Last time I was at the Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia was in May 2016. The visit was my last trip before I left New York for Dallas in June 2016.

I was with my ex at the time. We were already drifting apart, but for this trip, we put that aside – and had a really great time. Philadelphia is a huge, historic city with tons to do, and being back was unexpectedly bittersweet.

After my two nights at the Kimpton Palomar, I drove over to the Bellevue ready to fully immerse myself as a newly minted Hyatt Globalist.

As a digital nomad, I mostly stay at Hyatt Place locations within the Hyatt brand because they’re the cheapest for long-term stays. So I was ready to see what Globalist status would get me a fancy hotel like the Hyatt Bellevue.

Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia review

• Link: Chase Hyatt card

Chase World of Hyatt	Up to 60,000 Hyatt points
	• 9 Hyatt points per $1 spent at Hyatt - 4 bonus points for paying with your card, and 5 bonus points for being a World of Hyatt member • 2 Hyatt points per $1 spent restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships • Receive 1 free night every year after your cardmember anniversary at any Category 1 to 4 Hyatt hotel or resort
• $95 annual fee	• Earn 30,000 Hyatt points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening • Plus an additional 30,000 Hyatt points by earning 2X points on up to $15,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of account opening
• 5 Hyatt hotels where the annual free night rocks	• Compare it here

The Chase Hyatt card gives you a free award night every year at a Hyatt Category 1 through 4 hotel after your cardmember anniversary. I’ve always used them for Category 3 or 4 hotels where room rates well exceed the cost of the card’s annual fee to make it worth keeping long-term. The Hyatt Bellevue is a Category 4 hotel and rates were ~$250 per night when I booked for July 2021 (and are sometimes much more).

In total, I had four free nights and used them for a free $1,000+ stay at the Hyatt Bellevue hotel in Philadelphia. Two Chase free night awards from the Chase Hyatt card – one from this year and one that was extended because of covid, and two more free night awards from Hyatt’s recent Bonus Journeys promotion (now expired).

Arrival and check-in

I was able to get a 1pm late checkout at the Kimpton Palomar and had called the Hyatt Bellevue the night before to ask about an early check-in. They said I could check-in at 1pm and noted that I’d already been upgraded to a Junior Suite. Perfect!

So I went and loaded up, checked out, and drove over to check in and unload again. It was a hot day and the entire ordeal took over an hour even though the hotels are only a few blocks apart.

Not gonna lie, I was pretty irritable – switching hotels is extra difficult with all my stuff and dog to account for.

At check-in, the desk agent was patient and explained what the hotel was doing in light of covid.

He explained that because I was Globalist, I got a $75 per day breakfast credit. He gave me a menu and said to charge whatever I wanted to the room – at checkout it would all be credited back.

And because this was an award stay, as a Globalist, I also got free valet parking which was a huge added value.

Otherwise, you’ll pay $40 per night to self park and $53 per night with the valet, which is insane.

Between the room upgrade, free breakfast, and valet parking, that’s about an extra $900 in value I got from being Globalist over the course of my stay.

The desk agent also offered late checkout, but I didn’t need it.

Overall, Globalist status got me hooked up! It really makes me want to stay at other high-end Hyatt hotels.

The room

Finally, I got settled into my Junior Suite. It was certainly large for a city room, but other than the size, it was like any other room.

While I love a historic hotel as much as the next travel blogger, the property felt like it could use an overall refresh. In my room, the wallpaper was peeling in spots and didn’t quite line up. The shower rod in the bathroom was a bit loose, and there was no shelving in the shower other than the perimeter of the tub. Even in the sink area, there wasn’t a place to hang the hand towel – they had folded it nicely in the corner, but still. The counter space was limited and anything to free up that area would’ve been welcomed. 

There was also no direct source to natural light. Instead, my window overlooked the atrium, which has huge skylights. So while it’s not a big, windowless room, it did feel a little cave-like at times.

Other than those small slights, the wifi fast fast and free, the room was clean and VERY quiet, and I noticed they’d taken the effort to install extra plugins over the existing outlets, which was a nice touch.

Breakfast

I posted the breakfast menu near the top of this post. So that’s what I had to work with every morning. I set about calculating how close I could get to $75 while keeping enough to nibble on through lunch. A coffee was $6 and an OJ was $5, so it was pretty easy to hit the $75 mark.

Each day, I ordered two entrees, two sides, two coffees, and one OJ – and was pretty well set for most of the day. I had one entree for breakfast, then saved another entree and the sides for munching on later.

They were doing contactless delivery, so they packaged everything in to-go containers and left it all at the door. I was kind of hoping for a little cart with all the items artfully arranged, but it was all in individual boxes.

And it was wonderful. The actual breakfast always arrived hot and was tasty and nicely seasoned. They went all out to add every possible condiment one could ever want, and by the end of the trip I had quite the collection.

To be honest, having this breakfast credit added so much value to the overall stay. I saved so much in dining out and was able to stretch the delivery out well through lunch.

The service

I didn’t ask for room service the entire time (the only offered it after the third night anyway). The bed was firmly tucked in and when I pulled the top sheet down, the bottom sheet became untucked as well. I tried to put it back but by the fourth night, it was becoming untucked. Why don’t hotels believe in fitted sheets? That was my only gripe about the room service.

Actually, the cleaning staff came by to see if I needed anything and offered extra towels or toiletries. I took some extra shampoo or conditioner, but left the DND sign on the entire rest of the time.

Other spaces around the Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia

The top 19th floor has a bar and restaurant, work area, and a place to lounge and relax. The restaurant was only doing to-go orders for the rooms, but the bar was open. I thought about getting a drink there, but didn’t feel the need to.

This floor felt very refreshed and updated, as well as the atrium on the 12th floor. So the spaces outside the rooms felt open and fresh – something that didn’t quite translate to my room. That said, it’s a beautiful property. The service was excellent and you can’t beat the location.

Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia review bottom line

• Link: Chase Hyatt card

Would I stay here a third time? I think so. But only as a Globalist and once the restaurant and other services are back to “normal.” I can imagine how opulent it would feel to wake up and head to the 19th floor for a big, beautiful breakfast every day – instead of having it brought down in boxes to your room.  And being able to have a nice dinner with a drink at the bar would be amazing, too.

I do think they did a fantastic job handling covid and adjusting for it. And again, being here with top-tier status for the room upgrade, free valet parking, and free breakfast every day added a tremendous amount of value – about $900 by my calculations – to my overall stay. And having the actual stay for free thanks to the Chase Hyatt card and awards from a previous promo made it that much sweeter.

The location, staff, and history are what make this place special. I do wish the rooms were a little more refreshed, but it was all small stuff. So while the big stuff was amazing, there were a few ways the property was starting to look a little worn out.

If you’ve stayed here, how did it compare? If not, is this hotel on your list? Do you find Hyatt Globalist status is a huge added value to your higher-end Hyatt stays? 

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