Centrally located with comfortable rooms and a very hospitable General Manager, I appreciated my two-night stay at the Hyatt Place Yerevan and recommend it.
We wanted to make this a three-night stay, but the hotel was sold out our first night, Friday. Even though I hold World of Hyatt Globalist status, which supposedly guarantees a room even in sold-out hotels, this property fell under one of the fine print exceptions. Two different Hyatt agents explained that because there were no other Hyatts in Yerevan, they could not overbook. I’ve never heard that one before…
So we booked a room at the Marriott. That did not work out either. Upon our arrival at 5:00AM, the Marriott claimed we had no reservation. So we walked over to the Hyatt Place, about three minutes away, in hopes of a (very) early check-in. We still would have been willing to pay for an extra night, just to be able to go to sleep, but that turned out to be unnecessary.
There was indeed a guest who had checked out, leaving a single room open at the early pre-dawn hour. But the ladies at the front desk would not allow us occupy the room before the maid cleaned it.
Such a bummer, because we ended up sitting in the lobby for four hours waiting for the first maid to report for duty. I appreciated that we were invited to have breakfast and beverages were offered. Since we had no right to an early check-in, I have no basis to complain…I just wish that we could have cleaned the room ourselves. I would have slept anywhere after a long day and sleepless overnight flight from Vienna.
An Odd Check-In
One thing the ladies did that was a bit perplexing was make a big deal over the fact that I had inadvertently reserved a room for only one guest instead of two. The price is identical for one or two guests (feel free to check yourself), but they made it seem like I was trying to rip them off.
Annoyed, my business partner called World of Hyatt and told the agent that the hotel clerks were hassling us over not having reserved a room for two. The agent was horrified, profusely apologized, pointed out that it made no difference, and promptly placed 10,000 World of Hyatt points in my account.
This is a Category 1 Hotel (5,000 points per night), so we essentially got a free two-night stay. I was shocked by the unprompted compensation and the ladies at the front desk, who had overheard the conversation, seemed very angry about it.
A Classy General Manager
By 8:00AM the General Manager showed up, Stanisav Stojcic. He was such a class act. When apprised of the situation, he came over to introduce himself, graciously welcomed us to his hotel, and told us that he would get us in a room as fast as possible. He apologized for the delay, which was totally unnecessary considering we were asking for a check-in nine hours early.
Nap Time + Upgrade
Soon enough, the room was prepared and we crashed until afternoon. The room was small and very reminiscent other Hyatt Place properties in Europe, with a couch, bed, refrigerator with coffee service, and a small bathroom without a bathtub.
We spent the afternoon and evening exploring Yerevan and I do appreciate the hotel’s location directly in Republic Square, even if the side-street the hotel is on is not exactly picturesque.
When we returned to the room, we found a bottle of Armenian red wine, some breadsticks, and cheese waiting. It was a nice gesture.
The following morning, we received a call in the room.
“Mr. Klint, we want to move you to a better room!”
Um, not requested but fine by me. I really appreciated how this property went out of its way to for me. Could it have been becuase I was a blogger? Maybe. I never mentioned it. I tend to think it is because I was Globalist…the front desk associate mentioned that they see very few Globalists at this property.
Our new room was not a suite, but much more spacious, with a desk the other room did not have. The support beam in the middle of the room was a bit unsightly, but it was nice to be able to stretch out a bit more.
I found the unrequested free toothbrush and toothpaste a bit random, but appreciated it nonetheless. Was my breath bad?
Hyatt Place Yerevan Breakfast Buffet + Lobby Food
I slept through breakfast the first morning and checked out before breakfast the second morning, so really the only chance I had to try the breakfast was before check-in during the long wait.
A buffet includes hot and cold items and eggs are cooked to order. My omelet was just fine, though I enjoyed the fresh plums most of all.
I’ve had better breakfast buffets and the coffee/espresso is oh so mediocre (I would have preferred strong Armenian coffee instead), but it is a generous spread.
Pastries and meals-to-go were available in the lobby.
Hyatt Place Yerevan Physical Fitness
Just outside our upgraded room was the hotel’s gym, which included cardiovascular and free weights. It was just a converted guest room and accessible 24/7 by your room key.
CONCLUSION
Hyatt’s first property in Armenia is recommended. It’s cheap, clean, and I greatly appreciated how hard Mr. Stojcic worked to get me checked in as early as possible.
I wish I could compare it to the Alexander or Marriott, but I’m happy to see a Hyatt property in the heart of Armenia’s capital city.
Nice review! Even if you’ve had better breakfast buffets, I do agree that it seems like a very generous spread for a limited-service property. Also, to avoid the occupancy situation you encountered, if the room rate is the same, I always book a room for the maximum permitted. It offers flexibility in case someone decides to join later (rare, but it has happened). This is just one possibility, but perhaps the FDAs didn’t like the fact that you & your business partner booked a room with a single bed? 😮
I hope you post about what happened with your Marriott reservation. Any response from corporate on how they lost your reservation? Would that be covered under the reservation guarantee?
Never thought about that. Perhaps they did not like that we shared a bed, though my business partner was at the hotel with a female companion a month earlier and they all remembered him.
Again, it’s only a guess, but if they remembered him from a previous stay, maybe they thought he was “cheating” on his female companion with you? The anger and hostility just seem so odd over something so trivial.
Even at hotels that charge different amounts depending on the number of guests, they’d usually just ask for the price difference and leave it at that. Really strange situation, but I’m glad that the GM treated you well.
Maybe…
(lol)
I’m not at all sure, but maybe Hyatt meant that they could not overbook in a city without another Hyatt to walk a customer to if need be.
That’s what they meant indeed, but I’ve never heard of that in the past and used this “guarantee” in cities like Saigon with only one property.
Carnivores have notoriously bad breath….although they should have been a bit more subtle about it.
But I floss and brush three times per day!
Blogger + Globalist + your friend calling corporate might have all been factors in the room upgrade.
“with a larger couch and desk.”
From the pics, though, it looks like the exact same couch and desk, just in a larger room.