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tl;dr – The Grand Hyatt São Paulo is a larger hotel with a few dining options, solid amenities, and spacious rooms. The atmosphere is more business than luxury, though I could see many types of travelers, including families, finding success here. It’s a drive (or long walk) away from some of the city’s more popular attractions, but overall, I think it’s a fine option for a stay in São Paulo.
After checking out of the JW Marriott São Paulo, we spent the last two nights in Brazil’s largest city at the Grand Hyatt. The Grand Hyatt is a 22-floor, 470-room hotel located in the Marginal Pinheiros district, near some corporate headquarters and a few shopping malls. Let’s jump into it.
Booking the Grand Hyatt São Paulo
I booked the Grand Hyatt São Paulo at a cash rate for a standard 1 King bedroom and then applied a suite upgrade award for a Grand Suite with a view of the Estaiada Bridge. The nightly rate at the time of booking was 1,340.64 Brazilian Real, or $221.78 (at the time of this writing).
Getting In and Location
The Grand Hyatt São Paulo is 2.3 km (~1.5 miles) from the JW, a 5 – 12 minute drive depending on traffic. Thus, our transition from the JW to the Grand Hyatt was an easy one. Similar to the JW, the Grand Hyatt isn’t located in the trendiest neighborhood or near many popular attractions—it’s actually right next to a highway, so you should take that into consideration when planning your visit.
A busy highway is next to the hotel – Souce: You Are Travel
Our car pulled into a large stone-heavy porte cochère, which foreshadowed the equally sizable lobby inside the entrance.
Entrance to the hotel and lobby – Souce: You Are Travel
Check-in was quick, and we were given some chocolates, our room keys, and a separate key to access the club lounge. As a Hyatt Globalist, I have access to the club lounge as part of my World of Hyatt benefits. That said, if you are not a Globalist and can get your hand on a suite upgrade award, I noticed the confirmed upgraded room also included club lounge access. Since Hyatt members can only apply one award to a reservation, a suite upgrade award might net you outsized value at this property since you get both the nicer room and club lounge access, as opposed to a club access award, which will get you into the club lounge but won’t necessarily upgrade your room.
The Room
Our suite was impressive. Suite Paineira on the 9th floor has a cozy living room, spacious bedroom – with a very comfortable bed – and views of São Paulo’s fun fan-shaped bridges.
Suite living room and bedroom with views – Source: You Are Travel
The bathroom is accessible from the entry hallway and the bedroom, with sliding pocket doors on each side. It has an enclosed shower and a soaking tub. Nearly identical closets (one had the safe) are on each side of the sink. A marble jar held all the grooming kits, and the bath products were from Granado Pharmacias.
Suite bathroom – Source: You Are Travel
Accelerated speed walkthrough of the room:
And the bathroom:
Grand suite bathroom – Source: You Are Travel
Grounds and Amenities
The hotel’s decor is simple and has a classic convention hotel feel—in fact, a large convention was taking place during our stay.
Lobby and restaurant – Source: You Are Travel
A gift shop is located on the lobby floor near the elevators.
Gift shop and room floors hallway – Source: You Are Travel
The hotel has two pools—one indoors and one outdoors. The indoor pool is located within the spa, and the outdoor pool’s primary access point is to the right of the main entrance to the hotel. There’s also an N64-Goldeneye-style secret elevator leading from the outdoor pool to the back entrance to the spa.
Indoor & outdoor pools – Source: You Are Travel
The fitness center is on the same floor as the spa and is split into three rooms. One room contains cardio equipment and a small stretching room. The second room (not pictured) contains exclusively strength training equipment, and the final room is a studio for yoga, barre, and other group fitness classes.
Fitness center cardio room and multi-studio room – Source: You Are Travel
There’s a small sauna in each of the locker rooms.
Sauna in male locker room – Source: You Are Travel
I did receive a service from the spa—a massage—and it was alright. It was not the best, but it was not the worst.
Dining and the Club Lounge
Three restaurants at the Grand Hyatt – Kinu Sushibar, C Restaurant, and N.U. Bar, the pool bar. We had plans to sample more of the offerings around the city of São Paulo, so I didn’t try any of the restaurants. C Restaurant and Kinu Sushibar share the same space – breakfast and lunch at C and Kinu opens for dinner. N.U.’s availability is weather-dependent, though it may even be seasonal – it wasn’t open when I walked by the outdoor pool. I snapped a few quick photos of the breakfast buffet from a distance, which looked pretty robust.
C restaurant breakfast – Source: You Are Travel
My dining experiences at the hotel were limited to a straightforward room service order and the club lounge presentations. My steak was a little overcooked, though Mrs. Blackbeard enjoyed her pasta.
In room dining – Source: You Are Travel
I checked out the breakfast in the club both mornings, and it was an adequate spread. There was muesli, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fresh fruit, meat and cheese, and a few hot entrees—more than enough to get you by and start the day. I did spot quite a few selections for folks who have specific dietary needs (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc.).
Club lounge breakfast presentation – Source: You Are Travel
I visited the club for one evening presentation (sorry no photos) but there was heavier apps, a few light hot entrees, alongside complimentary wine and beer. I could be misremebering but I think you could get made to order cocktails as well. The club isn’t huge, but it does get busy—not to the point of being overrun, but a little bit of awkward hoveriness when trying to dish out food. It was always clean, though. The team did a good job of replenishing offerings, and the staff was super friendly as well.
Service
The service was strong. I found everyone I interacted with to be helpful, warm, and inviting. We did not have any requests during our stay, but upon checkout, we asked for help arranging transit to the airport with a stop at a local park, and the team was able to help set this up properly.
Additionally, I have to call out the hotel’s website. I was impressed by how much effort the team put into sourcing to-dos around the city. Many of the events seemed hyper-local, the types of happenings one might not find by researching themselves. At the very least, it was a good starting point for anyone in town without an itinerary.
Conclusion
The phrase ‘on brand’ comes to mind for the Grand Hyatt São Paulo. It nestles just where one would expect. It is less business-like than a Hyatt Regency, with well-appointed rooms and amenities, but I wouldn’t quite call it luxurious. As the only Hyatt location in São Paulo and a category three property, it’s a good candidate for free night award certificates.
The hotel gets many things right – good elite recognition, friendly service, and a solid club lounge – which makes it a good choice for your next visit to São Paulo.
