Originally Posted by
antonius66
Other than award use at certain properties, slh is pretty much useless. If you are paying through Hyatt for an slh property, you are almost invariably being ripped off. The value of points plus night credit is almost never worth the Hyatt booking premium for slh properties compared to other booking channels. You can always get slh properties so much cheaper for cash rates compared to Hyatt that you are almost always paying the cost of the hotel plus the cost of night credit plus the value of points and then some, which makes zero sense to do. Awards, sure sometimes, but cash? Haven't seen it worth it yet, even more so when you factor in the lack of benefits.
The Mirror Lake Inn last summer was similarly priced whether I booked them directly, off the Hyatt site, or through Expedia. I stayed at the Mirror Lake Inn last August and was able to book a month before my trip via the Hyatt site, point bookings were not available so I paid the cash rate. I looked for any weekend this summer today and there is no availability at all on the Hyatt site or Expedia but you can book certain days directly. I think demand is so high that they don't need to sell through Expedia or Hyatt. I'm thankful to have booked a point stay there again for this summer back in February.
The other SLH property I stayed at was the Stein Eriksen Residences which amazingly I was able to book a points stay over President's weekend this year. (I probably booked that one 8 months in advance when travel was still very uncertain) This summer i noticed that it is cash stays only no points allowed and you can get a room through Hyatt or Expedia sites but it's $200 to $300 more expensive than booking direct. I guess it depends on how much you value points and night credits but hotels are definitely in the driver's seat this year when it comes to summer travel. Demand is extremely high.