Review: Hyatt Place Santa Fe

Over Labor Day weekend I took my daughter on a quick adventure to New Mexico where we visited Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. Our first day was spent enjoying several great things to do in Albuquerque, after which we moved on to New Mexico’s capital, staying at the Hyatt Place Santa Fe.

Hyatt Place hotels are pretty standard across the board, and it is one of my favorite brands. There are many Category 1 and 2 properties across the country that offer some of the best hotel award value out there.

Booking

I booked our stay at the Hyatt Place Santa Fe using Hyatt points. As a category 2 property, the hotel requires 8,000 points per night, which cost us 16,000 points for the stay. I found this to be an excellent price for a hotel in Santa Fe. Cash rates after taxes were about $125 per night for our stay, giving me a pretty average value of 1.56 cents per Hyatt point. They do get as low as about $90, at which point I’d be willing to pay cash.

This Hyatt Place Santa Fe is located outside the old town area, so be aware of this if you’re looking for something within walking distance of all the shopping and dining near and around the plaza. There are other chain hotel options in Santa Fe, but this is the only Hyatt option. Hilton and Marriott each have an option in Old Town.

Arriving at the Hyatt Place Santa Fe

We drove up to Santa Fe from Albuquerque the evening of the first day, arriving in the evening with time for a dinner and a walk up hillside park with an awesome view over Santa Fe. After this, we checked into the Hyatt Place Santa Fe, which is back on the west side of town.

Check-in was quick and smooth. I was greeted as an Explorist member, well on my way to achieving Hyatt Globalist this year for basically nothing out of pocket. We were given a room on the second floor.

Room

Hyatt Place rooms are very standardized, but it’s an excellent design. The front area is a living space, with a desk and couch, and typically a wet bar. The TV is always in the middle of the room, with angled viewing from either the living area or the bed.

Traveling with my tween daughter, we obviously needed two beds. I’ve found that sticking with a two bed reservation typically kills our chances up an upgrade. In one case, I had to awkwardly ask for our two bed room back, as the desk had nicely upgraded us to a much nicer room with one king bed. But at a Hyatt Place, there’s no need or expectation for one, and two bed rooms are typically plentiful.

The couch at the Hyatt Place Santa Fe is a bit different style than the others I’ve typically seen, but still about the same size. They always have a sofa bed (bedding is in the end table), which makes Hyatt Place an excellent choice for families, as you have three beds. Many block their rooms for 6 people!

Here’s the desk.

And the connection panel to the TV. I didn’t check the power at this one. At one of the previous Hyatt Place hotels, the outlets in this panel failed to work.

Here’s the sink area, external to the rest of the bathroom.

And the bathroom itself. Here we have a tub/shower combo, much less nice than the typical glass and tile that Hyatt Place hotels generally offer.

Overall, pretty much the same standard room with a bit of variation. I’ve yet to be let down by any Hyatt Place hotel. Well, the view here was a letdown.

Hyatt Place Santa Fe Breakfast

The Hyatt Place Santa Fe breakfast is roughly the same as other hotels within the brand, but with a few twists. The breakfast area was the typical layout with juices, hot foods, oatmeal with fixings, fruit and yogurt, boiled eggs, and then pastries and bread.

The hot foods were what surprised me. The typical options are eggs, sausage or bacon, and potatoes. The Hyatt Place Santa Fe also added a Southwest spicy shredded beef hash and a chocolate churro dish, neither of which I’d ever seen offered.

It is cool that the hotel mixes things up a bit! I’ve rarely seen anything but the standard 3-4 hot breakfast options at every Hyatt Place, so this was a nice change.

Other Hotel Facilities

The Hyatt Place Santa Fe has an indoor pool. We ended up spending so much time in Santa Fe and Taos and keeping up with a minimal level of school that swimming wasn’t really on the radar. A rarity for my kids. Typically, they are all about the pool.

The hotel also has a fitness center. There is also a small selection of items at their “grab and go market”, another typical feature of the brand.

I found the WiFi speed at the hotel to be sufficient. We were able to surf and stream just fine, as needed.

Thing to Do in Santa Fe

New Mexico’s capital has a lot to offer visitors to the Land of Enchantment. The Old Town has numerous shops, restaurants, and museums that could keep you busy for a day or two. We enjoyed the New Mexico History Museum, wandering the plaza (there was a street fair during our time in town) and seeing the beautiful Pueblo Revival architecture.

You also cannot pass up The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi or the Loretto Chapel, both located just off of the plaza. I loved the style and architecture of the cathedral.

The Loretto Chapel contains the famous “hanging” spiral staircase that appears to defy physics and gravity. Definitely take a look for yourself.

A favorite spot was also up on the hill just above the Old Town, which provides you with lovely views of Santa Fe and the surrounding New Mexico landscape. Every time I visit the Southwest, I remember how much I love it.

Conclusion

The Hyatt Place Santa Fe holds up well to the brand standard. Breakfast is a bit better than average, but the room was lacking a tiled shower, which is a slight downside. You win some, you lose some. It’s a perfectly fine Hyatt Place hotel with a good award value and a great option for the Hyatt loyalist visiting Santa Fe.