This week I’m “liveblogging” my trip to Ukraine. Unlike traditional reports, these posts will be shorter and more frequent.
The Hyatt Regency Kyiv has remained open throughout much of the conflict with Russia and continues to offer luxury accommodations in the heart of Kyiv.
Hyatt Regency Kyiv Review
I last stayed here in 2011 and enjoyed a wonderful stay on a beautiful summer weekend. This year, coming in February and in the middle of a war, the situation was very different. But my review from 12 years ago is still pretty much on-point for today, a testament to the enduring quality of this property.
> Read More: My Hyatt Regency Kiev Review From 2011
This is a category 4 hotel (average nightly rates were about $220) with a free night ranging from 12,000 (off-peak) to 15,000 (standard) to 18,000 (peak) points per night. I paid for my hotel because lately, I’ve been squeezing even more than two cents per point in value from my Hyatt points.
Check-In
Beyond taking my passport and credit card, there were no special check-in formalities. Nadiya welcomed me back to the hotel and informed me that I had been upgraded to a room with a view of St. Sophia’s Cathedral, room 732.
While World of Hyatt Globalist members are eligible for space-available suites upgrades and there appeared to suites available for sale, I did not even make the request. I figured the hotel might be operating at reduced capacity and perhaps some floors were not in use, so since I was traveling alone and would not even be in the room all that much, I did not push the issue.
Guest Room
The hotel is atrium-style, with 10 levels surrounding the lobby.
My cathedral view room included a king-sized bed, desk, and chair. There was nothing special about the room, but it was comfortable and served me well during my stay.
The bathroom had a tub and a separate shower.
No robes in the closet, but there were gas masks…
An old Apple 30-pin speaker probably had not been touched, beyond being dusted, in years…
Waiting in the room was a fruit plate and bottle of French wine, with a nice note welcoming me back to the property.
I was prepared for rolling blackouts, but those never occurred: the hotel also has a generator in the case of such incidents, but all was calm over the three days I was in Kyiv. Internet worked well: free wifi, lightning fast, and without issue.
My room did have a lovely view outside:
Asia Bar & Grill
I enjoyed a lovely breakfast spread here each morning with fresh-squeezed juices, excellent coffee, cooked-to-order eggs and crepes, and a wide-ranging buffet of hot and cold items. I tried to keep up my internment fasting while traveling, meaning I ate at close to 10:30 am (the end of the breakfast window, which runs from 7:30 am to 10:30 am).
The hotel has both a high-quality manual coffee machine (put simply, the kind that makes good drinks) and an automatic push-button machine. I ordered a flat white the first day and noticed that the barista used the automatic machine (the same crappy machine that Air Canada uses in its Maple Leaf Lounges).
I asked him to use the other machine and he became very defensive, indignant really, and said, “What’s the difference? It’s the same coffee!”
Friend, the machine makes all the difference in the world. Oh yes, I am an unapologetic coffee snob. I explained to him that the automatic machine dispenses milk first, then adds espresso on top. The result is a horrible texture and taste. On the other hand, the manual machine can more fully extract the beans, and by adding the espresso first then the foamed milk, the texture is also much better.
He looked at me like I was an idiot. Maybe so, but I’ll tell you this: for the rest of my stay my coffee was perfect and he didn’t use the automatic machine for anyone else either.
I don’t mean for that incident to overshadow how attentive the staff was and how delicious the breakfast buffet was. And of course the clientele were interesting…
> Read More: Breakfast With Media And Mercenaries At Hyatt Regency Kyiv
Lobby Lounge – Regency Club
The Regency Club was closed, but as a Globalist, I was invited to enjoy complimentary coffee, tea, and juice all day long in the Lobby Lounge. Alcoholic beverages were complimentary nightly from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
I’m not drinking much these days so I skipped the free booze, but I did enjoy freshly-squeezed apple and orange juice.
Bar on 8
The Bar on 8, which I quite enjoyed 12 years ago, is currently closed.
Room Service
24/7 room service is available with a very nice menu of items:
This is a huge value-add for this property considering the nightly curfew means there are no restaurants, cafes, or even grocery stores that are open past 10:00 pm right now in Kyiv.
I greatly enjoyed Chicken Kyiv via room service.
> Read More: A Delectable Dinner Of Chicken Kyiv
Fitness + Spa + Wellness
The hotel fitness center, called Club Olympus, is modern and includes a wide selection of machines and other devices that kept me occupied each morning. Club Olympus sells membership to the public as well (it has its own street entrance) and there were a fair number of non-guests using the facilities as well.
The only downside is that the gym is only open from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm. I prefer to get an earlier start to my day, though it just meant writing first and working out later.
A full-service spa is also available with a full menu of massages available. Menu here:
The locker rooms include a sauna and steam room, which felt great after an intense workout.
Swimming Pool
Perhaps the most beautiful area of the hotel is the indoor pool, which has beautiful tilework and lighting to create a great atmosphere.
Bomb Shelter
As a reminder that Ukraine was at war and Kyiv has been attacked, there was a bomb shelter one level below the lobby (a hotel ballroom).
