Brand Affinity: Hyatt Place

First off, I'm a total brand junkie. Though loyal, I love to kick the tires on new brands. Now, while Hyatt Place hotels are not totally new, I was only recently introduced to them a couple of years ago. Now, as I've come to understand it (from staying at various properties and speaking with their staff), Hyatt wanted a brand concept that they could come into a town and seek out distressed hotels that no longer fulfilled the needs of the consumer, purchase and reintroduce them in the Hyatt Place brand. This is usually done by tossing the ashtrays, hitting it with some paint and a couple of new lobby accoutrements. Nothing could be further from the truth with Hyatt Place.

"Designed for the busy lifestyle of today's multi-tasking business traveler, Hyatt Place features a selected range of services aimed at providing casual hospitality in a well-designed, high-tech and contemporary environment. Property sizes range from 125 to 200 rooms and are located in urban, airport and suburban areas. Signature features of Hyatt Place include The Gallery, which offers a coffee and wine bar, a 24 hours a day, seven days a week guest kitchen with freshly prepared snacks and entrees, and daily complimentary continental breakfast. Hyatt Place guests are business travelers as well as families. Hyatt Place properties are also well suited to serve small corporate meetings."

If it's not brand new and it is a refurb, but they do their very best to include all the design standards that make the Hyatt place a contemporary experience. If there's a fault at all here, it's that they are all so close to brand standard that they all feel the same! But let me tell you, when you're driving from state to state with your family and you arrive at a hotel that even your three year old daughter knows where things are and what to expect, I'd say they're doing something right. And while it is more fashioned for the business traveler, I will tell you that my daughter's always been treated with the same amount of attention given to the big kids.

Each room has a large wraparound couch that also services as a pull-out bed, should you need it, along with a half divider wall and a large 42" flat screen television on a swivel post that can be positioned for either the bedroom area or the sitting area. Very nice. I wish I could see it better from the shower, but I also want the Denver Broncos to have a winning record. Alas, we cannot have everything. There's a fridge, a desk, free wi-fi, an ottoman and a decent office chair.

The free breakfast is decent and they offer a few meals, both breakfast and dinner that are reasonably priced and quite good. There are small, but efficient, sitting areas for relaxing in the lobby and around the food areas. I recommend the pesto chicken ciabatta sandwich. They have express check-in stations with touchscreen -- not a time-machine, but a pleasant necessity when you're not feeling chatty. Most of them have a pool, a weight room all of the stuff you would expect‚ and even laundry service!

A couple of flimsy cons are that the shampoo and the soap smell like bubblegum -- it's the weirdest thing. Tell me I'm wrong! Oh, and Hyatt, if you're listening -- you also might want to vary the artwork from room to room, I'm kind of over the tribal branches. And please buy your maintenance staff a laser level, I swear, all the artwork in the potties are not level!

All this for typically under $100 a night. Be sure to ask every time you go if they're offering any double points or one-night stay free, their reward's program is great. Oh, and if you stay there enough, be sure to hit the manager up with a business card and they will establish you a corporate rate. I think that's about it kids, sleep tight.