Unity LA Takes Sets A Sky-High Dining Standard For Airport Hotels

When you usually think of an airport hotel, world-class dining probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. But the Hyatt Regency LAX is trying to change that by striving to give its guests an "un-airport" experience – through its amenities and delicious food offerings at Unity LA.

The food at Unity LA takes several forms – the continental breakfast in the morning, the snack bar in the lobby, the snacks and food available in the lounge area, the bar menu, and the full-service dining area.

The Hyatt Regency LAX is located a block away from Los Angeles International Airport — it's so close that guests can see the airport's two runways from some of the rooms and the workout room on the top-level. You can see the famous LAX pylons from the Regency Club. It's the only area hotel that has 24-hour complimentary airport shuttle service to any terminal.

The hotel recently underwent a major renovation and redesign. The rooms are comfortable and modern with windows that have specially treated glass to block out the noise from the airplanes, letting the guests – which include traveling families, flight attendants, and pilots – have peace and quiet as they relax and dine.

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Because the average stay is about a night or two, Unity LA's goal is to give guests a taste of Los Angeles cuisine without leaving the hotel and having to sit in the city's famous traffic. Unity LA also uses local vendors and farms, said Hyatt Regency LAX executive chef John Skonieczny.

"The menu is basically taken out of our couple different ethnic areas of LA," he said. "[We] pretty much looking around LA and finding what we can do using proximity to the ocean, to make sure that we had some seafood on here along with Korea Town, East LA, Thai Town. There are some focal points that we used, just trying to look around LA and bring everything together here so you get anyone that might stop in a feel for the city overall."

The Unity LA Market offers quick, 24/7 food options for guests, including fresh salads, sandwiches, and ramen — all using local ingredients. Unity LA's bar menu focuses on spirits sourced from local distilleries, including Greenbar Distillery's organic liquors, wines from California and a rotating selection of local craft beers on tap from breweries such as Three Weavers, Smog City, and Eagle Rock. The bar menu's steak frites came highly recommended by the chef.

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The dinner menu contains dishes that clearly draw influence from all of LA's diverse cultures – charred Korean sticky ribs, beef carnitas, wild Baja striped bass, wild mushroom ravioli, and Skonieczny's favorite, the Drunken Noodles.

"For my own growth, we started making these and now, when I make noodles for myself, it's definitely different than this, but I feel really comfortable in my ability to be authentic, because of putting some of these dishes together," he said.

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Skonieczny has been the executive chef at the Hyatt Regency LAX for six months. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago and began his career with Hyatt at several different properties in San Antonio, Texas. He later became the chef, as well as the food and beverage director at Miami's Hyatt Regency Coral Gables.

"I came here from Miami so the menus that I always used to there were very Latin," Skonieczny said. "I was used to Puerto Rican food and Mexican food... The more knowledge you have when you get to do a different menu. The more you have as a playbook almost to go back to and you can again tweak that stuff from time to time. Make it your own, make it very authentic or just mix stuff up altogether."

The meal and hotel stay that are the subject of this review were provided at no cost to the contributor.