I recently had a mediation and even though it was via Zoom, my co-counsel and I wanted to get together and attend from the same place to make it easier to confer throughout the day. Since he lives in Maryland and my daughter lives in DC, I suggested that I would come up to Washington and he could meet me there. I knew I could likely confirm a suite at a Hyatt property at booking which would make it more comfortable for us working together for the day.

I decided on the Grand Hyatt for a few reasons. First, it would make it easier for my colleague to take the train down from Maryland, make a quick transfer on the Metro and be at the hotel as it’s right by the Metro Center stop. Second, they had suites available on the dates I needed that could be confirmed at booking with a Globalist Suite Upgrade Award. Third, it’s fairly close to where my daughter lives so we would be able to meet up for dinner the night before the mediation.

I ended up booking a cash rate as it was a business expense, but the hotel was also available to book with points at 23,000 Hyatt points per night. This is the peak rate for Category 5.

I’ve reviewed this hotel once before in 2022, but since that time, it’s had almost a complete renovation. The lobby area, lounge and rooms & suites have all been refreshed so I thought another review would be helpful.

I flew up and back on American Airlines and I visited lounges I have already reviewed here recently including the Atlanta Admirals Club and the Capital One Landing DCA. I arrived fairly late in the day (around 5pm) and left early (around 9am) so I did not need early check-in or late check-out. I took quick rideshares between DCA airport and the hotel although I could have taken the Metro, but that would have taken twice as long.

When I arrived, I waited in a short line and then was provided my suite key and a letter providing the lounge hours and another letter showing the hotel amenities. As a Globalist, the $30 per day plus tax destination fee was waived.

My suite was on the 10th floor, pretty far from the elevators. I had originally tried to get a Parlor Suite which has a dining/conference table which would have worked better for my needs, but when the date of our mediation changed, I could only secure a King Executive Suite. The suite wasn’t ideal for a business meeting, but it did have an extra half-bathroom which was helpful when I was sharing it all day with a colleague.

I managed to meet my daughter and her boyfriend for dinner on the night I arrived. We went to The Hamilton, part of a local restaurant group that also owns Clyde’s in Georgetown and the famous Old Ebbit Grill. We really enjoyed the restaurant. It was very busy for a Monday night, but the high-backed booths make it easy to carry on a conversation.

My mediation the next day wasn’t until 12:30pm as it was being hosted on the west coast. I checked out the gym that morning and they have made it much smaller than last time I was there, but it still does the job. It’s all the way down on the fourth level below the hotel in the conference center. It was a little busy so I just grabbed a quick picture near the entrance. There are all the typical machines, including Pelotons, treadmills and weights. There are also water bottles, towels and granola bars available.

One downside of my suite for a business meeting was that the desk was made of glass which doesn’t exactly make an optical mouse useful, but I used a magazine as a mousepad. Another was that there was no A/C outlet near the desk. We had to slide the TV cabinet forward and use the plugs behind it.

Anyway, we made it work for our mediation and housekeeping respected the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. I had told the front desk to skip housekeeping as well.

As for the lounge, it is on the 12th floor and has been beautifully renovated and expanded since we were there in 2022. It was so crowded last time that we actually got the front desk to let us eat breakfast in the restaurant as an exception to the rule.

The breakfast spread was truly impressive for a US lounge. Of course, it’s not going to top an Asian Hyatt breakfast, but it was probably better than most US Hyatt restaurant breakfasts. There were the typical hot dishes, including French toast one day and pancakes the next, smoked salmon, different fresh bakery items, hot oatmeal with toppings and any other breakfast food you could think of. My daughter joined me for breakfast on the second morning and she was also impressed with both the quality and variety.

Soft drinks and coffee were available all day at the lounge. We took advantage of that during our mediation breaks. They also had hors d’oeuvres from 5pm-8pm, but my mediation was West-coast based so it ran longer than that. I did get to stop by the dessert buffet which ran from 8:30-9:30pm and was very good.

Before I got dessert, my colleague and I went to the restaurant on site, Cure Bar and Bistro, to get a drink and something to eat as he had a bit of time before his train home. The restaurant serves both typical hotel restaurant American food and sushi, which is a weird combo but I can confirm that it was good and also not ridiculously priced for a hotel restaurant in a major city. We also enjoyed the local IPA on draft.

On my last morning, I woke up early so I went for a sunrise walk around the Capitol and National Mall area. It’s definitely nice to have an interesting area to walk around right outside the hotel.

The last time I stayed at the Grand Hyatt DC I felt that there was nothing good about it except the location. My opinion has changed now. Even though it’s a huge hotel with almost 900 rooms, the renovation managed to improve the Hyatt Globalist experience and overall, make the hotel modern and stylish. I would definitely consider staying here over the Park Hyatt next time we visit DC. While we would be a bit further from where our daughter lives and lose out on the Blue Duck Tavern breakfast, it’s an award category lower than the Park Hyatt (5 vs 6) and centrally located for the Metro and DC tourist spots.

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