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| - Having grown up in Northern Ohio, my first visit to The Cleveland Arcade itself is a dim memory from early youth. I moved away from the area some 45 years ago. Still, from time to time over all the years, my family has visited the Arcade and stayed at the arcade hotels - since 2001 being the Hyatt Regency. For that time the hotel has also been the base for (at the least) a yearly "pilgrimage" my wife and I have made from Southern or Central Ohio to Cleveland. During these trip we always enjoy a night at the beautiful Severance Hall to hear the famed Cleveland Symphony. A day or two is spent traveling around town to various favorite spots such as; the West Side Market, Tremont Neighborhood, Willoughby shops, R&R Hall of Fame; micro brews, and more. Usually one major highlight of the 2-3 day mini-vacation WAS our stay at the Arcade Hotel - most lately the Hyatt Regency. I am sorry to say that in the future we will be giving strong consideration to finding new digs for future trips.
At the outset I will admit that a portion of the Hyatt is reported to be under renovation, although we observed no outward sign of that except for rooms on a couple floors being unavailable. I also note that we stayed at the hotel midweek. Still, the Hyatt, in fact the entire Arcade, imparted a feeling not unlike a ghost town might. The Arcade is now devoid of the shops that used to add a certain, special feel to the edifice, save the Post Office and a few fast food places in the food court. A Bellman told us a new owner had evicted the previous tenants. No one seemed to know what was next for the Arcade in that regard. The gorgeous Romanesque Revival building itself appears to be in good shape and still glistens, even if in an eerily quiet manner. The Hyatt; well, I can't say it has fared so well. If there is a renovation underway it is late in coming and DEFINITELY has not touched the room we stayed in. If I could post a few pictures I would offer the worn, tattered, old chair; the rusty bathroom fixtures in the postage stamp bathroom, a bathroom with virtually no ventilation; the TV which, although fairly new, had not been adjusted properly and was all but impossible to see in low light; the threadbare carpeting near the bathroom entry; and, well that's probably enough. At this point, in the interest of giving you the entire picture,
I will further admit that we did take advantage of a special Seniors' rate - recently having joined that group - and wonder just a bit if our room reflected Hyatt's disdain for the small savings that the "special" rate offers. In the past, pre-retirement, we always spent extra to stay on the Arcade or when the entire family was along, in the Suites. Maybe we are relegated to buying the cheap seats now.
The valet service, run by a third party, is probably the best part of the stay now. The location is great, not too close to that darned casino, but close enough to the Square to get to the restaurants there easily.
Upon checkout I purposefully returned the room cards to the front desk just to see if I was met with the usual "we hope enjoyed your stay." I do allow to have been planning to suggest that the room might be polished up a bit at the least. There were two desk persons and a bellman standing at the desk who acted rather indifferent and offered not so much as a thank-you?! . . . Yes, we had tipped generously - and yes, I did interrupt their private conversation by walking up to the counter; but there were no other patrons in the lobby at the time. Hence, given their apparent lack of interest I determined to rather hold my peace and offer my thoughts in this forum.
Perhaps, if there is a renovation at the Hyatt, and the new building owner brings back the small shops, or some fitting "face" of the Arcade, it can return to its former level of quality and interest. We would love to continue the tradition and stay there yet again. In the meantime, we'd suggest giving some thought toward skipping the Hyatt Regency Cleveland.
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