Hyatt Centric Cambridge

Hyatt Centric Cambridge opened in October 2021 as the brand's first hotel in the UK and the tenth Hyatt in the country. It has 150 rooms and stands in Eddington, a district the University of Cambridge built on its north-western edge, about two miles from the historic centre. The building shares its footprint with Turing Locke, a separate 180-unit aparthotel. The two are divided at ground level by a covered patio.

The place

Eddington is a new neighbourhood planned and developed by the University of Cambridge, two miles north-west of the old city. It is a residential and academic quarter with its own shops and green spaces, not a place with college walls and river views at the door.

The Fitzwilliam Museum is a short drive away, and the hotel rents electric bicycles for the trip into town. Anyone planning to walk to the colleges should know that the centre is a ride, not a stroll.

The concept

The architecture is by dRMM, a London practice that has won the Stirling Prize, and the interiors are by AvroKO. The rooms are arranged around a central courtyard, and 57 of the 150 rooms look onto it. Thirty are classed as deluxe.

The decor mixes art deco touches with mustard velvet, blue tones and walnut. The social lobby has floor-to-ceiling windows, natural wood finishes and artwork that refers to Cambridge's scientific history. Bathrooms carry Bee Kind products, and each room has a Bluetooth television and an alarm clock radio that pairs with a phone.

Hyatt Centric is the group's lifestyle brand, pitched at travellers who want a neighbourhood base rather than a conference tower. In Cambridge that idea is tested in a district that did not exist twenty years ago.

For work, there is a co-working area with free Wi-Fi and two meeting rooms of 44 and 24 square metres, each with audiovisual equipment and room for up to 30 people. A fitness centre has machines and free weights.

Dining & wellness

KOTA is the main restaurant, built on Finnish charcoal cooking and shared tables. It serves brunch, lighter daytime dishes and a chargrilled evening menu, and uses produce from Cambridge suppliers. A guest who reviewed it in 2022 described a street-level room with booths and window tables.

Next to it, the KOTA coffee shop sells baked goods, juices and smoothies, with coffee from Saint Espresso, roasted on site.

The Dutch is the bar: classic cocktails with a twist, plus sharing boards of cured meats, British cheeses and antipasti.

In season, a roof terrace serves botanical cocktails, beers from local breweries and small plates. It can take up to 150 people for receptions.