Last week I stayed at the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara Silicon Valley. I did stay a few times before at the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara. In fact, I stayed at the same hotel a long time ago when it was still called ‘The Quality Suites’. So time for a review and share my thoughts about the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara Silicon Valley.
The Hyatt Centric Brand
It can be a bit confusing. What should you expect from the various brands that fall under the Hyatt umbrella. Especially now Hyatt is expanding with more and more brands. Should you expect more luxury and service from an Andaz hotel, compared to a Grand Hyatt hotel? And what to expect from a Hyatt Centric?
Hyatt formulates it as follows; Hyatt Centric is a brand of full-service lifestyle hotels located in prime destinations. Created to connect guests to the heart of the action, Hyatt Centric hotels are thoughtfully designed to enable exploration and discovery so they never miss a moment of adventure. Each hotel offers social spaces to connect with others in the lobby, meanwhile the bar and restaurant are local hot spots where great conversations, locally inspired food and signature cocktails can be enjoyed. Streamlined modern rooms focus on delivering everything guests want and nothing they don’t.
That’s a great definition but doesn’t really define whether Hyatt Centric is at the same level as a Hyatt Regency, or Park Hyatt. I always positioned the Hyatt Centric at more or less the same level as a Hyatt Regency. On one side, Hyatt Centric hotels don’t have lounges, nor would you find a separate Starbucks or Peet’s coffee inside the hotel. On the other side, Hyatt Centric hotels are on average more modern and unique.
What every Hyatt Centric hotel should have in my opinion, is a solid breakfast offering. Certainly other Hyatt Centric hotels I stayed at before, didn’t disappoint in this area (such as the Hyatt Centric Mountain View & Hyatt Centric Montreal).
The Hyatt Centric Santa Clara
The Hyatt Centric Santa Clara hotel started its life as the Quality Suites. I actually stayed at the Quality Suites a long time ago. The only thing I remember from that stay was the fact that my room was next to an incredibly loud air conditioning system which ran day and night. That meant that I didn’t come back to that hotel until it was rebranded as a Hyatt Centric in 2022.
My first stay back in 2022 wasn’t that bad. Even though I thought the rooms – and common areas – have more in common with a Hyatt House. Nothing fancy and very functional. The one area where the Hyatt Centric did distinguish itself from the average US-based Hyatt House, was the breakfast. There was a decent cappuccino, there were some breakfast a-la-carte options and a half decent buffet. Just enough to make it a little bit better than the Hyatt House options in the same area.
However, every time I came back, the breakfast was getting worse and worse. A few months ago, the coffee machine broke down which meant they couldn’t serve cappuccino/espresso anymore. For me, an absolute necessity in the morning! But things can happen, so when I came back last week, I expected things to be in order again. I was wrong.
Hyatt House or Hyatt Centric
During my stay at the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara last week, the breakfast a-la-carte option was completely gone. Instead, there was just a basic buffet option. Oh, and the coffee machine was still broken. It became clear very quickly that the staff was just there to do the minimum. Making a cappuccino or taking breakfast a-la-carte orders was certainly not part of the revised job description.
I can all live with that, but then don’t promote yourself as a full-service Hyatt Centric Hotel. Instead, I believe the Hyatt Centric hotel should now be rebranded as a Hyatt House or Hyatt Place.
As stated earlier, rooms are not luxurious at all. You could be easily mistaken that you are in a Hyatt House instead. On the positive side, rooms are clean and at least during my stay, quiet.
There are 220 suites and you do want to be careful which room you pick when you stay at the Hyatt Centric. The Hyatt Centric is located next to the 101 Highway so rooms facing the 101 will have impressive highway noise.
Conclusion
Since 2022, the former Quality Suites in Santa Clara, is rebranded as Hyatt Centric. When you stay at the Hyatt Centric, it’s important to set your expectations. Don’t expect a full-service lifestyle hotel. Instead, think Hyatt House. If you do, then this Santa Clara hotel won’t disappoint. Rooms are big, quiet and clean and the breakfast buffet is Ok-ish.
However, instead of picking the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara, I believe you should consider the Hyatt House Santa Clara. At least there, you can just cross the road and enter a Peet’s coffee in the morning to get your daily coffee shot! And the Hyatt House Santa Clara doesn’t pretend to be something which they aren’t!
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