In this article, we outline the best Hyatt hotels in San Diego and near the Convention Center. Manchester Grand Hyatt vs. Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa vs. Andaz vs. Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. Whether you are traveling as a family with kids or are on business, which stands out and which are rubbish? Which Hyatt in San Diego is best?
If you are flying in, you may also want to know the best San Diego airport lounges in California. We also look at the best hotels near the San Diego Convention Centre, in case you are visiting on business.
Hyatt is one of the world’s best hotel brands, with a global portfolio of more than 500 hotels and resorts across 12 distinctive brands. We have reviewed the best Andaz hotels, the best Park Hyatt hotels, the best Grand Hyatt hotels, the best Hyatt Regency hotels and the best Hyatt Centric hotels. Other brands within the Hyatt portfolio include Alila, Hyatt House, Hyatt Zilara & Ziva, Hyatt Residence Club, Hyatt Place, and the Unbound Collection by Hyatt.
San Diego is also a sunny beach town with a water-centered lifestyle, which makes it ideal for a vacation, too. Visit the historic Gaslamp Quarter for lively dining, shopping, and nightlife, and take a leisurely walk to the waterfront Embarcadero. East Village is great for indie shops and cafes. Wherever you go, you’ll be sure to take in stunning, sweeping sea views with the warm sun sparkling among the iridescent blue.
If you want to stay in luxury in and around San Diego, California, try Fairmont Grand Del Mar, Hotel del Coronado, Pendry San Diego, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, or THE US GRANT, a Luxury Collection Hotel, which is the best Marriott in San Diego or Four Seasons Residence Club Aviara, North San Diego.
I have compiled a list below containing the best Hyatt hotels in San Diego, California. Hyatt hotels also have some of the best club lounges in San Diego.
1. Manchester Grand Hyatt
Manchester Grand Hyatt has a prime waterfront location on San Diego Bay and is one of the best Hyatt hotels in San Diego. The hotel offers a resort-like setting with bay view rooms. This is the best Hyatt in San Diego, with a club lounge, and while it is not as trendy as the Andaz below, the rooms are quieter!
Manchester Grand Hyatt is close to the airport, just five minutes away, and walking distance to the nearby San Diego Convention Center, 0.4 miles away. Seaport Village Headquarters and Gaslamp Quarter are also nearby. San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and Beaches are close by, too. It is also close to the Star India, pirate ship, and submarine. You can walk to Horton Plaza for shopping, the Gaslamp District, and PETCO park, and there are loads of restaurants that offer happy hour.
Rooms here start at around $300 USD per night, making it one of the best conference hotels in the area in the Hyatt chain of hotels. You can earn or spend your World of Hyatt points here or at the Andaz, too (which doesn’t have a club lounge).
The Regency Club is large, with snacks and drinks throughout the day: cookies, nuts, trail mix, bottled water, sodas, and coffee/tea all day. Breakfast is good and includes bread and Danish pastries, bagels, assorted cheeses, cold cereals, juices, and yogurts.
Evening appetizers are assorted cheeses, bruschetta, salad, roasted chicken in a sauce, baked stuffed potatoes, and side dishes like corn, veggies, etc. The food is good and plentiful enough not to have to eat out. Wine and beer are not free in this lounge. There is an honor bar that charges. The dessert is very modest, but the chocolate mousse cake is good.
2. Andaz San Diego
While we dearly love the Andaz San Diego for its stylish rooms and ultra-trendy bar, it can get noisy. The on-site restaurant, bar, and club is called RoofTop600 (named after the hotel’s address of 600 F Street). This lounge stays open until midnight during the week and until 2:00 am on weekends with live DJs, making the rooms very noisy. This is the main reason we don’t list this Andaz in the number one position in this listing.
The noise is so bad that they provide complimentary earplugs in your room, but if you can tolerate the noise, this is the most fun Hyatt in San Antonio with a fabulous rooftop pool, which is pictured above!
The location is, however, extremely fun, downtown in the historic Gaslamp Quarter. It is just blocks from fantastic restaurants and a short bus ride to the San Diego Zoo, USS Midway, and the airport. The hotel is suitable for the young (or young at heart) and funky travelers. But if you are a light sleeper or a family, this fun and lively hotel might not be for you!
