I knew I’d be really busy working on one of my other websites over the Thanksgiving period and the weeks preceding it, so Shae and I decided to stay in one place for several weeks.
Shae was interested in spending that time by the beach and we found the perfect spot. When looking at our accommodation options online, I found a great paid rate at the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront, MD, so we booked a month there.
There’s always a danger when booking such a long stay that we won’t like the property, but that didn’t end up being a problem here. The hotel is a new property in a great location on the oceanfront and has fantastic staff. Rather than regretting that we’d booked a long stay, we were sad to leave at the end of our time there.
Here’s a full review of our month-long stay at the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront.
Check-In
We were driving to Ocean City from Frederick, MD which was a few hours away. That meant we arrived just before 4pm and were able to get checked in straight away.
Our experience from the very start was fantastic. Kate checked us in and she was lovely both then and throughout our stay. She advised that even though they normally charge a pet fee, that was being waived thanks to my Globalist status. That’s not an actual Globalist benefit, so it was great that the hotel went beyond the list of benefits they have to offer.
They also automatically set us up to have a 4pm late check-out which is a Globalist benefit. We weren’t sure if we’d end up needing to use it, but it was nice to have things set up that way so that we didn’t have to call down on the day of check-out to arrange it.
The Hyatt Place Ocean City has some one bedroom suites available, but because we were staying for a month I knew it wasn’t going to be possible to get an upgrade to one of those as some days that room type was fully booked (I’d checked online before we arrived). Kate shared that they’d tried to upgrade us to an ocean view room ahead of time, but that there wasn’t one available for the duration of our stay. Although suite upgrades are a Globalist benefit, the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands are excluded from that and so they don’t have to give upgrades. I was grateful that they’d made the effort to try upgrading us ahead of time though.
Towards the end of us getting checked in, another staff member ran over and said that they’d just had a cancellation of an ocean view room, so we could be upgraded to that room type for the length of our stay which was awesome news.
Even better, we were put in room 708 which was on the top floor. Not only did that mean we’d have the best possible view of the beach, but it also meant we wouldn’t have anyone in a room above us.
I headed up to our room first with one of our luggage carts so that I could get some photos for this review. Just after I’d finished doing that, there was a knock on the door which was Kyle who’s the head of housekeeping. He’d left a welcome amenity for us in the room we’d originally been allocated, so he was dropping it off now that they’d changed which room we’d be in.
We’ve received welcome amenities at other Hyatt brands like Hyatt Regency, but I don’t think we’ve ever received anything substantial from a Hyatt Place. We were therefore very pleasantly surprised to receive a bottle of wine, several sodas, some waters and a couple of delicious cookies, along with a handwritten note which was signed by the staff.
Just after Kyle had dropped that off, I heard Shae coming down the hallway. She was joined by the General Manager Andrew who was helping her with the rest of our stuff as she also had our dog Truffles with her.
Andrew introduced himself and thanked us for booking a stay with them, letting us know to contact them if there was anything we needed during our stay. Based on the interactions with all the different staff members when checking in, I don’t think we’ve ever had a nicer welcome to a hotel.
Bedroom
The room we were upgraded to was a two queen oceanfront view room. When entering the room, the bathroom was on the right and the bedroom area straight ahead.
We always sleep well in beds at Hyatt Places and the one in Ocean City was no exception. The bedside lamps had a power outlet beneath each of them to make it easier to charge our phones overnight.
In the far corner of the room was a corner sleeper sofa, ottoman and side table. At first there seemed to be no power outlet to be found in that area, but there was one on the wall behind the curtain. The outlet was just above the top of the sofa, so it was easy enough to access.
On the opposite side of the room was a desk and office chair.
To the left of that was the room’s closet, along with a dresser and mini fridge, with a TV mounted to the wall above them. The hotel had DirecTV, but we ended up plugging in our Fire TV Stick to increase our viewing options.
We had a Goldilocks fridge – not too hot and not too cold. All too frequently hotel mini fridges either don’t stay cold enough or they’re so cold that they freeze what’s inside. The mini fridge in our room was a rare beast, keeping everything at just the right temperature.
The closet contained an iron, ironing board, luggage rack and safe.
Hyatt Places don’t include a microwave in their rooms, but the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront had them available to borrow, so we got one seeing as we were staying for a month.