CONCLUSION
While I wish I could have spent several more days here (and also checked out the Hilton and Intercontinental hotels), I was very happy to return to the Hyatt Regency Kyiv and was pleased to find it remains an excellent property more than a decade after my first stay. I would not hesitate to stay here again and look forward to returning.
Looks like Ukraine is in a war situation and has no lack of food, well, because of export limitations…
Billions in support being provided by the US are put to good use. SMH
You are both idiots
They are deplorables.
Exactly…..ignorant and bitter.
Imagine the reaction from the annoyed barista if you had asked for French pressed coffee instead of automatic steamed coffee dispenser. Much less asking for goat milk instead of ultra high pasteurized shelf milk.
I love this blog, particularly the high standards for flights, hotels, and lounges, but complaining about automatic coffee machines in the middle of a war torn country is a little harsh.
Rip the United Club all you want for their crappy coffee machines or machine usage choices, they deserve the critique, but the Hyatt Kyiv probably should be cut a lot of slack.
I would not have complained if there was only an automatic machine, but I felt like I needed to call it out since the superior machine was turned on (it takes up to 20 minutes to warm up) and because the guy got so annoyed.
He was the customer and the job of the guy was to serve the customer. It is called customer service. I totally agree that if there was only an automatic machine, that’s ok but there was another one so not a big ask.
“What’s the difference? It’s the same coffee!” This reminds me many years ago flying business class to Japan on NWA. I can definitely taste the difference in waters to the point I can tell sometimes what water brand it is. On that flight, after dinner the FA started giving full bottles of water to the passengers. I noticed she had Dasani crappie water and Evian. Obviously for my luck she gave me a bottle of Dasani. I politely asked her if I could switch and have the Evian. She was extremely defensive and upset and said exactly the same thing you heard about the coffee: “ What’s the difference? It’s all water?” My response: “Have you tried the water from the Mississippi river?” She was not happy, gave me the bottle of Evian and kept moving down the aisle. WTF!!! People are been paid to do their job but they insist in doing their own way. When you work with a customer, unless it is something really out of bounds, it has to be their way.
Nice review of the Hotel. And a great view! The thing I do not like when traveling in Europe etc..is that they TAKE YOUR PASSPORT AND COPY IT!!!Not a fan They say it is to NOTIFY THE POLICE that we are at the HOTEL??? Seems Lame to me./ I am sure the Police have lots more to do than know how many Americans are in TOWN!!! … We do not do so in the US even in Disney Hotels !! This has been a procedure for the 40 years that I have traveled out of the US.
This is simple…
You don’t like the rules??…Do all the Europeans a favour and stay in AMERICA!
You put into context the meaning of DUMB
Catch yourself on love and stop moaning.
Looks like a very nice property, judging from your photos it may be one of the newer/better Hyatt Regencies in the world. The half-dozen Hyatt Regencies that I’ve been to in the U.S. (plus one in Bali that we walked through while staying at the next-door Andaz Bali) are typically fine but decidedly older. Kudos for your bravery visiting Kyiv during an ongoing war.
The amazing thing is that the hotel really has not changed since my first visit in 2011.
Seeing as the barista is living in a worn torn country and may have family or friends fighting or injured or killed in action or have lost their home or have no heat, I’d give him a break.
His life perspective while serving coffee to someone personally untouched by war, is different.
Matthew??? Untouched by war! By golly, he worked at The White House!! He was exposed to war on the daily!!!
In some sense, you are very correct.
Coffee…Coffee! Pompous little man you are. A truly sad existence you have.
Yep, pretty pathetic.
Kudos to the team at Hyatt there in not only keeping the hotel open but actually putting together a really decent product overall. This should be an inspiration (and embarrassment) for many hotel properties in the U.S. Those that would perhaps better fit into what you imagine one would get in a country being invaded, at war, and regularly bombed. I hope every hotel management team at third rate falling apart properties in the U.S. read this and feel ashamed.
Great point.
Great review, and what an impressive hotel. Considering all the obstacles they must encounter every day they are an inspiration to us all. Thanks for sharing!
What were those red boxes please?
Gas masks.
Thanks!
I find it a bit odd that we are being told about this awful war, with all these bombs and rockets all over the place, and people trying to survive. yet the HR is untouched, with all its amenities in tact, and offers a much better breakfast buffet and overall service than any HR stateside.
Glad to see people finally waking up. Our current administration continues their America last policies – sending billions to Ukraine to fund their “war”, their pensions and of course, to continue laundering money. Why on earth would anyone continue to believe anything the current administration or their lapdogs in the media tells them?
So what is your suggestion? Your solution? Be careful how you answer as Ronald Reagan’s ghost may not be happy with you.
Found the Putin troll. Enjoy sending your cannon fodder against Ukraine, lol.
This has to be one of *the* most insensitive reviews yet. Given the current circumstances, and of all the places in the world, you really had to do this?
Shame. Shame on you.
Thanks for reading.