Sep 9, 2019, 11:04 am
Park Hyatt Mallorca REVIEW- MASTER THREAD
Jun 4, 2016, 1:39 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 267
Park Hyatt Mallorca REVIEW- MASTER THREAD
Hey all,
Wrapping up my two-night stay here on points. Wrote a quick review on my blog, but happy to answer any questions you may have about the property. Overall, really a gorgeous resort. Also, having some issues with wifi at the moment (still traveling), so lots of pictures to come. http://www.thetravelplaybook.com/a-r...yatt-mallorca/
Edit: Some Photos added. Others of the room aren't wanting to cooperate, so I'll add in a bit from a different wifi connection.
Wrapping up my two-night stay here on points. Wrote a quick review on my blog, but happy to answer any questions you may have about the property. Overall, really a gorgeous resort. Also, having some issues with wifi at the moment (still traveling), so lots of pictures to come. http://www.thetravelplaybook.com/a-r...yatt-mallorca/
Edit: Some Photos added. Others of the room aren't wanting to cooperate, so I'll add in a bit from a different wifi connection.
Last edited by TheTravelPlaybook; Jun 4, 2016 at 10:33 am
Jun 4, 2016, 7:12 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,225
Hey all,
Wrapping up my two-night stay here on points. Wrote a quick review on my blog, but happy to answer any questions you may have about the property. Overall, really a gorgeous resort. Also, having some issues with wifi at the moment (still traveling), so lots of pictures to come. http://www.thetravelplaybook.com/a-r...yatt-mallorca/
Wrapping up my two-night stay here on points. Wrote a quick review on my blog, but happy to answer any questions you may have about the property. Overall, really a gorgeous resort. Also, having some issues with wifi at the moment (still traveling), so lots of pictures to come. http://www.thetravelplaybook.com/a-r...yatt-mallorca/
Jun 4, 2016, 10:03 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 267
Thanks a lot! They were saying the country club would be open around September (but said with uncertainty- we are in Spain, remember). I'd imagine the beach club would be around that time frame. Cala Gat, about a 15-20 minute drive away, is a lovely hidden gem if you're looking for a great beach. Also, found out this morning that breakfast was included in my rate. YMMV I'm sure, but ask at check-in. They're still learning the ins and outs of everything, and I think in the future they'll do a better job of letting you know everything that is on offer. For example, we found out after leaving our room a final time that there's a bike rental with scooters to easily explore the island. Parking was free for our rental car, valet or self-park. Everyone was incredibly nice, however. Expect a lot of Germans, as it is Mallorca after all!
Jun 5, 2016, 3:53 am
#4
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,225
Thanks a lot! They were saying the country club would be open around September (but said with uncertainty- we are in Spain, remember). I'd imagine the beach club would be around that time frame. Cala Gat, about a 15-20 minute drive away, is a lovely hidden gem if you're looking for a great beach. Also, found out this morning that breakfast was included in my rate. YMMV I'm sure, but ask at check-in. They're still learning the ins and outs of everything, and I think in the future they'll do a better job of letting you know everything that is on offer. For example, we found out after leaving our room a final time that there's a bike rental with scooters to easily explore the island. Parking was free for our rental car, valet or self-park. Everyone was incredibly nice, however. Expect a lot of Germans, as it is Mallorca after all!
Jun 12, 2016, 10:45 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Amex Platinum, Inspirato, UA Spouse of GS,Amanjunkie,Starwood Platinum,Hyatt Diam
Posts: 281
Also, if you have any recommendations on must do's in the area, that would be great!
Jun 14, 2016, 1:54 pm
#7
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
BTW, staff conversations so far suggest the place will be very welcoming for children, good for us, may piss off some of the anti-family crowd that descends on luxury resorts.
