Review: Grand Hyatt Dallas DFW

Review: Grand Hyatt Dallas DFW

If you’re just tuning in, welcome! We just flew the GRANDE FINALE of the journey of a lifetime, one taking my family around the world on a surprise trip for my mom’s 75^th birthday.  From start to finish she’s had no idea where she was going until she received her boarding pass! If we hadn’t had points to take this trip it would have cost $125k, but we were able to do it for roughly $5k total – for all 3 people. In the past few weeks, both of my parents have experienced Cathay First, Singapore Suites, Singapore First, Etihad Apartments and we just landed from an incredible Lufthansa First Class flight from Frankfurt to Dallas. In fact, it was my dad’s favorite flight of the entire trip! It didn’t really seem humane for my parents to have to continue traveling – they’d just flown from Nice to Frankfurt to Dallas – they needed a break before continuing on. We booked a night’s stay for them in the Grand Hyatt Dallas DFW.

We chose the Grand Hyatt DFW because its unbelievably convenient – similar to the Crowne Plaza Singapore

Exit immigration and customs and BAM! You’re right there. It’s located in the International Terminal, D. You barely make your way into the terminal and you’re hopping on elevator to take you to check-in. There is a Hyatt Regency at the airport ( I stayed there a few years ago for an FTU), but the Grand Hyatt is nicer and far more convenient.

QUICK TIP

If you’re flying AA out of DFW, but not out of Terminal D, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by exiting the hotel and checking in in Terminal D. Then, with just your carry on luggage and boarding pass, go through security ( there is a TSA PRE there) and take the tram to whichever terminal your flight departs out of.

The Deets:

• When: April 2017
• Where: Dallas DFW
• Loyalty: World of Hyatt
• Status: Explorist
• Rate: $152
• Perks: Free Water + Wifi

The whole trip was geared to make things stress free and luxurious. Being able to go straight to a nice hotel after landing meant finishing on a high note.

From the time we grabbed our bags from Lufthansa ( they pull First Class passengers bags aside and escort you through) to the time my parents were in their room was less than 15 minutes. Immigration, Customs, Check-in, elevators, walking, everything. Yes, we could have saved $30 bucks by staying at the Hyatt Regency which is adjacent to Terminal C, but it would have meant schlepping a bunch of bags across the airport after a long day of travel, and doing it all over again the next day. This way…they were settled and could relax until the next day when they were off to Phoenix for a week ( I know…tough life 😉  )

Their Room:

And the bathroom with a stand alone shower.

The restaurant/ bar downstairs – “Grand Met”

Two Cool features that no one used: The rooftop pool and solid fitness center

As soon as I got my folks checked in I made a dash for my flight to LAX. I was scheduled to continue on to LAX through SFO, but I never rechecked my bags after the Lufthansa flight. I know, terrible, but it was going to take me another 9 hours to get LAX and had an early morning scheduled. While I was in-flight I found a much earlier flight on AA and booked it with points, but it was pretty tight, and I made it to the gate after they’d started boarding.

Overall:

Fabulous location and I would say pretty much on par with Grand Hyatts in the states.  There is no club lounge at the hotel, but there is a decent restaurant, room service, a pool, fitness center, and the quality isn’t lacking just because it’s “an airport hotel.” Usually the Grand Hyatt is quite a bit more expensive than the Hyatt Regency, but this time it wasn’t a big jump, and totally worth it. Being able to exit customs and head straight to check-in is really cool. Then, the next day, being able to just leave the room, hop in the elevator, and go straight to check-in is a convenience that is certainly worth a premium.

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You don’t have to stop here. Check out how we paid $5k and took a $125k Surprise trip Around The World to celebrate my Mom’s 75th

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Flights:

• Boston to Beijing
  • American Airlines First Class 737 Los Angeles to Boston
  • Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER Boston to Hong Kong ($17k value)
  • Cathay Pacific Business Class 777-300ER Boston to Hong Kong ($7k value)
  • Cathay Pacific Business Class 777-200 Hong Kong to Beijing
• Beijing to Singapore
  • Singapore Airlines Suites A380 Beijing to Singapore ($3k)
• Singapore to Bali Roundtrip
  • KLM Business Class 777-200 Singapore to Bali to Singapore ($400)
• Singapore to Dubai
  • Singapore Airlines First Class 777-300ER Singapore to Dubai ($4k)
• Abu Dhabi to Cannes, France
  • Etihad Airways First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi to London ($8k)
  • Etihad Airways Business Studio A380 Abu Dhabi to London ( $3500-5k)
  • British Airways Club Europe A321 London to Nice
• Cannes, France to Dallas
  • Lufthansa Business Class A321 Nice to Frankfurt ($10k)
  • Lufthansa First Class A330 Frankfurt to Dallas

Hotels:

• Boston
  • Intercontinental Boston ($450)
• Beijing
  • JW Marriott Beijing, 1 Bedroom Suite ($450 for 5 nights)
    • Club King ($250)
  • Singapore
    • Crowne Plaza Singapore Airport, 1 Bedroom Suite ($300)
  • Bali
    • Mandapa, Ritz Carlton Reserve 1 Bedroom Rice Paddy View Villa ($600/night)
    • Conrad Bali 1 Bedroom Ocean View Suite ($400/night)
  • Singapore
    • Intercontinental Singapore ($400/night)
  • Dubai
    • JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, 1 Bedroom Executive Suite ($450)
  • Abu Dhabi
    • Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi ($300)
  • Cannes, France
    • Intercontinental Carlton Cannes, France ($300)
  • Dallas
    • Grand Hyatt DFW ($150)

Lounges

• Boston
  • British Airways Lounge Boston Logan
• Hong Kong
  • Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
  • Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Wing
  • Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pier
• Beijing
  • Air China First Class Lounge
• Singapore
  • DNata Lounge
• Bali
  • Garuda Indoneisa Business Class Lounge
  • Premier Lounge
• Singapore
  • Singapore Airlines First Class Check-In
  • Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge SIN
  • Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge SIN
  • Singapore Airlines Private Room SIN
• Abu Dhabi
  • Etihad First Class Lounge
  • Etihad Business Class Lounge
  • Etihad Shave Experience
• London
  • British Airways First Class Lounge LHR Terminal 5
• Nice
  • Library Lounge
• Frankfurt
  • Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt Terminal A

Afternoon Tea

• Peninsula, Beijing
• Raffles, Singapore
• Burj Khalifa, Dubai
• Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi

TIPS:

• When to look for Cathay award space
• How we booked 3 Singapore Suites
• 5 things we loved doing in Singapore that avoided the heat
• Never trust the concierge