TRIP REPORT: The Hyatt Regency O’Hare – Sweet Home, Chicago

Sweet Home Chicago
Hyatt Regency O’Hare

• Well, it’s been a long two years, hasn’t it?
• Testing, Testing, Swab 1-2-3…
• Off to Heathrow (Take the coach they say. It’s fun they say)
• Cathay Pacific T3 lounge, Heathrow Airport
• AA87 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare International (Main Cabin Extra)
• Into the USA, Crown Plaza O’Hare
• Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Airplane Art from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Fooding around Chicago… Badly
• Starbucks Reserve Rosterary, North Michigan Avenue
• Exploring Chicago with a smartphone
• Back to O’Hare, British Airways Lounge
• BA296 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow (World Traveller Plus – Premium Economy)
• Welcome back to the UK, or how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
• To the Journey

Hyatt Regency O’Hare

I arrived at the hotel to be greeted by a very slimmed down door staff (as well as bell staff). My big bags were taken off me and I headed to check-in.

And we start running into problems – it seems that the hotel had removed the names of the people listed for the room – other than the person who booked it.

Not a good omen.

After a WhatsApp with my friend’s call to clear everything up (that’s another possible information attack vector, with me ringing them – rather than the hotel), I was issued the room keys.

Cleaning was offered every three days or daily. I chose daily (as there would be three of us in a room).

More cutbacks there.

In terms of facilities, this Hyatt must be hurting hard as the restaurant was now only a breakfast buffet option, the coffee shop which was 24 hours now closed during the night and the bar was only open from 17:00 to 24:00.

With that, I headed up to the 10th floor in the main block (as finishing things at 1 am/2 am with friends, combined with a long hike to the Executive Wing in this Hyatt doesn’t mix).

My bags were delivered shortly thereafter. It’s time for a room tour. If you’ve been around this blog for a while, you’ll know this room inside out.

To put it mildly – it’s a lot smaller than the suite I was previously in.

The beds – whilst ok-  are starting to show their use and abuse, with the mattresses softer in parts than usual. At least the carpet had been redone, which is nice to see (and it’s not threadbare – so a major bonus).

The TV was massive with a 65” screen that dominates the room. In addition, the angle the screen was placed at… well, I wouldn’t want to do that at home – no chance at all.

Dear deity – what sort of angle is this TV at? 

The room has a balcony – this is good for fresh air and of course, taking pictures of aeroplanes. We’ll get to that in the next post…

In terms of room amenities, things have been moved around, but it seems that Hyatt has got over the propriety coffee machines they used with bagged coffee wrapped in layers and switched to a manual Keurig machine.

I’ve got no issue with that – I stowed a couple of extra capsules as I went along to keep me awake (as some mornings were pure torture getting up).

Light and power bar – the beside power brick has now been moved to the light stand. 

The room guide has been replaced with a QR Code

QR Codes for everything. 

This BAe 146 art has been there for years now… 

The bathroom was its usual well-appointed self – even if it felt a little smaller after the previous hotel.

The usual amenities are present in the bathroom too – again, in individual bottles.

Amenities and the room were refreshed each day – at least the hotel kept that up as requested at check-in.

I dined at the bar the first night – I needed to get some stuff done whilst nibbling down on a burger and fries. However, cutbacks hit here too, like the Fried Calamari that I normally enjoy had vanished too.

When it came time to check out the hotel, I gathered my stuff and headed downstairs (I’ve long ago realised getting the bell desk to help with getting stuff down is a lost cause).

Check-out was slow, to put it mildly, as it seems that there was a minimum front desk staff, along with minimal bell staff to store and retrieve items.

However, it seemed that the hotel didn’t mess up the billing at this hotel – which makes a change for once.

Overall: Disappointed is the term I’m going to use. I had a lot higher hopes, to put it mildly.

Whilst the room was fine, it seems like Hyatt has been making some hard cuts in the thing that makes a Hyatt Regency – the people who are there to help.

And it seems that they’ve cut a bit too hard – to put it mildly.

In addition, the hotel is feeling more than a little tired now – and there are efforts to revitalise it, but this is just dancing around the problems.

With the lack of staff at the hotel and the cuts made, I struggle to see how this place can improve in the short term.

Next: Airplane Art Special from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare.

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, featuring in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.