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Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars
I had the good fortune to not only book a single night’s stay at the Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars within a week of it opening in early June, but roughly a month later I returned. I’m definitely a fan of Hyatt’s newest London property and undoubtedly will stay again. My first stay received no upgrade; however, I did use an explorist club upgrade certificate which included restaurant breakfast. My second stay was more fruitful and I ended up in a Regency Suite with City View – I added a club upgrade certificate to it as well since this second stay actually pushed me over the threshold for the Bilt Rewards Hyatt Status Challenge and yielded the coveted globalist status. Through Feb 2025 I will have access to club level whenever I stay at Hyatt’s so I wasn’t too worried about burning the upgrades on short stays.
Long story, short: I really like this hotel’s location and will absolutely return, but if you’re looking to apply a globalist suite upgrade, or use points to upgrade, I wouldn’t do so…the added value is minimal. If you really want a true upgrade to a suite, I would turn your attention to the Hyatt Regency London Churchill and request one with a balcony – those are impressively large, well lit, and the outdoor space is very cool in central London.
Stay Details
- When:
- Stay 1: June 2023
- Stay 2: July 2023
- Where: Hyatt Regency Blackfriars
- Rate:
- Stay 1: 20k points ( category 5 standard pricing )
- Cash was $400
- Stay2: 23k points ( Cat 5 peak pricing )
- Cash was $550
- Stay 1: 20k points ( category 5 standard pricing )
- Room:
- Stay 1: King Standard
- Stay 2: Regency Suite with City View
- Upgrade:
- Stay 1: None
- Stay 2: yes to suite
- Status:
- Stay 1: Explorist with a club upgrade cert attached
- Stay 2: Explorist
- Perks
- 2pm late checkout, extended to 3pm
Other London Hotels we’ve reviewed
- Marriott:
- Hyatt
- Hyatt Regency Churchill
- Hyatt Regency Blackfriars
- IHG
- Hilton
- Waldorf Hilton
- The Biltmore London
- Conrad London
- 100 Queen’s Gate
- Trafalgar St James – Curio Collection
- Airport
- Hyatt Place Heathrow
- Hilton Garden Inn Terminal 2/3
- Sofitel London Heathrow Terminal 5
- Boutique
Location
If you’re coming into town to see Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Leicester Square, etc then this location may not be the best for you. Not that it’s hard to get there, the tube is just outside, but if you’re not going to use the tube, it’s a much longer walk than other properties which are smack dab in the middle of those touristy areas. Blackfriars, while still very central, is just a bit outside that area. Perfect for someone like me who isn’t necessarily looking to visit all of the touristy places, wants a nice place to sleep, and finds utilizing the tube quite easy.
I was very happy with what was just outside the hotel! One thing I always look for is a place to buy snacks, a Starbucks, and easy access to public transport. Voila…
- Bus Stop
- Blackfriars Tube Station
- Tesco
- Sainsbury
- Starbucks
Blackfriars Tube/Train station
Here you can see if on Google Maps:
One thing to note as well…the Uber Boat comes to Blackfriars and Bankside ( across the bridge ) for pickup and drop off. A great way to pop down the Thames to Battersea, Big Ben, etc.
Check in
As I mentioned, the hotel just opened a week before my visit and there was some confusion at check in. My upgrade certificate wasn’t mentioned, so I brought it to their attention, and because the lounge wasn’t finished, there was confusion over what benefit I got for breakfast. Ultimately, it was clear I would just have breakfast in the restaurant, same as a Globalist would, but I had to inquire with several different people. Since the club was closed, they gave you a club card that you present to staff in the lobby bar for free drinks, canapes, etc.
The hotel was quite empty. Online, you could book any category room, suites were available with points, but I wasn’t given any kind of upgrade. Odd given I did have some status and the hotel being far from full.
The Room
Since I’ve had two very different categories of room I’ll break it down into two stays. I would note…it’s absolutely unnecessary to use a suite upgrade certificate here…the suites don’t have additional seating, are marginally bigger, and still don’t have fully enclosed closets. The corner aspect of the suite is nice for lighting, but that’s about it.
Stay 1: King Standard
The hotel is so new that it still smells of fresh paint when walking down the corridors. I was on the 3rd floor facing the side street and in a standard king room. One thing that was really great about the room was the usb-c ports next to the bed for fast charging. A big miss was not including international plugs – I don’t understand why luxury hotels aren’t automatically installing those so guests don’t have to use converters, but alas, so few do.
Welcome note with some sweets and the mini fridge had two complimentary waters.
It was finished very handsomely.
The bathroom had a great rain shower.
Stay 2: Regency Suite with city view
I’m not really sure how this can be categorized as a suite…even a junior suite. While I appreciate having some added space in any room I stay in, let alone more space in central London, the added space here is mainly unusable. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the upgrade, but the premium to stay in this room vs the standard just isn’t worth it.
The entrance of the room has an open style closet and a small work station overlooking the side street. Great little work station.
Continuing down the hall the bathroom is on the right, only a shower, and there is a small table and chair as well. The bedroom is at the end of the short hall. This is the reverse shot so can you see how short that hallway really is.
Another angle showing the bathroom and entry
Regarding the bathroom…
There isn’t anything substantially different from the standard king bathroom: single vanity, shower, etc
The Gym
In the basement is a small, but nice gym. I hopped down there first thing after check in to try and help my body adjust to jetlag. They also had a ton of still and sparkling water in glass bottles. If you know, you know…never pay for water in your room…just pop down to the gym.
Regency Club
The Regency Club was temporarily in the lobby bar, City Lounge, and was quite cool! They gave everyone an a la carte afternoon tea tower for their afternoon canapes. This was served alongside wine, beer, spirits, and ran from 5 to 7pm.
Dining
- City Lounge ( the Lobby Bar )
- Chinese Cricket Club
- NynLon ( not yet open )
- Leaf and Cane
Chinese Cricket Club
Breakfast served in the Chinese Cricket Club. It was buffet style with an a la carte menu. A little hiccup occurred here as well when I said my room number for complimentary breakfast, it wasn’t listed. I was seated, but not informed until I was finished that it was indeed complimentary. I would imagine this creases will be ironed out as the hotel is open for longer and staff have more training, and the official regency club is open
They had pork, chicken and veggie sausage, which I thought to be a nice touch for those who don’t eat beef or pork. Personally, I thought the breakfast to be nice, but nothing to right home about – I also wasn’t given any options from the a la carte menu so I’d guess that there is more selection there.
Leaf and Cane
Not open when I was there, but looks very, very cool. This looks like it would be a fun spot to end the night at, or perhaps start the night at, spend the night at? I dunno…it looked very cool.
Overall
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and will absolutely come back again.
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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