Amilcar, a server at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City’s northern Spanish restaurant Mar | Muntanya, approached my table with a concerned look on his face.
“I have to ask, were the mushrooms ok?” he said.
I’d ordered the Chanterelle and Apricot Tostas as an appetizer, and the plate he’d cleared from the table had a small pile of the chanterelles atop it.
“They were excellent,” I explained. “Thing is, I’m dining with a three-year-old and she didn’t eat as much as I’d hoped.”
Such is the case when traveling with a toddler. Still, I offered compliments to the Executive Chef, Tyson Peterson, who designed the menu around experiences with place – the Campfire Elk Loin inspired by hunts with his father as a child, the Farmer’s Market Pistou drawing on regional bounty – as much as experiences with taste. I’d also ordered the Yellowtail Confit and cleared the plate in a heated rush, parched from a long travel day accented by my daughter’s constant peppering of questions about this or that. Mar | Muntanya was the second impression I’d had of the hotel’s amenities, and I’d been impressed by each. The restaurant, on the hotel’s sixth floor adjacent to the infinity pool and patio lounge, offers stunning views of the skyline to complement its food and gin and tonic program. The Oquirr Mountains stand beyond to the west, the Wasatch towering over the city to the east. Downtown hotels in major US cities are so frequently soulless, catering to the conference crowd while overlooking the opportunity to cast a light on what makes the city around them unique. With rooms from $299 depending on type and season, the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City was poised to break that spell.
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Changing the narrative on conference hotels
Olivia, my daughter, and I entered our room on the hotel’s 11th floor to find a fully erected campsite waiting for us. Complete with a tent, campfire, and sticks already stacked with hot dogs and marshmallows waiting to be roasted – albeit, stuffed versions of the heat-and-nourishment offerings. The setup is the hotel’s “Happy Camper” program for kids, and it was such a hit that Olivia spent both our nights onsite sleeping in the junior-sized tent rather than sharing the king-size bed with me.
The Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City opened in October 2022, its 700 rooms marking the first time the city’s Salt Palace Convention Center has had an attached hotel. Its lobby opens off of Temple and 200 South into a vibrant setting of lounge and workspace, a 24-hour grab-and-go market and cafe, and the hotel’s ground-level American bistro, The Salt Republic. I valet parked my electric vehicle upon arriving with the offering of a battery charge, the easiest option if arriving by car because parking, as is the case in any urban center, is scarce. Check-in was fast and easy. It’s a big hotel, and nearly each elevator ride up and down introduced us to guests from around the country and beyond, many of whom complimented Olivia’s flashy light-up boots.
On top of the easy arrival experience, excellent food, and in-room “marshmallow roasting,” the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City touched most everything I like to see in a big-city hotel. Everything from the Delta Center to the city’s exceptional craft beer scene is within walking distance – I tipped pints at Squatter’s Pub Brewery and Red Rock Brewery throughout my stay – and most else is accessible via the city’s light rail system, with a station just the other side of the attached conference center. One can enjoy a nightcap with a view before retreating to their room. As well, the gym and pool are top-notch – no skimpy aerobics setup stuffed into a vacant corner closet here. For winter, the hotel plans to convert its rooftop patio into a holiday and apres-ski destination, complete with a heated yurt for lounging over cocktails and conversation.
Despite it being such a large hotel, I never felt crowded out – space is aplenty both in-room and in common areas. Our room featured floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city and the Oquirrs, which Olivia and I celebrated each morning at sunrise and evening as city lights lit up the night sky around us. It’s a posh property – just the type of spot you want to find yourself in on a work trip when the rest of your time in the area may not be as relaxed. That said, due to Salt Lake’s ease of access to the mountains, staying here on a ski or bike trip offers the perk of an outdoor rec and big city hybrid experience, lending both trail time and international-level dining afterward. Olivia and I rode the light rail down to the Ballpark neighborhood to visit a park and meet a friend for lunch, and it took less than 10 minutes on the train to leave the high-rises downtown and find a more relaxed neighborhood vibe.
Rooms and vibe at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City
The guest rooms at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City cover a broad spectrum — from standard king and two-queen rooms measuring roughly 302 to 367 square feet, to larger “View” rooms around 414 to 489 square feet (and with the aforementioned floor-to-ceiling windows). The one-bedroom King Suite View spans about 695 to 752 square feet and includes a separate living room with a queen sleeper sofa and workstation. To go all-out, the flagship Summit Suite stretches to approximately 1,751 square feet, boasting 180-degree panoramic views of downtown Salt Lake City, the surrounding Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake Valley, complete with formal living and dining areas and a full pantry.
Immediately upon completion, the Hyatt Regency became a skyline-headlining attraction in downtown Salt Lake City with its 26-floor tower and a striking glass façade that reflects the city and the surrounding Wasatch Mountains.The design mission was to invite natural light deeply into the space, and the mission was accomplished in the curved curtain-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows in guest rooms and the airy lobby’s abundance of glazing. The general vibe is urban but iconically Utah – downtown energy with a whisper of nature – making it much more welcoming and versatile than “just another convention hotel.”
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