Review: Hyatt Capital Gate Abu Dhabi – A Gem Of A Category 3

As in Dubai, when you visit Abu Dhabi, you have your pick of great hotels from all the major chains. In some cases, you have several choices within a chain, which is nice if you have elite status with a particular chain and want to try out different hotels. In my case, I chose the Hyatt Capital Gate because of its location (it was very suitable for my run in Abu Dhabi as part of my 6 Continent run) and because I am pretty loyal to Hyatt. There is a Park Hyatt in Abu Dhabi and it is my plan to give that a try on my next trip to Abu Dhabi. This time, I chose the Hyatt Capital Gate and I am glad I did as it was a great property.

Review: Hyatt Capital Gate Abu Dhabi

– Hyatt Capital Gate Website

Location

With some of the more popular areas in Abu Dhabi being Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, the Hyatt Capital Gate is not the place to stay if those are your desired locations. The Hyatt Capital Gate is a nicely located hotel, however, if you have business in Abu Dhabi but also want some of the pleasure spots. Even though it is not located on the islands, it is still just a short drive away. The hotel itself is located in a Guiness Record structure as it has a world-record incline of 18 degrees! That has earned it the name of the “Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi.” Pretty cool! The structure itself is really something else and I found the location not to be at all inconvenient for my short trip there. It is only a couple of minute drive from the famous Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque so that is fairly close as well.

Getting There & Parking

If coming from the airport, it is only about a 20 minute drive. I have driven it by taxi and by myself and it is easily accessible either way. Coming from Dubai, it is easy to find as the structure is so identifieable. Just be aware of one thing – I pulled too far past the entrance and missed it and asked an attendant (worked for the Exhibition Centre, not the hotel) where parking for the hotel was. He pointed me in to the parking garage – which does cost a fair bit to park in! It is not even convenient for the hotel and the hotel has plenty of free parking in front of it, so make sure you do not make the same mistake I did!

Hotel Entrance/Check-In

The hotel lobby is located on the 18th floor and access to the elevators to the rooms are on that floor as well. So, no going straight up to your room upon return to the hotel. You must go to the 18th floor, and then get on a separate set of elevators for your room. That being said, the staff is extremely friendly and they personally greet you each time you disembark the elevator.

There are few places at the check-in counter with one slot for Platinum/Diamond members. My first visit there, I had a wait of about 15-20 minutes as some of the guests in front of me were taking a long time with their business. On my second trip, the wait was much shorter, so it will depend on the time of your arrival.

The staff themselves were very friendly and helpful. In no way did the charm seem to be a put-on at all but genuine care for their customers and wanting to make sure everything was to the customer’s liking. The staff’s knowledge of Diamond benefits is right on as well. On occasion, I will visit a hotel that does not know about the Diamond amenities and end up having to wait while they try to find out how to add the points to my account. Not so here – knew what to do and applied the points quickly.

The Room – The Deluxe Room

For my short visit, I chose not to use a Diamond Suite Upgrade and just went with the room they assigned to me. During both of my visits, I had identical rooms – the Deluxe room. It is an upgrade from the standard rooms and offers incredible views of Abu Dhabi. There is a small entrance way with a good-size bathroom and separate soaking tub from the shower. The toilet is across from the bathroom in what could be mistaken for a closet area.

One of the things I liked was the electronic keys – simply hold it to the lock and the door unlocks. Love the convenience of those! But, once you enter, you have the main room off to your right and the entrance/hallway straight ahead. In the hall, you have a good sized closet on the right, to the left as you enter is the toilet room and then the main bathroom straight ahead as you can see in the photo above.

The bedroom itself is of a unique design in that where you enter is the pretty much the widest part of the room. The room kind of funnels itself towards the couch in the corner with the floor-to-ceiling windows running the entire length of the wall. The bed is smack in the middle but also on a slant to reflect the wall that slants toward the peak in the corner.

There is a nice large work desk in the room as well as a convenient coffee maker and several kinds of coffee and tea. In the view above, to the top right is the entrance to the room.

I love the ports offered near the desk as well as the healthy quantity of plugs around the room. There are outlets near the bed (with switches to turn them on) that make charging your electronics easy and accessible.

The bed was very comfortable. The pillows were just right for me, but I did use two for the maximum effect of support/cushion. I slept incredibly well in the bed and would have easily been able to sleep a couple more hours if I had not had an earlier flight.

Off to the left of the bed as we see it is a nice little couch. There is a table and the television swivels to give coverage anywhere throughout the room. That is good since the style of the room makes for it to be longer and thin than a typical hotel room. No matter where you are in the room, you should be able to easily see the TV.

As you can see, the room is long but does taper down to this thinner point near the couch. Still, the unique design just kind of carries the uniqueness of the exterior of this tilting building to the inside – I liked it.

The Bathroom

The bathroom was great! If you have read other of my reviews, you know I like a good tub. And that is especially true after a run of some kind! That hot August day (hit 120 degrees) I was doing a long run outside and you wouldn’t think I would want a hot bath, but I did! Course, I did take advantage of that incredible heat and took a really cold bath first. 🙂

The soaking tub is kind of a central feature of the bathroom and it is right near another set of windows that really lets you take in the city. Imagine the views you get at night!

The bathroom here reminded me more of a Park Hyatt bathroom and I liked it. The shower was fantastic as well.

Fitness Center

This is once again an area that reminded me more of a Park Hyatt than a regular Hyatt. The fitness center here was located on the upper floors as well and running on any of the treadmills gave you a fantastic view of the city! Really, really great. There was an attendant in there that would help you with whatever you needed as well as a healthy supply of cold water.

Breakfast

One of the benefits of Hyatt Diamond status is the free breakfast. It is one of my favorite benefits – and I am normally not a breakfast person! But, I have had some fantastic breakfasts at Hyatts around the world and always love that they bring regional and local foods into the tradition breakfast layouts. This was no exception.

The view from the restaurant was just as beautiful as the views from the rest of the hotel and very relaxing. I wish I had had more time to just sit there and slowly eat and take in all the views. Even though it is a desert area, being able to look at a city from these heights never gets old.

Staying There

The Hyatt Capital Gate is a Category 3, which is just unbelieveable to me. Don’t get mad at me, but I find that to be an underrated hotel as far as their categories and would not be surprised to see it go up at some point.

Since it is a Category 3, it requires either 12,000 points or 6,000 points + $75 if you are doing a Points+Cash stay. But, do not be too quick to use points! Depending on when you go, you can pay for it with cash at very reasonable rates. I have seen some prices at and below $80 per night so definitely check the cash cost first. It would also be eligible for your anniversary free night if you hold the Hyatt credit card.

Summary

The other times that I had stayed in the UAE it had been in Dubai. While Dubai certainly has a lot to offer, I did like the change of pace that Abu Dhabi presented. Of course, I did not do much at all during my short stays there since I was there training and running, but I did see a lot of the city on my runs and it looked like a much easier place to get around and enjoy than Dubai is.

I had a chance to meet some of the management, as well as correspond with them, before/during my second visit there as the Hyatt Capital Gate was my base for my marathon run in Asia. Not only that, but 3 of the hotel associates started the run with me and I got to enjoy some time with them. The staff is amazing and I found them to be not only professional but very courteous and genuine as well.

As for the Hyatt Capital Gate, I was there twice in 3 weeks and enjoyed it enough that I would easily go again. I would like to try the Park Hyatt in town there, but from what I experienced at the Hyatt Capital Gate, it is certainly not a slouch nor should it take a back seat to other hotels. The architecture of the building is amazing for the outside and the inside has enough Park Hyatt-styled touches that it still feels like an extra special hotel.