Some time ago we visited the German city of Düsseldorf on a short all-electric road trip with the Tesla Model S P90D. Düsseldorf is a vibrant city in the heart of the German Ruhrgebiet, featuring a historical city centre and many luxury-shopping possibilities. We decided to stay in style and spent a night in the luxury Hyatt Regency Hotel located in Düsseldorf’s Medienhafen.
The elegantly shaped Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf was designed by Düsseldorf based SOP architects and officially opened its doors in February 2011. The 19-storey luxury hotel features a total of 303 guest rooms, of which 30 are twin rooms, 257 King rooms, 10 Regency suites, 2 Executive suites and one Presidential suite.
Location
The Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf is located on the tip of a peninsula in the city’s Media Harbour district, offering views across the Rhine River and Düsseldorf skyline. The peninsula is connected to the city by both a separate pedestrian bridge spanning the Rhine River and a road from the South. The Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf targets both leisure and business travellers, the latter being the most frequent guests at the luxury hotel. Considering the hotel’s location being in the middle of a business district, this comes as no surprise.
Being located a little outside the city centre has a few perks. It’s far easier to reach than some of the hotel’s competitors that are located in the heart of the German city. Parking is no problem either at the Hyatt, which features a private parking area in a shared parking garage that is located on the basement levels of the luxury property.
The hotel is only a 20-minute drive away from Düsseldorf’s International airport and a 10-minute taxi ride away from Düsseldorf’s Altstadt, the historical city centre. If the weather permits it, the city centre is also easily reachable by foot which takes you about 30 minutes. Additionally the nice walk will guide you along the Rhine river banks and on the way you will pass a few of Düsseldorf’s main sights and landmarks, such as the Rhine Tower and the adventurously designed buildings by world renowned ‘starchitect’ Frank Gehry.
During our stay we visited the famous Christmas market in the center of Düsseldorf. Famous for its shopping we also visited the Königsallee, which is home to many luxury shops. From high-end jewelry stores to Louis Vuitton and the likes. For those keen to party, the Media Harbor is home to a large part Düsseldorf’s club scene and features many bars and restaurants in walking distance of the hotel. But the Hyatt itself also offers plenty of choices to eat and drink, but more on that later.
Design
The 19-storey luxury hotel is a true eye-catcher during both day and nighttime. It is clearly visible when passing the Düsseldorf Rhine Bridge. On the front the building ‘hangs’ over the street, like a piece were missing from an originally rectangle shaped building. Across from the Rhine it looks like the building as a whole reflects the design of a sailing yacht, with the long restaurant entirely stretching over the tip of the peninsula.
The interior of the hotel is designed by Amsterdam interior design firm ‘FG Stijl’ and breathes both luxury and warm living room ambience. The color palette comprises warm brown tints and a lot of black. Throughout the entire hotel we see no shortage of luxury materials and artifacts.
Rooms
The 303 guest rooms that the hotel features come quite spacious as standard, with the Twin Rooms and King rooms measuring a fair 32 to 37 square metres. The regency suites have a surface of 78 square metres while the executive suites enjoy 108 square metres of space. The presidential suite steals the show with a major 158 square metres. Our city-view room located on the 9th floor of the building offered incredible views over Düsseldorf and the Rhine river indeed. The corner room features an open plan bathroom with rain shower, walk-in wardrobe, minibar and large LCD television. The blinds covering the floor-to-ceiling windows all-around the room were automatically controllable from the bedside table. Our chief editor complained about the poor Wifi connection here during an earlier stay here but this issue seems to be fixed.
The room was further complimented with a separate toilet and a corner-room desk. Sitting behind the desk, the 180 degrees view over Düsseldorf is nothing short of inspiring, we imagine. If we were to mention a feature that truly intrigued us about this room specifically, it must be the floor-to-ceiling windows, which make you feel like you’re standing in a top-of-the-world penthouse looking over the skyline of Düsseldorf.
Dining and drinking
The Hyatt Regency’s main culinary venue is the DOX restaurant, which has space for 95 dining guests. It’s complimented by a large outdoors terrace that can seat an additional 80 guests during the summer season. The DOX restaurant is the largest dining spot of the hotel, serving classic European dishes during the day and an extensive breakfast buffet in the morning. During breakfast we could choose between a variety of dishes and freshly prepared food, while there was also the possibility to order à la carte.
Adjacent to the DOX restaurant we find the D Café, which is precisely located in an interesting ‘bowl’ like structure that is cladded with reflecting materials. The architectural feature sits on top of the deck, or what is the roof of the DOX restaurant. It is both accessible via the terrace on top or inside the DOX restaurant.
On the way to the DOX restaurant through the lobby we find the DOX bar on our right-hand side. It seats up to 60 guests and has a comprehensive drinks menu to choose from. Opposite of the DOX bar, across the hallway, we find an additional living room inspired seating area which is perfect for lounging. After returning from our tour through Düsseldorf’s oldtown and the Christmas market, we decided to relax and have a drink in the luxury lounging area. The ambience was warm and delightful, sitting in comfortable chairs right beside the luxury fireplace. We think the Hyatt did an excellent job creating this comfortable lounging space in particular.
For guests that prefer the Japanese kitchen over a classic European one, there is also a Sushi bar present in the Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf. It’s small, seating just about 25 people, but cozy.
Spa and other facilities
The Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf has a large spa & wellness area at the disposal of their guests. It’s called ‘Rive spa’ and spans some 485 square metres in total. Besides a range of massage and cosmetic treatments, the spa area comprises a so-called ‘mood room’, sauna and steam bath and relaxation area. What’s more is a large gym filled with Technogym equipment.
To foresee guests and companies that are in Düsseldorf on business, the Hyatt offers various meeting rooms, a boardroom and regency club meeting room. The luxury hotel is also the place to be for weddings and similar types of festivities, featuring a large 445 square metres ballroom.
Conclusion
The Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf is among the best hotels in the city and steals the show in terms of design and views over the city. While the location arguably isn’t the best in the city for leisure travellers, it does come with many advantages and spacious amenities that competitors simply can’t provide. Appealing to both business and leisure travellers, this luxury hotel ticks almost every box to comfort their guests, we only missed an indoor pool to relax at after a long day working or shopping.