Stayed here this week M-F because we tend to avoid expected high crowd weekends at destination resorts. I am glad we did! Cash rates were reasonable ($300/night for base room) and applied a SUA to the Lost Pines Suite (vs cash and points over $200 or 25k points per night. No option to pay my way anymore which I thought was odd). I emailed ahead of time and asked for a further upgrade option for a cash fee and was offered the next largest suite for an additional $250 per night. I thought this was a little steep for a midweek low occupancy stay so we declined. I was disappointed the hotel did not accommodate my request for high floor quiet room as they placed us on the second floor adjacent to the housekeeping closets. Convenient to grab extra waters (these are complimentary) but not exactly quiet each morning.

i always email properties I have never stayed at before to ask about the Globalist benefits ahead of time to be clear on my expectations and avoid any confusion at check in. The response was as follows:

Globalist benefits include:

• Early check-in, based on availability
• Late checkout up to 4 PM, based on availability
• Upgrade to suite, if available, determined at time of check-in
• Complimentary Breakfast each morning for all registered guests
• Waived parking fees for both self-parking or valet parking
• Waived resort fees

We were not granted early check in (as we were told Globalists with late checkouts were making the room cleaning take longer) and we were granted a 12pm checkout instead of 11am. Upon arrival the front desk agent told me the parking charge is only waived on points stays and I had to display the email I was sent above to clear up the confusion. I am fine paying parking for valet but find the attempted nickel and dime-ing for self parking a little yucky as this resort is so remote and people really are forced to drive here. There were no issues with the bill at checkout and the resort fee and breakfast charges for 2 adults and 2 kids were always removed.

the Lost Pines Suite is a good setup and child #1 was fine on the sofa bed. We travel with a double height twin air mattress for child #2 as they find that more comfortable than the roll away bed and it’s easier to move out of the way during the day etc. plenty of room for both of these. The dining table and coffee maker corner with mini fridge worked well, and the hotel also offers a hot water tea kettle which we did not use. I asked ahead to the hotel about the type of coffee maker in the room and they confirmed Nespresso, so I brought my preferred pods and half and half in our cooler and their fridge kept everything perfect all week.

There is ample space in the suite for everyone’s things, but only one bathroom. It would have been great if the hotel had found a way to design these with a powder room but we made it work. I would not have wanted to for an entire week.

the grounds are very pretty and the location is very secluded. We went to a fantastic dinner at Numero 28 in Bastrop one evening but it was 20 min each way, no Ubers etc. in order to be a true escape for a family for a week the hotel needs another full service dinner restaurant with a different selection to add more variety. We understand they offer summer BBQ on Fri and Sat when they are very busy, but the Thursday evening we were here was also very busy and the hotel could not really accommodate. The kitchen and bar in the casual restaurant were overwhelmed and we left after appetizers (long wait for these and for drinks) and opted for the pizza from the coffee shop onsite instead. The kids really liked this!

the globalist breakfast was fine and could be buffet or menu service. Food quality was good and servers very friendly and responsive. If ordering off the menu the kitchen was just a little bit slow, depending on the day and the volume on the buffet the staffing levels showed.

our kids enjoyed their lunches by the pool daily (normal kid fare) and the French fries were great too! The pool servers were also quick, responsive, and friendly. As we went when the resort was not as busy we never needed to pay for the “reserved” pool chairs. I likely would if it was a busy time - but also would avoid this resort when busy! The lazy river is NOT heated but was so refreshing in the heat of the 90+ degree days! It felt great. I could see this being tough to enjoy during shoulder seasons if it wasn’t super hot out. It was perfect in late May! Kids also said the water slide was too slow to be fun. Smaller children seemed to be enjoying it.

experiences - as we drove from our home in the DFW area we brought our own fishing gear but the hotel will rent these. If you bring your own they will sell you a box of worms for $12 - not bad! Kids had a lot of fun fishing several days. We never rode bikes but it looked like there were always plenty around whenever we walked by. We also did the trap shooting experience for the kids and while they enjoyed it and I was happy about that, I was disappointed it was only 30 min. I expected it to be an hour at least, especially for $120 a person plus tip. Maybe I need to adjust my expectations but not sure on this.

We are getting ready to leave on a Friday ahead of a clearly busy weekend for the hotel. While we were told on Monday we could not check in early due to Globalists like ourselves with late checkouts, the hotel has extended us a 12pm checkout and not the 2pm we requested. This is fine and just means we get on the road home a bit earlier and don’t stay for kids to swim a bit more and have lunch at the pool (the pool bathrooms were the lowlight of the trip and no way would I get changed for the car ride in there) before we head out. Not a big deal just another data point for the group. The kids did enjoy the billiards table and the ping pong table upstairs in the lobby this am and all during the week!

Hopefully the review helps, no photos as everything is exactly as the hotel shows online currently.