Jun 15, 2016, 4:06 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 1
Look for my trip report after our visit in early July. We have 3/5/7 year olds in tow and I have been going back and forth with the hotel for some assistance on activities and adventures. The kids will love the pool but they are also all in or headed for our local Spanish immersion school for K-12 grades and so this is a cultural trip too and I have been trying to plan morning cultural outings between breakfast and pool/beach time. So far I have only pried loose a listing of hiking/walking trails from the hotel staff, but I know there are many more significant sites to visit with a car in the local area. I may have to do some research myself ;-)
BTW, staff conversations so far suggest the place will be very welcoming for children, good for us, may piss off some of the anti-family crowd that descends on luxury resorts.
BTW, staff conversations so far suggest the place will be very welcoming for children, good for us, may piss off some of the anti-family crowd that descends on luxury resorts.
Jun 15, 2016, 10:40 pm
#9
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
We have 2 rooms, connecting. One for the 3 kids and one for us. There is a max 3 occupancy per room. But 3 is better than some places in Europe that only allow 2.
Jul 8, 2016, 9:52 am
#10
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Amex Platinum, Inspirato, UA Spouse of GS,Amanjunkie,Starwood Platinum,Hyatt Diam
Posts: 281
Am here at here at the property now. Architecture and grounds are stunning. Reminds me a bit of Castello di Casole in Tuscany. We are in a "Park Suite View" and the decor is very Park Hyatt. and spacious-very residential feeling. Will do a full trip report when I'm back, but for now you can follow my posts on Twitter if you'd like.
Jul 8, 2016, 2:21 pm
#11
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
Am here at here at the property now. Architecture and grounds are stunning. Reminds me a bit of Castello di Casole in Tuscany. We are in a "Park Suite View" and the decor is very Park Hyatt. and spacious-very residential feeling. Will do a full trip report when I'm back, but for now you can follow my posts on Twitter if you'd like.
Jul 8, 2016, 3:36 pm
#12
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 147
I'll look forward to some tips, things to do, places to eat, etc. Just booked 7 nights in a suite in late August. Flights were high, so used AA points to book Air Berlin j class. We'll be leaving the kids at home this time, just my wife and I. I haven't been to Mallorca (or Spain at all) since the 1990's.
Jul 10, 2016, 8:19 pm
#13
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: AA EP, Delta Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 79
Hi - I also have an upcoming booking on points. Did the hotel proactively offer you the 100 euro a night upgrade fee or did you ask for it? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks
Jul 15, 2016, 3:07 pm
#14
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
Good review Matthew, we were there right after you and had largely similar experiences. Here a few additional notes, in particular ones that revolve around having kids and getting off the property a bit. We stayed on a mix of points and points+cash in 2 rooms for 5 nights.
Kid-related comments
They have some decent kids options on their menu and they are reasonable. While my kids like octopus and things on the typical spanish menu, it's great to have a ham and cheese sandwich or chicken strips for them to eat in between games in the pool. They also offered to "cook the kids anything they want." I foolishly took them up on this and my daughter ordered up something in Spanish without me really listening. An hour later I was signing a check that exceeded what my wife and I paid for a nice dinner (w a bottle of wine) at a decent place in Arta!
The lower pool is way to abrasive, my kids lost the skin on their fingers and toes while playing in there!
Very kid friendly, a fair number of families there while we were there. Staff is super accommodating to families and kids. My daughter speaks Spanish so we seemed to get maybe a bit of special service and attention when she was with us.
Kids club was pretty mediocre, not really spun up into full gear yet. they have an agenda but most of the time I dropped the kids they just played and made balloon figures or drew pictures. Still it was fun.
Babysitting- the Hyatt brand gets a lot of our business because of their willingness to work with local companies to find reliable and safe child care. Try Hilton on this, they have a corporate policy to offer no assistance at all. Hyatt uses a service that introduced us to Christina who is an eldercare professional in the day and does sitting on the side in the evenings. She came three nights in a row and our kids liked her so much they pretty much kicked us out the door the last night. She was Pollenca up in the north and so gave us some insight into other parts of the island (more on this below).
Getting off the property:
The beach at Canyamel is an easy shuttle and not a bad public beach for bneing so close. We tried to use the beach club down there, were told if we paid a fee we could, but then the PH called down and we were told the club was just too busy during our stay. They should either not market this or clear up the problem.