To the left of the couch was the door leading out to the balcony. This was a decent size with a couple of chairs and a table.
Having this view for a month was awesome.
Bathroom
When entering the bathroom, the sink, vanity and toilet were straight ahead.
The walk-in shower had good water pressure and a door which didn’t leak water over the floor which we appreciated.
Overall, we really liked our room. The hotel is fairly new (it opened on September 19, 2018), so our room still felt new and was in good condition. While it would’ve been nice to have been able to be upgraded to a one bedroom suite, there wasn’t anything they could do about that seeing as that room type was fully booked on some days. Still, our room was pretty spacious nonetheless and we appreciated that they upgraded us to an oceanfront view for the duration of our stay.
The completely separate bathroom was a great feature too. Most Hyatt Places have a layout where the sink is within the bedroom area; that’s not ideal as it means using it in the dark at night if someone else in the room is sleeping. Having the sink be in the bathroom itself meant that wasn’t an issue, something which was useful seeing as we stayed there for a month and I’m always up much later than Shae at night.
Breakfast
Shae and I live in hotels and Airbnbs and have stayed in about a dozen different hotels since COVID hit. They’ve all dealt with breakfast in different ways seeing as traditional-buffet style hasn’t been a great option.
My favorite breakfast offerings since March 2020 have been at the Embassy Suites Hampton Convention Center, VA and Residence Inn Roanoke Airport, VA as both found a way to offer hot items like egg, sausage and bacon every morning. Of the rest of the hotels we’ve stayed at, the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront comes top for their extensive grab and go offering.
Several other hotels we’ve stayed at provided to-go breakfasts which came pre-packaged, so you got what you were given and the choice was the same pretty much every day. This Hyatt Place was different as they not only had a wider selection of breakfast items, but you could pick and choose what you’d like which helped ensure items didn’t go to waste.
Another great thing about breakfast is that it was served from 6:30-10am every day of the week. I’m not an early riser, so being able to head down just before 10am to grab breakfast was lovely.
Breakfast was set out in the traditional breakfast area, but there were signs on the floor directing you to enter one side and exit the other. They also had an automatic hand sanitizer dispenser by the entrance with a sign asking you to use that before entering.
All the breakfast items were packaged in a way that you could just take it without needing to touch anything other guests might have touched like serving spoons, etc. The exception would be the tongs to pick up toasted items, but I didn’t ever need to use those to pick up toasted English muffins.
Although the hotel didn’t offer hot options every day, there was at least one morning they offered pancakes by request.
Other Food & Drink
On Friday and Saturday nights you can buy dinner and drinks from Lisa’s Place at the hotel.
Shae and I couldn’t be bothered to go out for dinner the night we arrived, so it was nice having this as an option for dinner.
We ordered 6 chicken tenders and a side of fries to share. We’re still avoiding eating inside at restaurants, but the hotel had an outdoor seating area. It was just about warm enough to be outside that night, so we ate out there rather than taking it back up to our room.
The tenders were good and the fries were especially tasty.
The hotel also sold to-go drinks from the front desk.
Amenities
The Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront has both an outdoor and indoor pool. The outdoor pool was closed for the season, but the indoor one was still available for guest use.
There’s a fairly spacious fitness room with several pieces of equipment and weights.
Many Hyatt Places don’t have guest laundry facilities, but not only did the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront have them, but there were washers and dryers on the 2nd, 4th and 6th floors. Each load cost $2 which was reasonable.
Our floor (and, I’m assuming, every floor) had a guest changing room, presumably for when you have friends back to your room after you’ve been at the beach so that they can change more easily.
By the parking lot entrance the hotel also has a shower available for you to wash off sand if you want.
There’s a pantry next to the front desk with snacks and drinks for purchase.
The hotel has a bar, although this seemed to be closed during our stay. I’m not sure if that was due to it being off-season or if they’ve temporarily closed it due to COVID.
Next to the bar is a larger seating area which is also used for breakfast, with other seating alcoves available.
Pet Policy
The Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront is a pet-friendly hotel. They accept up to two dogs per room provided their combined weight doesn’t exceed 75 lbs. There’s a $100 pet fee, but this was waived for us thanks to having Globalist status.
