Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Review
Walt Disney World in Orlando is known for its massive footprint that makes visitors forget about the outside world. The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress takes a cue from its neighbor (though at a much smaller scale) by offering guests so many activities and entertainment options that they might even forget that the Disney parks are nearby. When flight cancellations threw a wrench into our travel plans, my wife and I decided to book a last-minute visit to the Grand Cypress to check out this resort. I had always heard about how the Grand Cypress is a great place to redeem category 1-4 free night certificates. Having visited this resort myself, I can now see why it offers such great value, as I'll share in this Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress review.
Location
The Grand Cypress is the closest Hyatt property to the Disney parks, with each park being at most 15 minutes away. There is also no shortage of dining and shopping options nearby. The resort offers shuttles to Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, and Disney Springs.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress: Typical Booking Cost
The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is a Category 4 in the World of Hyatt program. Here are the award costs for a standard room:
- 12,000 points off peak
- 15,000 points standard
- 18,000 points peak
This massive resort has 779 rooms, including 46 suites. For our stay, we combined redeeming a category 1-4 free night certificate and points at 15,000 per night.
The number of suites is pretty small compared to the overall number of rooms, so I would not expect suite upgrades to be a regular occurrence here.
Check-In
The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress check-in desk was regularly buzzing with activity during our stay, but it never had a long line. Upon arriving, I went to the dedicated line for World of Hyatt elite members, where there was no line. We arrived at around 11 am but received a room without having to wait.
The front desk staff proactively upgraded us to a higher floor room with fireworks views. I asked whether any suites were available and was told no. This was not a surprise; I had checked suite availability that morning, but everything appeared to be booked. Indeed, the resort was close to full capacity for the weekend.
The staff walked us through all that the resort has to offer and our Globalist benefits. We received a resort map with information about activities and the shuttle schedule. As a World of Hyatt Globalist member, I received complimentary breakfast at the Lakehouse Restaurant (valid for up to 2 adults and 2 children), free parking (including valet), and complimentary bottles of water in our room daily.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Review: Resort King Room
Our room was on the 9th floor, facing the resort's lake. The room is very spacious and sleek, although starting to become a bit dated.
The room included a fridge, a decent-sized closet, lots of surface space along one of the walls, and a sofa. We had plenty of room for the rollaway that we requested as well. I always appreciate when hotels and resorts offer some sort of desk-like space, even when most wouldn't expect to work during their stay.
The vanity area in the bathroom could have been a little bit bigger, but this was by no means a dealbreaker. The water pressure in the shower left something to be desired.
Overall, the room was nice but not impressive, and it met our expectations. Nothing in the room felt luxurious, but this is not necessarily a problem, given that the Grand Cypress clearly caters to families and is far from the type of resort where you would spend much time in your room. Consistent with the rest of the resort, the room was perfectly nice and made us feel like we were getting good value out of this stay.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Review: Property/Amenities
The resort offers a lot of activities and amenities for kids and adults of all ages. This makes the Grand Cypress a great option for families who want to be close to the Disney parks but want to take a break from the parks for a day or two.
Even though the Grand Cypress certainly caters to families, I still saw plenty of couples of groups of adults without any children at the resort. That said, there is no adults-only pool.
The resort's main attraction is the massive lagoon pool, featuring 12 waterfalls. The pool is split into four distinct areas with plenty of lounge chairs nearby. The layout of the pool makes it a lot of fun to explore and walk/swim under each of the many waterfalls. But beware: the water was very cold even in the peak of summer!
Other activities include complimentary water sports (canoes, kayaks, paddleboats, hydrobikes, and paddle boards), putt putt, beach volleyball, two pickleball courts, two walking/jogging trails, complimentary bicycle rentals, a rock climbing wall, and an arcade. Bottom line: kids (and adults) will never have a reason to feel bored at the Grand Cypress.
The Grand Cypress offers many activities throughout the day, mostly around the pool area. The schedule is available near the elevators showing the activities for the next couple of days. On some evenings, they show a couple of movies on a large screen by the pool. Guests can watch it from the pool itself or from the loungers. Our toddler enjoyed catching Dwayne Johnson's magnum opus “Moana” on one of our nights.
Overall, the amenities were well kept. Renting equipment for the various activities was seamless and the staff was friendly and easygoing. Many activities require guests to sign a waiver, but you only need to sign the waiver once and you're set for the rest of your stay.
