Hyatt Regency Crown Center

Note: This post has been updated; please see comments at the end of the post.

This was originally posted 9/21/09
I am, quite honestly, torn about this hotel. While it was nice and the location is on the Link (skywalk system around the Crown Center complex) I really expected to enjoy my stay here more than I did.

I had great expectations before we even arrived. One of the reasons we chose the Hyatt Regency was because I could get adjoining rooms- meaning they have an interior door between them. My mom and cousin were joining us for KC Irish Fest; because I know my girls (and how much they love their grandma) I knew they would want to be with her. But I didn't want them roaming in the halls. Score one for Hyatt.

A few days before we left I called the hotel to confirm that we would have adjoining rooms. I had what was possibly the greatest telephone customer service I have ever received. Score two for Hyatt.

Then came our arrival. We came into town for the most popular festival of the year. Unfortunately the hotel didn't seem like it was fully staffed to service the guests. Check in lines were very long- and very slow. And while a trolley was loaded with our bags by the bellman, it was left for us to take to the room and return to the lobby. (Which wasn't really a problem until time to check out. More on that later.) Strike one for Hyatt.

On top of that, I received tickets to the festival. Which would have been great if the special rates page on their website would have mentioned it. It didn't, so I purchased our tickets from the festival itself. Which means I spent money on tickets I didn't need. And the person handling my check in was a bit snooty when I said that the website hadn't mentioned festival tickets. When she said that she was "positive it did" I opened my computer and showed her the image of the page I ordered from. When she had to admit that I was correct she wasn't very nice about it. Strike two for Hyatt.

On to the rooms. They were adjoining (yea!) and both were quite roomy. Both had a small refrigerator and a nice sized dresser and desk. The bathrooms were large, as well, with marble counter tops and spacious bathtubs.

My only issue with the rooms, and I find this with a lot of hotels, is that there is a charge for internet access. I don't understand this. And, even worse, you had to be online to sign up for the T-mobile service, so you couldn't do it from the room. Luckily I was able to pick up a very weak unsecured signal- possibly from the lobby?- but even with a paid internet connection the signal was spotty and we had to be in front of a window for it to work. Ball one for Hyatt.

Breakfast is not included with your room rate. We knew this, so it wasn't a surprise. Crown Center restaurants are close, including Panera and Einstein Bagels. If you are visiting on a weekend head up to Raglan Road for an exquisite Irish breakfast.

Check out was when things got really annoying. Because we had rolled the trolley up to our room on arrival I sent Doug down to get one. He was told he couldn't have one because, "Those are for our arriving guests." What? It's not quite 10am and people are checking out. I was a bit annoyed and called down to the customer service counter who told me someone would be "right up" with a trolley. Well, right up certainly didn't mean anytime soon as we waited half an hour. I called back down. Seems we were "forgotten". Nice.

I went down to the lobby with the girls to check out, leaving Doug upstairs with the luggage. As I was paying I commented to the clerk at the counter about what had happened. "We only have two bellman on today and they need the carts to do their job." OK, fine. So why were there more carts when we arrived- and why did we do their job then? I received no answer. Strike three for Hyatt.

While I'm sure the poor customer service can be chalked up to the business of the festival weekend it seems to me that a hotel that is directly beside the festival grounds would be staffed for the occasion. Overall the hotel seemed short-staffed and the staff appeared stressed. Whatever the reason I am unsure if I will stay here again.

Note: parking rates are additional to room rates unless included in a package. This is common around Crown Center.

Update: I received an email, followed by a phone call, from the manager of this hotel within a week of my review. We spoke at length about my stay and the problems we experienced. While the manager acknowledged that the hotel was very busy due to the festival that was going on she also said that the lack of customer service was unacceptable. I truly appreciate that the hotel contacted me directly and is working very hard to rectify the problems we experienced.