It’s the people who make a stay memorable and the processes which ensure that people deliver what is promised by a brand. Sadly, the Hyatt Regency Dehradun – the processes seem non-existent and less said the better about the people and their training. 

It was holiday time again and the destination of choice this time was Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand. TW (The WIfe) has been there once in early 2000s, and TD (The Daughter) had never been to the hills and TH (that’s me) had never been to Dehradun. The hotel of choice this time was the Hyatt Regency Dehradun – just two years into operation with some good views of the forest.

Almost everybody seems to know that there is a dispute between the hotel and the property owners nearby on the access road to the hotel. Without talking about this every driver and local we met and spoke to had a story to tell about the hotel’s approach road. 

The hotel appears new, with views of the forest on one side and hills on the other. The lobby gives the warmth from the chill outside and the decor stands out for its simplicity. The lobby seating is spaced out and uses a mix of natural and traditional light at the entrance. Also at the lobby level is the restaurant “Range”. The lobby also has a fish pond – where TD spent some time each time we were passing by the lobby. As we made our way to the room, the property showed its age in a positive way. Clean carpets, well lit lobby and spacious room with a surprise for TD as we entered. The hotel has a swimming pool, with a baby pool on the rooftop and a very good changing area.

The hotel is high on sustainability with coffee coming in biodegradable brew bags, frequent mention of sustainability in the room, not changing bath towels daily – unless asked for, having a kitchen garden for organic farming amongst others. 

The good part ended right there because there were a series of slip-ups which started even before we reached the hotel. The first of the many goof ups started when we landed and a message popped up confirming our pick-up at 1920 hours. The time then was 1700 and there was an email confirmation about a 1730 hrs pickup. A few phone calls later, another vehicle was arranged and we were off to the hotel.

Vehicle seems to be the weak point we thought because there was confusion on the vehicle for a trip to Rishikesh for the Ganga Aarti as well. Again, the vehicle was arranged in a jiffy and we set out, albeit with a small delay. 

The highlight of all misses was the next day when they took confirmation from us for the Pizza making activity for TD. On reaching the designated point in the restaurant, the staff said that it won’t be possible that day and that they have no intimation of the Pizza making activity. This was a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing. With TD upset, it was time to escalate – which I did. The activity was thus conducted – a perfect example of how things could have been done but simply weren’t in the first place.

Seemingly, in hospitality – when something reaches the GM of the property, things fall in place but Hyatt Regency Dehradun created an exception there too. On the day of check-out we were double billed for one of the activities. The staff is so casual that they could neither produce a voucher for this nor cancel it. This is despite the fact that they were requested to keep the bills ready 20 minutes prior to when we actually checked-out. The lack of training shows up each time, since the staff also asked if we consumed anything from the mini bar. When I was informed that it was empty, it was when the staff exclaimed that yes, it is on demand, it’s empty, right!

Even after the staff found out about the wrong billing, no effort was made to correct it, call up or email – very standard procedures in hospitality, until I highlighted the issue to the India head, after which there was a call to apologise and promised to refund the double billing.

One is a miss, but one a day is a habit! The staff clearly needs to up the game if they want to stay up with the Regency standards. Surprisingly, the staff seemed to be busy on the phones continuously across all areas and there was one who asked us if we are Hyatt members on three different days. There also was a wedding going on in the property at the same time. The rooms have been built with some solid sound proofing and we weren’t impacted by the wedding and its guests at all.

Hyatt Again?

Definitely not, the first and the last experience with Hyatt is enough to say no to the brand as a whole. If you decide to stay here, after reading our experience – do try the Gulab Jamun which was very tasty and visit Beyul – the rooftop bar which has some good mix of cocktails and very tasty food on offer.

There are a lot of red flags at this property. Heavy influencer invites and reshares on social media, Google maps reviews with five stars from people who have 1 or 2 reviews being the top two. The hotel will do good if they invest as much time and energy in improving the people and process quality, than inviting influencers and resharing their posts. This will help push up the Revenue which matters the most.