Review: Grand Hyatt Bogota – Andes View Corner Suite

In a nutshell: the Grand Hyatt Bogota is a beautiful hotel with superb service and excellent accommodations. The location is somewhat far from tourist areas, but the great array of amenities plus beautiful views of the Andes it offers more than make up for this. 

After spending two of my four nights in Colombia’s capital at the Hyatt Place Bogota, I transitioned over to the Grand Hyatt. Initially, I’d considered staying at the Grand Hyatt Bogota for the entire stint in the city, but the great cash rate offered by the Hyatt Place made it an easy choice to save some points. I still wanted the 5-star experience for part of the trip, however.

The Grand Hyatt Bogota is a Category 3 property, requiring 12,000 Hyatt points per night. My two-night stay therefore cost 24,000 Hyatt points, but I would received 6,000 points (25% back) as a World of Hyatt credit cardmember who opted into the Bonus Journeys promotion. The cash cost of the hotel was a little over $200 per night after taxes, so I received over 2 cents per point on the award redemption.

Arrival at the Hotel

It was made easy by my choice to rent a car that day and head out to visit Cascada La Chorrera. The Grand Hyatt Bogota is located just off the Avenida El Dorado, about 15 minutes from Bogotá Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional El Dorado). Driving in Colombia didn’t prove to be a major challenge, and even without a GPS, it was easy to get to the Grand Hyatt since you can see it from the main road. Not that I’d suggest this method. I’d already passed the hotel twice in either Uber or taxi and knew exactly where it is.

The doormen greeted me warmly when I arrived. The initially advised me that I could only leave the car in front of the hotel for 5 minutes, but I ended up being able to let it sit through the entire check-in process and while I dropped my bags in my room, which was nice. Check in took a while, longer than I expected, which did make me anxious about the car. With no one coming or going, it didn’t make any sense to me why they would even try to enforce this policy.

I admired the large lobby of the Grand Hyatt Bogota, feeling entirely alone in the hotel. I didn’t see another guest the brief time I was there that morning. More would appear over the following two days. The staff sanitized my bags while I started check-in. This, and a temperature check anytime you enter the hotel, are part of the COVID-19 precautions they are taking.

The lady at the check-in desk was extremely pleasant. We chatted in Spanish for a bit, which was easier for her. It seemed most of the staff speak English, but they would default to Spanish most of the time. She let me know about parking in the garage under the hotel, which is easy to access. Parking is free at the hotel, even for non-Globalist members.

I did receive an upgrade to an Andes View Corner Suite, which was touted as the best room type offered at the hotel by a former employee who now works at the Hyatt Place. I’d burned an upgrade certificate for a standard Grand Suite, as I have more than I will likely use this year. My hope was that the Grand Hyatt Bogota would provide a further upgrade. I wasn’t disappointed.

Grand Hyatt Bogota: Andes View Corner Suite

The Andes View Corner Suite might just be the best room type in the hotel. These are located at the very end of the hall and provide a view (totaled from various rooms of about 120 degrees. The bedroom has the best view. I honestly wished the television wasn’t positioned right in the middle. It was amazing to wake up to wonderful views of the capital as the sun slowly crept over the gorgeous mountains overlooking Bogotá.

The rest of the corner suite is fantastic as well. You enter into a large living area with a lounge sofa and chair, dining table with chairs for two people, and views of Bogotá. The room type is approximately 800 square feet. The dining table doubles as a desk.

The views from the living room look northeast across Avenida El Dorado toward Chapinero and Usqauen on the north side of the city. Views from various sides of the hotel helped me realize how large Bogotá really is. Seven million people in a city at 8,500 feet, high in the Andes. And the Grand Hyatt is pretty much smack dab in the center.

You of course have a coffee maker and kettle, with Nespresso coffee provided by the hotel. My tour guide remarked that it can be difficult to find good coffee in Colombia since the best gets exported. He took us to a tiny place in La Candelaria that micro-roasts and serves quality Colombian coffee. I enjoyed the brew here in the morning, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the superb brew I enjoyed on my final day.

I’m not sure if the minibar was empty due to COVID-19 or this is the typical state. Many hotels have stopped stocking them.

To the side of the entry is a large closet area. You can enter the bathroom both through the closet and through the bedroom.

