Hyatt Regency Newport Beach — Hotel in Newport Beach

This review is pertaining to the Summer Concert Series (not lodging).

I have attended many concerts here and have always been fully satisfied. The Summer Concert Series is typically a top-notch event every time. NOT THIS TIME!

The El Debarge/Avery Sunshine concert on 10/20/23 was TRASH! Well, not totally - Ms. Sunshine did her part professionally, flawlessly, passionately as she always does. She was the opening act for El but SHE was THE STAR of THIS SHOW!

I am a HUGE FAN of Mr. Debarge and his talent. I truly love him and his gift, but not so much that I will give him a pass when he takes my money and doesn't perform well in return. He was AWFUL on this occasion. He wasn't even GOOD.

Yes, everyone who is familiar with him knows of his personal struggles and his reputation where performing is concerned. It's hit and miss. However, that is no excuse for willful disregard of patrons/fans.

I saw him perform in February of this year at another venue. While he was late, high, and there were some issues with sound because he missed sound check (per his own admission), he performed extremely well. Sounded GREAT and put on a great show! I had high hopes that he had gotten his ish together and would do the same, or even better, at this SOLD OUT event - which was at a more intimate and more reputable establishment than the last. NOT SO!

He was off to the side having a "side bar" with the musicians for practically the entire show. I imagine that this, too, was due to issues with sound because he missed sound check. Whatever the case, it was glaringly obvious that he was not prepared. When he did sing periodically, he sounded really good. But he didn't sing enough -- the audience did most of the singing when it should have been him. There was way too much awkward silence while he chatted with the musicians. It was pitiful! So was his choice to bring his nephew, Bobby Debarge, Jr. on stage, to sing lead on the songs by Switch. ALL BAD!

To add insult to injury, Hyatt deleted the review I posted on Facebook. Yes, my review was scathing, like this one -- but it was factual and respectful. They deemed his performance "passionate", which is a lie. It ABSOLUTELY WAS NOT - not by any stretch of the imagination! All of the other comments on Hyatt's Facebook post are (or should I say, "were") in line with mine. Several people commented that they walked out of the show early because it was so bad - their first time doing so at any event. Some, like us, stayed hoping that it would get better. It didn't. It just got worse. HYATT HAS DELETED THE OTHER NEGATIVE (BUT TRUE) COMMENTS AS WELL. SHAME ON YOU, HYATT REGENCY NEWPORT BEACH!

Omega Events, Inc. replied to concerns expressed by patrons with a blanket statement to the effect of: "El's performance was in keeping with his nature/norm". WHAT?!?!?! To disregard us like that and continue to stand by and endorse an artist who didn't fulfill their obligation as a paid act is utterly disrespectful! They all just took our money and ran! Hyatt, Omega and Mr. Debarge should all apologize at minimum, AND offer some type of compensation for...

BEWARE OF FRAUDULENT/NEGLIGENT CHARGES. I stayed at the Hyatt from May 9 to May 11. I'd paid the base charge for the room when I booked weeks earlier. At checkout the morning of May 11, I got an invoice for an additional $98 in taxes and fees, which I paid in full and got a receipt for- ok. Back home in another state days later (May 16 specifically), the Hyatt emailed me an "updated invoice" for an additional $164 worth of drinks at the pool bar charged AFTER I checked out.

This is obviously concerning: Why would my card remain on file after I paid my balance in full at the time of checkout? Why would the hotel system allow a checked-out guest's credit card to not only remain on file, but also to be charged for additional services/items days after the guest is no longer on the property? Does the hotel not properly ID guests before charging items -- did another guest give my room number to the front desk, and the front desk didn't bother to confirm the guest's name before instead just charging me?

Due to the last possibility (another guest giving my room number and the hotel letting it charge to me despite me no longer being there), I had to get a new credit card. Obviously I also tried to contact the Hyatt to get them to resolve this and reverse the charge. I had to call 5 times before I stopped getting the run around. I was told the Food & Beverages manager had to speak to me in order to get the charge reversed- this did not make sense in light of the fact that pool bar wouldn't even open for the day until hours after I'd checked out, and there'd be both computer and video footage documentation of the fact that I'd already left. When this man finally gave me a call back, I even said: look, it's hard for me to prove that I wasn't there because you can't have documentation of a non-event, but I do have flight notifications and iPhotos with timestamps evidencing the fact that I was no longer at the hotel and therefore could not possibly have made those charges. He was all nice and apologetic saying "sorry about that sweetheart, you don't need to do all that, we'll reverse the charge." Well, two months later and come to find out Hyatt denied the charge reversal and instead represented to my credit card company that the charge was valid, despite having told me they'd reverse it.

Whether this is negligence in not properly ID'ing guests before posting bar/restaurant charges to guest's accounts, negligence in failing to remove my cc info at the time I paid in full and checked out (as this wouldn't have been possible had that been done), or straight up fraud, it's easily the worst hospitality experience I've ever had.

I would not recommend staying here unless you have the patience to deal with fraudulent charges after the fact, knowing the hotel will not be helpful about this, or if you feel like throwing money away to pad the pockets of a hotel that...

My husband and I went to the Hyatt Regency New Port Beach last night to watch Christopher Cross for the Summer Concert Series. The drive was beautiful. The line to enter the hotel has to be more organized. There was traffic coming from three directions, but the gentleman was friendly and led us to the parking lot. The gentleman that was doing the parking fees was friendly and very helpful. $30 parking fee for the hotel. Staff inside were friendly and helped my husband and I to where the concert was. The gentleman putting the wristbands on was friendly, professional and we enjoyed the small talk with him. A nice woman helped us find our seats. The seats were uncomfortable, and very tight where we were sitting. A nice couple we sat by was fun to talk too. Christopher Cross did not come out until almost 8:30pm, when he was scheduled to come out at 7:30pm. There was another artist singing , and it was relaxing and enjoyable to hear. While waiting for Christopher Cross to come out, there was this drunk woman arguing with this man about a seat, and a bit of drama irrupted, but they solved it quickly. When Christopher Cross came out, he seemed like he really didn’t want to be there. He didn’t say anything, and started singing. I was disappointed to not hear him singing “Alright “. His back up singers did more. Would of loved to hear him, because it’s one of his best songs I enjoy. But then he sang my favorite, “ Never be the same, “ Sailing, “Swept away, and “Arthur’s theme”. Loved his new songs, and his humor during the concert. Christopher Cross is a legend, and for my husband and I to see him is absolutely a gift. Gorgeous weather coming out, and throughout the concert. Clean, elegant bathrooms. Not a line or long wait. Highly recommend to get an aisle seat if coming. We sat in the middle, very close to Christopher Cross. Except for this man’s big blow pop head in front of me, then when he got up, there was another person with a big Homer Simpson head blocking my view of Christopher Cross. A beautiful, elegant atmosphere. Very fancy, and Summery. I rated 3 because of the friendly, professional staff, Friendly parking workers, beautiful, clean bathrooms, gorgeous weather, beautiful, elegant atmosphere everywhere around us, friendly, fun couple we sat by, easy access and fast exit out of the parking lot. The only things was the traffic coming into the hotel should have two lanes to let more event customers in quicker instead of blocking traffic, the seats, those hideous drunk people, Christopher Cross coming out late, and him not singing “ Alright”. Other than that, my husband and I were very pleased with this lovely, dazzling, and elegant hotel. Thank you for welcoming us. We will be back again for another Summer Concert Series...