As part of my quest to complete the Hyatt Diamond Challenge, I spent several nights at the Hyatt House Pittsburgh Bloomfield Shadyside. Only paid stays were eligible for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge, so while award stays were out for this trip, points + cash stays were considered eligible. As a Category 2 property in Hyatt’s Gold Passport program, that meant nights could be booked for 4,000 points + $55 per night, as opposed to 8,000 points for a fully free award night.

Hyatt House is Hyatt’s extended stay brand, most directly in competition with Marriott’s Residence Inn brand, among others. Hyatt House locations tend to offer a mixture of standard rooms, studios with cooking supplies and appliances, and one-bedroom suites, including full kitchens, living spaces and separate bedrooms.

Like Hyatt Place properties, Hyatt House locations offer a free breakfast to all guests each morning. Unique to the Hyatt House is the omelette bar, where chefs will whip up eggs and ingredients on a made-to-order basis. Otherwise, breakfast options are largely continental in nature, though tend to be a bit nicer on weekends.

In addition, Hyatt House properties include convenience stores near the front desk, bar areas offering drinks and a small array of paid food options each evening, fitness centers, and pools, as well as outdoor barbecue areas and other amenities to make those staying for an extended period feel more at home.

The Stay Experience

The Hyatt House Pittsburgh Bloomfield Shadyside is one of Hyatt’s newest properties. Located very conveniently to a number of good restaurants, and a few minutes from the campuses of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, this hotel is in one of the more desirable areas of town, and in an immediate area bustling with new construction projects. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were the first guests to stay in our room, given that the property had been open less than a week when we first checked in.

We stayed in a simple King Room, rather than one of the larger studios or suites.

Even so, the room still offered a microwave, coffee maker and mini-fridge, along with a few basic utensils and accessories.

Opposite the bed was a TV and armoire, as well as a desk offering ample workspace.

Across from the bed was a large, wraparound couch, similar in style to those found at many Hyatt Place locations:

The bathroom was sleek, as would be expected from a brand new property, with a very nice shower.

In addition to the normal array of items all Hyatts and most hotels offer to those who might have forgotten certain toiletries and such at home, the Hyatt House also offered a number of more interesting items to borrow. Tool sets, cribs and high chairs, laundry baskets and blenders all made perfect sense for the extended stay crowd. Beats wireless headphones, board games, clothing steamers and white noise machines all went well beyond the normal offerings, though, which I found impressive.

Final Thoughts

Overall, our stay was very comfortable. The room was fine, and we had no need for one of the larger studios or bedrooms, given our stay lasted just a few nights. The lobby features an extraordinarily large amount of room for enjoying breakfast and staging impromptu meetings, as well as several nooks with TVs, should you prefer to watch your favorite show outside your bedroom one night.

New hotels can often struggle as staff are still being trained, but I found everyone I interacted with on this stay to be well-trained, friendly and quick to please. A local shuttle service is also a great benefit for exploring some of Pittsburgh’s dining and nightlife scene, or when heading to one of the university campuses for an event.

There are several Hyatt locations in the greater Pittsburgh area, but none are newer than the Hyatt House Pittsburgh Bloomfield Shadyside, and few could be considered more convenient to the city’s schools and many of its better restaurants. I’d stay here again, without question, especially considering the value it offers as a Category 2 property in Hyatt’s Gold Passport program.