As someone from Hangzhou, this was truly my first stay at this famous old hotel by West Lake.
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Hotel Overview
Hyatt Regency Hangzhou is located on the banks of West Lake, within walking distance of Hubin International Boutique Street. The hotel is adjacent to Wulin Square, Hangzhou Tower, and Hangzhou Intime Department Store. It is also conveniently connected to famous attractions such as Lingyin Temple, Hefang Street, Leifeng Pagoda, and Longjing Village. Hyatt Regency Hangzhou offers comfortable and elegant guestrooms, most of which feature excellent lake views, large picture windows, LCD TVs, and high-speed wireless broadband Internet access. The spacious and luxurious marble bathrooms are equipped with separate showers, bathtubs, and toilet areas. 24-hour room service is also available.
The location is truly excellent: No. 28 Hubin Road, right in front of the West Lake Music Fountain. That night, watching the crowd below waiting for the fountain while we relaxed in the room was such a treat.
Stay Details
I used a free night certificate from the old Chase Hyatt credit card and wanted to get as much value out of it as possible. After checking, Hyatt Regency Hangzhou fell into Category 1-4, so I redeemed it without hesitation. It is close to West Lake (I had originally considered the Park Hyatt Hangzhou, but it is too far from the lake), and a night there also costs RMB 1,080, so it was absolutely worth the card’s annual fee.
- Stay date: January 2020
- Room type: 1 king bed room --> upgraded at the front desk to a lake-view room
- Redemption: Free night certificate from the old Chase Hyatt credit card
The booking was for a 1 king bed room instead of 2 queen beds, which was already pretty thoughtful.
Since I’m only a Discoverist from the Hyatt credit card, I was already quite happy to be upgraded to a side lake-view room. Honestly, I was still too shy to ask for an upgrade face-to-face. Of course, I’d also recommend trying using Hilton Diamond to match Wyndham Diamond first, then matching Caesars Diamond, then matching MGM Gold, and finally matching into Hyatt Explorist. That would give you a bit more confidence when negotiating at the front desk. And I also really hope Hyatt can launch online chat support someday, because handling things online ahead of time would definitely work in our favor! (I’m only saying this because I have the nerve to, haha.)
Hotel Exterior and Facilities
We took a taxi from the Narada Grand Hotel on the Qiantang River to the Hyatt by West Lake, which took a little over 20 minutes. The hotel is inside a scenic area, but the road leading in was not as narrow or crowded as I had imagined. The drive was fairly smooth, though that may have been because it wasn’t rush hour yet.
At the main entrance, there is the hotel sign and the lights left over from the Christmas season. After turning in, the two bellmen at the entrance were still chatting with each other. Only after we got out of the car did they come over to help with the luggage in the trunk. We politely declined, and went straight into the lobby.
On both the left and right sides of the lobby are seating areas and places to grab snacks, while a Christmas tree still stands in the middle. Behind the tree is the check-in front desk. The staff there were very thorough, confirming all my information, including the free-night certificate redemption, checking my ID and doing a facial recognition scan before handing us two key cards. The elevators are on the left side of the lobby, and by the time we had almost reached them, a staff member finally came over to escort us there...
The decor by the elevator on the first floor looked like clouds or pine trees? Hyatt seems to really like using Chinese-style red: not only is the check-in backdrop red, the elevators are red too. Red combined with the transparent mirrors actually feels quite comfortable to look at. When the elevator reached the 5th floor, there were old-fashioned chairs by the elevator lobby, creating a charming Chinese retro vibe. The circular corridor is made of wood and white walls; it is not wide, but it doesn’t feel cramped.
This is the side of the hotel photographed from the Yintai in77 pedestrian street next to the hotel. The hotel is not only close to West Lake, but also right next to in77, so for shopping it’s just a few steps away.
Room Information
The room assigned to me, 508, was very deep inside the corridor, so we really had to walk for a while. When we finally saw room 508, it felt like a huge relief to have arrived at last.
When we opened the door, it wasn’t especially stunning at first glance; the room seemed a little cramped initially. But everything was arranged neatly, and after looking at it a few more times, it grew on me.
The bed was king-size and very soft. On the wall beside the bed was a full-length horizontal decorative piece that looked elegant in the lighting. The JBL alarm clock and speaker by the bed sounded good, and the wall lights and curtain controls were fairly new and very responsive. The sofa by the bed was big enough for one person to recline comfortably, and leaning by the window allowed you to see West Lake. Because there are so many willow trees by the lake, the night music fountain was partially obscured, but overall it didn’t affect the view much. The room’s decor had a distinctly Chinese style overall, which I personally really liked.
Across from the bed was the TV. The screen wasn’t very large, but it was still big enough for watching movies and TV shows, and it even supports 4,000.
The view from the sofa by the window. Because the room is on the side, you can only see part of West Lake, but it does face the musical fountain, which is nice enough. Right across the window is the hotel pool, and there are actually some people swimming there at night.
Across from the bed, the TV cabinet had complimentary water and a coffee machine on top, while the mini bar and various cups were stored inside. In the name of getting a complete set of photos, I pulled out each drawer one by one, earning a series of eye-rolls from the LD beside me. ORZ
Before entering the room's rest area (bed + sofa), there is also a small hallway. After opening the door, you first see two mirrors by the entrance, probably there to make it easier for guests to get ready before heading out. On the right side of the hallway are the wardrobe and a small safe.
On the left is the bathroom. The bathtub is on the side closest to the rest area, while the toilet and shower are on the other side, naturally with dry and wet areas separated. The sink and vanity area are in the middle. The bath products are from BALMAIN paris, and the scent is quite fresh.
Balmain was founded by French fashion designer Pierre Balmain. It represents a distinctive understanding of elegance, and has royal and film-star clientele, including movie stars and royalty.
Not bad at all: in the bathroom area, they added a mirror and a bamboo mural, which makes the whole bathroom look much bigger and gives it a refined feel.
A few extras
Because the hotel is next to Intime, we basically spent the day and evening shopping with the LD. When we came back, we were short on time (rushing to catch the 8 o'clock final musical fountain show), so we only went to the hotel's sky garden on the 4th floor. To be honest, it was pretty disappointing. The garden sits between the two sides of the hotel and doesn't have much of a view; the path is lined with hotel rooms. The beginning of the garden is by a small restaurant, and the far end is by Intime, but decorative pieces block the view outside.
The pleasant surprise was that when we got back to the room, the hotel had delivered a welcome card and welcome fruit + dessert. The oranges and strawberries were very sweet, and the dessert was quite good too. By the way, the hotel also gave us a bottle of VOSS sparkling water in a glass bottle. Of course I took this fancy but impractical thing home to use as decoration. 2333
My personal takeaway
The hotel location is pretty much unbeatable. Whether you're here to enjoy the beauty of West Lake or to go shopping at West Lake Intime IN77 (and watch the influencers doing street-style photo shoots, haha), it's very convenient. Of course, it's best if your room is on a higher floor (5F and above) and faces West Lake; if it faces the inner city view, it's not that great. The staff service varies a lot: the front desk is quite professional and welcoming, while the bellmen and the staff inside the hotel seem a bit more laid-back.
So as a hotel for a trip to West Lake in Hangzhou, this is a pretty solid choice. Especially if you can use a "free" Hyatt room certificate.