The Grand Hyatt At SFO is a fabulous airport hotel, providing convenience and comfort that is worth the premium over other airport hotels at San Francisco International Airport. This review covers my stay in a corner suite.
Grand Hyatt SFO Location
The hotel is located on the airport premises just a few stops away on the Red Line or Blue Line train connecting the airport terminals to BART. Which line you get on depends upon which terminal you arriving or departing from.
Upon landing, just following the BART signs and you’ll quickly be able to determine which train to hop on.
The journey from Terminal 3 took six minutes on the red line. Stepping off the train I smiled at the KLM 747 and Korean Air 777 which greeted me. I took an escalator downstairs to the actual hotel entrance.
Note: SFO has reduced this train service during COVID-19. Expect longer wait times. Plan accordingly.
There’s also an official front entrance to the hotel located below the lobby level if you are driving yourself (valet is available).
Grand Hyatt SFO Check-In
After taking the escalator downstairs from the train station, I found a welcome desk flanked by beautiful stained glass windows on the landing. Although not the official check-in desk, a kind lady checked me in, recognized my Globalist status, and notified me that I had been upgraded to a suite overlooking the tarmac.
The formal lobby is cozy, with comfortable chairs and couches plus a fireplace. I proceeded past to the guest room elevators and found my corner suite all the way down the hall on the 11th floor.
Grand Hyatt At SFO Suite
The suite included a living room, bedroom, and large bathroom. The room itself was beautiful with extremely comfortable bedding, but what really made this room special was the tarmac views.
A coffee machine, tea kettle, and bottled water (in aluminum, since SFO banned plastic water bottles and the hotel is on the airport premises) were available and the room had well-thought plugs and a nice alarm clock that doubled as a mobile phone charger. One drawback: no USB Type-C plugs. That was shortsighted…
If you needed anything, you were invited to text the front desk…again, another great precursor to COVID-19.
The bathroom included dual sinks, a huge soaking tub overlooking the tarmac, a large walk-in shower, and a lovely Toto toilet with all the bells and whistles.
I woke up very early and caught the sun rising the next morning.
Grand Hyatt SFO Grand Club
I was waiting for my brother to arrive and enjoyed some appetizers in the Grand Club at around 6:00 PM. Each night, the Grand Club offers free Hors d’oeuvres from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM and dessert until 9:00PM, though I suspect service has now been modified due to the pandemic. An honor bar is available.
There was also a beautiful buffet spread in the mornings from 7:00AM to 10:00AM with mostly cold items but a few hot dishes like mini quiche, congee, and bacon.
My only gripe: my key card did not work. They reset it three times and for whatever reason it would not open the door of the Grand Club. Since the front desk is not always staffed, I found myself at the mercy of waiting for other guests to come in and out.
Grand Hyatt SFO Quail & Crane Restaurant
Just outside the Grand Club is Quail & Crane, the hotel’s main restaurant. The Asian-fusion menu looked tempting, but prices were high…not surprising for a swanky airport hotel in San Francisco, but hard to justify after appetizers in the lounge and so many wonderful restaurants in the city.
The breakfast buffet in Quail & Crane largely overlapped what was available in the lounge in terms of breakfast breads and cold items, but there were many additional hot items.
Globalists do not have a choice to eat here or the Grand Club as part of their breakfast benefit, only the Grand Club.
Grand Hyatt SFO Bar
My brother ended up being delayed and arriving very late. We were going to head into the city for dinner, but ended up just staying at the hotel and eating in the bar. He had a “Beyond Meat” burger and I had a cheeseburger, which we shared…those meatless burgers have come a long way and are very tasty! We had a couple cocktails too and the bartender was very professional and knowledgeable about the art of making cocktails.
Rather than paper menus, the hotel uses tablets.
While we were sitting in the bar, a beautifully-dressed blonde escort, about six feet tall, sat down next to a short, fat man in a rumpled suit who was eagerly waiting for her. They were sitting right next to us so we had to endure their small talk before they finally went upstairs…
Grand Hyatt SFO Coffee @ Twin Crafts Market
Although the lounge had free machines dispensensing espresso beverages, I noticed a nice coffee machine in Twin Crafts Market, located adjacent to the bar on the lobby level, and decided to try a cappuccino. It was very good…far better than anything an automatic machine can produce.
