Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront — Hotel in Jacksonville

This is a business hotel, much like other Hyatt Regency hotels. The rooms are standard, albeit not on par with the likes of say Orlando.

We have stayed and frequented for business at many locations, but primarily the Orlando and Miami locations. Service in the former was top-notch, one of our better in recent years.

This was our first time in Jacksonville, out here for a business conference. That the hotel is not quite up-to-par when compared with its name sharers is for another review.

This review is all about service, deplorable service at that. Checked in, received only one key and for the wrong room, double bed rather than king. Had it corrected to match our initial reservation – but for an upcharge [or they'd refuse]. Different concierge asked if this was our first time in Jacksonville, we said yes, he replied, "You are not missing anything; it is a terrible city."

Asked a third concierge about the breakfast buffet, its cost and what is included. For dietary reasons, queried about cold cuts or smoked salmon or anything of the kind. She and a colleague replied in unison unexcited, "$26. No, we have none of that. It's like the [holiday inn-type] standard, bacon and stuff like that." This contradicted what we were told on the phone when booking, but deterred us from even checking out the breakfast, which we had intended to do.

Again, for medical reasons, we called down to ask if more tea could be sent to the room. A fourth concierge cut us off mid-question with a condescending, "Uh no, no. Two is your limit for the day!", then hung up. We called back, explained the medical circumstances, she put us on hold for 15 minutes, then picked up with, "Hello, how may I help you?" We mentioned we had been on hold the entire time – to which she responded, "Refresh my memory, for what?" We explain again and asked for some teas. She said, "Okay," hung up again and 15 minutes later we received a knock with two tea bags. Humiliating.

After a long day of work and before an early morning of conferencing then driving all the way down South, had to squeeze in a few hours of sleep and first decided to hop into the shower.

At first glance it seemed clean, until hopping in an noticing something yellow and something reflective and clear. Crouched down only to see candy wrappers and used condom wrappers laying on the tub floor, hidden behind the curtain. Mortifying, and makes you wonder about the negligence of cleaning and cross-contamination between residents.

Called down, hung up on. Called again, began explaining the situation only to be hung-up on by a fifth distracted, disinterested concierge. Then a third time, put on hold for 10 minutes, to no avail only to be hanged up on again. Fourth time just rang on and on.

Even in high-rated hotels with bad service, we tend to at least enjoy some of the facilities. Service here was so disregarding, so negligent and insulting, that we went to sleep counting the minutes until we could leave. This is not how you want any hotel stay for good money to ever be.

We had just driven up through Daytona, where we had stayed at the Shores hotel, where the concierge was immaculately dedicated, caring and accommodating; nurturing, really. And it made that stay worth every moment. We found ourselves at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville, which we had booked thinking it would live up to the Orlando standard, wishing we had never stayed here.

When have humans forgotten to, underneath all of the guises of "work" and layers of bitterness or apathy, merely treat others with kindness? This is the uglier side...

Staff seemed kind, one young man that checked me in wasn’t knowledgeable about the event for the 4th of July.

The hotel stay included bracelets for that event for the occupants of the room, I knew that because the sign was right in front of me on the desk.

I asked him about the event and he stated we had to pay to get in and then I read the sign on the desk to see what his thoughts were, he apologized and got me the bracelets.

It was a non issue really but I feel it’s a place of improvement, just making sure staff are on the same page as their management, it could save customers money and perhaps inconvenience.

Also, I wasn’t informed at the desk that the keycard was required to use the Elevator to get to our room, so I didn’t have the card ready and people were waiting on me to scan my card because they didn’t have theirs, why I can’t tell you.

The Elevators were a nightmare and was probably the worst thing out of the entire experience, lines of people waiting to use the elevators, it appeared as if two were down out of the 8, in addition the escalators to the third floor from the second was broken which wasn’t helping the elevator situation.

I would finally get on an elevator after 20 minutes, and then once on the elevator, it wouldn’t stop at my floor, the light lit up and then disappeared and bounced me from one floor to the next for another 15 minutes.

By the time I got to my room, the food I got from the overpriced market downstairs was cold, which only added insult to how expensive the food was, and the ridiculous wait for just two cheeseburgers.

Our French Fries were undercooked, the burgers were not very tasty, it tasted like a hospital cafeteria burger, ask me how I know.

The pool was way over crowded, kids were misbehaving, and there was no staff monitoring the behavior of the guests.

There wasn’t enough seating either, and the hot tub visible on the hotels website is now an oversized planter box.

They don’t have a microwave in the rooms, but at the end of the hall by the ice machine kinda inconvenient.

Overnight self parking was $35 for one night, which is outrageous!

Nicer hotels in Daytona charge $18 to $20 $35 for valet!

The carpets in the room we were in were discolored and smelled like mildew, the phone didn’t work which upon our departure it was because I realized someone unplugged it.

Beneath the headboard of the beds, the carpet had what looked like food or trash and a bunch of dust.

This hotel for the most part is beautiful inside and it has so much potential!

There is a good deal of things that could be done to make this place better.

I apologize for whoever reading this that either runs or owns the hotel has to find out like this, but we had to leave and I didn’t have enough time to wait in line to ask for a manager.

I wouldn’t stay at this hotel again, not unless I was left with no other option, again staff seemed...

This hotel has a lot of pros and a few cons. PROS: First of all, the location is amazing. Within a few blocks, there are numerous restaurants and bars. We came here for a nearby festival and found it very pedestrian-friendly. We visited Indochine and Cowford, and it was only a couple of blocks away. The service at the Hyatt was also great. Everyone we encountered was smiling and helpful (shout out to Savannah). I also appreciated how quiet our room was- I asked for a quiet room and they delivered! We also found the room to be clean. They have a few restaurants on-site, and a 24/7 Market that serves Starbucks coffee with a limited menu. CONS: There is a parking charge. We booked with a park and save deal, but it was still pretty steep. Also, even though the room was clean and quiet I was disappointed with the size and lack of amenities. There is no microwave in the room, so if you want to reheat something be prepared to walk to the ice machine down the hall. Also, the body wash was out and I found the shampoo and conditioner to be poor quality. If I stay here again I'll bring my own. There also wasn't a comfortable chair or couch in the room. If you eat in your room, you'll either be eating on the bed or fighting over who gets to sit in the single hard chair at the desk. Regarding the bed: the mattress is very firm. This may be a pro for some people, but it wasn't for us. Also, there was no complimentary breakfast or snacks. Although not necessary, it's always pleasant to have a complimentary breakfast or snack before heading out.

Overall, this was a good experience. I wouldn't stay here several nights, but for a single overnight stay (especially with the great location) it worked great for us

UPDATE: We stayed here again for a single night. This time we had a much worse experience. We asked for a quiet room and received one right next to the stairwell. The door to the stairwell slammed shut every few minutes from people getting their steps in. We were moved at my request and the front desk service was once again great; however, we ordered room service and had issues there too. The handset phone in the new room didn't work, so I ordered on the website. Should be fine except room service called to confirm part of the order and the phone in the room didn't work. I called the front desk to have someone fix the phone (slightly condescending of them to assume I didn't know to press talk on the handset- I did and it didn't work. Probably bad batteries). No one ever came to fix it.

Room service itself was subpar. It wasn't the worst burger I've had but certainly not worth the price. The burgers were unseasoned and dry. The onion rings were greasy. The cannoli was pretty good though .

This is my second stay here. I don't know if there will be a third. The location is fantastic, but at this point I don't know if it...