As part of an effort to briefly reunite our family during the summer, my parents and I made the trek out to Colorado to visit my sister, who studies at Colorado State University. After a stay at the Armstrong Hotel in Fort Collins, we continued on to check out Boulder for its hiking, Red Rocks and, of course, breweries - if you're ever in Broomfield, I recommend Wonderland with its mini-golf course! Hyatt House is the select service extended stay brand of Hyatt Hotels, which is intended to occupy an upper scale segment in the market. If your head just spun, don’t worry these terms can be confusing, but do highlight what to expect at a property: select service is a category of hotels that offer rooms and a few select services such as morning breakfast and a fitness center, while extended stay hotels are those that offer amenities such as rooms with kitchens and living areas. For comparison's sake, Hampton Inn - which Melanie and Tom stayed at earlier this year - is a household name in the select service market, and Ian's visit to the Residence Inn may ring a bell in the extended stay arena. Hyatt House’s history starts in 2006 when Hyatt acquired the Summerfield Suites chain, ultimately rebranding them in 2012 to evoke the name of the original 1957 Hyatt House property at LAX - the first ever airport hotel, but that’s a different story. Today, the brand is synonymous with contemporary design, apartment style living and a comfortable relaxed atmosphere. Our Hyatt House began its life as a Summerfield Suites, apparently quite an awarded one based upon the plaques displayed in the lobby. While the Hyatt House has Boulder in its name, don’t let it fool you, the Broomfield portion is really the only accurate part. It is quite a ways from Boulder, about a 25 minutes drive, which we all found a bit deceptive. We chose this property over the Hyatt Place in downtown Boulder in hopes of avoiding crowds, which we did successfully, but I wish we’d done more research on the area. While a nice hotel, it sits in a work in progress residential development that lacks walkability; there is a liquor store and a Starbucks in the parking lot, but the development is essentially its own island. There were a number of excellent breweries just a quick drive away, and trading walkability for the amount of space we had felt like a fair trade off amid COVID. Booking We had previously booked this hotel for another weekend, and had a change of plans. Upon searching our new dates, the 2-Bedroom Suite was no longer available, so we booked two individual rooms. Then, at the last minute, a 2-Bedroom Suite popped up and we snagged it! The nightly rate clocked in at $215 plus taxes and fees, for a total of $708.54, a steal for such a big space. On the points side, we earned 1,428 Southwest Rapid Rewards points by charging to my parents Southwest Premier VISA Card. Meanwhile, I earned 3,288 Base World of Hyatt Points and 323 Bonus Points for my Discoverist Status. I also earned 3 tier nights towards 2021 Status. Arrival, Check In & Lobby We pulled right up to the Hyatt House after the drive in from Fort Collins, the hotel offers free parking to all guests, and unloaded in the large port cochere. Check-In itself was smooth and efficient, and the agent explained all of the COVID changes that were in place at the hotel in addition to answering all of the questions that our group had. She also thanked me for my loyalty and directed us to the H Market for our daily two free bottles of water. The lobby, or Gallery, as the brand refers to it is huge! The front desk is immediately visible from the entrance, but to the right of the main doors is the H Bar, a massive lounge area and bar that was unfortunately closed due to COVID. Connected via a corridor along the window wall was the breakfast area which connected to the front desk and elevator bank on the other side. Just past the elevators was a game area and access to a large patio with an outdoor fireplace, and the pool deck. The finishes throughout were warm and inviting, with pops of color here and there, it felt fresh and inviting without trying to be hip or trendy. All of the spaces were ones that you’d actually enjoy spending time in, once COVID is a distant memory of course, which isn’t always the case in this market. Suite As mentioned earlier, we booked a Two-Bedroom Suite. Directly to the right upon entering is the Double Bedroom, which as its name suggests, featured two Double Hyatt Grand Beds in addition to a large closet, it’s own TV and a working area. The beds and linens were comfortable, but we noticed a lack of outlets around the bedside: a fight for devices between my sister and I each evening. The room also had its own bathroom with a combination shower/tub that had good water pressure. The vanity in the bathroom was also a great size and easily held all of our toiletries, but most importantly, it was well lit and spotless. The bathroom was stocked with single use KenetMD toiletries - I enjoy the massaging soap bars and while I advocate for sustainability in hotels, I did appreciate the single use nature during the pandemic. Back in the main space