Review: Grand Hyatt Amman

Review: Grand Hyatt Amman

17


I arrived in Amman at around 1:30PM, and my flight out of Amman was the following night/morning at 1:30AM, meaning I had about 36 hours on the ground.

Amman has a few options for Hyatt and Starwood loyalists. There’s the Grand Hyatt, Le Meridien, and Sheraton. While not yet open, there’s also supposed to be a W Amman opening on October 1, 2017, and a St. Regis Amman opening on December 1, 2017.

All the Hyatt and Starwood options were roughly comparably priced, so I ended up booking the Grand Hyatt, given that Tiffany was staying there, as my visit to Amman was overlapping with the tail end of her trip to Jordan.

The rate was about ~$160. This is a Category 3 Hyatt property, meaning a free night would have cost 12,000 points. In this case paying cash seemed like a best option, given my valuation of Hyatt points.

However, I decided to book two nights, since I wanted to be able to get some rest before my redeye flight. I’d have to check-out by 4PM as a Diamond member, so I valued being able to stay until 11PM or so. Besides, it would earn me another stay credit towards Globalist status for this year.

Tiffany and her husband picked me up at the airport, and the ride to the hotel took about 30 minutes. There’s a very high level of security everywhere in Amman at the moment (just a few blocks from the hotel we saw a tank-of-sorts set up with a sniper), including at the hotel. Before you can even enter the hotel you have to go through a separate entrance with a metal detector, and once you’re through that you get to the exterior of the hotel. So not only is there security to enter the hotel, but there’s security to even get anywhere near the hotel.

The hotel has a nice lobby that feels very typical of the “Grand Hyatt” brand, and reception was located inside the main entrance and to the right.

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Grand Hyatt Amman lobby

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Grand Hyatt Amman lobby

There I was helped by a very friendly associate. I used my German passport to enter Jordan, so presented that at check-in. He then handled the entire check-in process in German, which was pretty impressive. He acknowledged all the benefits I’d receive as a Diamond member, informed me I’d get access to the club lounge, etc.

Within a few minutes I had a key to my room on the ninth floor.

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Grand Hyatt Amman lobby

Upon exiting the elevator I turned right, and then my room was at the end of the hall on the left.

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Grand Hyatt Amman hallway

I was assigned room 914, a standard club king room.

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Grand Hyatt Amman room exterior

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Grand Hyatt Amman floorplan

The room was on the small side, though was well appointed. Upon entering the room there was the bathroom on the right and a closet on the left.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room entryway

The hallway curved a bit, and then led into the rest of the room.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room entryway

The room featured a comfortable king size bed with two nightstands.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room bed

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room

In the corner under a lamp was a lounging chair.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room seat

Across from that was a glass desk with a chair that clearly wasn’t designed for an office.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room desk

Across from the bed was a wall-mounted TV, as well as a dresser which had the minibar and kettle.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room TV

In addition to the kettle, there were two small bottles of water, and instant coffee and tea.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room coffee, tea, water, and kettle

Underneath was the minibar, which contained water, soft drinks, and beer.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room minibar

The room had views of sprawling Amman. The skyline of Amman seems to be never-ending, which is probably largely because of how hilly the city is.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room view

The bathroom was back near the entrance, and featured a sink, toilet, and a shower/tub compound.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room bathroom

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room toilet

The shower and tub were in a glass enclosure.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room bathroom

The toiletry brand was a new one for me — I don’t think I’ve ever seen it at a Hyatt property before.

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Grand Hyatt Amman club king room toiletries

Overall I thought the room was perfectly nice, the Wi-Fi was fast, etc. My one major frustration was that there was a loud drilling noise for much of the day on my second day. I was trying to nap before my flight, but that proved impossible due to some sort of construction that seemed to be going on above. I guess I could have asked to move rooms, but that didn’t seem worth the effort at that point.

