The Hyatt Regency Wichita in Wichita, Kansas is a full-service Hyatt hotel connected to a conference center. Because of the on-site conference center, this hotel attracts primarily business travelers. However, business travelers aren’t the only individuals who should consider this hotel. The location and hotel quality make this a nice fit for many types of travelers. The following is a full review of the Hyatt Regency Wichita.
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Location
Wichita is a spread-out city due to the available land in Kansas. However, this isn’t to say that it takes a long time to get anywhere. The lack of traffic and the large number of roads crossing the city mean that visitors can get all the way across Wichita in 15 – 18 minutes. Parking is also plentiful at most places in Wichita meaning that driving is the preferred transportation option. Therefore, location isn’t too important in Wichita if you have a rental car.
The Arkansas River begins in Kansas and flows through the center of Wichita. The Hyatt Regency Wichita is located on the east bank of the Arkansas River. It overlooks the nearby minor league Riverfront Stadium (home to the Wichita Wind Surge baseball team).
Guest Rooms
The Hyatt Regency has a wide variety of rooms available. During my recent stay, I booked a standard king guest room and received a corner king guest room. When compared to many other guest rooms, this one felt very large. The corner room contained three large windows showcasing the views of the Arkansas River, Riverside Park, and the minor league baseball stadium across the river. Unlike typical urban views, the more rural views of Wichita from this hotel were refreshing. While I was there in July, there were a number of rowing teams practicing in the river almost every day.
Bedroom
The room is anchored by a large king bed. The bed is the standard Regency King that you would find in other hotels of this brand. While there is nothing special about this, you know what to expect. Both sides of the bed have a bed side table with a lamp. One side of the bed also contains an alarm clock and charging dock for charging phones and other devices.
The opposite side of the bedroom has a large pull out sofa/chaise lounge. There is also a large round table, an arm chair, and a lamp. It’s nice to have the extra space in the room to accommodate a pull out sofa in case you need extra sleeping areas. While I am sure its not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, it’s a great option for children.
Also, there wasn’t a dedicated desk area in this room. This is somewhat unusual for a business-focused brand like Hyatt Regency. As I often needed to do work when I got back to the hotel room, the large round table served the purpose. The round layout isn’t conducive to spreading out a lot of items while keeping them within easy reaching access; however, the arm chair “desk” setup was surprisingly comfortable. This setup was augmented by a number of power plugs being accessible in the arm of the chaise/sofa and on the wall behind the table.
Finally, the last wall of the bedroom contained the television. The large flat screen TV pivoted from the wall on an arm allowing comfortable viewing from either the bed or the sofa area. On the same wall, a decorative stand/cabinet contained the minifridge, a shelf for the ice bucket, and a cubby that held the in-room coffee maker and cups.
Bathroom and Closet
Upon entering the room, a closet area is on the right. However, it is not an enclosed closet. Following a more modern design aesthetic, the open concept closet system contains two hanging areas (one for longer items like coats or dresses and a short one suitable for shirts and folded pants). There are also two drawers at the bottom of closet. Anyone who likes to unpack luggage and “move into” a room when they arrive will likely be disappointed by the setup. I tend to work straight from my suitcase, so this wasn’t really a problem for me.
The bathroom is straight ahead when entering the guest room. The washroom has a standard single basin sink with a nice amount of countertop space. While a little dark, the shower area is a nice setup. The completely dark-tiled shower, chrome fixtures, and complete glass enclosure provide a luxury feel. Also, in a often overlooked feature, the bathroom has plenty of towel hooks and racks for two people staying in the room.
Restaurants
There are a couple of food and dining options at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. First, the café in the hotel lobby is Perks Market. This coffee shop is open throughout the day. It serves Starbucks coffee and a number of pastries, muffins, salads, sandwiches, and sweets. This is a great option for picking up a light breakfast on your way to a meeting or work. It’s also a great space combined with tables and other seating areas in the lobby to do work at the hotel.
The second option in the Hyatt Regency Wichita is Harvest Kitchen and Bar. Harvest Kitchen is a full service restaurant where guests and other visitors to the hotel can get a sit-down meal. The restaurant opens at 6:30 AM for breakfast every day. Unfortunately, the Hyatt Regency is not a brand that offers breakfast to guests for free. The prices for breakfast aren’t too bad with omelets costing around $12, 2 egg standard breakfast for $9, and oatmeal for $7. The menu for breakfast is somewhat limited, but there are enough options to give some variety for two or three days at the restaurant. If you are looking for lunch and dinner dining options, Harvest Kitchen and Bar is open until for food until 10:00 PM and for drinks till midnight. The restaurant has a nice bar for those who want to stop by for a drink.
