was a massive group there as well having some type of meeting. The pool there was pretty great.
Hyatt
Plain old Hyatt hotels seem to be hard to find and that’s because it’s one of their smaller brands. These tend to compete with the likes of Marriott and Hilton. Nice hotels but nothing usually over the top. There will be some business travelers but you’re not gonna run into a meeting of 2,000 people. What’s interesting is that The Rio in Las Vegas is classified as a “Hyatt” so that might be the easiest one for people to stay at if you’re trying to check it off your Brand Explorer list.
Hyatt Centric
Just as the name implies, Hyatt Centric hotels tend to be in the center of the area that you’d want to explore. For example, I was looking to stay in Milan and the Hyatt Centric Milan is literally right there in the center of the city. Hyatt Centric Times Square is two blocks away from One Times Square in New York City. They tend to focus on leisure travelers that want a home base to explore an area. These are upper-scale hotels that usually feature a restaurant serving local food.
Hyatt House
These are extended stay type hotels where there is a living area and kitchenette in the room. I really like these hotels as they allow you to make food in your room which saves you money as eating out every night can get expensive. Even though it’s an extended stay type of place, you don’t need to stay there for a long time to enjoy these large rooms. Although you can make your own breakfast, these hotels give you a complimentary breakfast. You can also expect other amenities like a gym, bar, laundry, grills, etc. These hotels have a ton to offer without breaking the bank. Kind of a hidden gem in my opinion as they are not really considered to be on par with Hyatt’s luxury brands.
Note – there are some hotels that have a room called a “den” which don’t have all the same amenities as the regular Hyatt House rooms. In my opinion, these hotels are kind of like a combination of a Hyatt Place and a Hyatt House. If you stay in a den room, it’ll feel exactly like you’re staying in a Hyatt Place.
Hyatt Place
I really like the Hyatt Place brand but much like Hyatt House, no one is usually going to be bragging about staying at one of these hotels. This is another brand with free breakfast and the rooms are usually larger than standard hotel rooms although not nearly as big as a Hyatt House room. Many also have nice gyms and pools. When I was choosing between two different Hyatt hotels in Montreal, I went with the Hyatt Place and I have no regrets. The room was great, the breakfast was nice and I really enjoyed the pool and sauna.
Again, no one is probably going to be jealous over your stay at a Hyatt Place but I think you can get a lot of value out of these hotels. Since I’d rather have a nice stay for less cash or points instead of impressing anyone, these are a great choice for my needs.
Hyatt Regency
These hotels are somewhat upper-scale, full service hotels that you’ll usually find in urban areas. While leisure travelers will find these hotels useful, the focus seems to be on meetings and conferences. As a result, there may be less “fun” amenities. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago and the location was great but there was really nothing there for us like a pool. As we were checking out, our friend was checking in for a massive teacher conference. That seemed to be the vast majority of the people staying there while we were there. These hotels are certainly nice, but they wouldn’t be my first choice if the exact location wasn’t the primary focus. I’d personally stay at a Hyatt Place over a Hyatt Regency if everything else was equal but that’s just me.
Hyatt Studios
This is one of Hyatt’s newest brands and there is only one location on the Hyatt map which is in Alabama. However, it won’t even be opened until 2025. From what I understand, this is similar to a Hyatt House except they are a little lower-end. The rooms will be smaller, and there won’t be a breakfast buffet. Instead, there will only be a grab and go breakfast. Room service is only once per week. You’ll also only earn less points apparently. Doesn’t sound too exciting but I suppose it will help fill in gaps in some areas that wouldn’t otherwise support a Hyatt Place or Hyatt House. It’ll be interesting to see how the reviews are after this opens.
Hyatt Vacation Club
These are timeshare resorts located in touristy places like Florida and Hawaii. However, you don’t need to buy a timeshare to stay there. You can book a room just like you would at a regular hotel. More than just hotel rooms, you can expect luxury condos and villas with pools. Some even have beaches. There are three in Key West and they each have different prices. These are higher end so expect a higher end price tag but you’ll get a lot more value than you would from a basic hotel room in the same location.
JdV by Hyatt
Originally Joie de Vivre (hence JdV), these boutique hotels can be found in the US, Europe and Asia. They are a collection of independent hotels so you can expect more individuality out of each hotel. All of them are pet friendly which is nice. Since amenities and other features will vary from hotel to hotel, you’ll have to research them carefully so you know what to expect. For example, some of them feature free breakfast while others do not. There are a few in the San Jose, California area and they are usually very cheap. Despite the low price tag, I found the stay to be really nice.