The hotel has a small grassy area at the side of the property where your pup can relieve themselves. There are sidewalks all around, so it’s safe to go for a longer walk with other grassy areas nearby.
One thing to note if you’ll be staying in Ocean City with your dog is that they’re not allowed on the beach or boardwalk from May 1 to September 30. That wasn’t a problem for us because we visited in November, but it’s something to consider if you’ll be visiting in the summer.
COVID-19
We were pleased with how the hotel dealt with COVID-19 overall. Their staff were excellent about wearing masks which hasn’t always been the case at hotels we’ve lived in during the pandemic.
There were numerous hand sanitizing stations around common areas of the hotel – including in the elevators. The breakfast area had been set up to be one-way and there were stickers on the floor of the elevators to encourage physical distancing.
Service
As I’ve already mentioned, service at the hotel was fantastic throughout our stay. The highlight was our experience when checking in, but they were excellent in many other ways.
We had Amex Offers and Chase Offers on our credit cards which offered statement credits when paying for Hyatt stays. We had offers on four different cards, so I went down one day to split payment for our stay across the different cards. Despite this being more hassle, the staff member didn’t bat an eyelid and was able to get it sorted out pretty quickly.
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront over Thanksgiving, so they put together a list of restaurants where you could get Thanksgiving dinner. We’d already planned on ordering our meal from the Princess Royale hotel (which ended up being very tasty), but it’s nice that they provided this information for guests nonetheless.
A few days before Thanksgiving I received an email from the GM Andrew who’d helped Shae with our other luggage cart when checking in. He wished us a happy Thanksgiving and said they’d ordered pumpkin pies for staff for Thanksgiving and asked if we’d like one ourselves. I’m not sure if all guests were offered this or only Globalist members, but it was very thoughtful.
One of the most thoughtful things was also Thanksgiving-related. Shae’s an extrovert, so she enjoyed chatting to the staff when they weren’t busy. She happened to mention that our dog Truffles was disappointed because she always loved breakfast time at Hyatt Places because I’d always bring her up a piece of sausage or bacon, but the COVID-caused breakfast setup meant she didn’t get that anymore.
Well, they asked us to stop by the front desk on Thanksgiving morning. It turns out this was because they’d cooked some sausage that morning especially for Truffles. There was absolutely no need for them to do this and it’s not like Shae had mentioned it in order for them to make her some sausage, but it was such a lovely touch which we – and Truffles especially – appreciated.
Something else which might seem weird to notice but I wanted to highlight is that the housekeeping staff always left a liner in the trash can after we’d left it outside our room to be emptied. When doing this at other hotels the housekeeping staff often empty the trash can but don’t replace the liner, so the fact that housekeeping at this Hyatt Place always made the effort to replace it was notable for me.
The breakfast staff were great in that they never cleared breakfast items away early. We’ve stayed at numerous hotels where breakfast staff can’t wait to clear away food, even clearing items away up to 15 minutes before breakfast is due to end. Despite the fact that breakfast ran until the relatively late time of 10am at the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront, breakfast was never cleared away early. Again, that’s something small, but seeing as I would often head down to get breakfast at about 9:50am, I appreciated that all breakfast items were always available.
Wi-Fi
The internet at the hotel is free for all guests. There was always a solid connection which we were relieved about. Both Shae and I work online, so having a good internet connection is a must. It would have been a miserable month if they had a poor internet connection, but that thankfully wasn’t the case.
The speed didn’t always seem to be amazing – it would take longer than normal to download batches of photos. However, Shae never had any issues teaching online, so the speed was certainly good enough.
Check-In & Check-Out Times
The check-in time at this hotel is 4pm and check-out is at 11am.
Location
The Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront is located at 16th St on the boardwalk which is a fantastic location. It’s a 1.5 mile walk to the end of the boardwalk to the south, so we enjoyed that 3 mile round trip several times during our stay.
There’s a Starbucks a block or two away, as well as many different restaurants and stores on the boardwalk within walking distance. Right next to the hotel is Coastal Salt which had some tasty food with a patio area looking out over the beach. There’s a CVS a couple of blocks over, with plenty of other grocery stores and retailers within a 5-10 minute drive.
Parking
There’s a parking lot beneath the hotel on the ground floor and you get free parking for one vehicle per room.
