Hyatt Grand Cypress - Review

[LisaTN]

We are Disney fans all around, and always stay on property for our Disney trips. However, each year my husband earns enough rewards points for a "free" 2-3 night stay at the Ritz Carlton Grand Lakes, Orlando and we'll spend a couple days there and do some non-Disney things (usually attached to a Disney trip staying on property).

Our trip this year needed to be over president's day weekend, so the Ritz' prices were much higher (almost 2x), so it was out of our prize/rewards range. I was looking around for some other options,and came across the Hyatt Grand Cypress. It looked nice, but was prepared that it would not be comparable to the Ritz.

Boy was I wrong.

While the property is kind of in the middle of a tourist/souvenier area - once you turn on Grand Cypress Blvd it's like you are away from it all. The location is also nice that it is right on I-4 and easy to get to the area attractions, and only a couple minutes from Downtown Disney.

When you pull up, the landscaping is very high end, VERY comparable to the Ritz. The architecture is more contemporary than the Ritz but VERY nice and gives off the feel of luxery. The valets greet you and take your belongings and are very friendly - wonderful service. The lobby is atrium style and modern but not "cold." Lots of greenery. There is a "lobby embassidor" named Merlot (a red macaw). My daughter got a huge kick out of him.

Check in was a breeze and the elevators overlook the atrium lobby and my daughter loved them.

The room was VERY spacious, much larger than our room at the Ritz and included a refrigerator. Wifi was free, but you could upgrade for $5 a day for higher speeds and more bandwidth. We didn't feel like we needed to upgade. We "splurged" on a pool facing room, not because of the pool but because those rooms overlook Epcot and Magic Kingdom and we could view both fireworks shows, which was AMAZING! I put "splurge" in quotes because it was only $30 more a night and well worth the price to see the fireworks each night off our balcony. We enjoyed ordering room service for dessert and watching the fireworks.

The pools. What can I say.... not enough I'm sure. The pools are BEYOND amazing... they are lined with rock work and have caves and caverns to swim through... along with waterfalls. There is also a really great water slide. The best part was the heated pool. We were there in February and it actually was really cold our first couple days. But the pool was heated to 89 degrees!!!!!!! It was VERY comfortable, and only cold once you got out. The pool towels were HUGE and fluffy and much nicer than the Disney or Ritz pool towels and kept us warm when we got out of the pool. The pool bar was great and you could order food pool side from the Palm Cafe. In additional to the large main pool and the heated pool are two hot tubs.

The resort fee is $25/day for the room [not per person (the ritz was $16/person)]. It includes pitch and put golf, rock climbing walls, surrey bikes, bike and helmet rentals, paddle boat rentals, raft rentals, and more. Well worth the resort fee for all the activities. We did pretty much everything except the paddle boats, only because there just wasn't enough time to do everything.

They had a sand art craft during the day that my daughter loved and some fun games around the pool like a popscicle eating contest.

We ate at every restaurant there. The first night we ate at Hemmingways -which was good. We didn't have reservations and so we were seated in the bar areas which was fine. It's a little more expensive then the main dining room, but worth the price if you want a fancier dinner.

We had breakfast every morning at Cascades - which you could order off the menu or get the buffet. It was excellent. And although it says the buffet is $11 for kids, they never charged us for our 6yo even after we pointed out that they didn't put her meal on the bill. There were waffles and pancakes made to order as well as made-to-order omlettes. Meat, cheese and bread buffet, pastries, bacon, sausage, everything you can think of.

We also had dinner at Cascades, which was also good, but a little crazy that night due to Valentine's Day. The service was a little slower, but not bad and mostly because they were packed. They gave kids heart ballons and the gave the ladies roses, so it was cute.

The service was comparable to both the Ritz and Disney and I'm not sure we could have asked for better service overall.

We did a "non-Disney" trip and drove to Seaworld and Legoland this time around. The valet gives you great directions cards to take with you - it was very easy to get to Seaworld. We also did dinner at Saana which was less than a 10 minute drive. And we took Uber to DTD and it was less than $7.

I can't think of anything negative to say, and we truly are on the picky side.

We will definitely stay here agian and may even plan a trip based on the hotel itself. I'm having trouble loading pictures but I'll try again later.

THANKS!!!

 

[ashleyrm]

Sounds like a great resort. Will have to keep it in mind if I ever go to Orlando for a non-Disney trip.

 

[robinb]

I stayed there a few years ago on my DH's Hyatt points. Our room was quite small and I thought the Hyatt Regency themed lobby was very dated. It seemed like it was stuck in the 80's. I wonder if they updated it since we were there. the pool area also needed some updating as it was pretty, but tired looking. I wanted to like it but was just "meh" about it. I'm glad to hear your review ... maybe I'll give it another try.

 

[LisaTN]

I stayed there a few years ago on my DH's Hyatt points. Our room was quite small and I thought the Hyatt Regency themed lobby was very dated. It seemed like it was stuck in the 80's. I wonder if they updated it since we were there. the pool area also needed some updating as it was pretty, but tired looking. I wanted to like it but was just "meh" about it. I'm glad to hear your review ... maybe I'll give it another try.

