Just had a weekend stay at the property and wanted to give my feedback.
Pulled up to the valet, (did not even look for the shuttle/tennis club option as it clearly is not intended to be used as self parking and too inconvenient in my book) and was greeted by a large number of valet's.
Valet was 30 USD a night. My guy asked me my name and escorted me to the front desk and introduced me to the front desk crew. They had a letter with the Diamond benefits listed and I was offered the points or the sampler mentioned in the thread. I was asked what newspaper I wanted and I requested the New York Times.
The manager on duty then showed up and thanked me for being a loyal Hyatt customer and escorted me to the upgraded room (465). It was fairly large and was fronting the lagoon, it looked like one of the largest rooms on the 4th floor. It did seem a little dated, but high quality furniture, plasma TV and luxury bedding. The bed was pretty soft and needed to be replaced IMHO. The bathroom was large; it had a separate tub, shower and also a door to the toilet. Usual PH Porticos and very good quality towels and two bathrobes of equal quality. Minibar had Laurent Perrier LP Champagne and other goodies. Room service and mini bar prices were pretty reasonable for a luxury property. Shoe shine service bags (complimentary as it is at all luxury properties) were located in the closet along with 4 extra pillows.
It was my girlfriends birthday and she was arriving later, when the manager left the room, he told me he would make sure there was a surprise waiting.
I had some time that afternoon so I went and took a look at the grounds. Very nice family and tranquil pool areas with great staff. Complimentary sunscreen (30) and ice water/newspapers by the pools. The pool area is well covered with Wifi (13 USD, free for elites)
Back at the reception, there was a complimentary ice water and ice tea station. Very nice touch, but they were both totally empty. They are only available at certain times of the day.
It was time to head to the surprise bday party and I got the car back from valet very quickly and they asked me if I wanted a bottle of water for the road, nice touch, Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton usually just leaves a bottle or two in the car without asking. Kind of like the not asking way of that touch
When we arrived back at the hotel, they had done a turn down service that did not meet luxury hotel standard. No water provided on the night stand, no chocolate. The turndown service was pulling the curtains, removing the little quilt at the bottom of the bed and putting on the clock radio.
Roomservice had, however, provided a complimentary bottle of Cava and chocolate covered strawberries for the celebrations. Very nice touch.
Saturday morning we got up around 9 and headed to the breakfast. My paper did not show up at the door that morning, a little disappointing. It was a very good buffet, we got a table on the balcony. A perfect day and a very good breakfast. I went to the concierge after breakfast and asked for the paper. The guy next to me had also requested the NY Times and not received it. My concierge said they didn’t have it the other concierge corrected her and said they did, but you had to pay for it. Only the local paper, USA Today and WSJ was complimentary. Not what I was told at check in. I went to the gift shop and bought the paper instead. Back at the room I realized it was yesterday paper I had just bought and went down to the reception. I went through the whole newspaper debacle with a person who couldn’t be more apologetic. He went to the backroom to fetch a fresh NY Times and guaranteed that I would have my paper delivered in the morning, complimentary.
We then headed to the pool and the staff greeted us and set everything up. Comfortable sun chair covers and plenty of towels and ice water was provided. The free sunscreen was a nice touch so no need to get a bottle if you are not checking your bag.
Lunch at the pool was great. Had a few beers at 7 USD a pop, girlie drinks were 13-14 bucks. Food was reasonably priced. Had the Ahi tuna wrap and nachos which was enough for two. The total was a little less than 100 USD for an entire day at the pool, quite reasonable.
Service by the pool was great and attentive.
When we came back to the room, the manager called and apologized for the paper incident and offered to comp us 100USD credit throughout the resort and also comp valet parking. Very unexpected and unnecessary for a small inconvenience.
That night we ordered roomservice which took 35 minutes to be delivered. The food was excellent and well presented on the balcony. Great meal, the total was around 80 dollars with 18% gratuity and 3USD delivery charge.
The next morning we were heading back to breakfast and guess what… No paper :rolleyes.. I went to the gift shop and just bought the paper, essential for my Sunday.
I mentioned it at check out and they again apologized and took the 6USD charge for the paper off my final bill. The final bill had one of the breakfasts on it and they again apologized and removed it.
All in all a great stay at a property with great potential. The majority of the staff had a “training” sign on them, I gave them my feedback and they take all feedback very seriously, so I assume they will get up to par soon. That they failed providing the paper for me on Sunday after apologizing a million times on Saturday is a little puzzling to me, but it was a minor detail, but IMHO, that’s what luxury properties are all about: Being perfect on all minor details. That’s what you pay extra for. And the Park Hyatt Aviara cannot compete with the competing properties in the area – yet. But the potential and will is there. I hope they step it up. At less than 300 USD, this property is still worth it, especially with the magnificent breakfast for Diamonds.