Review: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui

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Review: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui
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The Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui (or TST), is located on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong and boasts a solid location. It’s a 5-10 minute walk to the water where you can watch the nightly light show and take in the stunning views of Hong Kong Island, and it’s directly in front of an entrance for the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station. Granted, the TST MTR station isn’t Kowloon station, which has a direct line to the airport, but it’s convenient nonetheless.

We arrived from the airport in late afternoon after taking the airport train to Kowloon station and then grabbing a taxi from there to the hotel. The hotel entrance is somewhat discreet, but can be found in the middle of Hanoi Rd inside The Masterpiece building, which houses the Hyatt on the first 24 floors and then has residences above. As a side note, one of my dreams in life is to live in a building that also houses a luxury hotel - that’s when you know you’ve made it! ...or when you know you’re paying more than a normal person should ever pay for a home, but I already do that in San Francisco, so what’s a few more dollars?

Hyatt Regency TST Street Entrance

Anyway, our taxi driver apparently wasn’t completely sure where we were going, so he dropped us off on the street in front of the hotel. (If your driver actually knows where he’s going, there’s an underground driveway that you can be dropped off in.) So, when you enter from the street, you’ll find yourself in a small lobby and the bellman there can help direct you to the hotel. You’ll take the elevator up to the third floor (which, I think, is as far as it goes) and arrive in the main lobby area. From there, we approached the front desk and since Chris was a Diamond member, we were offered to complete check-in from the Regency Club on the 23rd floor. We figured we might as well, so one of the associates took us up with our bags and found us a seat while they processed our check in. After checking us in and going over the Regency Club features (more on that later), we were assigned to room 2011, a Harbour View King Room. 

Hyatt Regency TST Street Level Lobby

Hyatt Regency TST Hallway

Hyatt Regency TST Lobby

We entered the room and found the bathroom and a closet on the left with the rest of the room laid out in front. The room was crisp, clean, and tastefully decorated and after our last hotel in Seoul, it was an incredibly refreshing change. The room had a king bed with a chair and ottoman situated by the window, a desk, and a console housing the safe, coffee and tea set up, and minibar. The room also had a nice view of the harbour, but since the hotel itself is located a few blocks back from the water, the view was slightly obstructed by other buildings, though still impressive.

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Entrance

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Closet

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Minibar

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Safe

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Minibar

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room View

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room View

One of the coolest parts of the room was undoubtedly the “Handy” phone they provide you to use during your stay. It’s an Android cell phone that you can use for free loaded with city guides, advertising, etc, but the BEST part is that you can tether to the phone’s 3G wifi for free. This is literally how we did all Instagramming, Facebook-checking, and map-checking we needed while we were in Hong Kong and it was awesome! You can also use it to make free calls to the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, and China, which I didn’t try, but I’m sure it would have been great - sorry mom!

Hyatt Regency TST Handy Phone

The most unique part of the room was the partition between the bedroom and bathroom that could be opened so you could, in theory, see the view from the bathtub or shower. Honestly, I didn’t really see much of the point of it, but it was a novelty that I’ve seen repeated in a few other hotels and can be fun. 

The bathroom was quite large and featured a standalone tub, a walk in shower, and a fairly large sink and counter space. The toiletries were Portico branded and seemed pretty standard, but were nice enough.

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Bathroom

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Bathroom Slider

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Bathroom

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Bathroom

Hyatt Regency TST Harbour View King Room Toiletries

All in all, it was a solid room and I had zero complaints. It may not be the Park Hyatt Tokyo, but it was much nicer than our last room had been, so I was completely happy.


Regency Club

As I mentioned before, because of Diamond status, we had complimentary access to the Regency Club, which was located on the 23rd floor also facing the harbour. The club had a reception desk at the entrance and featured plenty of seating spread across multiple rooms. We decided to go up for a drink during the happy hour on our first night, which happens nightly from 5:30-7:30 PM. The spread was fairly extensive but I’m not sure if you could easily replace dinner with the snack selection.

There was self-serve wine, beer, liquor, juices, sodas, etc along the wall. Then the spread itself included fruit, veggies, bread, crackers, cheese, chips, dips, salads, salmon, and a few dessert tarts and pastries. There was also a small menu with two additional items on it that could be ordered from one of the various staff members throughout the club. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture, so I don’t remember what was on it.

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Reception Desk

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Evening Happy Hour

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Evening Happy Hour

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Evening Happy Hour

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Evening Happy Hour

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Breakfast

The next morning, we returned for breakfast, which runs from 6:30-10:00 AM on weekdays and 6:30-11:00 AM on weekends. There, we found fruit, cheese, breads, pastries, cereals, congee, museli, yogurt, salmon, etc. There was also a small hot menu available which changed daily. On our first morning, the selection included pork and mushroom congee, wok fried egg noodles and vegetables, and a coddled egg with sausage, mushrooms, hash browns, bacon, and an herb crusted tomato, which Chris ordered. The food was fine and since it was free, I wasn’t complaining. The service was also attentive and friendly and we didn’t have trouble finding someone if we wanted to order a hot item. Having breakfast available makes one less thing you have to worry about each day, which I appreciate.

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Breakfast

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Breakfast

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Breakfast

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Breakfast

Hyatt Regency TST Regency Club Breakfast

The hotel also features a gym and an outdoor pool, but I didn’t use the gym and despite trying to find the pool (which I think was closed for some reason), I didn’t get a chance to take photos of either of them.

Overall, the Hyatt TST is a completely solid choice when visiting Hong Kong. While most hotels in HK are pretty pricy, the Hyatt TST is fairly priced and quite nice. Unfortunately, the hotel is also quite popular with employees of major US consumer electronics companies who visit Southern China for work, so availability can be tough at times. 

I wouldn’t hesitate to return again in the future and will most likely do so when I visit Hong Kong for work. Until the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong is under my spend cap, this is a solid alternative ;)

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