After leaving Kansas City/Lenexa, we headed west an hour to Topeka, the state capital of Kansas.
When investigating our accommodation choices, we had a few options that were good value using points. Seeing as I love Hyatt Places (here’s why), we booked a stay at the Hyatt Place Topeka as it only cost 5,000 points per night.
We stayed there for a total of six nights and enjoyed it there. The room was comfortable and the service was great, plus they had a couple of other unique touches that made it an even nicer stay.
Here’s a complete review of our stay at the Hyatt Place Topeka, Kansas.
Check-In
I’d checked in online earlier that morning, so the check-in process once we arrived was quick. The person working on the front desk when we arrived (I didn’t get her name unfortunately) was very friendly and welcoming.
We were also advised that we were the guests of the day and so we got to spin a wheel to win a prize. This isn’t something we’ve had at any other Hyatt Places, so this was a unique experience that made the process more fun. I’m not sure if we were picked at random or if it’s because I have Globalist status.
Truffles gave the wheel a good spin and won us 250 points – sweet! I just checked my account though and noticed that the 250 points haven’t showed up, so I need to follow up on that.
Bedroom
We were allocated room 309. When entering the room, the corner sleeper sofa was on the right hand side of the room. There was a nice large ottoman that worked well as a coffee table, although it wasn’t as comfortable as a footrest as it was slightly higher than the sofa.
Unlike some Hyatt Place bedrooms, there were power outlets on both sides of the sofa which I appreciated.
Something I didn’t care for though was the light setup. The only way to control the lights in the living area was via a light switch next to the door. That wasn’t an issue, but that switch was also connected to all the power outlets in the living area. That meant anything plugged in that I wanted to use after Shae went to bed (my laptop, electric kettle, etc.), had to be moved over to a different power outlet.
On the other side of the room was a wet bar. There was a fridge on the left, while the cupboard beneath the sink held a safe.
Opposite the wet bar was a desk and office chair.
Between the desk and the bedroom area was the room’s TV. It had a fairly good selection of channels, although it scrolled through channels extremely slowly.
We’d booked a room with one king bed. As always, the bed was very comfortable, although I wasn’t a huge fan of the pillows. I’m not sure if they were different pillows to other Hyatt Places or if it was their pillow cases, but they felt different. The pillow cases in particular seemed to be made of a different material to the ones used at other Hyatt Place properties; it was like they were partially made from polyester or something like that and so didn’t stay cool for much longer than a minute or two after resting my head on them.
On the other side of the room was a closet. Inside was a luggage rack, iron, ironing board and spare pillows in case you have someone staying on the sofa bed.
Bathroom
Next to the closet was the room’s sink and vanity, along with a dresser. The water that came out of this tap was extremely cloudy and so I was glad we had a wet bar as the water from that one was better.
The bathroom itself had a toilet and a fairly spacious walk-in shower; the shower’s water pressure was good and it heated up quickly.
Breakfast
Provided you’re a World of Hyatt member and book directly with Hyatt (i.e. not via a site like Hotels.com or Expedia), breakfast at the Hyatt Place Topeka is free. At this property, it’s served until 9:30 am during the week and until 10 am at the weekend.
There were four hot options every morning, two of which were the same each day and two that rotated. The two that remained the same were the scrambled eggs (which were fair) and the garlic-herb potato medley (which is always delicious).
The day I took these photos, the two other hot options were bacon and a green chile corned beef hash. Other days there was shoulder bacon, sausage links, pancakes and more.
The other breakfast options were pretty much the same each day, other than the freshly cut fruit as that was sometimes different. I love having freshly cut fruit in the morning when staying at Hyatt Places, but the frozen section it’s kept on at the Hyatt Place Topeka was so cold, the fruit sometimes ended up frozen to the ceramic dishes, especially when there wasn’t much left. That sometimes made it impossible to pick up the fruit, while the fruit I could pick up was sometimes frozen itself.
Here were the other breakfast options:
Something fun the Hyatt Place Topeka did with their bananas was write a message on each of them. There was only one banana left the morning I took the photos, so here’s a photo from a different morning.
