Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Sha Tin

As I mentioned in yesterday's post there are three Hyatt properties in Hong Kong.  In planning the trip several factors went into selecting what property I would chose for my stay.  Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula are very densely populated; basically they are located at the heart of Hong Kong proper, Sha Tin is out in a more relaxing mountainous setting just a 30 minute metro ride away.
 I chose Sha Tin for the serenity and I do not regret my decision one bit especially after personally visiting the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, it was just too chaotic for me. There was night market activity close by coupled with the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong life/tourism;  I wanted rest which after walking through the lobby I doubted it would afforded me peace being in the heart of  all the action.  While I personally did not see up close the Grand Hyatt I did see from afar and like everything in Hong Kong it was done in a big way.  I appreciate that Hyatt had property choices for me.  Sha Tin is a few minutes from New Town Plaza a huge shopping plaza located int the New Territories, it is the largest mall in the New Territories and is frequented by many residents of Mainland China.  It also contains one of the best Dim Sum restaurants in Hong Kong.  Crystal Jade Restaurant was every bit the what it was written up to be, filled with locals, always crowded and I was glad to be only 10 minutes from it.

                       
As I wrote in a previous post a Canadian couple we met on the metro walked us to the hotel our first night and provided a few pointers, while Diva still chatted up the couple for more Hong Kong tourist tips I went to the front desk to check in. I gave my name and the desk clerk indicated that as a Diamond member my check in was on the Regency club level not here.  Our bags were taken away and this clerk would personally escort us to the proper area, we just had to wait for Diva to finish her chat.  She looked at me along with the couple and asked if we were ready to go and I indicated with a half-hearted nod as I didn't want to broadcast our check in was elsewhere.  So as they turned for the elevators and we went in a different direction with an escort, they may have gotten the picture but Diva didn't since she whispered to me;"What's up?"  I replied "Regency club has check- in elsewhere"  We arrive at the highest floor on the property and were escorted to a well appointed lounge with spectacular views even at night, and were introduced to Steven our personal concierge who addressed us by name upon arrival. Steven reviewed our "portfolio" (seriously we can't call it check-in?) benefits" free drinks, alcoholic and non alcoholic, free breakfast and cocktail hours etc.,  and told us where to go how to get there and then escorted us down 1 floor to the room.

Our luggage was waiting and after a brief walk through of the room Steven was off.  No sooner the door closes behind him when Diva looks and me with a huge smile and says  "Sucks, to be you, doesn't it?"  While I have always been a Hyatt fan I really wasn't a status seeking person but having now tasted the top tier Hyatt status treatment it will be hard to go back down to regular front desk check-in status world.  We certainly lived the life for those three days in Hong Kong.  The jet lag really didn't catch up to us until Bangkok so the whole chose Sha Tin for the peacefulness was pointless because my body was not wired to rest just yet.

Breakfast was wonderful, so many options to chose from each morning. There was a made to order menu with one Western and one Asian entree - this is where I made the mistake of chose shrimp congee  which is a white rice porridge that you add things to...double yuck!! Fortunately, there were many cheeses, breads, pastries, fruits, salads, meats etc., to choose from and usually we ate enough to carry us through to cocktail hour before we'd head out to dinner. All of it including beverages were available at no charge and only Regency club members were allowed to dine on this level of the property.  Having this food/beverage option saved us a fortune in bottled water and wine.  

                                           
Then there was the watermelon juice...never saw that before but I bet it would be even better with vodka (which was available free) since it was pretty tasty on its own.

Most evenings we sat on the private deck planning the evening activity over a glass of wine.

I can't complain about anything here, highly efficient transportation, great accommodation everything one would expect to receive in Hong Kong but man was it hot.