Hyatt Regency Bellevue

As a city, Seattle manages to balance perfectly between cutting edge and perfectly grounded. Home to some of the world’s most successful tech companies and a thriving organic food industry, the seaside metropolis pulls off both style and substance beneath a seemingly constant drizzle of rain.

While not technically in Seattle proper, the Hyatt Regency Bellevue is a perfect reflection of the city’s functional sleekness. The front lobby features floor to ceiling glass as well as babbling water features and greenery. The Twisted Cork, one of the hotel’s restaurants on the main floor, easily flips from hip nightclub in the evening to spacious dining room for breakfast in the morning. The staff is friendly, accommodating, and just as quick and efficient as you’d expect from a property that likely sees a lot of business travelers.

The Hyatt Regency Bellevue is a short drive from the Nintendo Americas Headquarters (where I was visiting), as well as Microsoft offices and other East Seattle corporations. It’s also within walking distance from restaurants, shopping and relaxed nightlife, a convenience often missing from airport hotels and other locations catering to conference crowds.

I stayed in a king room during my visit and found the bed comfortable, the bathroom plenty large enough, and the room itself spacious enough to accommodate working, relaxing, and unpacking. I would request a better view since I’ve learned that some of my fellow travelers were able to see the mountains from their rooms, whereas I was greeted each morning by office buildings.

If you’re visiting Seattle, the Hyatt Regency Bellevue’s out-of-the-way location wouldn’t be convenient. However, if you’re in town doing business in Bellevue, you can book a stay at the Hyatt with confidence.

Photo courtesy of Hyatt Hotels

Being homeless is a bitter, painful experience but sometimes a little window opens and a ray of light shines in. For 500 homeless men and women in Dallas, this window just opened because they’ll be spending their Christmas in the warmth and comfort of the Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel, courtesy the Soupman.

This is the 6th straight year that the Soupman and a volunteer army are doing this at the Dallas Hyatt Regency. This year, they’ve taken over the hotel’s entire skyline tower – all 14 floors.

At 6 am on Dec 24, six buses start cruising the streets of Dallas, picking up needy people off the streets who will eat and sleep in the hotel overnight, take warm showers, and get new clothes and gifts on Christmas morning.

As the buses roll into the hotel entrance, 1000 cheering volunteers await them with a red carpet welcome and a high school band playing the theme song from Rocky. At 1 pm, there’ll be a huge banquet in the landmark ballroom of the Hyatt Regency with 50 tables of guests being served by volunteers including Tom Leppert, the Mayor of Dallas.

The founder of Soupmobile is David Timothy, and they’ve been at this since 2003. All year round, Soupmobile serves 600 hot meals every single week day to the homeless in South Dallas. The difference is that they deliver the meals to the homeless, unlike other soup kitchens.

As for the 1,120 room Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel, they’re paid by 14 different sponsors, each of whom is sponsoring one floor each. The hotel is an AAA four diamond hotel, with rates starting from around $179. So that makes at least around $90,000 for the 500 rooms. There’s also the banquet and other arrangements, so the total tab should be well over $100k, even with discounts.

More info:- http://www.soupmobile.org/

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