We visited in off-season, so we never had a problem finding a space. The hotel has overflow parking across the street which is presumably much needed in the summer.
Cost
When initially planning our stay, I thought I’d found a good rate as they were charging something like $85 per night including tax. That was a long-term stay rate, but I managed to find an even cheaper rate by booking much shorter stays.
Some Hyatt properties were offering a ‘Stay 3 nights, get 4th night free’ rate towards the end of 2020, with the Ocean City property participating in that. By taking advantage of that deal, I was able to book our month-long stay in four night increments for only $65.77 per night including tax. That’s an amazing rate considering it’s an oceanfront hotel, despite it being off-season.
The exception was November 26-29 which was the Thanksgiving period. The ‘Stay 3 nights, get 4th night free’ promotion wasn’t available when including any of those dates, so I booked a AAA rate for $120.13 including tax as that was our cheapest option. I checked that rate every day leading up to November 26 and got lucky. Just over 24 hours before that stay was due to start, the price dropped to $81.39 including tax, so I made a new reservation and cancelled the old one as we’d booked a refundable rate provided we cancelled within 24 hours (it was about 25 hours to go when I rebooked, so I only just made it in time!)
On top of the cheap paid rates, we managed to save even more. Shae and I each had an Amex Offer giving $50 back when spending $250 at Hyatt properties. We also each had a Hyatt Chase Offer giving 10% back on up to $250 of spend. By splitting the cost of our stay on four different cards, we got statement credits from American Express and Chase totaling $150.
The Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront is a category 5 property which means you have to pay 20,000 points per night on award stays. That might be a good option in the summer when cash prices are high, but is terrible value for your points in the off-season when paid stays are much cheaper.
Points Earned
Hyatt was offering triple points on paid stays during our stay, so we earned 27,390 points. That might not seem a lot for a month-long stay, but triple points on a cheap room rate means you don’t earn tons. Still, that’s more than enough points for 5 nights at a category 1 Hyatt property seeing as those cost 5,000 points per night.
That’s not all though. We’ll have earned bonus Hyatt points for putting much of the spend on two Hyatt credit cards, along with some American Express Membership Rewards points after paying for some of our stay on a couple of Amex cards due to the Amex Offer.
Hyatt also offers Milestone Rewards for every 10 nights you stay every calendar year. At the 70, 80, 90 and 100 levels, you can choose between another Suite Upgrade Award or 10,000 points. Our stay meant I hit both the 80 and 90 night levels, so I chose 10,000 points for each of those for a total of 20,000 bonus points.
Final Thoughts
Back in January we stayed at the Hyatt Place Biloxi in Mississippi. That was one of our favorite – if not our actual favorite – Hyatt Places we’ve stayed at in the last few years on our road trip.
I think both Shae and I now have a new favorite.
Our stay at the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront was simply fantastic. Service was excellent and was possibly the best overall service we’ve ever had on any hotel stay. Our room was clean and comfortable, we were upgraded to an ocean view room and their breakfast offering was pretty decent.
Add in the very low rate we managed to book due to it being the off-season and it made for a great stay. It’s therefore a hotel we’d highly recommend.
Truffles Approval Rating
The Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront earns the much-coveted ‘four paws out of four with a Golden Tail wag’ which is the highest rating she can give any hotel.
Having them waive the pet fee due to my Globalist status saved us $100. It’s the staff that earned such a great award from Truffles though. They gave her a lot of attention which she loved and the breakfast sausage on Thanksgiving morning pushed it over the top.
She also loved being so close to the beach. Even though she doesn’t like swimming in the ocean, she loved getting to run around on the beach chasing after her ball.
Our Rating
Room = 4.7 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.6 / 5
Food = 4.7 / 5
Location = 4.9 / 5
Service = 5 / 5
Dealing With COVID-19 (A new – hopefully temporary – category for our hotel reviews) = 4.7 / 5
Overall Value = 4.8 / 5 (This is based on the value in off-season – the score would likely be different for a summer stay)
Total = 4.77/5
Address
Hyatt Place, 1 16th St, Ocean City, MD 21842
[…] staying at the Hyatt Place Ocean City Oceanfront, I walked down to the end of the boardwalk one night with our dog Truffles. When we reached the end […]