Sacramento Hotel Tips by Rixie

Hyatt Regency - Sacramento: Good Location, Odd Building Hyatt Regency Sacramento Review

This is a huge, elegant hotel (over 500 rooms) and thus not the kind of place I would normally elect to stay, but I found a good room rate on Travelocity: $94 for a room with a king-sized bed, double occupancy. I decided to give it a try.

When we were waiting to check in, we found that a large medical convention was in-house. The desk clerk was telling the couple ahead of us that there were no more king-bedded rooms available. They were not happy about this, but I remained smug -- Hey, I'd been smart and reserved mine ahead of time!

However, my smugness dissolved quickly when I opened the door to our room. There were two double beds. I phoned the front desk and said, "I think there's been a mistake. I reserved a king bed." The woman at the front desk said, "I'm sorry. The hotel only reserves a room. The type of bed is just a request." What???

I don't know if this is a Hyatt problem or a Travelocity problem, but there should be some kind of a disclaimer somewhere. I had a printed confirmation from Travelocity for a king-sized bed, and I suspect the people ahead of me at the front desk did, too.

The building is laid out oddly. The hotel garage has a separate elevator. Say, for example, that you have a room on the 4th floor. You park your car, logically enough, on the 4th floor of the parking garage and expect that there will be a connection to the hotel. Wrong. You have to take the garage elevator down to the 2nd floor, enter the hotel, walk down a corridor and around a corner, and find the hotel elevator. You then take that elevator back up to the 4th floor. Very confusing.

The room itself, aside from the bed situation, was quite nice and still a bargain for the price. I don't know that I'd personally ever stay there again, but it would probably be a good place for a convention goer or a lobbyist. Just confirm the type of room before your arrival!

Unique Qualities: The hotel is in a primo location. You can walk to the State Capitol, the Convention Center, historic St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and the IMAX theater.

There's a fascinating topiary hedge around part of the hotel. The bushes are cut into the shape of paperdoll families, complete with dog.

Address: 1209 L St, Sacramento, CA 95814

Comparison: about average

Price: US$40-80

Theme: Hotel