Hyatt Centric Waikiki Full Review
Note: The information in this review is current as of my most recent stay in March 2022. I was not paid nor compensated for this review. The information I share here is solely based on my personal experience.
Table of Contents:
About the Hyatt Centric Waikiki
The Hyatt Centric brand focuses on lifestyle, central location, and exploration. The Hyatt Centric Waikiki showcases a fun lobby mixed with art, culture, as well as their modern rooms and design. The Splash Lounge is not a typical swimming pool, as it has a hot tub and a wading pool that only gets up to 14 inches deep.
This property offers yoga classes twice a week and a lei making class once a week. Included in the resort fee, you are able to access free beach gear (boogie boards, beach chairs, beach towels, sunscreen) and can participate in our Beta Fish Buddies program (more about this later).
While the in-house restaurant is currently closed due to COVID-19, Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach is in the center of Waikiki’s shopping and dining scene. The only Starbucks Reserve in Hawaii is located on our ground floor, with direct access from within the hotel. We also have Duke’s Lane Market and Eatery located downstairs, with a casual but unique dining experience found at Basalt.
Location
Of the three Hyatt properties on Oahu, the Hyatt Centric Waikiki is the most central Hyatt property in regards to downtown Waikiki. This property is great as there is a Starbucks Reserve (31 worldwide) right downstairs, a bunch of amazing restaurants across the street, and a small market palace that offers a great variety of food and goods for something quick.
Since the Hyatt Centric Waikiki is set back a little further from the beach, it does take about 10 minutes to walk to and from the world famous Waikiki beach. However, this is not an issue as you get to walk by many amazing shops on your way to and from the hotel.
Arrival and Parking
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the valet who asked us if we’re going to self-park or pay for valet. Parking is on property which makes it very convenient and quick when you need your car for daily activities around the island. Self-park is $42 and valet is $50. The difference between the two is only $8 a day but at $50 a day for valet or even self-park, this can add up.
Luckily for me, I currently hold Globalist status with the World of Hyatt. Having Hyatt’s highest hotel elite status comes in handy as parking (both self-park and valet) is free when booking with points. For 9 nights, this one perk saved me about $450.
The valet people were great and also helped us carry our bags to our room. This was great to have since we were traveling with 3 kids and a ton of luggage.
Checking-in and First Impressions
The check-in desk at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki is on the 8th floor of the hotel (floors 2-6 are for parking). Upon exiting the elevator from the lobby, you’re greeted with a very open lobby which leads to the gym, restaurant, and pool. Located throughout the lobby are a bunch of seating options, a bar, and a bathroom for both the public and guests. There are also a few spots in the lobby which are set up specifically for some nice photos.
My first impression of the lobby at the Hyatt Centric is that it is very clean and neat, which are great signs when checking into any hotel. The front desk has a Globalist check in line which allowed me to get checked in much quicker. I have always had great experiences with everyone that works for Hyatt so there were no complaints here.
Our First Room
The first room we stayed in was a Double Queen Bed with an Ocean view. The sleeping space was large and also came with a pull out sleeper couch. Storage wise, there were plenty of closet and drawer space for two adults, three kids, and it accommodated all of our clothing and gear.
Things that came standard with our room are a Keurig coffee machine, disposable cups, an ice bucket, a set of robes, iron, ironing board, mini fridge, a room safe, and a television.
The bathroom is separated from the bedroom/living area by a barn door and has two sinks, a toilet with a bidet, and a very spacious shower. The standard amenities such as soaps, shampoos, conditioner, lotion, and towels were included.
At the other end of the room is a sleeper sofa and floor to ceiling windows with a great view. There are two layers of curtains that you can use for privacy or to diffuse the incoming light. As you can see from the photo below, the ocean views may be interrupted by some of the buildings since this property is a little set back. However, this doesn’t take away from the experience, especially at sunrise and sunset.
