Grand Hyatt Atlanta: Atlanta's Four-Diamond Buckhead Luxury Hotel

The Grand Hyatt Atlanta is located on Peachtree Road in Buckhead, Atlanta's luxury shopping, residential and business district. Nearby attractions include Atlanta's exclusive shopping malls, Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square, as well as the Atlanta History Center, the beautiful Buckhead residential district and Chastain Park, site of an outdoor amphitheater with popular summer concerts. The hotel is accessible from Georgia Highway 400. MARTA, Atlanta's public transit system, has a train station about one-quarter of a mile away.

The 24-story Grand Hyatt has 438 rooms, 20 of which are suites. Rooms are available in several sizes, up to a 2,500-square-foot Presidential Suite. Built as the Hotel Nikko, a Japanese brand, the building still has a distinct Japanese flavor, particularly in its 9,000-square-foot Japanese rock garden, designed by a well-known landscape architect from Kyoto. All rooms come with the signature, luxurious Hyatt Grand Bed; wired and wireless high-speed Internet access; a generous work area with ample connections and marble baths. Some suites feature kitchenettes, Jacuzzis and private balconies. A renovation of the hotel was completed in 2008. In 2009, the Hyatt was named a AAA Four-Diamond award winner for the 12th year in a row.

Other hotel features include a fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, an outdoor pool with a large sunning deck, complimentary car service within two miles of the hotel and a full business center, open 24 hours a day, with computer work stations, printers, fax machines, office supplies, a typing service and shipping services. There are several dining options at the Hyatt. Their signature restaurant, Cassis, offers elegant, Southern-inspired cuisine. The Onyx at the Grand bar and lounge offers cocktails, an afternoon high tea, sushi and casual fare, all in a hip, relaxed setting. Onyx also has a coffee bar that serves breakfast and snack foods.

The Grand Hyatt has a total of 30,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including two ballrooms, three boardrooms and three outdoor terraces. The 9,700-square-foot Grand Ballroom can hold up to 720 people for banquets and 1,250 for receptions. The largest conference room is 4,000 square feet and can accommodate 150 people in a theater setting or 90 people in a classroom setting. The ballrooms and terraces are popular spots for Atlanta weddings, with the Japanese garden used as a backdrop for wedding pictures.

Reviewers on well-known travel websites are generally pleased with the Grand Hyatt Atlanta. About two-thirds of reviewers on one site gave the hotel an "Excellent'' or "Very Good'' rating. Guests are almost always pleased with the Buckhead location, calling it safe and convenient to everything in Atlanta, especially shopping. Many reviewers comment on how clean the hotel is. The Hyatt offers frequent, discounted weekend packages, which are popular with families. The Professional Travel Guide, on the other hand, says that "few sophisticates will appreciate the more family-friendly atmosphere that takes over during the discounted weekends.'' The Hyatt's service gets many accolades from web reviewers. One frequent guest at the hotel says, "I have never expressed a need that the staff did not make an effort to meet.''