Grand Hyatt At SFO Gym
A large gym with modern cardiovascular and strength training equipment is available 24/7 on the lower level. This hotel has no pool, sauna, or steam room.
CONCLUSION
I’ll admit it, I flew up to SFO last-minute just to try out this hotel shortly after it opened last October (it didn’t hurt that my brother was on a work trip and could expense it). Then I dragged out writing the review because I had to sort through over 500 pictures, which takes far more time than the review itself. But this is a lovely hotel…one of the best airport hotels I have ever stayed at. This is a great addition to the Hyatt portfolio and a superb option for those who have an overnight layover or early flight out. Expect great service, a comfortable bed, and easy access to SFO.
Wow, what an excellent, well documented review. The photos were vivid, rich and spoke to the reader as well as the succinct prose.
As a frequent SFO passenger who schlepped on the bus to the Rental Car Facility as the new rail station was being built, so nice to see the airport train operating.
I would meet you there anytime for ramp watching from the Lounge.
Thanks for the time you spent creating this review.
Solid review, Matthew, and looks like a great option for an early morning flight out of SFO and to avoid the horrid morning traffic on 101 to the airport. Well, one day, lol.
@ Matthew — Fit for the Queen. We came oh so close to stay there, then COVID hit. I look forward to a post-COVID stay!
Just a note: I think you misidentified a Korean Air A330 as a 787. The nose and engines are clearly not those of the Dreamliner, although their SFO flights are usually 787s/747s. An equipment swap, it seems.
Allen, it’s a 777. Clearly could see 5 doors on it.
Ooh, right you are. That would explain the lack of sharklets…
sorry this is real pedantic but isn’t that Korean Airlines plane a 77W instead of a 787
Yep, I’ll update. I could have sworn there were shark teeth behind engine.
Had the exact same room but in the 9th floor back in November love the tarmac views. At that time there was a Quantas 747 Longreach sitting outside in front of me
How was the window tinting? Did any law enforcement get a free show?
LOL. That’s a good question, but I’m the wrong one to ask! 😉 Maybe check with some of the airport ground staff!
Hey, how are you a Globalist? I didn’t know you were constantly on the road sleeping in Hyatt hotels all the time. Can you make a post about how you qualified and if you plan on requalifying? How do you justify the premium Hyatt often charges over some other hotel?
Why do you think Hyatt charges a premium over other hotels?
Look up random rates in any city, take Vienna as an example, and you will find the Park Hyatt and Ritz Carlton are practically the same in their rates. In fact, if you compare also Le Meridian, the Marriott and the Hyatt Andaz there, the Andaz is far more attractive with their offers (and a much better hotel).
Hyatt and Marriott are always competitive in most markets when comparing similar properties. Now, if you are trying to compare rates at Park Hyatt to a standard Marriott, yeah, of course it’s more expensive.
Not to mention that Hyatt is leaps and bounds better overall with their program than Bonvoy. But that’s another argument.
Dave, I stayed 67 nights in Hyatt last year on a mix of business and pleasure. I don’t find them generally more expensive than others.
However tasty it was, $22 for that cheeseburger is just plain heinous. It pained me enough to part with $20 for the cheeseburger I had for lunch the other day, but at least that came with a shake and included the tip…
Agreed, but it was pushing 9PM so there wasn’t really any viable alternatives, even in the airport.
Nice review!
I also had the opportunity to stay at the Corner Suite. Mine was at the opposite end than the one in the review.
I typically stay at the Hyatt Regency@SFO about 10 nights a year but now will likely stay at the Grand Hyatt from now on.
I’ve got a Hyatt Regency SFO review to post as well and I just found the Grand Hyatt so much better.
I just hope no one got offended by accidentally glimpsing at what your two neighbors at dinner got up to later through their rooms’ tinted windows…
Matthew, suggest you please update this review to note that Airtrain service has been altered and reduced due to COVID-19. This significantly impacts the convenience of the hotel to the terminals. It’s basically 15-20 minutes to get from the hotel back to the terminals, with no reasonable alternative.
Also, in four stays here, I have found the service hit or miss. Many staff are inexperienced. I also don’t much care for either the extremely flow-restricted shower heads or the automatic lights at the base of the bed, which stay on way too long.
Will do. Very good tip. Thanks Kacee.
The next time I visit san Francisco I will definitely check out the Hyatt
Also stayed last October and was given a commemorative wooden key with laser etched hotel logo and “1st guest of room 1230”. Very cool!