At this property, there are three ice machines with filtered water, one by the pool (which has the nice soft crushed ice cubes), and two on different floors of the property. If ice is important to you, make sure you request a room on or close to these areas. The ice and filtered water was definitely something that came in handy for us on a daily basis since we utilized a travel cooler and reusable water bottles during our stay.
Our Second Room
After a few days at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki, I found some standard suite availability in the World of Hyatt app and requested to be moved into the available suite. The front desk was more than happy to help me get things moving on the room change request and even showed me the room prior to the move just to make sure I was happy with it since I would be moving from a higher floor to a lower floor which may impact my view.
Since the standard suite still has a pull out sleeper couch, we weren't worried about moving from a Double Queen Bed down to a 1 King Bed room. The standard suite was amazing. The bedroom is separated by two barn doors which gave us a little more privacy and a quieter space for the babies to sleep if we decided to stay up late working.
The small living room area housed the sleeper couch, a second television, and floor to ceiling windows which gave us a great view of the pool deck (great to see how busy the pool area was before heading down).
The bathroom was just as nice in the standard suite as it was in the standard room except was a little bigger with a cool tub feature. It comes with one sink, a toilet with a bidet, and a spacious shower which also has a tub inside. This shower/tub set up is unique and great since both can be used simultaneously. The tub has a dedicated water source which fills the tub from the ceiling. In the photo above, the glass pane separates the living area from the shower/bathroom. There are blinds which you can pull down for privacy.
The standard suite was such a nice upgrade and something I would absolutely choose over a high floor standard room just solely based on how much more space there is.
Amenities and Facilities
Pool: As previously mentioned, the pool here is more of a splash and lounge pool and not meant for swimming. It’s shallow and the deepest parts are about 2 ft deep. However, there are a lot of lounging/seat options and a spacious hot tub for everyone to enjoy. The pool deck area is very nice, well maintained, and has a couple private cabanas for rent. SPF 30 sunscreen, after-sun lotion, and towels are provided in the pool area as well. The bathrooms/changing area are very close by and the surrounding of the pool deck is nicely decorated and covered up so you forget you’re in the middle of Waikiki! For the night owls, there is also a nice firepit to relax by outside on the pool deck.
Gym: There is a 24 hour gym/fitness center on the property located right next to the pool area. Here you’ll find a couple treadmills, free weights, medicine balls, water fountain, large television, as well as a brand new Peloton bike. Towels, sanitizing spray, and wired headphones are provided here as well. There are very clean bathrooms right outside the gym area as well.
Workspace: As of my visit, the onsite restaurant/food options were closed due to Covid-19. The seating area was turned into a secluded and quiet work space with plenty of seating for all.
Food and Drink: Unfortunately, during my stay, no food or drinks were being served due to Covid-19. Contact the Hyatt Centric Waikiki directly for the most up to date information. There is a Starbucks Reserve on the first floor with a shared door from the Hyatt Centric. Great unique souvenirs here as well!
Rentables: Along with the beach towels you can pick up by the valet, there are a few other goodies you can rent at no cost at the valet. Included items for rent include Go-Pros, beach chairs, beach umbrellas, and sand toys for kids.
Things to Note
Some things I’d like to mention is that this is a pet friendly hotel so you may encounter some pets from other guests as well as two hotel dogs that are on property often. You can also borrow a Betta fish buddy during your stay which includes fish food!
Waikiki is a busy place with a lot of entertainment, especially at night on the weekends. Our first few nights it was a little loud with the rooftop music shows from the neighboring properties. However, the loud music wasn’t around much during the week day.
Final Thoughts
The Hyatt Centric Waikiki is definitely a property that I would recommend and personally stay at again. It is a shame that there were no food options on property during my stay, especially since breakfast is included for Globalists. However, I was offered 500 World of Hyatt points per night in lieu of not having access to free breakfast. There are plenty of shops and food options near this location so it wasn’t too much of a big deal for us. If you plan to visit the beach daily, this location may not be the best out of the three Hyatt properties on Waikiki but it is not a big deal as the walk is short. You definitely will not be let down by the quality of the property and the hospitality of each and every person you meet on this property.
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