Parking
The parking at the Hyatt Regency Wichita is in a covered deck attached to the connected conference center. The cost for parking in the deck for self-parking is advertised at $12/night. Valet parking when it is offered is $16/night. The parking deck is nice and rarely full unless there are very large conferences going on at the conference center.
In somewhat of an anomalous occurrence, parking fees were not being collected during my stay. Parking was free of charge for all guests. I am not really sure of the reason for this since signs for the parking costs were still clearly up. However, future guests may get lucky with this as well.
Amenities
As a Hyatt Regency, this hotel has a few more amenities than your standard Hyatt Place or Hyatt House hotel.
Airport Shuttle
The first amenity that could be helpful is a complimentary airport shuttle. The airport shuttle is available between the hours of 5:00 AM and 10:30 PM. The hotel shuttle does not regularly run but must be requested as needed. Guests will need to call the hotel to request the shuttle. There are phones in the baggage claim area that allow guests to call the hotel and request this service. However, I would recommend having the hotel phone number saved and place the call from your cell phone as soon as you land. Shuttles take about 15 minutes to get to the airport. By calling once you arrive, this wait time can be significantly decreased. While this is a nice service, many people coming to Wichita will need to rent a car so it will be of limited usability to most.
Fitness Center and Pool
The next amenity available to guests is the on-site fitness center. The Stay Fit Fitness Center is on the bottom floor of the hotel and is open 24 hours a day. The fitness room is very spacious with quite a lot of equipment for a hotel fitness center. The weight equipment includes benches, dumbbells (up to 50 lbs.), barbell weight sets, a cable tower machine, a lat pulldown machine, a chest press machine, and a leg curl machine.
The cardio equipment in the fitness center includes ellipticals, stationary bikes, and treadmills. For the cardio equipment, there are often three to four of each machine reducing the likelihood that guests need to wait to use them. The gym also has a large amount of open floor space that can be used for a variety of self-directed exercise programs. Equipment like medicine balls, bands, yoga mats, and exercise mats are available for these types of workouts.
Attached to the fitness center is the indoor pool area. The indoor pool is large enough for two or three people to swim laps. There are also two hot tubs in the area. All of these pools are located indoors at the bottom level of the hotel. There are a number of windows on two sides of the pool that let in a nice amount of light; however, it still has that indoor pool feel. I have never been interested in indoor pools due to the high humidity, heat, and chlorine smell that dominate the area. However, if you are interested in the indoor pool, it is available year round.
Lounge
The final amenity available to some guests is the Air Capital Lounge. Calling this a lounge is somewhat of a misnomer as it is a hotel suite that has been converted into the lounge. The Air Capital Lounge contains a small kitchenette, several bar seating areas, a television sitting area, a dining/small conference area, and a community computer/printer. This offers a nice area to work, or it could be a place for travelers or colleagues to gather if the lobby is full. Otherwise, the only real reason to come to the lounge is to get some of the grab-and-go snacks and drinks. Individuals with access to the lounge can choose from a selection of fruit cups, yogurt, soft drinks, and water in the refrigerator. There is also a selection of chips and candies available.
The exact requirements for entrance to the lounge tend to be a mystery. This lounge is not a typical Regency Lounge as a guest might find throughout most of the Hyatt Regency brand. There is no club level at this hotel, and therefore there is no published ability to book a room that has access to the lounge. In my experience, this seems to be reserved for business travelers whose company has a corporate travel arrangement with Hyatt.
Cost
The Hyatt Regency Wichita is often available for $150 – $200 per night. As a business-focused hotel, rates during the week tend to be more expensive than the weekend rates. During the weekend, rates are often less than $135. At a rate like this, it’s hard to beat the room and amenities that you get at this hotel.
It’s often hard to make a case for staying on points when rates are as low as they are at this hotel. However, this is a case where it’s always good to check. Despite the amenities, this hotel is only a Hyatt Category 1 property at the time of publishing. When available, that means that rooms can be had for as little as 3,500 points during off-peak travel times. The maximum points price for rooms are 6,500 points a night. Therefore, if I had Hyatt points, I would almost always be booking this hotel on points. You could use a free night award on this hotel, but I would try to save it for a more expensive redemption because of the low category.
Wrap-Up
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. The hotel has clean and spacious rooms. It provides nice amenities, and the service was excellent throughout my stay. On top of that, this hotel is an amazing value for any traveler headed to Wichita due to the low cash cost and even lower points cost. Therefore, I wouldn’t hesitate to visit this hotel again if/when my travels take me back to Wichita.
