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If you’ve never been to Colorado Springs, a little over an hour south of Denver, you’re missing craft breweries and the city’s centerpiece – the gorgeous Garden of the Gods.

I stopped here during my road trip to Denver. And chose the Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods as our stopover hotel. Here’s how it went!

Hyatt Garden of the Gods Review

• Link: Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods
• Link: Garden of the Gods

This hotel is usually ~$99 to ~$108 per night. And as a Category 2 hotel, it costs 8,000 Hyatt points each night.

I value 8,000 Hyatt points for for $160. So for my 1-night stay here, I paid the cash rate.

It’s right around the corner, 10 minutes, from Garden of the Gods park. I’d heard it’s worth stopping along the way to Denver. But I wasn’t prepared for how completely gorgeous it is.

For our night in Colorado Springs, the Hyatt Place was perfect.

Arrival and check-in

• Link: Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods 

Firstly, if you want to be right downtown, you won’t be in the action at this hotel. If you want to be near I-25 and of course, Garden of the Gods, this place is stellar. Also, the price can’t be beat.

We pulled in and easily found a parking spot in the big lot outside the hotel. We’d just left from the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in Santa Ana Pueblo as part of our road trip to Denver. So we were in full road trip mode by this point. And so excited to be in Colorado.

It was everything I’ve come to expect from the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House brand: cheap, cheerful, great employees, free breakfast, that sort of colorful milennial-esque look hotels think is so trendy right now.

This hotel is smallish, with a breakfast nook and one set of elevators. There are 124 rooms – in my opinion, a perfect size for a chain hotel.

The desk agent quickly got us keys and showed us where the free breakfast would be. We headed up to room 427.

The room

Ah yes. If you’ve stayed at a Hyatt Place, you know what to expect: the sectional couch, the separate bathroom sink area, and of course a spacious living area. I personally love the Hyatt Place brand.

No idea why my photos are so blurry. I chalk it up to road trip sludge on my phone camera.

Side note: I cannot WAIT to dump my iPhone for a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy S9.

There was plenty of room in the living area to sit, hang out, and enjoy a couple of drinks before heading out again.

The sink is in front of the beds. So if you want to brush your teeth or wash your face, you’ll do it in full view of your companions.

Overall, a nice size for the 3 of us. We loved the spaciousness and room setup. Everything is out in the open, so it definitely promotes hanging out and socializing. It reminded me a lot of Starwood’s Aloft brand, actually.

And the view from the window was simply beautiful.

Honestly, for a 1-night stay, this hotel was perfect in terms of location and price. The room was clean, quiet, and the wifi was fast on all our devices. And you can’t beat the $99 a night room rate – doesn’t get much cheaper than that.

Breakfast

Now I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart: free breakfast.

That’s why when I saw Hyatt is testing paid breakfast at some Hyatt Place locations, it gave me pause. A huge reason we stayed here was the free breakfast.

Was the most amazing breakfast in the world? Of course not. But when you wake up and want to get the day going or hop back on the road, stopping right at the beginning adds extra time when you’re trying to be on the move.

Plus, coffee and a pastry at most coffee shops is what, $6 to $10?, depending what you get. And I like having a little fruit and being able to take a to-go coffee (in my Hydro Flask to prevent more waste).

For 3 people, or for a family, that adds up fast, especially if you have a multi-day trip. Without free breakfast, we might as well stay some other no-frills cheap joint. Eliminating the free breakfast is a disruption of the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House branding. Plus, Hyatt doesn’t need to give peeps another reason to avoid their hotels – their watered-down loyalty program was already a huge blow.

Whew, with that off my chest, here’s the simple breakfast they are thinking of taking away.

So yeah, we got eggs, fruit, toast, potatoes. It’s nothing decadent or anything, but a huge value add. If Hyatt Place took this away, I’d 100% actively avoid them for both paid and award stays. Too many other brands still have it wrapped in the room rate for similar prices.

I honestly don’t spend much time in the rooms when I stay at hotels – I’m out exploring. And use the room to sleep, shower, and charge my phone. So I look for ancillary benefits, like lounge access, breakfast, extra points, or free parking. Often, the room itself is secondary to those “extra” perks.

Bottom line

We loved our stay at the Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. If you’re ever there, check out Trinity Brew, an awesome local craft brewery 2 minutes down the road.

And definitely visit the gorgeous Garden of the Gods.

This hotel was the quintessential “Hyatt Place” experience: cheap, spacious rooms, free breakfast, great service. I’d be really disappointed – and would 100% switch my stays – if Hyatt removed free breakfast from Hyatt Place hotels.

Regardless, if you can stay here for $100ish a night, get something to eat in the morning, and visit the nearby attractions, it’s an excellent hotel. Plus, it’s right next to I-25, so you can be in downtown Denver in about an hour. Excellent “road trip” hotel. And at 8,000 Hyatt points per night, it’s worth it to pay the cheap cash rates.

If you’ve stayed here, how’s your experience compare? And how important to you is free breakfast at places like this? 

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