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Last Updated 12/2/2019

We recently had a fantastic, fun-filled trip to Boca Raton, Florida!  I’ve been counting the days until I could hop on the plane and head South to see my son!  The weather turned out to be glorious, thank goodness.  There is nothing worse than planning a get-away and having the weather gods play a trick on you!  I know because it’s happened to me more than once.  But not this time, Mother Nature fully cooperated with sun for our fun.  One of my favorite parts of travelling is checking out new places to stay.   I wanted to try the Boca Raton Hyatt Place Downtown because I absolutely love the value that Hyatt offers with their low point redemptions.  And, I’ve never stayed at a Hyatt in Florida so this would be a first.

What I Liked About The Boca Raton Hyatt

• Great Loyalty Points Redemption Value.   Hyatt always offers a great redemption value and the Hyatt Place Boca Raton Downtown was no exception.  For only 12,000 points per night, it’s a killer deal!  Especially considering how expensive hotels are in upscale Boca Raton, this redemption value is top-notch!  Although not a free stay it was a fantastic deal.
• Location, Location, Location. The hotel downtown is in an upscale area of Boca Raton within easy walking distance to many shops and restaurants.  Since we didn’t rent a car this time, location mattered to me.  we needed a place to stay that had lots of restaurants, bars and shops nearby.  This location worked perfectly for us.  We were able to easily walk to a good spot for breakfast, Another Broken Egg, which was just a few blocks away.  We also walked to Mizner Park for happy hour and shopping.  As a bonus, there is an Italian restaurant, Louis Bossi’s, right next door.  It would have been great to just bounce in next door, but the place was packed every time we tried to get in.  It must be really good Italian!  Next time I’m in Boca, I’m going to check it out and I’ll do a review!
• Infinity Pool. The outdoor pool on the 7th floor is a step up from the basic hotel  pool I’m sure you’ve seen a hundred times.  I know I have!  All those baseball trips with the boys – brings back memories of a whole ball team crammed into a little square box with water called a pool!  Those tiny pools are pretty much a joke.  This was not that.  This pool was an actual pool that was really inviting.  It could have used a little more ambiance with more flowers, shrubs and whatnot, but it was definitely better than your basic water box.  We spent a couple of nice afternoons lounging by the pool.
• Lobby Bar. I really like having a bar on site at my hotel.  Not that I am a big lush, but I do live a glass of wine or two before dinner (and maybe sometimes after dinner!).  It’s just part of my vacation mode.  To have drinks available onsite is very convenient and it can be a good deal financially.  We didn’t hang at the lobby bar all night, this was more of our “pre-game” party.  Did you all do the “pre-party” thing in college?  Ya know where you had to party it up BEFORE you actually hit the real party?!  Those were the days.  Well this would’ve been a great place for pre-gaming because the drinks were half price during happy hour.  The two of us each had two glasses of wine and split a scrumptious flatbread and the grand total was $21!  Score!

• Breakfast Buffet. This Hyatt didn’t have a restaurant per se, but it did have a breakfast buffet.  Like the pool, the buffet was a step up from the normal free hotel buffet.  It was not as good as the buffet at the Hilton Embassy Suites, but it was pretty darn good, especially since it was FREE.  They had a hot food station with biscuits & gravy, sausage, bacon; a cold food station and various yogurts, cereals, bagels, fresh fruits and the like.  Let me just say one thing to all breakfast buffet managers everywhere, do your guests a favor and lose the powdered “eggs”.  Even dressed up with parsley, as these were, they are just not good.  Never are they good.  Just leave them off the menu.  We don’t want fake eggs.
• Our Room-We Got a Suite! Thee fact that we were upgraded to a suite was awesome!  the reason this happened is because I booked a couple of nights in a suite and paid cash; and also booked a basic double room for a couple of nights using points, knowing that I would  try to get an upgrade at check-in.  I figured I had a good shot, otherwise, they’d have to move us around the hotel.  So at check-in, I casually mentioned that I was hoping for an upgrade to a suite for all nights, and boom!  They made it happen.   So, yeah, that was sweet!

Things I Wasn’t Crazy About

• • The Suite could’ve been a little sweeter!   The images online looked like I was going to be basking in luxury for the next 5 days.  Not quite.  While there were parts of the suite that I really liked – the beds were comfy,  the bathroom was really large, there was a ton of space overall, which was awesome.  But, I would’ve liked some updated paint on the walls to brighten it up a little.  It seemed somewhat dark.  But it definitely wasn’t a deal breaker.
  • The suite did have a heck of a kitchen area.  One wall consisted entirely of cupboards and drawers, so it had great storage, but I’m not sure exactly what you’d put in those cupboards.  I guess Hyatt didn’t know what to store in them either, because they were all empty.  I opened every one and there was nothing in any of them.  No plates, no utensils, no nothing.
  •  I ended up using some of the counter space for my new Vera Bradley Large Traveler Duffel Lotus Flower Swirl bag.  I absolutely love this bag.  It’s the perfect size for a weekend trip and sooo cute!!  For a longer trip, I really like my purple spinner suitcase I love the indestructible hard-sided case and the color is soo unique!

• No Pool Bar or Pool Service.  I realize this is the 2nd or 3rd (or 4th) time in this post that I’ve mentioned liquor, but we’re on vacation!  So it’s ok.  And no, I really don’t have an alcohol problem!!  When I’m enjoying the pool on my vacation, I’d like the opportunity to order a Pina Colada or a  margarita.  For God’s sake, throw up a little hut, stick a few stools in it, hang some lights and call it a tiki bar!  Don’t get me wrong, Hyatt is still for sure in my top picks of the BEST hotels to enjoy, but I think if this Hyatt in Boca had a pool bar it would be EXTRA- FABULOUS!  So if you’re reading, Hyatt, put up a bar!!

Wrap Up

All in all, I really enjoyed my stay at the Hyatt Downtown Boca Raton hotel and I plan to  go stay here again next time I’m in Boca.   Hyatt Place is pretty hard to beat, especially for only 12,000 points per night.   That said, even the normal room rate of around $150/night is decent, especially for Boca!     The location was perfect, the pool was pretty and the easy suite upgrade was awesome.  Next time you go to Boca Raton, I recommend checking out the Hyatt Place Boca Raton Downtown.

                                  

         

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