An Orange County Weekend: Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach – Hotel Grounds and Spa

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Trip Report Index:

An Orange County Weekend – Introduction
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, California – Our Room
Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, California – Hotel Grounds and Spa
Day 1 in SoCal
Day 2 in SoCal
Back to Kansas

Daraius:  The hotel grounds were great and I felt very relaxed (not easy for me!), but I didn’t like the $25 per night resort fee.  I’d much rather have ALL fees included in my room rate.  I also understand why hotels don’t do this – because folks are more likely to gloss over additional fees at the time of booking and focus only on the room rate. To be fair, the Hyatt website does mention the resort fee prominently and in red font when you make your booking.

On the other hand, the $25 fee includes internet access which is great for folks who don’t have elite status with Hyatt, though everyone can get free internet if they have the Hyatt credit card.  And the two-for-one half-day bike rentals save money too.

But do you really need to justify the $25 fee by providing an “in-room safe” and “local dial-up service?”

The Hotel Grounds

Emily:   After breakfast on our first day, we walked around the resort to check out the several pools and hot tubs.  The resort is very large and beautifully landscaped and I truly felt like I was on vacation.

At a balmy 62 degrees, the weather was cooler than I expected the first day, but the fireplace in the hotel warmed me up.

The next day, Daraius and I again had breakfast in the Lounge, and then went to take some pictures of the beautiful resort.

We stopped in Surf City Grocers (a convenience store in the resort), and had fun looking at the toys and food for sale.  We purchased some postcards for our families.

We confirmed our appointment at the spa, and took a moment to see the fish outside the spa.

There were pretty flowers everywhere!

The landscaping was very nice throughout the hotel.

Along our way, we saw an Indian wedding reception at the hotel.  I loved seeing the women dressed in their beautiful saris.

Just a few hours later, you’d never know that there had been a wedding over there!

The hotel is connected to the beach by a walkway over the Pacific Coast Highway…

…which makes it very easy to get to and from the beach.

The Spa

On Sunday afternoon,  we went to the spa for our massages.  We had Spa Finder gift certificates to use.   Before the massage, I relaxed in the sauna for a few minutes before my appointment.

There was flavored water in the spa, but I missed the tea which I get at almost any other spa – even the $40 specials on Groupon!

The massages were nice, but I was expecting better service for the price.  We were quickly ushered in for our appointments, and the massage rooms were very bare.

Mine had two massage tables (even though I was the only one getting a massage), and there were no flowers or oils to invigorate the senses.

The masseuse was very nice and periodically asked if the pressure was just right.  She also used hot stones on me, which I had not experienced before but was very soothing.  But I didn’t think it was worth the price.

The Pools

The hotel has 3 sets of pools – a regular pool, a spa grotto with hot tubs, and a kids pool area where you can rent cabanas.

The main pool is big, but it was almost empty every time we went there.  The real pool action is at the kiddie pool!

The main pool overlooks the ocean and is very pretty .

There is one whirlpool by the main pool.

But there are 3 separate whirlpools in the Spa Grotto.  We went in the whirlpools at night and then sat by the fireplace before going to bed!

Most people seemed to be in the kiddie pool area with their children, and it was very busy.

You can rent cabanas, by the kiddie pool, but the prices were very expensive – $125 to $200.

We checked out a Cabana from inside, bu while it had some privacy, the only other items included in the price were the TV, the water bottles, fruit, and smores.

Bottom Line:  The hotel grounds are very well maintained and there are lots of pools and hot tubs through out the resort.  We both felt very relaxed in the hotel, and because the hotel grounds are so huge, it didn’t feel crowded!  The hotel is also very conveniently located and you can walk to the beach directly without leaving the hotel in minutes.

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