navatwal

After years of travel as a Diamond I have a ton of Hyatt Points whch I would like to use.

I am now based on the US West Coast and looking for the best options for my points.



I am planning a vacation for my 40th Birthday with my wife and Infant to for Late October / Early November 2017.


I am looking for reccomendations for the following regions to best use my points:

Considering HR Aruba, Grnady Hyatt Bahamas, PH St Kitts, Costa Rica etc.

Main attraction Has to be a beach resort, I can do two places if it makes sense logisitically.

Any advice / tips are greatly appreciated

RTW1

HR Aruba isn't exactly luxury and the club is crap..... I would look elsewhere.

59Impala

Bahamas.... still not open and doubtful it will be, althouh final construction has restartet.
St. Kitts seems the best option in your list.
I loved the GH Playa del Carmen. Great lounge.
never been to the all-inclusives, so cannot compare to those.

navatwal

St Kitts is not good value at Cat 7 based on rates of $450 per night... should be a CAT 5 or 6.

I have been to Zilara Cancun and had a great time but looking for that 5 star Luxury.

Also considering Ritz Carlton as have Marriott points also that I could use.

Kacee

Andaz Papagayo is a deal at Cat 4. Costa Rica is awesome and LIR is pretty easy from the west coast.

RTW1

It has a beach... but they don't call it a beach resort....

craigthemif

There is a new Andaz in Playa del Carmen to go with the Grand Hyatt. If you have some SPG points, it could be fun to combine with one of the Haciendas scattered across Yucatan.

I wasn't overly impressed with the Andaz in Costa Rica but it is still good value and easily accessed from the west coast.

sscott77

Have you thought about the Andaz in Maui? It's a great property, ideal location IMO in Wailea. I've stayed there several times and had great experiences. The rooms and hotel are nicer than any other Hyatt in Hawaii.

On your list, I guess I would pick Costa Rica, but you aren't on the beach, which usually throws people about that property.

If you decide against a beach, I would go to Europe and use the points at the Park Hyatt Paris, Milan, or Zurich. All are great.

damon88

I second the Andaz Papagayo. Since you have lots of points you could splurge on a suite. It's an awesome resort. We were there as a couple last time but will be bringing our small grandkids back.

navatwal

I will check out out Andaz Papagayo and trying and combine that with somewhere else.

Hoping there are direct flights from the Bay Area

yfchen0520

Yeah, I am curious about the new Andaz Mayakoba. It looks fine from the website. We usually stay at either Fairmont or Banyan tree in that area. From what I heard, the Hyatt property will be relatively smaller compared to other resorts in Mayakoba, nonetheless, it will be a brand new facility! I would use my points there, especially you can hop between all luxurious hotels to try their restaurants: Rosewood, Fairmont, Banyan Tree.

MSPeconomist

In addition to Hawaii, would you consider resorts in SE Asia?

OregonTransplant

I've been to many Hyatt beach properties. Quick synopsis of those you mention and those you don't.

Aruba: is not really a luxury resort, beach is good though
Costa Rica: is a great resort, good food, easy redemption, a bit isolated, beach certainly not a beach
Bahamas: don't plan on this being ready
St. Kitts: would want some others to try it before i lay down 30K a night

some others you don't mention:

GH Bali - again not luxury, but very easy for redemptions, very nice beach, good for kids
Andaz Maui - beach is great but over priced in my opinion and very tough for redemptions which seem to be your #1 priority.
Kauai - excellent property, excellent beach, overpriced
HR Maui - too touristy, too many kids running around, club is overrun, relatively easy redemption
Hua Hin: never been but from what I've read does not look "luxury" but has a very nice beach
Phuket: the room is nothing special, the pools and club are great but the beach is not, service was okay, thought it was good to take kids to
HR Goa: nice hotel, nice rooms, okay club, great pools, easy redemption, crappy beach wouldn't even put my toe in
PH Goa: hotel, pool and facilities feel run down, much better beach than HR
Maldives: probably overall hyatt's best luxury beach destination, hard to get to, relatively easy redemption, good value at 25K, probably "shouldn't" take kids

skj

Excellent property ? Yes ... excellent beach ? Not to me. The property is oceanfront, but there's only a small public beach on the eastern side of the property. The rest is rocks. The beach itself is OK, it's your generic white sand beach, but it's not well suited for swimming or snorkeling. The seabed is rocky, the surf is usually rough and the waves break really close in. You will likely see locals surfing out beyond the reef but you may also see some bruised tourists.

Don't get me wrong ... we've been to GH Kauai many times, most recently, this past summer, and enjoy it greatly. There's also some very nice beaches on Kauai. They're just not in front of the Hyatt.

Kacee

The beach at Hua Hin is terrible by Thailand standards. It also disappears for half the day when the tide is in.

Agreed. Very rocky.