I enjoyed a lovely three-night stay at the Park Hyatt Hyderabad, one of the best-value Category 2 Hyatt properties in the system.
As a reminder, I’m in the midst of a “vintage” trip report to India/Maldives. My wife and I spent over a week in India, starting our trip in Hyderabad.
We arrived early in the morning from Abu Dhabi on Etihad and I was relieved that we were granted 10:00 AM check-in. Although we were not offered a suite, the room was quite spacious and having not slept well on the flight, we made the dangerous mistake of taking a nap.
Our Room
We we awoke, it was already dark…our first day in Hyderabad. Oh well, it happens. It was vacation.
The room also included universal power ports, charging stations, mini-bar, and coffee/tea service.
The view from our room was not the most scenic, but did afford a nice look at part of the city:
Unexpectedly Amazing Italian Food
Feel free to pummel me for eating Italian food in India, but we decided not to leave the hotel the first evening. Even though it was December, the air was full of smoke and the hotel is more in a business area than a tourist area.
So we dined at Tre-Forni, which turned out to be one of the best meals of the trip. All the ingredients are imported from Italy and the pasta is made fresh daily…and I could certainly tell. Fresh, hot bread with an exquisite tangy marinara sauce were immediately brought to the table and we began the meal with a sampling of pasta, including some of the best black truffle ravioli I’ve ever had.
Heidi chose dark meat chicken for her main course while I had a chicken breast covered in olives and mushrooms with pasta drizzled in a bit of olive oil and butter. Again, lovely.
For dessert we had fruit, ice cream, and coffee. The bill was about 5X what we paid for an “authentic” lunch in town the next day, but this was a very enjoyable meal.
Despite having napped for most of the day, we were able to go back to sleep after dinner, through I was wide awake by 2:00AM and spent the night in the lobby working on Award Expert clients so as not to disturb Heidi. She woke refreshed and did not experience any more jet lag during the trip…I struggled with it for several days. The following couple of days we did do many touristy things, which I’ll highlight in another post.
Park Hyatt Hyderabad Breakfast
Meanwhile, breakfast was another feast each morning. We greatly enjoyed the hotel’s buffet, which included dishes from around the world, not that I ventured far outside of my comfort zone for breakfast (wait till we get to Goa and Chennai).
Breakfast was in The Dining Room, a buffet style restaurant that also serves lunch and dinner. Since my visit, the hotel opened a new Asian restaurant called Rika.
Finally, the Living Room in the lobby offers small dishes, coffee, tea, and a wide selection of macarons.
Speaking of the lobby, when we arrived the Christmas tree was still up and by the time we left, still before New Year’s Day, the tree had been taken down. The centerpiece of the lobby is “The Sculpture” designed by John Portman.
Park Hyatt Hyderabad Pool + Spa + Fitness Center
The hotel has a beautiful spa, large fitness center which we used our last two days, and a nice pool.
CONCLUSION
I’ll remember the Italian dinner more than anything about this hotel, but I appreciated the warm service, comfortable accommodations, and good food. This was a great property to get acclimated to the new time zone and climate in.
One final note on location. While not in the heart of the city’s tourist attractions, the drive to/from the airport was fairly painless thanks to the elevated highway and you’re really not that far from anything of importance.
You broke the cardinal rule of visiting India. Never never EVER take a nap your first day in the country. As you found out the hard way, you’re guaranteed to be up at 2 am for a week.
Looking forward to reading about your time in Hyderabad and Chennai. I might have told you, my wife and I lived in HYD for about 2 1/2 years, and my extended family still lives in Chennai. I gotta be honest, though, I don’t think I’d recommend either for a first-time tourist! I wish I’d known you were going; I’d have recommended a few spots and restaurants to visit.
I did not remember that! I wish I had consulted, especially since the trip took place back in the UGPRD days. This was not our first time in India. We specifically chose these cities because we already done the Golden Triangle tour and Mumbai.
The next time you visit make sure you stay at the wonderful hotels outside the Hyatt and Marriott ecosystem.
Taj Falaknuma Palace is beautiful, hell most Taj Palace hotels are ridiculously lovely.
Do cap off your stay with a sea facing luxury grand room at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, which is where India’s hospitality journey truly began!
Thanks for the review Matthew! I’ve been to the Park Hyatt Hyderabad several times during work trips. Will have to try the Italian next time.