Multi-use room at Hyatt Place

With 160 locations in city business centers and near airports, Hyatt Place is built for those who spend a lot of time doing business on the road. These hotels aren’t dated, but the chain thinks the term “road warrior” is, so they’re giving away some big prizes to get your feedback on what should replace it.

If you hook up to their Facebook page and give some feedback, you could score a huge prize package of hotel nights and lots of gadgets. Plus every week they’re giving away a free night at one of their hotels. What do you have to do? Tell us how you embody or define the modern day Road Warrior, and create an original, fun name for the modern day Road Warrior.”

Bar & snack area

More on that in a minute, but what are these hotels actually like inside? To find out I ventured a whole ten minutes from my current home to spend a night at the Hyatt Place Westshore, near the airport in Tampa, Florida.

The room (pictured at the top) was definitely designed with the business traveler in mind. Set up like a junior suite, Hyatt Place rooms have a living room area with sectional sofa and ottoman, a bed on the other side of a partition, and a 42-inch flat-screen TV that swivels to face either. The TV has inputs for all your gadgets, so with the right cables you can run a computer, smart phone, iPad, or digicam through it. Two outlets are at the base of the TV, which also happens to be right by the desk. So you don’t have to go on hands and knees to find an outlet.

Add in a coffee maker with real mugs, an ice bucket, a blackout curtain, and an iron with ironing board and a business traveler is all set. A cordless phone with voice mail is a nice touch too and the leather desk chair on wheels is comfortable for burning the midnight oil. A wet bar area and alarm clock with MP3 input round out the package.

In recognition that a 2011 hotel that charges for Wi-Fi is like a hotel that charges for hot water—both are essential for business travelers—there’s no charge for Internet access here and the signal is strong throughout the building, even at the pool.

Hyatt Place Lounge

There is plenty of room to kick back or have a meeting in the lounge, plus a bar/counter area serves drinks until midnight and food at all hours. There are two computers downstairs for guest use, plus you can send documents to their printer from your room using a free service. A continental breakfast buffet is included in the rates and you can add on hot dishes for an extra fee that’s reasonable.

The tight breakfast area fills up fast if the hotel is close to full and these hotels are cookie-cutter style (all use the same layout, with no surprises), but it’s hard to find many faults with this chain for biz travelers, especially for those looking for good value. Rates start at under $100 and there’s a free shuttle to the airport.

So what does that grand prize winner get in this road warrior contest? A lot. Here’s the full rundown: 10 Free Nights at any Hyatt Place, Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond status membership through February 2013, 2 round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, Lenovo Thinkpad X1, Apple iPad 2, Samsung Infuse 4G smartphone from AT&T (service not included), The All-New NOOK by Barnes & Noble, Polaroid Grey Label GL10 Instant Mobile Printer, Jawbone JAMBOX Wireless Speaker, Skullcandy “Fix” Earbuds, iSound Portable Power Battery by dreamGEAR, Hyatt Grand bedding set and Pacific Coast Pillow Fixer travel pillows, an expandable laptop brief and travel document holder, Waterbobbles, $500 gift card to The Limited or Joseph A. Bank (winner’s choice), $200 gift card to Cole Haan, two pairs of adidas CLIMACool Ride shoes and two full adidas training outfits, a yoga mat and DVD.

Enter before October 6 at the Hyatt Place Facebook page.

See Uptake’s Hyatt Place Tampa Airport page or check all locations at the Hyatt Place site.

Story and photos by Tim Leffel, author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations and Travel Writing 2.0. He was hosted for one night at Hyatt Place Tampa Airport.