zzrayzz

I am actually going to Dewey Beach this weekend...! Doing the diamond challenge and was able to book 3 nights on points and cash (a few months ago)! Yeah.. rates were going for $500+ and now appears to be sold out...

How was the traffic (traveling down from NYC) and hotel parking? Recommendations on activities and places to eat? TIA

roder

Wow! I had no idea that Dewey had a Hyatt Place. Not sure what you are expecting, but Dewey is a early twenties party-town that is popular with DC Area locals. If you hit up the Rusty Rudder or the Bottle & Cork on Friday/Saturday night you will see what i mean...

I don't have any specific recommendations for food, but I will say that you should be very, very careful with directions from Google Maps. I have had friends from NYC meeting me in Dewey, only to realize they were being routed by the Cape May Ferry (which is expensive, time consuming, and during peak times requires a reservation). Make sure you pay attention and take the land based route.

JetAway

I, too, was shocked to learn that Dewey has a Hyatt Place. Apparently it's brand-new, off Coastal Highway on the beach and huge. I can only imagine what it will be like on weekends

Dcislander

We are in Bethany, the next large(isn) town south and have been watching the Hyatt go up for the last year. It is big for Dewey but not that big for most beaches. I think it's only 4 or 5 floors but takes up some real estate.

Above reviewers are right about Dewey. Party town for DC 20 somethings. We went there regularly after college. For good food you'll need to head north to Rehoboth. Dewey has plenty of pizza, wings and crab places though. Surprisingly the brunch at the Bottle and Cork is decent and you can bring a kid without risking exposure to keg stands and throw up.

Dewey is an interesting beach these days. Not many "locals" but they are waging a noise and party war against the renters. Lot's of summer police (unarmed) going around issuing noise tickets to anyone yelling, playing music... so leave your 16DD battery boom box at home

The drunk parade down Rt1 at noon is a sight to see.

zzrayzz

Thanks for the tips!

I suppose I fall into the 20s something group, but definitely over with the bar scene. I am going with my gf for a "romantic getaway" for a few days. Wanted to do something beachy... not many options in the Northeast! (that is affordable and nice!) Stumbled upon dewey beach which isn't that bad of a drive for us (~3hrs) and a brand new Hyatt hotel should be nice!?! Though I would not consider the Hyatt rates as affordable, but I lucked out that they had points & cash (Cat 2: 4,000 pts and $55+tax) availability given the peak season (especially for an entire weekend!)

I am trying to plan some activities (that are couple friendly) for our 3 nights there. Romantic dinner restaurants in the area? Will have car, so driving to the next town will not be a problem! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

JetAway

For nice restaurants drive over to Rehoboth. It's a very short drive but worlds apart.

bribro

Interesting; I stumbled upon this thread after using the Google to find hotel reviews on this property, not realizing it was brand new. I'm loyal to Hyatt and SPG, and this is the only property I could find in the area. I just booked a 3 nights stay in September (friend is getting married at Nassau Valley Vineyards) using points (8k/night) instead of paying cash $256/night (my elite rate).

I'll report back after my trip. Too bad there are no suites for Diamonds to upgrade to!

Dcislander

Driving south, after you go through Lewes, make sure you stick to the speed limit. The DE beach towns live off of speeding and parking tix. Dewey is infamous so watch out.

Just south of Dewey and before Bethany there is Matt's Fish Camp on the ocean side and a bit farther on the bay side is Blue Coast. Both good but no reservations so get there early or get ready for a wait; you can always have a drink and chill while you wait.

North of Dewey, you can stay on commercial 1 where the outlets are or head into downtown Rehoboth where there are more options. In Rehoboth try JAM Bistro or Eden Cafe. Friends also recommend Cultured Pearl and Back Porch. Beach prices and def not city 5* dining but all pretty darn good for the shore.

Def avoid the Dewey food/drink madhouse but enjoy the beach there.