As for things to drink, there were orange, apple and grapefruit juices…
…along with a coffee and tea station that I think they said was available for an additional 30 minutes after breakfast ended. I might be mixing that up with the Hyatt Place Kansas City/Lenexa City Center though as we’d stayed at that Hyatt Place immediately before the one in Topeka.
Amenities
This hotel had a few amenities for guests to use, including a fitness room that’s open 24/7.
They also had an outdoor swimming pool, although it was closed for the season.
If you need to do laundry during your stay, there are a couple of washing machines and dryers on the first floor. It was $2 per load in either type of machine which isn’t too bad.
Seeing as we’re traveling full-time, we have laundry detergent with us. If you need detergent, bleach or fabric softener though, the guest laundry area has a vending machine where you can buy those items for $1 each.
Shae needed to print something off during our stay, so she made use of their business center which had a couple of computers and a printer.
If you want to hang out with friends, family or colleagues, there’s a small bar area by the front desk which you’ll find at all Hyatt Places. There’s also lots of seating around the lobby which doubles up as the breakfast area in the mornings.
In addition to that open seating arrangement, the Hyatt Place Topeka also has a more private alcove with a TV.
Pet-Friendliness
We’re traveling with our dog, so we have to stay at pet-friendly hotels. The pet fee at the Hyatt Place Topeka is $50 if you’re staying 1-6 nights, with an extra $100 added on if you’re staying 7+ nights. You’re allowed to bring one dog weighing up to 50 lbs or two dogs weighing up to 75 lbs combined.
Seeing as we stayed six nights, I was expecting us to be charged $50. When checking out though, our bill didn’t have a pet fee included, so I didn’t prompt them to add it! Truffles is housebroken and is hypoallergenic and so doesn’t shed, so it’s not like they have extra cleaning they need to do.
The hotel has lots of grass around, so there’s plenty of space for your dog to do their stuff. Opposite the hotel are a couple of large ponds with a walking trail around them.
There’s also a dog park called Bark Park that’s only a few miles away and is next to the Topeka Zoo.
Service
Service was very good overall, particularly the woman who’d checked us in.
The Hyatt Place Topeka also did something fun several nights we were there. They send a text to guests on most evenings giving a riddle. If you’re the first to answer it correctly, you get a free cookie. I won on our second night, so was pleased to pick up a chocolate chunk cookie from the front desk that evening.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi at the hotel was free and quick enough that we didn’t notice any issues with its speed.
Location
The Hyatt Place Topeka is on the west side of the city. Although it’s not in downtown Topeka, it only takes about 10 minutes to get to the State Capitol building which is definitely worth visiting, as is the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.
It’s less than 10 minutes to the Topeka Zoo and the Kansas Museum of History, while there are grocery stores and restaurants a short distance away (although not within walking distance).
Parking
The hotel has a good-sized parking lot and it’s free to park there.
Cost
I mentioned at the beginning of the review that the Hyatt Place Topeka only costs 5,000 points per night. That’s because it’s a category 1 hotel in the World of Hyatt loyalty scheme. Our six nights therefore cost us a total of 30,000 points.
If we’d paid cash, it would’ve cost us $123.90 per night. That’s not outlandish, but it meant using points was better value. That works out to be a value of 2.48cpp (cents per point) which is fairly good for Hyatt’s points.
Final Thoughts
Overall, we had a very nice stay at the Hyatt Place Topeka. There are a few areas that could be improved (e.g. the cloudy water from the bathroom tap, the frozen fruit at breakfast), but nothing terrible. If you’re visiting Topeka and don’t need to stay at a downtown hotel, this is a good option.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives this hotel four paws out of four – pawfect! Our room was quiet, so she didn’t feel the need to defend us from noisy guests. There was a nice walking path around a couple of ponds opposite the hotel, plus they neglected to charge us a pet fee which is always a bonus 🙂
Our Rating
Room = 4.3 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.3 / 5
Food = 4.3 / 5
Location = 4.3 / 5
Service = 4.4 / 5
Overall Value = 4.7 / 5 (n.b. this rating is based on the fact that we used points)
Total = 4.38 / 5
Address
Hyatt Place, 6021 SW 6th Ave, Topeka, KS 66615
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