Better beaches... Drive up to Cala Mesquida, it's an awesome beach. But go around 4 or 5pm to avoid the crowds. It's populated almost entirely with German vacationers, who all seem to abruptly leave around then for very early dinner. By 6 the place is thinned out but still warm and sunny and more enjoyable.
Where to eat... The Torre de Canyamel is that lit up old building that you will see across the valley when you are on your balcony at the hotel. It also has a reasonably priced restaurant with mostly traditional mallorcan food (good grilled meats, etc). If you sit outside you can see the Torre, it's pretty stunning. Food is nothing too special, but there are 13 euro bottles of wine too. In Arta we ate at Sa Gripia, it's about a block past the main pedestrian area in Arta (on your way to the walk up to the Arta walled village). It's tucked in a cute courtyard, has a menu on chalkboard and again you can find a sub 15 euro bottle of wine here. The food is good, the staff fun and again, if you go a bit later (like normal Spanish time!) the German vacationers will be done and it wont be so busy. Also tried lunch in Canyamel, super slow service and very mediocre food. If you have a car, I wouldnt bother. We also tried Royal in Cala Ratjada, no reason to even try this and in fact I wouldn't suggest even venturing into Cala Ratjada.
Where else?- Our sitter Cristina explained to us that the area we were in is mostly German and the area she lives in is more folks from the UK. The German's were perfectly lovely fellow vacationers, but I would like to check out the Pollenca area. She indicated we could find a nice villa with a pool up there and be a short drive to a number of better beaches. We're planning to do that next year and probably come back for 2 weeks in July. That's a testament to how much we enjoyed the Island (and the PH).
Overall thoughts on the property...
The service issues are there but I think most of them are just Spain as opposed to the PH (so don't hold your breath these will be fixed at the hotel). It can take a lot longer to get anything, including the check in Spain. I think it's part of the charm, but I wouldnt recommend trying to "get a quick drink" at the hotel on your way out for dinner elsewhere. It took us an hour to get and drink a single glass of wine one night.
The view- mostly spectacular, but I think since Matthew's visit they have completely torn up the area on the right side of the entrance street to build a tennis club and other things. We looked down at the pool and rest of the property, but also the dozers and trucks working down there. It will be a while before that is done. No way I would pay 800 euro for a room that looks down on that and listens to some light construction noise as a result.
The rooms- we had two connecting rooms, they were perfect for the 5 of us and almost palatial when opened up and connected. They made our stay feel more like an apartment than a hotel.
Breakfast- ok, not in the top 10 of PHs though. Probably speaking from a spoiled perspective as we spend a week at PH Saigon each year and have spent lots of time at PH Vendome, both of which are in the top for breakfast.
Weather/climate- It gets hot during the day in July and never totally cools off at night, but after about noon there is a good breeze, one that is surprisingly cooler than you would expect. So 90+ degrees in the sun but a cooling breeze, it's just perfect pool and beach weather.
Sight-seeing- I've mentioned Arta, but also the Capdepera area has some good sights too. We had a lot of fun explaining to our kids how old the buildings were and the idea that the Romans, the Moors and then the Christians had all built and inhabited parts of the Island. As Steve Martin said in LA Story "Some of these buildings are over 50 years old!"
Kid-related comments
They have some decent kids options on their menu and they are reasonable. While my kids like octopus and things on the typical spanish menu, it's great to have a ham and cheese sandwich or chicken strips for them to eat in between games in the pool. They also offered to "cook the kids anything they want." I foolishly took them up on this and my daughter ordered up something in Spanish without me really listening. An hour later I was signing a check that exceeded what my wife and I paid for a nice dinner (w a bottle of wine) at a decent place in Arta!
The lower pool is way to abrasive, my kids lost the skin on their fingers and toes while playing in there!
Very kid friendly, a fair number of families there while we were there. Staff is super accommodating to families and kids. My daughter speaks Spanish so we seemed to get maybe a bit of special service and attention when she was with us.
