Hotel Review: Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
Update: As of March 26, 2024 Hyatt has changed the Manchester Grand Hyatt from a Category 4 to a Category 5 on the Hyatt award chart.
⚠️ Spoiler Alert: We loved it here.
But you’re probably reading this because you want to know why. Well then let’s dive in shall we?!
Picture this: It’s December, sunny and clear, and 71 degrees. You can spot the Manchester’s two sparkling towers from miles away as it has found its permanent home on the San Diego skyline. Needless to say, as we pulled in we both went: “Wow.”
For a hotel built in 1992, the Manchester Grand Hyatt remains, well… GRAND. Though the towers’ exterior has a slightly outdated look to it, they have done an excellent job keeping the hotel looking absolutely gorgeous.
The Manchester Grand Hyatt sparkles with festive decorations for the holiday season.
CHECK-IN
We used the Hyatt App for Digital Check-In earlier that morning when we arrived in San Diego.
At this time, I sent an email to the General Manager mentioning that this was our first wedding anniversary (and Brad’s birthday) and I wanted to surprise Brad with something extra special.
I requested any kind of upgrade, if available (bold move for a girl with ZERO Hyatt status— but I was shooting for the stars).
Within 3 hours I got an email…
We have upgraded you complimentary to one of our corner rooms facing out at the Bay, it is a beautiful view from this room, and we hope you and your husband will like this upgrade. (Happy birthday as well!)
Okurrrrr, Hyatt!! 😍 Talk about quickly earning your way up to a 5-star review from these two lovebirds from @parksonrec
Let’s put these on hold right here for now: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We chose self-parking in the garage which was $45/night. Since we got our room for free due to paying with points, $45/night was not a terrible trade-off. However, if you have Hyatt Globalist Status then parking fees are a non-issue (you lucky ducks 🍀🦆)
Walking into the lobby we were amazed at the gorgeous ceiling and intricate details of the space. Per December, it was decorated with trees, wreaths, lights, and gigantic nutcrackers. Naturally.
There is a special check-in station for anyone with Hyatt status, but for us peasants— the check-in service was still just as lovely. In fact, anytime we went to the front desk during our trip, we spoke with the most friendly staff members. And they ALL wished us a happy anniversary (way to pay attention to the notes, MGH!)
Upon check-in, our upgraded room was confirmed, and we were walked through the map of the property, the surrounding area, and all the different districts in San Diego. The woman who helped us gave us a rundown of all the benefits provided by the destination fee and even included a couple of extra passes— for free!—as a gift for our anniversary.
Views of the Manchester Grand Hyatt by the waterfront. Close by, the Embarcadero Marina Park is perfect for peaceful walks by the water.
DESTINATION FEE
When you book with points, you are not charged the destination fee. However… you still get all the perks the destination fee includes!
Here’s a link to all the benefits that come with your destination fee.
Though we did not make use of them all, our favorites included: $10 nightly credit to Top of the Hyatt (note: this doesn’t role over, use it or lose it!), One 1-Hour Harbor Tour Pass and Daily 1-Hour Bicycle Rentals (both of which, we were gifted an additional pass by the front desk).
THE ROOM
We were upgraded to a preferred room: 1 King Bed, Corner View. The website describes the room as:
This oversize room offers dual floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic city or bay views, 380 square feet of space, a king bed, spacious desk and a seating area.
The view of the Bay was simply beautiful. We said “Wow” so many times you would’ve thought Owen Wilson was in the room. Brad’s only qualm with the room was the windows. They looked quite dirty, and with a view like this, you want a crystal-clear view.
Upon entering, it was pretty warm in the room because of the shades up and the sun beaming in. We quickly resolved it by turning down the AC and putting the sheer privacy curtains down. Nothing that was ever an issue since all our peak-sun hours were spent outside of the room during our stay.
AMENITIES
Though we spent most of our days out adventuring. There were so many amenities to take advantage of: two pools (one was adult-only, but it was under remodel during our stay), rooftop pickleball, tennis, basketball, and even a Rooftop Cinema location!
The main pool was empty the entire time we were there. Despite the sunny weather, the cool breezes from the bay probably made it too chilly for most. The pool was mildly worn, and on our last day we saw construction workers come in and begin to lift the tiles around the pool— sooooo one would assume that it might be getting a mini facelift as well.
Around the pool deck there are cabanas that can be reserved and firepits that are first come, first serve (you can grab a s’more kit from the Market One in the lobby!).
The fitness center had beautiful views of the Bay from every treadmill and stairclimber. Lots of equipment to choose from: free weights, yoga balls, plenty of weight machines, a few benches, and other accessories like medicine balls and ropes.
PRO TIP: This is also where we stopped to fill up our water bottles 💦 since there was a fantastic water station that chills and filters the water like 7 times. That’s not an exaggeration. I’m fairly confident it was seven— someone book a stay and go check for me.
Other amenities include laundry, a business center, a gift shop, and even a shoe shine station!
🎄 Cheers from the Top of the Hyatt Holiday Pop-Up bar!
DINING
There are several dining options on-site. And I’ll quickly say—THEY WERE EXPENSIVE. Like, dang.
We took our $10 credit and marched right up to the Top of Hyatt sky-lounge. I would say the price tag is similar to most hotel bars with many cocktails around $20-$25. Sheesh… 😅 Good thing they were delicious!
HOWEVER.
You’re paying for the view. And for us, the view was worth every penny. We made it to the 40th floor right before sunset and it was the best way to start our vacation.
In December, Top of Hyatt does a Holiday Pop-Up and everything was decked out in Christmas decor. There were even themed drinks and bites to pair with it!
Before we headed out to the San Diego Zoo, we stopped in to pick up a quick bite and some snacks at Market | One and HOLY SMOKES. This is where I was like: 😵💫 “Okay… This is dumb.” We got two breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and two snacks for later and it was $45. And no, the breakfast sandwiches were not wrapped in gold.
As for the other dining options like Sally’s Fish House & Bar we didn’t make use of them but passed by. It’s a waterfront seafood spot with great scenic views of the San Diego Bay.
We were floored when we got back to the room on the first night to find a complimentary bottle of bubbly and glasses to celebrate our anniversary. Again, we are not Hyatt Globalists (yet 😉), and at the time we didn’t have any kind of status at all.
So for the hotel to go above and beyond like this for us with the room upgrade and the bubbly, we were very impressed by the way they treat the peasants—-uh, I mean.. GUESTS.
Complimentary bubbly to celebrate?! YES PLEASE.
HOW WE BOOKED
At the time of writing, this hotel is a Category 4 on the Hyatt award chart.
Off-peak nights start at only 12k points with standard nights at 15k. Luckily for us, two of our three nights were 12k, with the third being 15k.
Hyatt is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards. We transferred 39k points from our Chase account to book this property.
Since it’s a Category 4, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend using a free night certificate here if you have one.
When booking award stays with Hyatt, the taxes and destination fees are waived, making it a true $0 stay when booking with points.
Well, except for that parking fee. 🙈
FINAL THOUGHTS
We’ll be back. We fell in love with San Diego and our stay at the Manchester Grand Hyatt was the icing on the cake!
There is so much to see and do in this city that it makes it easy to imagine coming back here one day. For a Category 4, you truly cannot beat the value we got at this hotel.
Brad’s Final Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars — “Awesome hotel overall. It was those dirty windows. Oh, and that crazy parking fee!”
Victoria’s Final Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars — “I loved this stay, but I try to save the 5 stars for mind-blowing places.”
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.