zzrayzz

All in all this place was decent for being a Cat 2. I do not think it is worth the $400-$500/night weekend rates for the summertime. There was no diamond recognition at check-in. Breakfast at this place is already complimentary. I had to request late check out, but was granted instantly with no push back. I booked points and cash for 3 nights (4000 pts + $55+tax/night). I booked a KING bed but when I got to the room, it was double queen on the 3rd flr. (I assume this was my room upg.. to the highest flr) Was too tired to complain and was grateful it was away from all the noise. The hotel was packed with (LOUD) families. Kids were running around everywhere in the lobby area... and I checked in at midnight! (drove down from NYC after work...) Also, this hotel allows pets but are limited to first floor only. So def grateful for 3rd flr and avoid dogs barking! The room was facing the pool. Once I opened the door, got a big whiff of the chlorine. It did make me feel a little nauseous but it got better as the AC started running for a while. But there was always a faint lingering chlorine smell but got used to it quickly. The rooms were actually quite spacious with a sofa (bed). Bathrooms were a bit small. Hotel was 1 block away from the beach (you have to cross the street [Coastal Highway]) to get there. The beach was nice and quiet. We even spotted a pack of dolphins in the horizon coming in and out of the water (at first I saw the fin and assumed it was a shark and my gf did not believe me and told me I was crazy!!) Then 30 mins later she saw a pack of fins. so yeah.. but there was a shark attack on a little boy in the SAME exact waters back in June 2014..! We also went to the Rehoboth beach area. They have a boardwalk area there and better dining options!! That is about a 8min drive from hotel. Finding street parking was a bit challenging given it was the weekend. Cars were all circling around trying to find an open spot. (but no problem since i'm used to it in NYC!)

whistler814

Stayed at the Hyatt Place Dewey Beach this past Friday and Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Managed to snag points reservations for both nights on the day of (Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning) for 8,000 points. Paid rates were $509-$529. Nearly all hotels in the area were sold out. The location is not far from Rehoboth Beach, and just across the street from Dewey Beach.

I received a king room on the first floor. It faced the road and was clean. According to the front desk, the hotel opened September 2013. No noticeable pet smell or pet hair, though I did see a few small dogs out and about during the stay.

Breakfast was fine:
Juice/milk/coffee
Oatmeal (day 1)
Biscuits and gravy (day 2)
Fresh cut fruit
Fresh cut/peeled grapefruit
Mini donuts
Mini muffins
Scrambled eggs
Sausage links
Prepared waffles (day 1)
French toast (day 2)
Cereal
Toast

Staff were extremely friendly. The front desk sent a text message right after check in. They proactively offered late check out on the first night. At check out, they pointed out the rinse-off showers in case we were staying at the beach a little longer. Housekeeping was quick (<5 min) when we asked for more towels and another bed sheet for the sofa bed.

Noise from other families wasn't really a problem. We could hear our next door neighbors for about 20-30 minutes at night but they were quiet after that, probably passed out from a day at the beach. Parking wasn't an issue.

Overall very pleased with the hotel - a steal on points for a relatively new property nearby popular Delaware beaches.

iahphx

Seems like this hotel "plays games" with award availability at times when you'd likely want to visit (like summer weekends!). Not surprising, though, I guess -- given how high the rates are during those times. I see that it's moving from Cat. 2 to Cat. 3, so the party's kind of over (bada bing).

stanistheman

Do any of the rooms here have balconies? Any clue how you can guarantee one?

rubbernyc

No - there are no balconies at all for the rooms. This hotel is part of a planned hotel/condo and the condos are still to be built in a connected and adjacent building. The top of the current building is already available for sale and there are a few residents and they have their separate parking and elevator in the ground floor underneath the building itself.

We stayed there last January and March and the property was definitely brand new and a welcome to the Hyatt family for the area. Not much to add to what has already been mentioned, except to add that in both instances we found some shoddy finishing details in our room such as unevenly patched/sanded walls and the area around the windows where the caulking was poor and was coming off in some spots.

rtraveler

Anyone stayed here recently? Is it worth 12k/night?

HoyaParanoia

My family of four has stayed at this Hyatt on weekends 5-6 times each summer in 2014 & 2015.

We have young kids and never had any problems with noise here -- the hotel is on the sleepier south end of Dewey and it's easy to avoid the madness a couple of blocks north. The guests generally aren't hard partiers -- seems like a lot of families and professionals. We generally go to the beach across the street from the hotel during the day, and then Rehoboth (1 mile away) in the evenings for food & Funland.

The staff has been fantastic and very accommodating -- they even went out and bought a crib for us on a really busy weekend when their stock was already reserved. Otherwise, it's just like every other Hyatt Place: no real amenities for Diamonds beyond late checkout.

There is very limited points + cash availability, but decent points availability. There's often a 2-4 night minimum stay requirement in the summer season. You can get around this by calling the Hyatt Diamond line and getting them to book for the required minimum nights and then cancelling the unneeded ones.

This place was an enormous bargain at Tier 2 (8000 points) and still a pretty good deal at Tier 3 (12000 points). You're getting more than 2 cents per point at anything higher than $240, and it seems like prices are regularly around $500 in the high season. We generally book stays for the whole summer (June - September) in September of the prior year.