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Review: Hyatt Place Knoxville – the coolest Hyatt Place I’ve ever visited
This past weekend I spent a night at the Hyatt Place Knoxville. First off…Knoxville is a very cool town that I would love to revisit and I’d 100% return to stay at the Hyatt Place Knoxville. It’s in a great location on Gay street near Market Square, but what the Hyatt Place Knoxville gives guests as a category 2 hotel is incredible. Let’s get into it, but it’s the coolest Hyatt Place I’ve ever visited.
Hyatt Place Knoxville Details
- When: March 2021
- Where: Knoxville, TN
- Rate: 8k points per night ( cash rates were $169/night )
- Elite Status: Globalist
- Benefits…free valet and 2 waters per day
- Upgrade – none
Earning Hyatt Points
I currently hold a World of Hyatt card, but the keeping a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Reserve, or Chase Ink Business Preferred would earn you Ultimate Rewards that could be transferred into Hyatt to pay for your stay.
Location
The hotel is located on Gay street next to the Tennessee Theater and the building was where the SEC was formed. It’s historic and roughly a 5 minute walk to Market Square which is great to stroll around lined with restaurants and bars. You can see from the image below that the downtown is historic and full of character.
Check in
We were greeted by valet parking attendants when we pulled up. How often do you get that sort of welcome at a Hyatt Place? We parked free of charge in the garage behind the hotel, but could have enjoyed free valet as Globalists. Check in was swift and we were told to grab two waters from the sundry behind check in.
The hotel is decorated in a fresh, almost art deco vibe, that is uniquely different from any Hyatt Place I’ve ever been in. While you’ll see the rooms were classic Hyatt Place, had they decorated them differently this could easily be a Hyatt Centric. In all honesty I’m quite surprised they they chose to brand the hotel as a Place vs Centric or even a standard Hyatt. The lobby has grand, high ceilings, with welcoming open spaces.
This was the lobby bar…so cool. I mean there is 1942 on the shelf – don’t see that at many Hyatt Places.
Room
You could pretty much rip any most any Hyatt Place room out, place it anywhere in the world, and you wouldn’t know where you woke up. This was essentially the case, but featured a fresher vibe. The view wasn’t anything to comment on, and we were given a mid level floor. If you’ve stayed in hotel rooms during the pandemic you know that many hotels are taking the approach of placing a sticker over the door to signify that it had been sanitized. These rooms didn’t feature that, but honestly, I spray everything before staying in a room these days so it doesn’t matter…I’m recleaning.
Pretty much like this…
@zacharyburrabelLysol and Clorox have entered the chat #travel #travelhacks #MyRoutine♬ Deep End – Fousheé
The common living spaces:
And the bathroom
Dining
This is what really sets this hotel apart. The thriving rooftop. I will say that if you’re uncomfortable with seeing mask-free people dining or walking around…you will be uncomfortable. The hotel is enforcing that guests keep their masks on while they walk to and from tables/bathrooms and all staff are masked at all times, but just a head’s up. With that said…
Look at this view. The food is good and we ended up spending our entire night atop the hotel enjoying a gorgeous sunset.
I will note that the prices aren’t Hyatt Place prices. Glasses of wine run $10-$25, 3 Spicy Tuna handrolls are $20, and mixed drinks are all over $10. Word to the wise…make reservations on the weekend. We stayed on a Saturday and snagged one of the last open tables.
Breakfast in the morning is served here
I’m not a Hyatt Place breakfast guy and haven’t done a review in a while so…I missed snapping pics. My bad ya’ll
Overall:
I’m moving to the South in the coming months and would certainly do a weekend trip to Knoxville once the pandemic is over. I’m sure I missed out on a lot of incredible live music, food, and culture. If the hotel was pricing under $125 I wouldn’t have used points, but on our particular trip…$169 plus tax wasn’t a price I was willing to pay when I could snag it for just 8k points.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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