Admittedly, this hotel reminded me more of a retirement home than a Park Hyatt property. But I still liked it a lot.
Have you ever been in a retirement home that has a sort of musty/old smell? That’s this property. And yet there was something charming about the 1920’s Art Deco design and the ornate common areas. It was an upscale retirement home. That makes for a nice hotel.
Park Hyatt Canberra Service
The “bellhops” dress like 1920’s golf caddies and we were very kind. It was a great first impression and I was particular pleased by the great service of Jonothan (with an o), who took our bags, escorted us to our room, showed us the features of our room, and finally offered us tips on what to do/see in Canberra. To top it off, he politely but very firmly refused my tip.
Service throughout our stay was excellent. It was never forward or overly-intrusive, but hotel staff was always willing to help. As I mentioned in my Australian Parliament post, the hotel helped to arrange tickets for us to view “Question Time” with just a couple hours notice.
Park Hyatt Canberra Guest Room
Like a manor, the hotel is split off into several buildings connected by a covered walkway going from building to building.
Our room was in “The Senator’s Pavilion” — Room 13 to be exact. It was not a suite, but was a deluxe room with balcony.
Just inside the door was a hallway leading to the bedroom and bathroom on the left. A desk and easy chair were present in the room.
The marble bathroom featured a separate tub and shower as well as a single sink and toilet.
On the large balcony were two additional chairs.
The view:
Park Hyatt Canberra Lounge
As one of the early Park Hyatt hotels, this property (like Melbourne) maintains a lounge. Aptly named for Australia’s capital city, the Ambassador’s Lounge featuring evening cordials and hors d’oeuvres and a continental breakfast in the morning.
If you’re a Globalist guest, my recommendation is to head downstairs to The Promenade Café for breakfast.
Park Hyatt Canberra Dining
As I mentioned, a daily breakfast buffet in The Promenade Café is worth your time. The buffet selection was excellent and included an omelet bar and shots of wheatgrass.
Lunch and dinner are also available in The Promenade Café.
The Tea Lounge in the lobby area offers…wait for it….tea every afternoon.
Speaker’s Corner Bar and Griffin’s Lounge offer drinks and tapas starting each afternoon at 5pm (3pm on Fridays and Saturdays). 24/7 room service is also available.
Park Hyatt Canberra Fitness + Pool
During my stay, the hotel’s pool and fitness center were closed for renovation. You can check out pictures on the hotel’s website.
Park Hyatt Canberra Business
Although a bit outdated, a traditional business center is still available.
Park Hyatt Canberra Location
The hotel is located in the midst of an embassy neighborhood. Walking to Capital Hill is a leisurely 30-mintue (1.3 mile) walk or quick taxi/Uber ride.
CONCLUSION
Like Melbourne, this is not a traditional Park Hyatt property. The rooms/decor are also showing age (though very well maintained). Even so, this is the best retirement home I’ve ever stayed in and I genuinely endorse it.
The cash price of this property runs about $220/night. If using points, this is a Category 4 hotel, so 15,000 points per night or 7,500 points and $100. You can also use your Chase free night at this hotel.
You didn’t stay what’s affectionatly known as ‘the moth suite’ ?
3 moths in each room, nicely divided. Leering at you. Waiting.
Hopefully at some stage , they could only drag those drab, depressing rooms somewhere into the last 23 years
I’m so glad that he refused your tip. If Australians are expected to tip in America, Australians should not expect tips from Americans.
I was so impressed.
This is where I get super confused by Hyatt’s branding choices. Overall I feel they do a pretty good job of keeping Park Hyatt brand consistency – generally you can expect a fine city center luxury hotel with minimalist, heavily Japanese-influenced design. Great. I love that.
But then there’s a handful of these properties (Baku, Canberra, to name two) that are older, or simply don’t keep at all to the brand/design standard.
This hotel looks perfectly nice but why not just call it a “Hyatt” property – that seems to be their go to when a property is too small to be Grand Hyatt and not luxe or design-conscious enough to be Park Hyatt… I thought that was why they created the “Hyatt” tier in the first place?
Good review though, thanks.
@Kerry — The Park Hyatt Baku has been rebranded as a Hyatt Regency (the same as the adjoining property), which does seem more in keeping with the nature of the property. https://en.trend.az/business/economy/2218326.html
I stayed here last year for a weekend away. Very old world charming.