Robin - I would be surprised if we were talking about the same Hyatt. There is another Hyatt Regency also nearby. The lobby didn't look 80s to me at all and the pool was so immaculate I would never called it tired looking. If it is the same Hyatt then they must have done a total rehab on it as we found it updated and looking very new. The room was seriously huge... I didn't get a picture unfortunately, but there was room for a full couch, coffee table, desk, etc.

 

[cowens02]

We are Disney fans all around, and always stay on property for our Disney trips. However, each year my husband earns enough rewards points for a "free" 2-3 night stay at the Ritz Carlton Grand Lakes, Orlando and we'll spend a couple days there and do some non-Disney things (usually attached to a Disney trip staying on property).

Our trip this year needed to be over president's day weekend, so the Ritz' prices were much higher (almost 2x), so it was out of our prize/rewards range. I was looking around for some other options,and came across the Hyatt Grand Cypress. It looked nice, but was prepared that it would not be comparable to the Ritz.

Boy was I wrong.

While the property is kind of in the middle of a tourist/souvenier area - once you turn on Grand Cypress Blvd it's like you are away from it all. The location is also nice that it is right on I-4 and easy to get to the area attractions, and only a couple minutes from Downtown Disney.

When you pull up, the landscaping is very high end, VERY comparable to the Ritz. The architecture is more contemporary than the Ritz but VERY nice and gives off the feel of luxery. The valets greet you and take your belongings and are very friendly - wonderful service. The lobby is atrium style and modern but not "cold." Lots of greenery. There is a "lobby embassidor" named Merlot (a red macaw). My daughter got a huge kick out of him.

Check in was a breeze and the elevators overlook the atrium lobby and my daughter loved them.

The room was VERY spacious, much larger than our room at the Ritz and included a refrigerator. Wifi was free, but you could upgrade for $5 a day for higher speeds and more bandwidth. We didn't feel like we needed to upgade. We "splurged" on a pool facing room, not because of the pool but because those rooms overlook Epcot and Magic Kingdom and we could view both fireworks shows, which was AMAZING! I put "splurge" in quotes because it was only $30 more a night and well worth the price to see the fireworks each night off our balcony. We enjoyed ordering room service for dessert and watching the fireworks.

The pools. What can I say.... not enough I'm sure. The pools are BEYOND amazing... they are lined with rock work and have caves and caverns to swim through... along with waterfalls. There is also a really great water slide. The best part was the heated pool. We were there in February and it actually was really cold our first couple days. But the pool was heated to 89 degrees!!!!!!! It was VERY comfortable, and only cold once you got out. The pool towels were HUGE and fluffy and much nicer than the Disney or Ritz pool towels and kept us warm when we got out of the pool. The pool bar was great and you could order food pool side from the Palm Cafe. In additional to the large main pool and the heated pool are two hot tubs.

The resort fee is $25/day for the room [not per person (the ritz was $16/person)]. It includes pitch and put golf, rock climbing walls, surrey bikes, bike and helmet rentals, paddle boat rentals, raft rentals, and more. Well worth the resort fee for all the activities. We did pretty much everything except the paddle boats, only because there just wasn't enough time to do everything.

They had a sand art craft during the day that my daughter loved and some fun games around the pool like a popscicle eating contest.

We ate at every restaurant there. The first night we ate at Hemmingways -which was good. We didn't have reservations and so we were seated in the bar areas which was fine. It's a little more expensive then the main dining room, but worth the price if you want a fancier dinner.

We had breakfast every morning at Cascades - which you could order off the menu or get the buffet. It was excellent. And although it says the buffet is $11 for kids, they never charged us for our 6yo even after we pointed out that they didn't put her meal on the bill. There were waffles and pancakes made to order as well as made-to-order omlettes. Meat, cheese and bread buffet, pastries, bacon, sausage, everything you can think of.

We also had dinner at Cascades, which was also good, but a little crazy that night due to Valentine's Day. The service was a little slower, but not bad and mostly because they were packed. They gave kids heart ballons and the gave the ladies roses, so it was cute.

The service was comparable to both the Ritz and Disney and I'm not sure we could have asked for better service overall.

We did a "non-Disney" trip and drove to Seaworld and Legoland this time around. The valet gives you great directions cards to take with you - it was very easy to get to Seaworld. We also did dinner at Saana which was less than a 10 minute drive. And we took Uber to DTD and it was less than $7.

I can't think of anything negative to say, and we truly are on the picky side.

We will definitely stay here agian and may even plan a trip based on the hotel itself. I'm having trouble loading pictures but I'll try again later.

THANKS!!!

I am staying at the HRGC in April and I am so glad to read a good review (not that I have seen many bad ones)!! I have a few questions if you have time to respond...

1. how much was the buffet for adults? i can't seem to find this ANYWHERE
2. i read somewhere that they dont like if you use uber and that they have to pick you up outside of the main gate of the hotel which is like a mile away....is this true? we were hoping to uber from the airport and to dtd if necessary
3. did you order anything from the bar at the pool? if so, what were the prices like?

thanks for a great review, it was very helpful!