The Hyatt Dulles is located just minutes away from Dulles Airport outside Washington DC. It’s an all suite Hyatt hotel, which is great for an airport hotel.
The hotel itself is located in an office park type area, though you’ll find parking scattered around the building. Parking is free, and I’ve left my car here a number of times when flying out. They offer a shuttle bus departing every 20 minutes, and it’s an opportunity to park for free saving the fairly high fees Dulles itself charges.
The front entrance of the hotel has warming lights on the ceiling, which is great since I was coming in on a fairly cold day.
Walking inside, you’re greeted with the front desk off to your left, and a restaurant/lounge on the right. You’ll also notice an extensive conference facility, which, when I came in, was playing host to a dual wedding (Admittedly, I’ve never seem 2 couples get married at the same wedding…).
There’s an elite check-in line, though there was no crowds when I arrived.
I was checked in promptly, and the agent at the desk praised me on how I already had my driver’s license and credit card already out when approaching him. He commented how no one ever does that and that I must have been a seasoned traveler, and said for my “work” he’d be giving me a “nice room. Turns out, nice room just means a regular room on a higher floor. 😉
I made my way up to my King Executive room. All of the rooms in this property are suites, with each having a mini living area. It’s not a full one bedroom suite, but certainly larger than a standard room you’d find at most Hyatt properties.
The bathroom is located off of the middle section, and it includes an outside sink, with a separate toilet and shower inside.
Breakfast the next morning was included as a Hyatt Diamond, and because I was departing on a Saturday, was actually until noon, which is really generous. You could order off of the full breakfast menu, or choose the buffet, which I did.
There was a selection of pastries, fruit, as well as hot “side dishes” such as sausage and bacon. In the corner was an omelette station, though it took a few minutes to find someone available to actually make one, since everyone appeared to be in the kitchen. I didn’t find the food to be the greatest, though it was acceptable. At around 11:15a when I came down, most of the food tasted like it had been sitting awhile.
My Take
This hotel is great if you need a free parking option for the airport. Rates are fairly reasonable, and for my stay, I didn’t pay more than $60, including taxes and fees. It’s also a good location if you need to explore nearby Fairfax County, or have business in the Dulles corridor, though it’s a bad option if you have any intention of visiting downtown Washington DC, since there’s no transportation options in the immediate area.
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
It looks like you were “upgraded” not just to a high floor, but to one of Hyatt’s “Pure” rooms. Note the air filter sitting to the left of the fridge/minibar. These rooms have synthetic bedding (pillows/comforter). Unless you have a specific allergy, I think these rooms are actually a downgrade.
Do you need to book the Park and Fly rate to leave your car there for a week? Sounds like you just booked a regular Cash and Points stay for a night and were able to leave your car there for free. I’m wondering about booking a night, but not staying there both to save money on parking and to get the night’s credit toward requalifying for Diamond. Thoughts?
As far as I’m aware, I didn’t see a park and fly rate, and they didn’t ask (or seem like they were looking for) any identifying information on cars. I think if your trip is going to be longer than a few days, you might want to inquire to confirm since a car sitting there for two weeks might become suspicious, if they haven’t taken any info down.