The hotel has a good club lounge, which was down the hall from my room. It’s a beautiful space physically, with a variety of seating options, ranging from couches to dining tables.

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club

The lounge also had great views facing the other direction of the city.

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club view

The lounge had soft drinks, water, and coffee available all day. In the afternoon there were also a couple of types of cake.

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club coffee machine

Then in the evening from 6PM until 8PM there was a happy hour. The spread was excellent, and could easily substitute dinner, if so desired.

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening spread

There were all kinds of Arabic dishes, soup, a couple of hot options, dessert, etc. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening spread

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening spread

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening spread

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening spread

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening dessert spread

There was also a selection of self serve liquor and wine.

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening drink selection

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Grand Hyatt Amman Grand Club evening wine selection

I found service in the lounge to be wildly inconsistent. During the day there were attendants who didn’t even acknowledge me when I said “hello” upon entering. They seemed to be there only to entertain themselves.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ahmed in the evening was fantastic. He introduced himself by name, cleared plates frequently, recommended some of the dishes, etc.

As a Diamond member I also received breakfast. That’s served at the hotel’s main restaurant, 32º North, which is located on the lobby level. Breakfast is served from 6:30AM until 10:30AM.

The restaurant was beautiful, as you can see below.

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast restaurant

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast restaurant

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast restaurant

The breakfast spread was also great, especially the falafel.

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

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Grand Hyatt Amman breakfast buffet

However, the service was abysmal. I had breakfast right as the restaurant opened. As I entered the restaurant the one server didn’t acknowledge me, so I said “just to confirm, you’re open, right?”

“Yes.”

He pointed me towards a table, though didn’t offer me coffee or anything. After a few minutes I asked if I could have some coffee, and he got it within a couple of minutes. However, he didn’t offer any refills, didn’t clear plates, etc. Instead he made himself a plate of food and went to the back room to have breakfast himself. Oy…

In terms of other amenities, the hotel also had a gym, which could be accessed 24/7. I didn’t have a chance to use it, but it looked pretty decent.

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Grand Hyatt Amman gym

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Grand Hyatt Amman gym

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Grand Hyatt Amman gym

Grand Hyatt Amman bottom line

The Grand Hyatt had a great location, nice rooms, a club lounge with a good evening spread, and an excellent breakfast. However, there’s certainly some room for improvement when it comes to service at this hotel — the associate at check-in and one of the club lounge attendants were excellent, while I wasn’t as impressed with the other club lounge attendants and the service at breakfast.

So all things considered I’d recommend this place for a Hyatt loyalist, though when I return to Amman I look forward to checking out the new W and St. Regis, which will no doubt bring quite some competition to the market.

Conversations (17)
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  1. SullyofDoha Gold

    I stayed at the Grand Hyatt less than four months after those bombings. I picked the location because I figured it would then have the best security in the country ;-)

  2. dan Guest

    I stayed there for 4 nights recently and the level of service I received was way different than yours in the lounge and restaurant. They were attentive and I had no issues. Maybe you just give off a douchey full of yourself attitude.

  3. RobPHX Guest

    @BadJokeGuy: nicely done!

  4. Beachfan Diamond

    Looks like platform bed, was it? I know you like them and find them comfortable, but I avoid them.

  5. Marriott Marty Guest

    The Hyatt certainly were level 1-4 not the any property certs we used the year before at Park Hyatt Vendome...

  6. Marriott Marty Guest

    The 50 JOD/$72 USD was for all 3 of us per day and you can easlily est dinner in the lounge one night they had delicious lamb chops... so with no status and both breakfast and dinner for 3 I though paying for lounge access worked out.

  7. Marriott Marty Guest

    I stayed two nights at this hotel on December 25-27, 2016. We used the pool with my 13 year old daughter. Kinda strange was that there was an employee in the room watching us the whole time. Additional security comment is that the driveway to the hotel is blocked by 2 large metal barricades to block car bombers and access (although they can lower these as a wedding couple had a car up front after...

