Stay Report: Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago - December 2015)

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port Of Spain
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When looking for a hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad we wanted something that was nice but also that was central to many shops and restaurants so that we would be able to have easy access to the sights and sounds of the city.  The Hyatt Regency Trinidad fit all that criteria, as it’s a very nice hotel that is centrally located and provides easy access to the city sights and sounds.  The only negatives are the design of the bathroom and, more importantly, the lack of customer service by some agents.  

The hotel’s location is very convenient as it is located in the middle of downtown right next to Freedom Square.  Behind the hotel is a nice waterfront and along with the waterfront is a nice path that provides nice walking as well as nice views of the water.  The entrance to the hotel is really nice and grand.  You enter the hotel into a grand foyer.  Straight ahead are floor to wall windows which look directly out into the sea and provide nice light into the hotel.  The lobby is somewhat divided into two sections, with a pathway in the middle of the sections.  You enter the first section when you enter the hotel, and in this section on the right is the check-in desk while on the left are chairs to sit and relax.  Check-in took a while as there were many people and our check-in attendant was neither efficient nor very nice (we had booked a Club Room, and this information had to be repeated to the attendant at least 6 times throughout the check-in process).  As you cross the pathway you enter in the second section which houses the hotel bar and lounge, which has chairs both inside the hotel as well as outside next to the water.  The pathway in the middle provides access to the various amenities of the hotel.  On the left side of the hotel, the path leads to the Business Center and the Regency Club. 

The Club is located in an odd place, but it is really nice and expansive and provides a lot of amenities.  The Regency Club also opens up the water and they have some chairs where you can sit on the water, and this is a nice touch but this also means the Club has an open access from the outside.  Because of this they are very strict in terms of access to the Club, which is understandable, but this can be done in a customer-service friendly and respectful way.  Unfortunately this did not happen with us as we encountered a very un-friendly, non-customer service, and disrespectful way of enforcing the policy.

On the other side of the lobby, the pathway leads to the ATM machine, the elevators to the rooms, the 24-hour coffee shop and the main hotel restaurant where meals are available.  The elevators for the rooms are built with technology so you enter your key into the slot, enter your floor, and the device tells you what elevator will assist you.  It’s a bit of a learning curve but you never waited long for the elevator.   

The rooms either have a sea view or a city view; our room had a city view.  As you entered into the room, on the left was the open bathroom concept.  By open I mean there is only door that separates the toilet from the sink, and that too is a glass door which does not cover many sounds nor smells.  Every other aspect of the bathroom is open.   The oddest design is the shower, which has a shower curtain on one-end, but has glass walls which can see out and can be looked into from the bedroom – essentially offering no privacy or seclusion at all.  Across from the bathroom was the closet.  As you entered further into the room, on the right hand side was the TV with drawers underneath and next to that was the desk.  On the left-hand side were the two double beds.  The beds were big and comfortable and the room was spacious, however standing in room you could clearly see into the shower.

As a full-service hotel there were many amenities for the guests including free wifi, a pool, a fitness center, a business center, and airport transfer.  Since we were there for many days, we were able to use some of the amenities including the free wifi, the pool, and the airport transfer.  The wifi was decent speed and was strong enough to stream videos on youtube; the pool was a medium size and nice, although it seemed a bit small for the size of the hotel; and the paid airport transfer was very convenient and easy to book.

Overall, the Hyatt Regency is a nice full-service hotel in Trinidad.  The hotel is in a good location, has many amenities, and provides comfortable beds.  The negatives are the open bathroom concept and the lack of customer service.