Kids club was pretty mediocre, not really spun up into full gear yet. they have an agenda but most of the time I dropped the kids they just played and made balloon figures or drew pictures. Still it was fun.
Babysitting- the Hyatt brand gets a lot of our business because of their willingness to work with local companies to find reliable and safe child care. Try Hilton on this, they have a corporate policy to offer no assistance at all. Hyatt uses a service that introduced us to Christina who is an eldercare professional in the day and does sitting on the side in the evenings. She came three nights in a row and our kids liked her so much they pretty much kicked us out the door the last night. She was Pollenca up in the north and so gave us some insight into other parts of the island (more on this below).
Getting off the property:
The beach at Canyamel is an easy shuttle and not a bad public beach for bneing so close. We tried to use the beach club down there, were told if we paid a fee we could, but then the PH called down and we were told the club was just too busy during our stay. They should either not market this or clear up the problem.
Better beaches... Drive up to Cala Mesquida, it's an awesome beach. But go around 4 or 5pm to avoid the crowds. It's populated almost entirely with German vacationers, who all seem to abruptly leave around then for very early dinner. By 6 the place is thinned out but still warm and sunny and more enjoyable.
Where to eat... The Torre de Canyamel is that lit up old building that you will see across the valley when you are on your balcony at the hotel. It also has a reasonably priced restaurant with mostly traditional mallorcan food (good grilled meats, etc). If you sit outside you can see the Torre, it's pretty stunning. Food is nothing too special, but there are 13 euro bottles of wine too. In Arta we ate at Sa Gripia, it's about a block past the main pedestrian area in Arta (on your way to the walk up to the Arta walled village). It's tucked in a cute courtyard, has a menu on chalkboard and again you can find a sub 15 euro bottle of wine here. The food is good, the staff fun and again, if you go a bit later (like normal Spanish time!) the German vacationers will be done and it wont be so busy. Also tried lunch in Canyamel, super slow service and very mediocre food. If you have a car, I wouldnt bother. We also tried Royal in Cala Ratjada, no reason to even try this and in fact I wouldn't suggest even venturing into Cala Ratjada.
Where else?- Our sitter Cristina explained to us that the area we were in is mostly German and the area she lives in is more folks from the UK. The German's were perfectly lovely fellow vacationers, but I would like to check out the Pollenca area. She indicated we could find a nice villa with a pool up there and be a short drive to a number of better beaches. We're planning to do that next year and probably come back for 2 weeks in July. That's a testament to how much we enjoyed the Island (and the PH).
Overall thoughts on the property...
The service issues are there but I think most of them are just Spain as opposed to the PH (so don't hold your breath these will be fixed at the hotel). It can take a lot longer to get anything, including the check in Spain. I think it's part of the charm, but I wouldnt recommend trying to "get a quick drink" at the hotel on your way out for dinner elsewhere. It took us an hour to get and drink a single glass of wine one night.
The view- mostly spectacular, but I think since Matthew's visit they have completely torn up the area on the right side of the entrance street to build a tennis club and other things. We looked down at the pool and rest of the property, but also the dozers and trucks working down there. It will be a while before that is done. No way I would pay 800 euro for a room that looks down on that and listens to some light construction noise as a result.
The rooms- we had two connecting rooms, they were perfect for the 5 of us and almost palatial when opened up and connected. They made our stay feel more like an apartment than a hotel.
Breakfast- ok, not in the top 10 of PHs though. Probably speaking from a spoiled perspective as we spend a week at PH Saigon each year and have spent lots of time at PH Vendome, both of which are in the top for breakfast.
Weather/climate- It gets hot during the day in July and never totally cools off at night, but after about noon there is a good breeze, one that is surprisingly cooler than you would expect. So 90+ degrees in the sun but a cooling breeze, it's just perfect pool and beach weather.
Sight-seeing- I've mentioned Arta, but also the Capdepera area has some good sights too. We had a lot of fun explaining to our kids how old the buildings were and the idea that the Romans, the Moors and then the Christians had all built and inhabited parts of the Island. As Steve Martin said in LA Story "Some of these buildings are over 50 years old!"