Review: Hyatt Regency Rochester

When a recent road trip took me through Rochester and I needed a place to stay, I booked a room at downtown’s Hyatt Regency Rochester without giving it a second thought. I was unfamiliar with the area in general, but I have enjoyed stays at this Hyatt brand in the past, so I anticipated a fine experience.

Upon arrival, I found the property in the process of renovations, but those seemed to be completed on the guestroom floors, if not in the common spaces such as the lobby, restaurant and terrace bar. My two-queen-bed room was modern and somewhat stylish, and it offered views of the city.

© Holly Riddle

The hotel’s location, though downtown, does not put it within easy walking distance of many restaurants or bars, so I opted to check out the property’s terrace bar and restaurant. The terrace bar offered a quiet setting with several other guests gathered around fire pits and a game of cornhole. The bar served a range of specialty cocktails and a few light bites, alongside limited views of surrounding high-rises. The restaurant, dubbed The Street Craft Kitchen & Bar, served standard American fare until the late hours.

It all would have been relatively unremarkable and the hotel would have barely stood out in my memory as just a Hyatt Regency undergoing a facelift. However, at the end of my dinner, a man across the bar loudly brought the room’s attention to the fact a mouse had just skittered across the floor. While I did not see the mouse with my own eyes, I promptly returned to my guestroom.

Would I stay at Hyatt Regency Rochester again? Probably, if it was convenient as it was on my recent trip, and especially after the hotel completes its renovations. However, will I forever remember the hotel as “that place we stayed where a mouse ran through the restaurant”? Unfortunately, yes.