Hyatt Regency Lake Washington: a Great Option for a Short Layover in Seattle Area

This is a continuation of my Alaska cruise trip report. See my introduction post Back from Alaska cruise on Princess: Watching glaciers and getting fancy

Since we live in Florida, my husband and I needed to fly to Seattle the night before the cruise in order to play it safe. I chose an evening departure from Tampa, which would put us in Sea-Tac airport at 10 pm (due to delay we didn’t actually make it till 10:30 pm).

I needed a hotel for the night and knew exactly which one to pick: Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport It’s a category 3, and I paid 12k Hyatt points total. My cousin-in-law was kind enough to gift me a club access award, which gave us free breakfast in the lounge.

We were actually supposed to overnight here a year ago after our flight from Japan, but I ended up reserving Radisson Hotel Seattle Airport instead. The reason: the award rate on the latter was 30% off at the time, plus we had a very early flight departure the following day. Spoiler alert! While Radisson was perfectly fine, Hyatt would be my pick if we ever have to overnight in Seattle again.

The location of this Hyatt is a bit out of the way

It’s not really in Seattle, and it takes 13 minutes to reach the hotel from Sea-Tac airport at night. Update: one of our readers pointed out that it takes much longer to reach the hotel during rush hour, which is something to consider.

If you need to be in Renton, then it’s perfect. It cost us $50 with tip one-way via Uber, but we were there at night, so it might be cheaper at other times of the day.

The location will likely be a deal breaker for some, but I don’t regret staying here. My husband asked not to add any sightseeing plans the following morning before the cruise, so I didn’t feel like we would be missing anything in Seattle proper. We just needed a place to sleep, but I wanted something a little more special than a generic airport hotel. And this property delivered big time.

For one, it’s located next to a Boeing factory. I didn’t tell my husband because I wanted to surprise him. And boy, was he thrilled when we went for a walk along the lake the following morning! You can’t tour the factory, but you can see people working on planes.

He stood there for a good ten minutes taking photos and videos

Speaking of location, it’s quite scenic as long as the weather cooperates. 

The large lobby area looks over the lake as well:

 

Rooms are fairly basic, but have everything you need

Regency hotels are not really known for opulent rooms, and I couldn’t care less. The beds were comfortable and  the interior was clean.

Bathroom was functional, and there was a tub:

Unfortunately, we didn’t get upgraded to a lake view. But we got there late at night, so it didn’t really matter.

Regency Club

We went there for breakfast around 7:30 AM, and it was packed with families. There was no place to sit, so I politely asked Chinese family if we could join them since they had extra seating. They didn’t mind, and we ended up having a nice conversation.  I didn’t take any photos of the small buffet since there were people everywhere, but it was quite decent. Coffee was very good.

Here is some food you can expect:

The club lounge looks over the lake, which is another plus.

I was very grateful to my relative because it probably saved us at least $60, since we didn’t have to pay for breakfast in a hotel restaurant. You can usually use an extra 5k Hyatt points per night for club access. Is it worth it? For a family of four, absolutely. For two people? Maybe. If you can take advantage of the evening spread, I would have to say Yes. We got there too late to use it, unfortunately.

As the saying goes, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. We got our club access for free, after all.

Spa area

I saved the best for last. Since we didn’t check out until 10 AM, I spent several hours enjoying this beautiful pool area.

It opens at 7 AM

Naturally, I settled in a cabana:

I was the only person there

There is also a locker room area with showers and sauna. This is such a delightful space, and worth an extra Uber ride just to enjoy it before/after your flight. Highly recommended.

Final thoughts

It’s a bit odd that Hyatt doesn’t have any presence in Sea-Tac area, but this particular property is a decent compromise. The award rate is a relative bargain, all things considered. If you have any interest in airplanes, you will be delighted by close proximity to the Boeing factory. I don’t have any complaints and would gladly book it again.

P.S. A reminder: Chase Ink Business Preferred (our affiliate link) still has  a signup offer of 100K points after spending $8k in 3 months, $95 annual fee not waived. Chase points transfer to Hyatt 1:1.