You know when you’re traveling for business, maybe for a conference, and you check into a nameless, faceless, bland and boring business hotel and dine on bland and boring banquet food and have nothing to do on breaks?
This is the complete opposite.
The Hyatt Regency Bellevue is the hotel that you WISH your company would book their AGM, strategic meeting session or awards dinner at. Yes—the contemporary conference center is very impressive, with more than 70,000 square feet of meeting space, four ballrooms, a sloped auditorium for 135 guests plus numerous conference suites—all fully wired and ready to host 1,400 of your colleagues.
But it’s the fact that outside of those meeting rooms, you feel immediately like you’re in a chic, modern, city hotel, ready to holiday and relax. That truth makes this recently renovated, 25-year-old property a win. Upscale, Asian-inspired décor and thoughtful amenities set the mood as soon as you enter. When I checked in mid-afternoon, there was complimentary cheese and fruit platters and welcome cider or flavored water in the expansive lobby. The 732 guestrooms and suites are comfortable and well-appointed for business or leisure—with even the smallest rooms fitted with high count linens, cushy pillow-top mattresses, flat screen HDTV, stereo system and a smartly appointed bathroom featuring the KenetMD line. Lucky Hyatt guests on the 23rd level Regency Club floor have access to the lounge, with snacks, papers and drinks (including happy hour festivities) and a breathtaking view out onto the neighboring Seattle skyline.
Of course, if you find time to leave the hotel, there’s a world of options, quite literally, at your doorstep. The property is sky bridge steps from the entertainment and shopping mecca The Bellevue Collection, with more than 45 restaurants and more than 250 retail stores. Woodinville wine region is near by and easily accessed by car. The hotel has made it even easier with a collaboration package with Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery that runs over the weekends, and includes a voucher for a premium tasting for two at the winery and a bottle of welcome wine upon arrival.
Whatever adventure—or business—is on your agenda, be sure to fuel up at Eques first. Serving only brunch and breakfast, this American full-service restaurant is just off the lobby, and serves up a la carte or buffet options. Portions are generous and choices are plentiful, making it a great option for everyone from families to business meetings to solo diners. Good thing all guests can work off the decadent eggs benny, with 24 hour access to the Hyatt’s 7,000 square foot health centre and lap pool.
Perhaps the most impressive with all this space and scale, is the fact that the property is so committed to the environment and sustainability. The hotel has achieved a 5 Green Key Rating and currently recycles more than 50 percent of its waste.
Nine miles from Seattle and a million miles away from a boring conference hotel makes the contemporary Hyatt Regency Bellevue a pretty easy choice for work or play—or even better, both.
Hyatt Regency Bellevue || 900 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue || bellevue.hyatt.com
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