Usefully, it is close to the Convention Centre at just under 0.5 miles away, so it is walkable if you like a stroll. Being a stylish Andaz, this is our favorite Convention Centre hotel if you are looking for style. At just over $200 USD per night, this Andaz is also cheap and a great deal for the level of fun you will enjoy here.
Rooms include complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, coffee, and tea, as well as free snacks and beverages in the minibar. Plus, the hotel is pet-friendly, and valet parking is available for $49 USD per night. Unlike many Andaz hotels, not everything in the minibar here is free. Be warned! The only free snacks are chips and granola bars. Free drinks are restricted to water, juices, coffee, tea, and soda.
Rooms are comfortable with great bathrooms tiled in dark grey tiles and split into two sections, one with a glass pedestal sink with towels and robes. The second area has the toilet and a glass walk-in rain shower with a hand hole in the shower screen so you can turn the shower on without getting wet. Brilliant! Toiletries are by Lather.
During the day, the RoofTop600 is wonderful, and you can enjoy craft cocktails with a view. The restaurant serves breakfast, weekend brunch, and lunch. There is also a 24-hour fitness room and VIP access to the rooftop pool.
3. Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina is located right on Mission Bay next door to Sea World. This is currently the worst of the three Hyatt properties in San Diego. Some of the rooms are a little run down, and others are undergoing refurbishment. A major problem is the connecting doors in the rooms. You can clearly hear your neighbors through these, so request a room without a connecting door. Some rooms have obstructed views of the marina and bay from floor-to-ceiling glass doors that let in plenty of light, so you may also want to upgrade to one of these.
In general, the Andaz (which doesn’t have a club lounge) and Grand Hyatt (which does have a club lounge) are nicer properties. Beware, though, as the Andaz San Diego is a lovely hotel but suffers from noise on weekends from the Gaslamp. If the rate is significantly less (maybe $100 USD per night), then it is worth considering. Otherwise, the Andaz is best for couples and business travelers who like a lively location, and the Grand Hyatt is best for families and business travelers. Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa is also nearby, but it does not have a club lounge, so it is not included for the purposes of this top ten listing.
Globalist World of Hyatt members get free Regency Club access as well as free internet, early arrival, late departure, breakfast at Red Marlin restaurant, etc. The Regency Club requires keycard access and is small but well-appointed. There are two modern PCs and breakfast and evening meals. The evening hors d’oeuvres are cold only but delicious and vary each night. Unlike some club lounges, dessert is offered for the full duration of the evening service.
The excellent food is made even better by the excellent staff throughout the hotel. It is worth booking a breakfast-inclusive rate as the breakfast buffet in the Red Marlin is particularly good with hot pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs and cold fruit, pastries, bread, and cereal.
The grounds around the hotel are stuffed with palm trees and ferns, so feel resort-y. There are three small pools surrounded by lounge chairs and some water slides with a zero-entry pool. There’s also a fire pit, and the pool bar has kits for roasting marshmallows.
4. Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa
Perfectly positioned on Southern California’s sun-drenched Pacific Coast, Park Hyatt Aviara is a Forbes Five Star, AAA Five Diamond destination just north of San Diego with stunning ocean views.
While this is probably the best Hyatt of all, it is not actually in the city of San Diego, hence position 4 in the listing.
Park Hyatt Aviara is perched atop a high ridge surrounded by 200 acres of lush hillsides and rolling valleys with gorgeous ocean views. Spacious accommodations and VeraVia’s All-Inclusive Wellness Retreats have resulted in the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa being named by the Wall Street Journal as “One of the Top Five Best Places in the World for Mind-Body Rejuvenation”.
Other resort amenities include five on-site restaurants, a 20-treatment room Aviara Spa, and award-winning Aviara Golf Club, home of the LPGA Kia Classic, and rated #1 Golf Resort in San Diego by Golf Digest Magazine and Condé Nast readers. Our 327 coastal contemporary guest rooms & suites (starting at 540 ft²) have private balconies, oversized 5-fixture marble bathrooms, and many connecting room options.
The adult-only and family pools, hot tubs, six lighted tennis courts, outdoor recreation center, fully-equipped fitness center, indoor game room, Camp Hyatt Aviara Kids Academy, and live nightly entertainment offer endless fun for everyone. Upscale shopping and miles of beautiful beaches are within 5-10 minutes of the resort.
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