Hyatt Hotel Canberra: why not get away in your own backyard? Photo: Hyatt.
We recently enjoyed a cosy weekend at Hyatt Hotel Canberra, which is this year celebrating its 100th anniversary – a century of elegance.
It was a winter staycation full of delightful food-punctuated highlights.
The Hyatt has seen me celebrate some big life moments over the years: several birthday breakfast buffets, and an extra special one to celebrate the birth of my second son. We celebrated Christmas early over high tea with friends. Another high tea saw me turn a certain age that ends with a zero.
So our arrival at the Hyatt felt familiar, but we were excited because this was our first time staying at the hotel.
With a high tea booking for 2 pm, we only popped into our room briefly before heading to the Tea Lounge. A bottle of wine from Collector and a box of chocolates on the room’s desk is a delightful welcome! Even the TV said hello! The gleaming bathroom’s deep-sunk bath caught my eye, and I mentally put aside at least half an hour for a soak later.
Plan to spend a couple of hours at high tea, giving yourself time to fully relax into all the food served in the light-filled Tea Lounge. The secret is to pace yourself.
The sitting includes a glass of wine or bubbles, with unlimited coffees and teas. We wiled away our afternoon, eating, chatting and people-watching. The pianist tinkling out an easy-listening playlist in the hallway behind us added to the experience.
After the hot food service, a three-tiered high tea stand arrived holding sandwiches, scones and sweet and savoury petit fours. The entire experience was delightful. I enjoyed guessing the sandwich fillings and each of the petit four flavours and then checking the menu to see if we guessed correctly!
After all the indulgence, we needed to walk off some calories.
On our weekend ‘away’, Canberra’s wonderful foodie event, The Forage, was just a 20-minute walk away on the Acton Waterfront. We didn’t go that far, determined not to spoil our appetites before our fireside dinner booking. Exploring the hotel took us a while, stepping into all the various lounges with their historic fireplaces and popping our heads into the immaculate Clubhouse Fitness Centre. We visited several of the hotel’s neat courtyards with manicured gardens and tables to sit around and enjoy the view. We walked up and down the famous staircases that you can see featured in countless wedding photoshoots.
We felt we could face food again, just in time for our cosy fireside dinner in Griffin’s lounge. Muted and elegant, Griffin’s is all high-backed, well-cushioned chairs and couches, mood lighting, polished wood floors and a glorious hearth. With soft jazz playing and delicious plates of food enticing us, between glasses of wine, rosé and champagne, we took our time to enjoy a leisurely feast seated right in front of the crackling fire.
One of the many highlights was the charred king prawns: split open and grilled, we enjoyed the smoke-infused deliciousness within.
Toasted sliders are crisp toasted buns full of lush, melt-in-your-mouth wagyu brisket topped with sharp, melty wisps of smoked cheddar. A spread of spiced chutney cut through those luxurious meaty flavours.
We ate crunchy wedges of crumbed halloumi, tender and salty inside with just a hint of squeak.
The most unusual dish was the Brandade on a rye cracker. Brandade is an emulsion of salt cod, good quality olive oil and, in this case, potatoes. Served cold, it tasted how I imagine a midsummer party overlooking a Nordic lake might taste. Salty and umami, with undertones of garlic and herbs, I immediately looked up how to make this and serve it as a hot dip at my next event.
We enjoyed the char-grilled lamb cutlets accompanied by hung yoghurt and red pepper-rich romesco. My mum would make hung yoghurt when I was a child (we called it quark). Richly creamy with a smooth tang, it paired well with the rich flavours of the lamb.
We have our fireside dinner fireside dinner in the Griffin’s lounge. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
The flatbread topping combination was the best I have had in ages – prosciutto, truffle-imbued Camembert and chilli honey. Simple and executed so well.
The cocktail prawns arrived, colourful and delicate, with two plump prawns dangling over the side of the glass. We discovered extra prawn pieces mixed in with the salad and cocktail sauce as we dug into the dish.
Our cheese platter featured a blue cheese, a soft cheese and a harder, more pungent cheese, paired with an assortment of crispbreads.
Dinner ended with a very special hot chocolate, created from multiple types of chocolate and topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon. It was creamy and rich and just the best way to finish a fireside dinner. If you love hot chocolate, try the one at the Hyatt.
We enjoyed the Hyatt’s famous buffet breakfast the next morning before checkout, a meal that deserves its own feature in the coming weeks. We felt no need to rush, as check out wasn’t until 11 am.
Is it time for your staycation at the Park Hyatt? Take advantage of the Stay Cosy package, which includes a $50 food and beverage voucher per person per night.
Or just come on a Sunday for the new buffet lunch: The Sunday Carvery, featuring roast wagyu beef, pork belly and Yorkshire puddings among an absolute feast of choice. The Sunday Carvery starts at midday every Sunday.
One of the Hyatt’s courtyards. Photo: Kazuri Photography
The Park Hyatt is located at 120 Commonwealth Ave.
Follow The Park Hyatt on Facebook to keep up to date with their current events and specials.
*Riotact stayed at Hyatt Hotel Canberra, courtesy of the hotel, but the author’s opinions are their own.
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