On to the third and final of our WFH stays in PDC. This hotel is definitely an outlier. I booked the rate a couple of months ago, and it now no longer seems to be offered at the beach house, only at the main house. The main attraction at that time was that the rate was loaded with a requirement that stays start by Dec 19 but no end date. So we could book it through what were then very expensive Xmas dates in the local Hyatts. Something like $128++ a night. They even had it loaded through NYE, but we are leaving before then. However, as our older son is 12 and thus an adult in Mexican hotel terms, that added about $40 a night, and the additional differential for a suite was only about $25 a night so we finished up around $195++ a night for 8 nights in a suite, which is about half what the other Hyatt options were asking. As it turned out, the hotel remained closed until a couple of days ago do we are among the first guests since it reopened.

Check in was unlike any other Hyatt family experience I've ever had. It took more than an hour. The hotel is tiny, 28 rooms, and there were two front desk staff on duty. But "since the hurricane" they have been having huge problems with their credit card terminals. They run transactions repeatedly, try different corners of the lobby for better reception (the wifi signal shows as strong, so I doubt this is actually the problem) and roam out into the pool area. We were offered drinks while we waited, but were not allowed to the rooms. Another weirdness: they insist on taking the full amount as a charge at check in, plus a separate hold for incidentals. This caused great annoyance for a couple next to me, who had been hoping to use one card for checkin and receive their Chase Hyatt card in time to make the final charge on it. It also doubled the check in delays. Don't remember this ever at a full service hotel -- maybe the cash flow is so dire that the management can't wait a week for the cash.

Also, they charged in USD without asking me, which has never happened to me before in Mexico and hides a bogus conversion charge. So when they finally succeeded, we had to wait another 15 mins for them to reverse the USD charge and re do in pesos. It finally went through on the restaurant terminal, which may mean I don't get the extra points from Chase for Hyatt spend.

Had a particular annoyance that in addition to the extra charge we were already paying for our 12 year old "adult" they insisted on a further USD 400 for our 9 year old son. I remember SPG had a "kids sleep free in existing bedding" policy, and while Hyatt might not promise that officially I can't remember having a fee in a country where he's considered a child. (Unlike say Japan where adult is 5+ or some of the European countries where rooms are tiny and occupancy limits strict so you need a second room). There was no child charge for an under 12 child at JW Marriott Cancun, the Andaz, the Grand Hyatt PDC, the Westin Cancun, the 4pts Cancun, the Aloft Cancun, the Hyatt Regency Merida, the IC Cozumel, the Westin Cozumel, or any of the 5 Luxury Collection Haciendas we've stayed in over the last few years. And as the room is paid before you ever see a folio I am not 100% sure they really waived the resort fee. The lady I dealt with mostly said I had to, but her coworker said I wasn't paying it.

The rate description says it includes free self parking and a discount on valet. But the valet says there is no hotel arranged self parking. Fortunately parking is currently free for globalists anyway, and they knew this. They also agreed that we could have breakfast for all four, rather than just "American breakfast for two" as per the rate description. So at least we didn't have to fight for the other benefits. With the combination of pandemic and hurricane I am cutting everyone some slack and did not get angry. And we are still getting a good rate for Xmas week. But the experience is not encouraging me to come back here. (On the topic of parking, the road is being reconstructed which makes it a little harder to get here, but not so far impassible. We were warned it might be necessary to park two blocks away and call the valet if it is temporarily closed).

On the plus side, they really did follow through on WFH promise by giving us a dedicated work room on the lowest floor, and issued the key for the whole stay rather than making us claim it daily as at the Andaz. And they put a desk in the work room, which is nice as the suite has nothing desk-like or dining table-like in it, despite plenty of room. So it's a great work and study space, and gives us the extra bathroom that's so useful on family trips (and the suite doesn't have). Also the internet is fine, about 10Mbps and so far reliable -- after the credit card fiasco I'd been worried about this. No coffee maker or kettle in the room, which annoys me -- I know the highest tier brands skip this item, like Luxury Collection and St Regis, but the Andaz had one and that's a far superior hotel. And the minibar has turned into a fridge, with surprises me in a hotel with these pretentions (but works better for us).

