carnalismocc

Hello everyone! I currently have six nights booked at this property in early May for a vacation with the family (wife and two children.) The plan is to spend most of our time on the water (snorkeling, jet skis, etc.), and of course take the kids to some of the local attractions (Ripley's, Shipwreck, Mel Fisher, Aquarium, etc.) This hotel seems to be close to pretty much everything, but at the same time I'm also considering booking one of the Hyatt Vacation Club properties instead in order to get more room for the family to spread out. Although it's close to the airport (and far from most of the attractions), Windward Pointe is the one that I'm looking at.

So my question is, what would you recommend? Should I stay with my current reservation, or opt for more space at Windward Pointe? Oh, and is a rental car recommended if we stay at the Hyatt Key West? If we stay at the other property, then yes, obviously a car is needed since we're farther away from things. Thanks!

atravelguy

Is Windward Pointe available in May for that length of stay? If so, after my experience with my family earlier this year I say that is your choice. It's two bedrooms with a pull out couch option, full kitchen, washer / dryer, nice large patio with fan overhead and the grounds are full of activities for kids (pool, volleyball, etc). I'm not sure if it's still in place, but since it's a residence property they gave us 20% coupon for any meal or spa treatment at the Hyatt resort which is chargeable to your room so you get points. Also, again not sure if they still offer it but they also were able to secure reservations and free stuff with Fury so we got a free sunset sail any night of our choice when we booked our day package through Lynn the concierge.

With all that said, if you choose to keep your reservation at the resort no car is needed as the hotel is in the main tourist area. Key West is small, so you can easily take a short walk to pretty much everything Key West is known for. If anything, if you like to people watch, you are never short of some fun and interesting characters as you walk around Duval Street.

carnalismocc

As of now, no, it's not showing availability in May, but I've noticed in the past that the vacation club properties start showing more availability around six months out, so I'll keep checking. I like the idea of having the extra space, the washer/dryer, full kitchen, etc., so if it becomes available, I'll seriously consider switching over.

As far as the rental car goes, IF we were to stay at the Windward Pointe, is parking fairly easy in Old Town? I've heard that it can be rough sometimes. Thanks for the help!

lalala

Stayed here one night this past weekend. We were upgraded to their Jr Suite, which I believe is the nicest room they have. The room itself is great - lovely view of the gulf, great bathroom, nespresso, two balconies, great linens. FD staff was great, the 9 am housekeeping interruptions were not so great. Really low resort fee which was a nice change. I believe the hotel restaurant is very good, we opted to eat off the resort.

However, the location was not that great for us. I am not a fan of Duvall street. I think next time (if there will ever be a next time), we'll be staying at the waldorf-astoria property to be close to a swimming beach.

lala

dajoip

What is the perceived value of redeeming Chase UR/Hyatt points at this property? My wife and I are looking to do a long weekend in Key West in Feb, but I'm not all that excited about blowing through 66k points... Are there better points/miles options (Club Carlson, Hilton, or Chase UR/Starwood partners) in Key West? Would one of the three Hyatt Vacation Club properties (Hyatt Beach House, Hyatt Sunset Harbor, Hyatt Windward Pointe) be a better option/value, or should I possibly even look at Hotwire/Priceline or a BRG?

Thanks in advance!

Kay_nyc

I used my two free nights at the main Hyatt. It was nice, but not spectacular. I didn't understand why it it was over $500 a night. I passed by the vacation property in town (forget the name, it's right by Mallory Square). And it looked quite nice. The vacation properties seem to provide more variety. If you're going for location, there's one right in town, and one in a quieter area with a slightly better beach. Those seem like a better value if you're actually going to use points an not certs.

I loved my long weekend there. My favorite part was a day trip to Dry Tortugas.

karung99

Any one stay here recently, thinking of staying one or two nights this Dec.

Thanks for new info.

jar2542

Any recent stays to report? My fiance and I are getting married in KW in May. We only invited both sets of parents. Since we are picking up the rooms, I was looking to book the Hyatt KW on points (3 rooms). Do they waive the resort fee for award stays? I am only a Platinum.

Any tips/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

meecal

Congratulations on your engagement!

Resort fees are waived on points stays with Hyatts. If the hotel charges a resort fee on a points stay you should contact Hyatt Gold Passport for refund. The only twist is that you're looking to book multiple rooms. I wouldn't be shocked if a hotel employee tried to impose the resort fee on the rooms you're not physically staying in but I don't think that should happen.

jar2542

Thank you so much for the reply! I didn't think that Hyatt charged resort fees on award stays but I read somewhere on TA that they were staying on points and were charged the fee. Good to know that I can call Gold Passport.

Thank you!

ekartash

any recent experiences from Diamond Members? Would breakfast at the hotel restaurant be included? How are they about upgrading to one of the view rooms? booked regular room on points.

karung99

Diamond treated well here, yes you could have up to 4 breakfast at the restaurant.

harbourxie

Stayed 2 nights here during Thxgiving break. Here are a few comments:

1. Room - booked ADA double room (only one available for points) and upgraded to partial ocean view double room on top floor. The room has good size and the bathroom feels spacious, and it has a small balcony with a table with a pair of chairs. The decorations and finishes of the room are average for a resort. However, they put a countertop-like thing along the wall and the beds are set next to the countertop-like thing. No headboard for the bed!! My son likes to jump on the bed and knocked into that countertop-like thing 2 times! AND IT HURTS REALLY BAD! Poor kid.... That design is not very child-friendly.

2. Food - (a) Breakfast is free for Diamond. Front desk will give you a small card, stating that each person can get 1 coffee, 1 juice and 1 entry for breakfast for free. It is NOT the case! As Diamond, we got a little bit more than that and no breakfast charges show on the final bill. (b) We also got a coupon (15% 1st use, 20% 2nd, and 25% after) for the restaurant during check-in; since we like the breakfast a lot, we decided to try the restaurant "SHOR" for dinner. And it was very good! Plus, we can eat outside, on the porch, with a great view of the sea!

3. Service - (a) There were many hairs (more than 10) on the bed the first night! So we have to ask them to change the sheets (the hotel was sold out and no other rooms available that night). We can still find a few hairs on the new sheet! So after thanks to the staff, we recommended the hotel get some newer washers/dryers. (2) There are resorts fee, but not charged for awards stay; the resort fee includes self-parking; (3) The resort has more than 2 dozen turtles in their ponds, and 1 beautiful parrot - the kids love them! (4) the resort has its private beach but it is just too small and my son decided to just play in the hotel pool, which has decent size.

4. Location - Key West is small, but I still think the resort location is pretty good. Duval street and Mallory Square are just 2 or 3 blocks away.

5. Overall - Pretty good experience for the whole family except for the hairs on beds.

golf7

If there are no nights on points available during the dates I want to stay, how do we go about getting those released? I am a diamond member and would like to use my points rather than paying $650 a night.

There are no "standard" rooms available, but seems to be "partial ocean view" rooms which I guess dont count as standard, even though I would be upgraded to the best room available at check-in due to my Diamond Status.

Any tips or hints?

P.S. I still have all 4 of my suite upgrades available

59Impala

Brand change to Centric announced today, but not reflected on hyatt.com yet.

Now called: Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa.

Suggest a moderator renames this thread

http://newsroom.hyatt.com/091416Hyat...l-US-Locations