azepine00

I would start with trying to redeem miles for 4 tickets to anywhere around Christmas...

bdemaria

I wondered about this myself. OP states having "enough AA miles to take all 4 of us basically anywhere they fly" The chances are quite great that only anytime awards are available, and they are going to be 50k/person, each way - so as long as the OP 400,000 miles it should be fine.

MSPeconomist

A few comments:

Do not assume availability or upgrade space for this period.

OP is concerned about budget but doesn't mind two weeks of resort fees, etc. This seems inconsistent to me.

Note that many Asian hotels require that all guests purchase an extremely expensive NYE banquet. This will make those places seem very expensive even if rooms are paid with points.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore are generally expensive cities unless one basically eats nothing but lounge food and street food. Indeed, transportation between NRT and city is close to $60 pp RT.

cmjaffe

Wondering if you might be able to take advantage of the Maui Vacation Club offering... if you're willing to do "tour"... since you might get a unit at a reasonable rate which might be more spacious for your entire family. Expect to use at least 90K per on RT AA flights. Up till a few years ago our family went to Hawaii annually on AA over Xmas.. up until 3 years ago since then it's been terribly expensive mile wise. Last year we went to PVR to Ziva since the miles were at least 25K per less... 100K miles (though we have them to use) I'd rather save to put towards another trip.
Good luck with your planning. As others have said, Maui offers alot of options for every budget and still a decent value for points (and thus avoiding resort fee)

d20513

We stayed at hyatt aruba in November. My 2 daughters (2/3), wife and I had the family suite, and it worked out great! I believe it was 700sf or so. We had 2 cribs brought in, but the pull out couch (queen) in the living room was definitely big enough. I'm sure you can request a roll away bed too. Great location, nice beach, and pool was great - kids loved the water slide!!

We actually went to hyatt Ziva, montego bay, in February too. As diamond, we were upgraded to a butler suite, again it was huge. 2 bathrooms, living room with pull out couch, mamouth balcony. Pool was nice, right on the beach, which was fair, food was better than average - best part was the all inclusiveness - which will go a long way with the kids, never mind the adults!

The hyatt ziva in cancun should actually be open by the time you're ready too. It's the old dreams resort. This resort, had an awesome beach, Dolphins on property, and again - will be all inclusive! We will certainly be making a trip here, probably next February.


Best of Luck, and Congrats to you and the Mrs!!

thucanhho

Just booked Playa de Carmen. DSU gets you into a Hyatt Executive Suite 820SF, sleeps 2+2, King bed with rollaway allowed, does have a connector if necessary. Has ocean view and private plunge pool. Does have lounge for breakfast/evening offerings.

Bennoch

I was about to recommend the HR Coconut Point but then re-read your post again and see that you are from FL and have already stayed at all the FL properties. We are at Coconut Point now, our first time, and have had such an amazing time! I would come back in a heartbeat. We want to try the Aruba Hyatt too. Good luck! You might also consider the new Bahamas property ...?

XCstud

I'd recommend Hyatt Regency Hua Hin (Thailand). I just stayed there with my family and it was fantastic. If you email the hotel, you can pay use a DSU and pay the difference to book into a higher suite. We stayed in the premier view suite and there wasn't a sofa bed, but there were at least 2 or 3 sofas that could have bedding put on them and used as beds. It has a fantastic pool (interconnected pools and lazy river and a really cool waterslide and it's right on the beach. It's about a 3 hr drive from Bangkok and you can either arrange transportation from the airport with the hotel or if you stay at the Grand Hyatt in Bangkok there is a shared van shuttle that runs between the hotels.

NewAgeTraveler

Thank you all for your recommendations, so far. I am working out all of the logistics and cost options. I'm leaning towards a Hawaiian trip, but haven't ruled out the newer Hyatts opening this year. One question for you all is, how to do you get form say: The Hyatt in Maui to the Hyatt Kauai? Can I drive it? If not what is the cost for a family of 4?
Thank you!

peteropny

The only two Hyatts in Hawaii where you can drive from one to the other is Hyatt Regency Maui and the newer Andaz Maui. Hawaii is comprised of several islands and the only way to get between them is by plane. Hawaiian Airlines has frequent service between the islands and their fare is slightly over $100 per person usually. Or you can use miles from many airlines since they are partners with - last year we used UA miles for Maui to Kauai.

CloudCoder

Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach and Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach? Back in 2008 they had a Super Ferry running ; it shut down in early 2009. I'm sure it's possible to get from island to island by boat however I've only done it by air.

peteropny

That's true about the HR and HP Waikiki (I tend to forget about HP properties). I was told generally that there is no longer public boat service between most islands. At any rate Maui and Kauai are relatively far apart (with Oahu in between).

Jaimito Cartero

Lots of options out there. If you have passports, then I'd lean towards Asia. Are your free nights only up to category 4?

I love the GH in Jakarta, and don't think it's a horrible option for 4-7 days. I often get a suite there for our family of 4, even though it only books for 2 people. I'd certainly shoot for a better suite. If you want, PM for a contact.

It has nice pool, great lounge, and it's attached to a nice mall. Also a good mall across the street. There are also some nice day activities. Obviously, no beach, though. Cash and points usually have lots of availability. I've booked NYE here a number of times on points, or P + C.

The GH Bali is nicely manicured, but I just never felt anything special about the property.

GH Singapore, isn't worth the points. I'd much rather stay at GH BKK.

I've heard the GH KUL is nice. I'll stay there this summer.

LovePrunes

Not to be a downer, but won't free night certificates be impossible to use during Christmas season? They have to have regular GP redemption available to use them. I used mine at Beaver Creek for VERY late ski season and got lucky with tons of snow one year, but a place like Hawaii or Beaver Creek at Christmas likely won't have any points availability, so no Visa nights could be used. Perhaps the Asian resorts or farther away from America where Christmas might be less prominent (i.e. more Muslim or Buddhist population than Christian) but I have a feeling even those places will realize tons of people all over the world travel at Christmas for vacation.

Hope you have a great trip, OP. Congrats on getting married and including your kids.

MarkP24

You should be fine. I've used a DSU at many Hyatt properties with my wife and 2 kids (similar ages).

Personally, I like the Andaz Maui (although getting a DSU there can be difficult now) or the Grand Hyatt Kauai.

Also, have you thought about taking your kids to Tokyo? There are a lot of great Hyatt's there. We stayed at the PH Tokyo with our kids using a DSU (we got approval from the hotel before), and as your kids haven't been to Asia (based on your post) they my love it, and it's a very different experience than the other places you've been. My kids had a wonderful time there!