Just wrapped up a 2 night stay there, and in summary, it's a weird property. The location is odd, the views are strange and the facilities and staff were mixed.
First off, it is not on the beach and there are no water views. Do not be fooled.
Location: Vilano Beach is across the bridge from St. Augustine in a neighborhood that was hot in the 1930's to 1950's, but was abandoned and is now being redeveloped. There are three brand new low-rise hotels and a Publix, and that's it. You can walk around the deserted relics of the old motels and properties that were left to rot and a beach is within walking distance. Parking is currently free, as there are dozens of unused spots in the nearly-empty roads. This will change soon, and you will have to pay the $25 valet fee they are charging. If you need an Uber to St. Augustine (2-3 miles away), they have to come from the mainland but the rates were always <$10 each way.
Check-in and rooms: It's a brand new property with some cool art deco design motifs. The two front desk employees must have been very new hires, as they didn't greet me as a Globalist and had problems working with the computers. I paid for an "upgraded balcony" room before I found out that almost every room has one. The views in the 3 story, U-shaped property are uniformly bad: you will be overlooking a construction lot for new townhouses as tall as the hotel, a parking lot (Publix or the Hampton Inn) or a sterile, all-concrete pool deck. After getting a horrific room overlooking dirt, I went to the front desk and fortunately the manager on duty took care of me and put me in 375, a much larger room on the corner and one with the tiniest sliver of a water view. I also did not receive a post-stay questionnaire.
They should also have the builder/developer do a walk-though on the property and target the many, many minor construction defects. There are so many (wallpaper seams not lining up, painting errors, fixtures already rusting, etc) that it actually became distracting.
Breakfast and rooftop bar: breakfast was awful even by Hyatt Place standards, as the absolute bare minimum was provided and cooked poorly. Fortunately there is a Publix next door. We tried the rooftop bar one night, but it was cold and windy and there was a big group around the only fire pit working. From the roof, you can see a bit more of the water in the distance as the Hyatt is the tallest property on the island. The pool in the courtyard may have been open, but it was not pool weather.
Sometimes, this is what we have to do to maintain Globalist status. For the same price, I could have stayed at a B&B in the historic city center. I chose poorly but got 2 more night credits!
Pix: looking west from the original room (323?) at 49 new townhouses that are going in and a zoomed-in shot from Room 375.