that connects the two rooms, there was a living area that had a sectional sofa with rolling ottomans and another flat screen tv - while it was on the small side, it was awesome that each TV had Chromecast capabilities, although it was a bit clunky to get working. Further back in the space, along the windows, was a full kitchen and dining area. The table was very well sized, and would’ve been great to work at, but there were no outlets in any of the spaces! The kitchen itself was well sized, even bigger than my own at home. It had most of the essentials, but we did have to call down a few times for different odds and ends - the staff were quick to deliver and incredibly nice though! It proved to be a great asset to have since we ended up making our own sushi one night! Across from the other bedroom was the King Bedroom, much the same in the linen and mattress department. It also had a huge closet, desk area and own tv. This one also featured an ADA compliant bathroom with a walk in shower and large vanity space that fit all of my parents things. Interestingly, this one also had some much fought over individual bottles of KenetMD lotion that the other bathroom lacked. Overall, this room was absolutely perfect for us, but that doesn’t mean it was without its faults. It was exceptionally clean, but I did manage to find dust atop some picture frames in the living room - I wrote this off as having not been occupied in weeks given the cleanliness of the rest of the space, but it is still a concern. It also is starting to show it’s age, and while the design is still current, the furniture and millwork are starting to exhibit dents and dings evident of typical wear and tear. It’s easy to overlook both of these areas, but the next one really bewilders me since the brand targets business travelers: there was only one outlet in the main space! I had to take a morning meeting while we were there, and because my family was asleep, I couldn’t utilize the desks in the bedrooms, which is an odd location for them in a suite, and instead resorted to taking the zoom from the couch because there was nowhere to plug in at the dining table. Amenities & Features For a select service, albeit extended stay, hotel, there were quite a few amenities on offer! This property boasted a business center in the lobby, a fitness center and game area, in addition to the aforementioned outdoor patio that had grills and a fireplace. There was also a very nice outdoor pool, which was sadly closed for the season by the time we arrived. Food & Beverage The Hyatt House model also offers a nice food and beverage program, the centerpiece of it being the H Bar. While open only for grab and go alcohol sales during COVID, at this location at least, the H Bar usually serves craft cocktails and a menu of small bites and light meals for guests to purchase in the lounge or from their rooms. A nice feature when you may not want to venture out or cook on your own, especially given the isolated suburban location of the property. The H Market also featured a selection of frozen meals, snacks and beverages for guests to purchase, but it wasn’t very impressively stocked. The main highlight, as is expected in this range of hotel, is the free hot breakfast which was present in a modified form. Hyatt House usually serves a rotation of made to order omelets, but during COVID this shifted to freshly made breakfast burritos and sandwiches as well as the standard yogurts, cereal and fruits you can expect in most continental breakfasts as well as coffee that was now served by the Front Desk Agent. All of it was quite tasty, although not very photogenic, and the staff were excellent! On the first morning, my mom asked if there was anything without meat, my sister is a vegetarian, and the staff quickly made her her own burrito to order, but didn’t stop there. Every morning after, they had one ready and waiting for her off to the side! COVID Effect As you’re likely picking up on by now, COVID measures have become fairly standard across the big hotel brands and I’m happy to report that all of the same mitigations were in place at the Hyatt House. Food and beverage was also modified as mentioned, and most of the interior public spaces were closed due to Colorado’s local regulations. Given that the rooms, and suites, in this hotel are quite large, people mostly kept to themselves as well - I’d definitely recommend staying at a Hyatt House amid COVID for that reason alone. Final Thoughts At the end of the day, or trip, this really was the perfect hotel for our needs and a perfectly pleasant stay; however, the property is starting to feel worn. While the location is a bit odd and deceiving - it’s not Boulder at all - we really didn’t mind it amid COVID since it was quiet and off the beaten path, but it would’ve been nice to be able to walk to get food or drinks. The highlight though, really was the great staff and good breakfast - it pushed this stay into a higher tier than the average select service experience. I’d certainly stay again, but next time I would look for something in Boulder first. 
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