We visited during a busy holiday weekend but did not have to wait for any of the activities. On occasion, I noticed the rock climbing wall having a small wait.
The resort also has a decent-sized beach on the lake. Signs caution guests against swimming in the lake, but the loungers along the lakeshore still offer a quieter spot to enjoy the sun away from the commotion surrounding the pool area. On one end of the beach is the dock with canoes, kayaks, etc.
Dining
The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress offers a handful of dining options. Menus are available on this page.
The Lakehouse Restaurant & Bar is the resort's main restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also catering to room service. World of Hyatt Globalists can enjoy complimentary breakfast buffet at the Lakehouse Restaurant.
The restaurant is spacious and has lots of tables, but is still not large enough considering the size of the resort (almost 800 rooms). We had a short 5-minute wait for breakfast each morning around 8 am (courtesy of our toddler). By the time we left the restaurant, the line was 40+ people deep.
Breakfast was good but unremarkable. You can expect all the typical staples of a breakfast buffet–scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, breakfast potatoes, pancakes, various breads, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, assorted fruits, etc. There was also an omelet station and pancake station. Beverage service was adequate–servers were friendly but clearly stretched to the limit with the restaurant at full capacity every morning. Despite the constant flow of guests, none of the buffet offerings were ever empt. All of the food looked fresh at all times and nothing sat for too long.
On the Rocks is the resort's poolside restaurant. The menu is typical of what you would expect of a poolside restaurant–sandwiches, fries, burgers, etc. Servers walk through the pool and beach areas to take orders. Placing an order from the pool area was tough in light of how busy the resort was. We had a much easier time placing orders from loungers on the beach where there were much fewer guests.
The Grand Cypress' more elegant restaurant is the Four Flamingos, perched above the resort's pool. The Four Flamingos is only open for dinner, and the menu focuses on surf and turf (with a greater emphasis on the former). We did not get a chance to check out this restaurant.
The Lobby Bar offers typical bar fare and is a nice place to grab a drink indoors. Located in the lobby's atrium, the bar lets guests enjoy plenty of sunlight while basking in some air conditioning.
For guests looking for something quick on the go, the Market offers to-go sandwiches, salads, and snacks and has a Starbucks store. The Market also sells s'mores kits for guests to roast over the fire pits in the evenings.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Review: Gym and Spa
The gym is tucked away in an alcove near the pool's many waterfalls, where its location belies its size. There is no shortage of treadmills and bikes, including some Peloton ones. There was also plenty of equipment and lots of space for free weights. I was pleasantly surprised by the gym's size and options.
The Grand Cypress has a Marilyn Monroe spa and salon hidden around the corner behind the check-in desk and down a long hallway. The spa appeared looked closed the couple of times I walked by it.
Service at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Despite the resort being close to full capacity, service was consistently good for most of our stay. Service was on the slower side at breakfast and by the poolside sheerly due to the number of guests, but servers and staff were still friendly and attentive.
The valet service (complimentary for Globalist members) was pretty efficient. You can text their number asking for your car and they reply with an estimated wait time for your car. This minimizes your wait at the front door.
Housekeeping was helpful and quick to respond with our requests for a rollaway bed and additional towels. One day, housekeeping did not come by while we were in the pool for the entire day. I called the front desk and asked for housekeeping to come by while we went away to dinner, which they did.
Overall, I would not expect outstanding five-star service at the Grand Cypress, but rather solid, dependable service that will give you little to no reason for complaints.
Hyatt Elite Perks & Status Recognition
Elite status recognition for my Globalist status at the resort checked all the boxes, highlighting the World of Hyatt program's consistency. Unprompted, we received the best-available upgrade (since all suites were booked). As expected, we received complimentary breakfast daily, complimentary bottles of water in our room, and a late check-out. Since this was a points stay, I also received complimentary parking as a Globalist member. I was glad to see that this included valet parking.
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Review: ToP Thoughts
The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is a fantastic category 4 sweet spot in the World of Hyatt program. Guests get excellent value out of a category 1-4 certificate at this resort that has so much to offer families while still being close to the Disney parks. There is no lack of activities to keep kids of all ages entertained. If you're just looking for a place to sleep when visiting the Disney parks, you can save your points and stay at cheaper Hyatt options nearby. But if you expect to spend sometime outside the parks and want to have some fun in the Florida sun, then the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is a no-brainer.
