When you book a Hotel based upon past experiences with other hotels in a chain, Hyatt, Hilton, Westin etc, you come to expect a consistent level of service and amenities. As such,and as a Gold Passport member, we booked a room at the Hyatt Canberra on a recent visit to the Nation's Capital.
For a start we drove up to the entrance and we were unable to get a park to drop off our bag as there were many cars parked and unattended so we were forced to find a park in the general car park some 150 metres away. In this car park there were several spots available but they had broken glass on the gravel surface which was somewhat off-putting.
On getting to the entrance we were warmly greeted by a doorman who carried our bag up the steps and dropped it off inside wishing us a nice visit. Check-in was OK, but no explanation of facilities or dining options. We were provided a voucher for a free drink but on trying to redeem it we were told that no bars were open until 4.00pm. What.....I am a thirsty traveller and have just driven for 3 hours. So we take ourselves and bag off to our room which is quite nice and has a nice balcony, but no cleaner has visited it for a long time.
Later, talking one of the staff, we find out that there is a secure car park under the hotel, but comes at a cost of $20 per night, it would have nice to have offered the choice. We inquired about the broken glass in the car park and he stated that they had some problems back a month or so. And it is still there??
Whilst several previous reviewers have enjoyed the old world charm of the hotel, for me I expected the Hyatt quality service that I have enjoyed many times previously.
As always the big test of a hotel is would I return or would I look elsewhere next visit to Canberra, based on this visit, I would investigate what else is available.

I recently stayed at Hyatt Canberra for the first time in several years back in September. Since then I have stayed twice more. There is much about this property that is impressive - the friendliness of the staff - in particular Matt the Bellman - the expanse and tranquility of the grounds, the architecture of the building, and so on.

I generally find this property a very comfortable place to stay but the inconsistency of the Hotel is quite amazing.

My most recent visit was last week for a couple of nights in a Park Suite. The room was a curious configuration of a standard hotel room massive space attached next door that is given over to a living room with a full size bathroom to boot. I say curious because the living room is pretty much only half furnished - a couple of dining table style chairs and a small sofa grouped around a small low casual table and a refrigrated credenza with a small flat panel LCD are at one end of the room. There is basically nothing at the other end - no dining or meeting table, no large or wing-back chairs, ottomans or side tables...nothing. If you are alone then the sofa offers a comfortable place to recline, but if you are stayng there with your partner then you'll have to take turns on the sofa because there is nothing else that resembles comfort. It all looks rather silly and simply amplifies the lack of furnishings in the room. The reason it is so sparse is because a wall bed drops into the space.

When I checked in, the room was very musty - especially the lounge area. The odour was quite unpleasant and after an hour or so my eyes looked like smashed jaffas. I was also sharing my $700 per night accommodation with several blow-flies. When I called to see if I could move to another room I was simply told, no. I didn't really care if the room was a lower grade, I just wanted something that did not smell like it had rotting carpet. In spite of the fact that I knew there were plenty of upgrade and downgrade options available (as I said, I didn't care where I went) I was simply told, no, it can't be done. Instead, the offer was made to send Housekeeping up to spray the flies and freshen the room.

Right about now I was beginning to suspect that Management was aware of the odour problems in the room and knew that once the air conditioning has been run for 2 or 3 hours the mustiness is not as bad. About 20 minutes later a guy arrived at the my door with a can of Mortein in one hand a bottle of pink "smelly stuff" in the other. This got rid of the flies pretty quick (they all died on my windowsills!) and the pink stuff covered up the smell long enough for the airconditioning to get the mustiness under control - the only problem is it came back every time I turned the air conditioning off. In the end it wasn't all that bad. In many regards I was more disappointed by the fact that management never did follow-up with me to see if everything was ok. But you see, that's Hyatt Canberra - very relaxed and very laid back in the way it does things.

The Emabassadors lounge is a credit to this property. Staff take the time to talk with their guests and the service is fabulous . Breakfast on the balcony is a pleasure and there is an unhurried ambience about the lounge that is joy to experience.

I've noticed a few comments on noise. I have to say that on all three of my recent visits, I have found the peace and quiet of this property highly noticable. Because it is spread out over a large area and doesn't go any higher than 4 floors, there is none of that door banging and the sounds of a large multi-storey that one so often hears in tower-style hotels.

Personally, I reckon the Hyatt Canberra is pretty good place to stay. The volatility of its rates is quite annoying and some aspects of its management style offers inprovement opportunity...but all up I reckon it's got a lot to offer and I'd happily make it my first choice of accommodation in Canberra.Cheers - kevin

Stayed for 2 nights (split over 3 days) in late October. Hotel is well located in Yaralumla, not far from business district in Barton. Hotel is as expected of a Hyatt but added charm of being original built as a hotel for parliamentarians in Canberra in early 1920's. My first room was in the new back part of the hotel and it's quite a labyrinth of rooms. Room was well appointed and recently refurbished with LCD tvs etc. My second room was in the very front part of the hotel and was in one of the ground level "suites" at the front part of the hotel. The rooms in the front part of the hotel are obviously part of the original building and you enter your room via a mini lobby at the front of each of the suites. The rooms are actually no different to the rooms in the main part of the hotel and are not really "suites" - if anything, the newer rooms in the back part of the hotel are better appointed. What added to the charm was looking out the window from the suite rooms and being able to watch croquet games being played at the croquet club next door. Had some difficulty with front desk staff who could not provide me with a receipt for my stay 2 night earlier, and insisted that they had no record of my stay despite being able to give them my room number. Overall, a great hotel but you are not exactly spoilt for choice at that level of accomodation in Canberra.

A stunning building with real old world charm (well art deco) and all the 5 star amenities.

Sadly the staff, although friendly enough are a little bit clueless. They really need some good training, because what you tend to get is a pale imitation of 5 star service,. On check-in I was asked how my day had been etc but not given any directions as to how to find the lifts or my room (direction was needed the lifts were miles from reception adn then my room was a fair stroll from the lift) and at breakfast I heard many guests generally confused about ordering coffee and how the buffet options worked but there were no staff around to explain things that should have been explained when you were being seated. I dont' blame the staff but whoever is in charge of such things needs a swift kick because I think the staff would have been willing to do their best-they just didnt' know how.

I liked this hotel and would give it another go but for a 5 star it does need to train its staff better, afterall we really pay the extra money for the service.