I really wanted to like this hotel. Truly.
As the only Hyatt-branded property in Guatemala, the Hyatt Centric Guatemala City definitely had some positives. I liked the color palette, spacious rooms, breakfast buffet, on-site coffee shop, and friendly employees.
However, the recurring service issues, a consistently unstaffed coffee shop, and poor Wi-Fi made it difficult to really like this property. At times, I just had to laugh at the comedy of errors I encountered across 5 nights from 3 separate stays at the hotel in late June and early July 2026.
Would I stay here again? Honestly, I’m not sure.
Booking Hyatt Centric Guatemala City
During my 5 nights across 3 separate stays this summer, the average nightly price for a standard room at Hyatt Centric Guatemala City was $215 per night.
As a World of Hyatt Category 3 property, award reservations start at 8,000 points per night — though they can go as high as 20,000 points. During my late-June and early-July visits, the hotel was using the Lowest pricing tier, so I paid 8,000 points per night instead of $215.
That means I redeemed Hyatt points at nearly 2.69 cents each on these reservations. That’s nearly double our average valuation of Hyatt points at 1.4 cents each, so booking this property with points was definitely a good deal.
Hyatt Centric Guatemala City Location
The Hyatt Centric Guatemala City is in the heart of Zona 10 in southern Guatemala City — more specifically within the vibrant Zona Viva district. This is the capital city’s most modern and secure commercial area.
Just 10 minutes from La Aurora International Airport (GUA) and in close proximity to the U.S. Embassy, the hotel is surrounded by tree-lined streets, boutiques, and museums. It’s also next door to a large shopping center with restaurants, cafes, bars, and high-end shops.
Rooms Were Spacious
On my first and third visits, I was upgraded to a junior suite. I stayed in a standard room with 2 twin beds on the second visit. I found both room types spacious and liked the light color palettes.
The junior suite had an L-shaped layout with the bedroom at the bend in the L. Here, there was a king bed, a bench, floor-to-ceiling windows, a pair of nightstands, lots of outlets, and a closet.
The living room was at the front of the suite, including a sliding barn door to close off the bedroom (and a massive mirror on both sides of the door). Both rooms had a TV, and the living room also had a counter, a minifridge, stools, coffee supplies, and a seating area.
Suites had spacious bathrooms with both a shower and a tub.
The standard room had plenty of space to move around, with a seating area and a desk at the far end. The suite didn’t have a desk.
Both the standard room and the suite had ample counter space in the bathroom. Unfortunately, getting hot water for the shower in all 3 rooms took an incredibly long time.
Rooms Facing the Street (Not the Courtyard) Were Quieter
The open courtyard behind the hotel faced a mall and some corporate buildings. On my third visit (3 nights), my room faced this courtyard, and I hated it.
Between live bands at the mall and a corporate party with karaoke lasting until 1 a.m., there was noise here every night — enough that my windows vibrated and made sleep difficult. I slept much better when my room faced the street (the front of the hotel).
There Were Many Places To Eat and Drink
Zamat was the hotel’s main restaurant, on the same floor as reception. It was open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. I had breakfast here each morning. The buffet offered numerous hot dishes, meats, cheeses, fruits, made-to-order eggs, juices, and items catering to those with allergies.
Bar Zeis was near reception and the coworking area. It was open from noon to 1 a.m. daily, including happy hour from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. each evening.
Ezprezzo Corner was the hotel’s coffee shop, near reception. It also sold sandwiches and finger foods. The hotel’s website doesn’t list hours for Ezpresso Corner, but in practice, it was open whenever you could track down an employee to place an order.
Zielo Rooftop was on the 16th floor, open daily from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. It offered a full-service bar, burgers, and light bites.
Access to the Hotel Was Confusing
On my first and second visits to the hotel, I had a rental car. Arriving at the hotel’s address, I saw a parking garage, but there were no signs at all indicating whether hotel guests needed to park in a certain area. Moreover, there weren’t any signs saying which elevators led from the garage to the hotel and which elevators led to the shopping mall next door.
Taking the elevators from the garage up to street level dumped me into an area with no signs indicating the hotel’s entrance. After asking people and 3 right turns, I wound up in an elevator that led to the hotel’s lobby on the sixth floor. Signs would have been really great.
Amenities Were Just OK
The hotel offered a few amenities. I wasn’t impressed by any of them.
Parking was complimentary, and the rooftop (16th floor) had a gym, a sundeck, and a pool. The pool and gym were small, and the gym only had very basic offerings.
There was also a small coworking station near the reception area and coffee bar.
The Elevator Situation Was Weird
I found it super odd that the first elevator (the most convenient one) was the employees-only elevator. I wasn’t the only one who thought this, either, as I saw other guests pushing the button for this elevator by mistake and overheard people commenting on the strangeness of the service elevator being the first one.
Even so, staff routinely used the guest elevators for housekeeping carts, room service deliveries, or moving supplies between floors, so the whole situation was confusing — and the wait for elevators was sometimes quite long.
Service Was Friendly (Though Sometimes Laughably Bad)
Every employee I met across my 3 stays was super friendly. Service was still bad at multiple points, though. Yes, service can be friendly and bad at the same time.
Here are some examples.
Some days, I had a reserved table at breakfast, which I assume was due to my Globalist status. However, I didn’t find this sign waiting for me every day – only 2 out of 5 days. And staff tried to charge me for breakfast once, even though free breakfast is a daily, guaranteed benefit for me as a Globalist.
During the final 3-night stay, I didn’t get housekeeping at all on the second day, and housekeeping only came around 4 p.m. on the third day. That was an odd gap, and I had trash from takeout and welcome gift trays that I wanted them to clear.
On my first visit, I got a puzzle to put together to reveal my welcome gift, or prize, as a Globalist — which was a complimentary drink at the rooftop bar. On my second visit, I had to ask for it. The check-in employee didn’t seem to know I had any status (which is probably why I didn’t get an upgrade) and seemed irritated that I asked for the puzzle.
I also had to ask for the puzzle on my final stay and was told that the hotel had run out of puzzles, so I received these chocolates.
I found this amazing welcome gift of chocolates, coffee, and rum on my final visit. I was impressed. A few minutes later, an employee knocked on the door saying this gift was meant for someone else and took it away. I actually started laughing while he was collecting the items to remove them.
To apologize for the incident, the hotel sent me a piece of cake. The next night, I got a gift of bread and hummus.
I think I was also supposed to get a gift on my first stay. During checkout, a manager asked if I’d received a special treat in my room. When I said no, he seemed embarrassed. He insisted on offering me a free drink from the lobby coffee shop to compensate … then had to go find an employee to make it since there weren’t any employees at the counter (a common issue).
All of these interactions were friendly, but not all of them were good.
Wi-Fi Was Bad
Internet speeds and reliability were pretty bad throughout the hotel. It was somewhat better in the lobby, but in guest rooms, I got upload speeds of 12Mbps but download speeds just above 2.5Mbps.
It felt like using dial-up at times, and I found using cell signal on my phone was better than connecting my phone to the Wi-Fi.
Final Thoughts
This hotel has a lot of potential. It really could be great. The look and size of the rooms, the rooftop bar, and friendly employees are a great foundation. Having a coffee shop in the lobby is a nice bonus.
However, the Hyatt Centric Guatemala City has work to do before it can be considered more than just average. Service had a lot of failures during the 5 nights I stayed here, better insulation for the rooms (to block out noise) would really help, and investment in the Wi-Fi is sorely needed to bring the service up to modern standards. Plus, employees need to actually be available at the coffee shop.