Adam H.
Yelp
**This is a 3.5 star review.**
This hotel is listed as a four-star property on Google. I'm not sure who gets to make these decisions but ... nope!
If you've ever spent a night or two at the Rennaisance Chicago (downtown), the Grand Kempenski (Dallas) or pretty much any InterContinental property, you'll know what a four-star property feels like. Five-star properties are a different animal altogether, but I digress.
At best, the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk is a 3.5-star property. During my stay, it was more like a 3. In other words, Residence Inn ... Homewood Suites or Fairfield Inn (suites). Not bad at all, but this joint isn't exactly going to be nominated for any AMEX awards
The uber positive: The front desk is efficient and polite. It feels like a concierge floor.
The not-so-positive: There remains an $1,100 charge on my American Express, though I presented a different card at check-in several days ago. The AMEX is apparently the card on file with my rewards. It'll ultimately work itself out, but really?
More uber-positive: The housekeeping crew here is clutch. Period. So too are the dudes who brought my luggage to the room and parked my car. Quick. So polite.
More not-so-positive: How in the Sam Hill does one adjust the climate control in these rooms?!? I slept hot ... for several days. I wanted to call down, but I felt like Forrest Gump. Is it that difficult to let me set the thermostat to 70? It is here. -- I have a master's degree from Purdue University, but unfortunately it's not in engineering or physics.
Some positives: When I lost my room key, the folks downstairs hooked me up immediately. They were so friendly. This is a testament to whomever is leading this crew. These guys seem to really like their jobs. -- And though the restaurant(s) are displaced during construction, everyone still did a great job.
Some not-so-positives: In my 50-some-odd years, I've traveled to San Antonio many times. I don't ever remember a trip here where I-10 or I-35 wasn't under construction. When I'm paying $400 a night, I don't expect to hear jackhammers in my hotel. Is this just part of the culture here? Not cool.
A few more observations: This is a fine property for a conference. In fact, there was another conference happening simultaneously. Although the internet service was about as slow as the days of 300 baud modems (Yes, Hyatt! You need to fix this!), everything seemed to run fairly smoothly, so long as I used my hotspot. This was an issue with several colleagues. Again though, when I'm paying $400 a night, I believe that the property should be investing in its digital infrastructure.
Bottom line: Would I stay here as an individual traveler? No. It's a decent property, but the cost doesn't justify the benefits. As a conference-goer, they need to fix a few things, but my experience wasn't terrible by any means.