Seeing the work room, I'm regretting paying for the suite. Should have booked two regular rooms and saved the extra person charges. The regular room is over 600sqft and has all the same furniture as the suite, but as the suite is longer the sofa is placed in a less convenient location where you can't see the (only) TV. Same shower and bath, though the suite has more luggage storage in the bathroom and an extra basin. Same coffee table, chairs, bed, high stands, and mirror. But the suite is just an oversized room with more empty space and a fuller ocean view. And the air conditioning is the least effective I remember having in Mexico, so rather sweaty at night.

The hotel has a stylish boutique, South Beach kind of feel. Tiny pool, nice beach front restaurant. It's overpriced for Mexico, but there is an option to buy F&B credit half price, which I haven't been able to do yet because the credit card machine is still struggling and for some reason they can't do this from the $700 they already held for incidentals. The cooked to order breakfast dishes were tasty and sometimes spicy, a nice change from bland buffets. Aside from the weirdness at check-in, it reminds me of a couple of Four Points by Sheraton hotels back in the SPG days that were surprisingly stylish but too small to be a fancier brand, like the 4pts Punta Gorda in Florida, the Penang 4pts on the beach outside Georgetown in Malaysia, or the 4pts Panoramahaus on Dornbirn, Austria. It is well located for restaurants in walkable distance, and going a couple of blocks inland from the bustling and thus rather scary main tourist street gives tasty and well-priced eating options that don't fill me with pandemic terror.

Update after 3 nights: More evidence of cash flow problems. Yesterday we were warned that the breakfast berry plate would contain only strawberries, rather than the promised array of many actual berries. But there was fresh and tasty orange juice and grapefruit juice. Today no grapefruit juice, and the orange tasted as if made from powder. Last night we were the only customers at the bar, which had run out of ingredients for at least one of the five cocktails on its rather short list. Also the pool closes at 7pm, which is not great for refreshing after work. Closes as in a guy comes and says you can't use it, not the usual resort thing that towel guys go home but leave a few out for latecomers. Maybe they're worried rowdy drunks would make the nearby restaurant and bar less classy. From 8pm to close the beachfront restaurant and bar were entirely empty, unlike some busy spots just up and down the beach, so the upscale format doesn't seem to be resonating with the current PDC visitors. Also, unlike the larger resorts nobody seems to be removing the stinky brown seaweed which accumulates in front of the hotel. At least I hope it's the seaweed that makes the smell.

Update after 6 nights: The air conditioning failed completely in the WFH room, though they were able to fix it. The duplicate $2K charge from checkin finally went away yesterday, but it was the smaller amount. So to charge me in pesos they converted to dollars, then converted back to pesos at 20 to 1 which cost me an extra $25. Also the original charge posted as the hotel, but the second attempt in pesos finally worked from the restaurant credit terminal so I'm losing out on 4K chase bonus points for Hyatt spend. Breakfast is good. Other food mixed -- one day pool lunch was fast and tasty, yesterday it took an hour and was cold. Room service was disappointing and also cold. Menu limited and many items unavailable. For example, none of the 6 beers shown on the online menu were actually available. Given the experience so far I suspect that the spend, which will be spread over payment on arrival, extra room charge, F&B credit purchase and incidentals on checkout, will take some effort to get posted properly as points. Contractors turned up to start doing patio repairs (banging at 11pm) and clear the smelly seaweed.

Hotel conclusion: The "Main House" is adults only, with the smaller Beach House allowing families. But with the extra $50 a night (after tax) per child charge even for under 12s, there's no reason why a family would ever stay here unless the rate is much lower than the GH. Also adults, but not children, can use the larger pool at the Main House when staying at the Beach House. Overall, "feels like a really nice Four Points" only goes so far. OTOH, if the WFH rate comes back at the Beach House and there are just two of you then it could be a great deal, as you'd get two full rooms to work in and one of them gets a desk. Don't pay for a suite here or waste a TSU. Didn't visit the Main House yet, but at cat 3 it could be a good value.

WFH conclusion: Overall we've enjoyed the WFH experience and with the extension of the promos, plus double EQNs, plan to do some more in Feb if the progress of the pandemic makes this feel reasonably responsible. The rates first offered in Mexico included some excellent deals, but as occupancy has recovered the current WFH offerings in the PDC area are less compelling, and using points (with current rebate) or booking other rates is starting to make sense again. Have been thinking either of a return to the GH PDC (as Andaz rates currently much higher) or maybe the Lost Pines in Texas which we could drive to and doesn't raise the prospect of becoming ill abroad. Lost Pines WFH rates are currently $199 a night ++ for all of Feb.