Miraval
Talk about high end. There’s only three of these hotels in the world and you’ll find them in Arizona, the Berkshires and Texas. For a couple to stay there, you’re looking at insane 65,000 points (or more) a night or cash prices starting at $1500 a night and going up from there. This is one of those brands that most people are never going to stay in as they cater to the very high end customer that is focused on wellness. Although this is expensive, you can expect daily schedule of activities (most of which are complimentary) such as outdoor adventures, wellness lectures, yoga, fitness, and meditation activities. These are the types of places where resort is the destination and you won’t be going anywhere else.
While not exactly all-inclusive, it’s semi-inclusive so you can expect some things to be included while also having a resort credit that you can apply to other services. I suggest you read through daily schedule carefully to make sure that the daily activities interest you. If you are into yoga and related activities, you’ll probably love it. If you want nothing to do with any of that, you might not be too happy there. Also be sure to check reviews because they are not as high as they should be for something this expensive.
Park Hyatt
This is their top-tier luxury brand on par with the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton. Half of the locations are in Asia with the Park Hyatt Tokyo being made famous in the movie Lost in Translation. I’ve stayed at the Park Hyatt in Milan and I really wasn’t impressed. Of course, other locations have blown people away. You can expect the best of everything from rooms to public spaces to restaurants. While expensive, these are really nice places when you want to splurge for a special occasion. However, not all locations are going to break the bank. Some of the cash prices and points prices can be pretty reasonable. While Park Hyatt Tokyo is a category 7 hotel, Park Hyatt Istanbul is a category 5. So you really can’t just write off this brand as being too expensive for you. The cash and points prices can be dramatically different from one hotel to the next.
Thompson Hotels
These are luxury hotels found across the US and Mexico with The Cape, a Thompson Hotel in Cabo San Lucas being a favorite among travel hackers. These hotels are high end, yet funky spaces that you’ll want to actually hang out in. In fact, their bars and restaurants are often frequented by locals and tourists that aren’t staying there. They also blend in a lot of the local culture. Think luxury, but hip vibe. If I’m gonna stay at once, it’d probably be one in Mexico. There is one location in Madrid as well. Rooms at The Cape start at 25,000 points.
The Unbound Collection by Hyatt
This is another set of independent luxury, boutique hotels and as a result, no two are alike. Some are bigger, some are smaller but all of them are on the higher end. You’ll have to really research these hotels to get a feel for what they are alike but they include the Fuji Speedway Hotel in Japan, the Magma Resort in Santorini and the La Zambra in Costa del Sol, Spain. These are definitely worth checking out. La Zambra is a category 5 so there are rooms starting at 17,000 points per night. It seems like a really cool place that offers great restaurants, a spa, golf course and a free breakfast.
UrCove by Hyatt
Another brand with an odd name, this is a brand aimed at mid-scale travelers in China as all of its locations are there. Thus, I don’t think I’ll be crossing this off my list anytime soon…or ever.
Our suggestions
That’s 18 brands and we haven’t even gotten into the all-inclusive hotels yet! Let’s narrow this down a little bit. I doubt anyone reading this is going to go to China just to stay at a mid-level hotel brand so we can cross UrCove off the list. Miraval seems out of reach for most people but if you want to go there, let me know how it was. Otherwise, I’ll just assume we’re crossing that off the list. Caption doesn’t seem too exciting to me but if your younger, it may interest you.
If you really want to use up a ton of points for two or three night at Ventana Big Sur, that will be the easiest way for most people to visit an Alila hotel. Like I said, I thought about it and it just doesn’t seem like the right place for me but most will say it’s amazing. It might be easier to find a JdV or Unbound hotel if you’re traveling and you want to stay somewhere unique. Since each hotel is different, be sure to do your research.
If you just want a basic stay and get good value, I think Hyatt Place and Hyatt House are very solid options. Since I think travel hacking is more about getting the most bang for your buck (or points), I really prefer these hotels. I’m not a huge fan of Hyatt Regency so if it’s a choice between that and a Place or House, I’ll go with them over Regency all day unless my Globalist benefits are going to make a HR stay worth it.
If you want to stay at a condo type hotel, Destination and Vacation Club are great choices with the Residence Club offering more of a resort experience. If on the other hand you want to be in a great location that you are going to explore like a foreign city, look for Hyatt Centric. If you are looking for a party atmosphere, Dream Hotels might be right for you.
Sometimes you want to break the bank and celebrate a special occasion. In those situations, you have a number of luxury options such as Andaz, Park Hyatt, Thompson and Grand Hyatt. Note that I didn’t mention plain old Hyatt as there’s only a few locations and half of them are in India. Not really worth considering in my opinion. As far as Hyatt Regency goes, I wouldn’t make it a point to stay there unless there was something about the hotel like the location that really appealed to you.
So there you have it, all 19 hotels broken down with my suggestions. I’m sure there will be more added at some point and I’ll add to this list when that happens.