Originally Posted by
sethweinstein
Thanks for these reviews, platbrownguy! I'm staying at this Hyatt over the new year -- 16,750 points per night when cash rates are over $900. I'm not much of a breakfast person but it's good to know the happy hour is decent; I'll hit my 20th night at the airport Hyatt three nights before and hope the club-access coupons post in time (I'm lowly Discoverist via the credit card but like so many will hit Globalist early in 2021 and won't need the coupons then).
This along with super-cheap fares on AA ($348 round-trip with the outbound in business -- you also helped me over in the AA forum) and astoundingly clear Covid-related protocols on the VisitAruba site (I don't think I have ever seen a government-related procedure in any country so well- and welcomingly worded, and filling out the unfortunately named ED card is a breeze) are making me more and more glad I've chosen to go to Aruba.
Seth
Thanks for the reply & congrats on the solid redemption!
To clarify on the happy hour, the booze is beer (Chill or Balashi), wine (2 whites and 1-2 reds), and French sparkling wine (not Champagne but a perfectly serviceable vin mousseux). It's all you can drink, and my friends and I merrily put away 2+ bottles of the sparkling wine a night. The food is 2 hot items + 1 cold item, individually plated but you can ask for as much as you want. The best hot items are the coconut shrimp, chicken sate, and brie puff pastries. The letdowns are the "chicken"-and-waffle bites (it's more of a chicken meatball), and the meatballs. It's all on a rotating basis, 2 items each day. The cold item is a crudite box with either ranch or blue cheese dressing. The vegetables were actually nice and fresh (tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, etc.) so that was a good way to eat our veggies every day.
I visited Cafe 080 twice again, Bingo once, and Lola twice, and I continue to recommend all of them. I also enjoyed the vibe at the Yolo bar (walkable). (PM me if you want other recs... I've now driven >300 miles on the island, picked up a bit of Papiamento, and gotten to know the place reasonably well.)
Originally Posted by
joachimm
Great review, thanks. We stayed at the RC down the beach a few years ago but really liked the looks of this place and I'd love to check it out as a future Globalist later in 2021. I'm new to Hyatt- by confirmed globalist upgrade, do you mean using one of the Milestone Rewards suite upgrade certs? Or was this a globalist complimentary upgrade? The executive suite is a premium suite, right? This seems like a pretty big jump for a suite upgrade.
Thanks
Yes, this was the confirmed suite upgrade that you get for hitting 50 & 60 nights. (Not an as-available freebie upgrade at check-in.) The "family suite" (with bunk beds) used to be the only standard suite here, but then they added the garden/pool executive suite into the standard suite mix as well. You can see this by looking up points bookings, and you'll see it available for a standard suite 40,000 point redemption. It still has the "premium suite" language in the description but I think that's just a relic of the past.
I am so glad I picked this place when I came in August the first time. The Ritz wasn't much more $$, but the location of the Hyatt seemed better (it is), and the pool situation seemed better (I can't compare, but the Hyatt pools really are top notch). And the confirmable suite upgrade was the clincher. The windows on the island-facing side of the Ritz are also
really small. I'm sure the balcony rooms are fine but I'd hate to be stuck in a dated room with a tiny window at the Ritz. Even though the exec suite at the Hyatt is back a fair distance from the ocean, it's still plainly visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.