    I stayed two nights at this hotel on December 25-27, 2016. We used the pool with my 13 year old daughter. Kinda strange was that there was an employee in the room watching us the whole time. Additional security comment is that the driveway to the hotel is blocked by 2 large metal barricades to block car bombers and access (although they can lower these as a wedding couple had a car up front after the wedding. We used two free night certificates from our cancelled Hyatt cards not points (me and wife) so had no status but bought access to lounge for $72 USD a night which included a full breakfast. We went to Petra by private tour and rested the day after and was given a courtesy 4pm check out when asked if we would pay the second night for lounge and breakfast access I said we would if we could get late checkout which worked out. There is both an indoor and outdorr pool by the way nicely heated indoor pool. There is steam and jacuzzi but is is separated by sex no mixed sexs in the jacuzzi or steam room. We were on the 8th floor similar room with nice rollaway. There was a US state department alert to avoid Jordan just around when we arrived (via Emirates 2 F and 1 J from Dubai after a stopover at Al Maha and LAX-DXB booked before the Alaska devaluation))

  8. BrooklynBoy Gold

    Where did you eat in Amman? I've spent several months there so am quite familiar with the city. It's exciting to read a report of you there! I hope you explored Rainbow Street and the city center!

  9. SoonerinDC Guest

    Hi Lucky,

    There is security like that at most of the major hotels in Amman. There was a coordinated bombing in hotel lobbies in 2005, and since then there have been external security checkpoints at most hotels. You will find them at other nice hotels in Amman such as the Kempinski Hotel located in the very nice Schmeisani neighborhood.

    With your observation about security forces deployed in the street, that is a product of...

    Hi Lucky,

    There is security like that at most of the major hotels in Amman. There was a coordinated bombing in hotel lobbies in 2005, and since then there have been external security checkpoints at most hotels. You will find them at other nice hotels in Amman such as the Kempinski Hotel located in the very nice Schmeisani neighborhood.

    With your observation about security forces deployed in the street, that is a product of some of the recent ISIS attacks in the country. Amman is still very safe and has seen very little ISIS violence, but farther north in the country near the Syrian border there have been issues. That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about your physical safety in most of the tourist areas of Amman and Jordan as a whole such as Aqaba, Petra, Wadi Rum, Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea, etc.

    P.S. Those toiletries are made from the mud of the Dead Sea. They are quite expensive and considered very luxury in Jordan.

  10. Stanley T. Guest

    The layers of securities set up at the Grand Hyatt Amman are the direct results of past attacks:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Amman_bombings

  11. BadJokeGuy Guest

    I had the same problem during a recent hotel stay, I was kept up all night by a loud drilling noise. I think the couple next door was on their honeymoon.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ John doe -- Whoops, somehow didn't see the pool. Based on Googling, here's a picture, though:
      https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g293986-d308142-i21674872-Grand_Hyatt_Amman-Amman_Amman_Governorate.html

  12. James K. Guest

    Hey Lucky,

    The hotel's actually a category 3, not 4. You still probably would have paid cash though :)

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ James K. -- Whoops, thank you. Fixed!

  13. janyyc Guest

    Looks like they got a new coffee machine since I was there last in May. The old one was finicky but made great coffee!
    And either I missed it or something has changed - I was not offered bfast in the restaurant.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ janyyc -- Interesting. Was specifically told at check-in that restaurant breakfast was free for Diamonds, and wasn't charged for it. Guess it's a new policy.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

SullyofDoha Gold

I stayed at the Grand Hyatt less than four months after those bombings. I picked the location because I figured it would then have the best security in the country ;-)

0
dan Guest

I stayed there for 4 nights recently and the level of service I received was way different than yours in the lounge and restaurant. They were attentive and I had no issues. Maybe you just give off a douchey full of yourself attitude.

0
RobPHX Guest

@BadJokeGuy: nicely done!

0
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