The bathroom is nice as well with a large double-sink and counter, bathtub, and separate rain shower.

The hotel let me check in before 9:00 AM, which was fantastic. I headed out on a day trip, returning in the late afternoon. While I was gone they had kindly left a bowl of fruit and handwritten welcome note, a very nice touch. The thoughtfulness at both the Hyatt Place and here at the Grand Hyatt Bogota is wonderful. The staff at the Hyatt Place who used to work at the Grand Hyatt said they provide their best to Globalist members, and it really shows.

The best part of the room might be the view. I’m not sure if I like this one more or the view looking across the entire city from high up on Monserrate. Both are excellent.

An Andes View Corner Suite is the room you want. Based on the hotel website, there are a few other much larger suites offered at the Grand Hyatt. But unless they have the same amazing view, I wouldn’t trade for them.

Breakfast and “Grand Club” Benefits

I enjoyed breakfast in the Capitalino restaurant both morning. As a World of Hyatt Globalist member, it was complimentary. The space is quite nice, and includes both indoor and outdoor seating. Due to COVID-19, all the servers and cooks obviously wear masks, and most of them were wearing face shields as well. You’re expected to wear a mask until you sit down.

Rather than pull out a menu, the waiter simply asked what I’d like. My mind went blank the first morning. This is not the typical restaurant experience! But this was a COVID-19 sanitary measure of course. This is what I got after I stammered out eggs, potatoes, and fruit in Spanish. Plus a cappuccino. The affirmative response to being asked “would you like bacon?” ended up with the bacon mixed into the eggs. Not what I expected, but honestly better. Service in the morning was decent. The evening crew was far better.

In the evening you can enjoy a “Grand Club” benefit in the Capitalino restaurant due to the Club closure. The front desk had warned me of this and said they were providing the benefit in the restaurant between 4 and 6 PM. It would have been nice to be less limited by the hours, as I ended up returning earlier than I otherwise would have my final evening. But it was nice to enjoy a glass of wine and whatever food they brought. Each night was a surprise assortment of a few different small bites.

Hotel Interior

I love exploring luxury hotels, if just to see all the neat design touches. The Grand Hyatt Bogota has an interesting “double atrium” of sorts with the central space broken up by the elevator landing. It’s much more interesting than your typical rectangular concrete tower.

With so few people at the hotel, the lobby and surrounding areas, although inviting, were nearly always deserted. I really feel for the hotel industry right now. I didn’t ask what occupancy was like during my stay, but it had to be super low. The Ilustre Bar had been totally converted with décor on the shelves instead of alcohol bottles.

Other Hotel Facilities

Both the fitness center and pool were open for use. The fitness center is large, and there were no timing restrictions while I was there. The hotel required masks, of course, and there were additional towels and wipes for the equipment for before and after use.

The pool was a bit different. Since there are only a few lanes, you have to make a reservation. The two times I called down, the hotel had space available within a 2-hour block. The 2-hourblock thing didn’t make a lot of sense to me (I thought they’d want to plan out shorter increments?), but it is what they offered.

The Grand Hyatt Bogota Zaitania Spa came highly recommended by the staff at the Hyatt Place. I didn’t try it. Not my thing.

The hotel has quite a bit of conference/event space. Not a chance it’s being used right now, though. I did venture up to the business center to try to print my Viva Air boarding pass (which I guess you need to do to avoid being charged?) and had issues with the computers. The front desk had to hook me up.

I didn’t snap a photo of the first-floor Aldeana Market. It offers coffee, baked goods, snacks, and other small items through the day. The 14th floor Ushin Japanese & Grill Restaurant was not open, but I did not venture up their either, opting to enjoy the free food at the Capitalino restaurant. Only the bar seemed to be fully closed due to COVID-19.

Grand Hyatt Bogota Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, I had a great stay. The upgrade to the Andes View Corner Suite was amazing, and exactly what I hoped for. I was prepared for other aspects of the hotel to be a bit hit-or-miss, and things turned out to be better than expected. The staff were downright excellent, too, both friendly and welcoming. One of the doormen remembered that I’d planned to head out to Cascada La Chorrera and asked me about it. He also greeted me by name by the end of the stay. It’s often these small details that stand out the most. I’d definitely choose the Grand Hyatt Bogota again for another stay in Colombia’s capital.