The Hyatt Regency Dallas was chosen as the "host hotel" for a regional gymnastics competition we attended this past weekend.

Fourteen families from Washington (state) stayed at the hotel for one night.

My family had a one-bedroom suite and it was considerably nicer than the average suite through the lack of a minibar/fridge was a minor inconvenience.

The rooms are modern and clean, the beds are comfortable, and the hotel staff is friendly and helpful.

However, the issues we (and other families in our group) had with room service were terrible.

After tallying up the "damage" our group ended up with 4 dinners delivered more than one hour after promised time (out of 5 dinners ordered).

In our case, we ordered breakfast for 6:30-6:45am. Because of past issues at Hyatt's we not only filled out the door-hanger-menu but we gave it to one of the staff who delivered it to room service the night before.

We needed to leave the hotel at 7:15am sharp for the gymnastics meet.

At 7:05, no breakfast. I called room service, they acknowledged my order, but said they were busier than usual and it would be at least 15 more minutes before breakfast would be delivered.

We cancelled breakfast (and were not charged for it) and were able to run to a nearby store and get a bagel and some fruit juice.

On the bus over to the gymnastics meet we talked to other parents who were very upset that they travelled 2000 miles, stayed in a fairly high-end hotel, and now their kids would be competing in a 4-hour gymnastics meet without having had breakfast.

This is something that would be forgivable for a 2-star hotel but not for a 3-star or higher hotel.

It's possible the room service experience might be better if the hotel were half full or less.

I won't be returning to this Hyatt. If you plan to stay there I recommend:

1) Find out how full they expect the hotel to be when you are staying there.

2) Don't depend on room service. Have a back-up plan or be OK waiting.

Stayed over new years 31st -2nd. This place will always have lots of football fans attending the Cotton Bowl over new years, so it gets slammed . They were the host hotel for one of the football teams - so mostly all fans from one school - just make sure that is your team. They do a decent job of managing the crowds, especially at the valet. The rooms were just okay - not as clean as I hoped - somewhat dirty pillow cases, but they do have 1100 rooms, so I cut them some slack. The location is great as they are connected to the DART public transit system, real close to the West end and only a $10 or so cab ride up to the uptown area (I suggest two restaurants in uptown - Cuba Libre and Zizikis). The main bar in the atrium is pretty nice, lots of TVs, places to lounge and shuffelboard. One disappointing note was that due to being completely sold out with so many late check outs, as of 3 PM new year's day, they did not get around to cleaning our room and said that the staff was going home at 5:30, so it couldn't be done. Valet parking at $18 (free entry/leave) seemed worth it over trying to figure out and haul to a further parking lot for $10 (which was not free entry/leave). Did find out the attached Reunion Tower is closed for remodling till sometime late in 2008. It's a bit tricky to get to the hotel itself off the Interstate, make sure you have some detailed directions or a GPS.

We stayed at the Hyatt for the recent Cotton Bowl over New Year's Weekend and the hotel staff was unbelievably friendly, helpful, and personable if you consider that this is a huge, busy weekend in a gigantic hotel filled to capacity. Usually, this makes a staff cranky and unpleasant, in my experience. The rooms were clean and the beds were very comfortable. I like to stay in hotels that have upgraded to softer mattresses with sheets/down comforters instead of gross bedspreads, and the Hyatt fit the bill.
My only complaint - and it could be a big one for some people - is that one side of the hotel overlooks three train tracks. Two of the tracks carry commuter traffic and the third seems to be a regular freight train track. During the night, trains ran OFTEN with increasing frequency as the morning arrived. Twice during the night freight trains came through and my floor literally vibrated from the noise (by the way, I was all the way on the 6th floor). It was a little creepy and I thought I might have imagined it, but it occured the second night we were there also.
If you plan a visit to the Hyatt, ask to be put on the far side of the hotel away from the trains and you will probably be okay.

This is one of the best values for the money you'll find. Although a bit off the beaten path, the attentive service of every staff memeber more than makes up for the slightly inconvenient loacation. If you need to be near/in Downtown Dallas, this Hyatt can't be beat!