Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria: Bottom Line Review

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Alexandria, Virginia is one of my favorite weekend places to stay in the DC metro area. My wife and I recently had the opportunity to visit the 124-room Hyatt Centric Old Town, a good-value hotel on King Street (which is the main street that runs through Old Town). It’s not perfect and has small rooms as well as a ridiculously bad elite breakfast. But, the great location, price, and chic design make it a winner.

Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria Bottom Line Review

Price: This is a Category 3 Hyatt and costs 12,000 Hyatt points per night standard, 9,000 points off-peak and 15,000 points peak. Cash rates are often quite low; the weekend we were there it was ~$125/night after tax, so we opted to pay cash rather than shell out 12,000 pts/night.
Assess: Due to rising and falling cash rates, this can sometimes be a sub-optimal point value, like the weekend we were there. Most of the time, the point value seems to hover around 1.5 cpi. Considering the location, points and cash prices are reasonable for what you get.
Location: Excellent. It is located at the western end of King Street, the main thoroughfare in the old town. It’s within walking distance of the bars and restaurants of King Street and about 12 blocks from the waterfront. It’s just far enough west to make noise levels reasonable and parking easy enough.
Room: Well designed, recently refreshed and “boutique feeling”. BUT, they are quite small. At just 275 square feet, it’s borderline for a couple and would feel quite cramped if you were traveling with kids.
Car park: Self-parking costs $25 and is located in a small garage under the hotel. There was no need to use it on weekends as the street parking directly in front of the hotel was free overnight and constantly open. Valet parking is supposed to be an option, but we never saw active valet parking.
Resort/destination fees: None.
the Internet: Awesome, able to easily stream throughout the hotel.
A service: Fine. The hotel seemed a little understaffed during our stay, but that’s not these days.
Cover service: None.
To eat:
- IndoChen is a pan-Asian restaurant open for breakfast daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Lunch from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Tuesday-Sunday only). The bar offers a happy hour from Tuesday to Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Spa: None.
Training room: There is a small fitness room located on the ground floor which has a minimal amount of free weights and mats.
Benefits of the Hyatt Globalist Elite:
- Suite upgrade: I booked a standard room and was upgraded to a “view” room on a high floor. There are only two suites at the property, so upgrades can be tricky.
- club lounge: None.
- Free breakfast: This is something that could be significantly improved. Although they have a restaurant with a full menu, it is not offered to globalists. Instead, they have a “globalist breakfast” that gives you a choice of two plain eggs and toast, cereal, or a parfait. Probably the worst breakfast I have ever seen at a Hyatt.
- Late check-out at 4 p.m.: Applied automatically without asking.
- Free parking: Free self-parking for reward stays. The valet was not running when we were there.
Would I come back? Yes.