ZBigFam

Debating a summer trip here. Is this property beach front or do we have to take a ride to the private island? How does the private island work? Can we stay there all day or is there a time limit?

Are there places to walk around if we want to visit some restaurants or local shops?

Thanks for the help!

jameswes

No, the hotel is not directly beach front. The swimmable, sandy beach is big hickory island. They run a ferry periodically (every 30 minutes?) for guests of the HR and Residence Club both to and from the island. The ferry to the island has a signup sheet, the ferry back is just first come first serve.

You can come and go as frequently as you want (provided boat signup availability), and stay as long as you want.

There's nothing in immediate walking distance of the HR or Residence Club.
There's a good size mall a couple miles away on Tamiami Trail.

All that being said - this is one of the best Hyatt Regency's in the system. Feels much nicer and upscale than a typical HR (similar to a GH). Good pools and onsite activities, climbing wall, fire pit, a very solid grand club (if you have access). TSU suites are really big. I've been there twice and really enjoyed it.

HoustonConsultant

I echo all of the above. My family (kids 7, 7, 5) had a good trip there.

Nothing walkable (the resort is at the end of mile or two long road from the main road. The main road generally has all of the typical suburban strip mall and regular mall restaurants, grocery stores, and activities within a 5 or 10 minute drive from the hotel.

ORD-TGU

Just completed a very nice stay during MLK weekend. Used my 3 free night certificates.
As Globalist, early check in, very late check out, waived valet parking and resort fee.
At check in I was offered a choice of 4 different room types including complimentary suite, but I needed 2Q, so chose a standard balcony room facing SW on Club floor.
Room is comfortable. It has a very small fridge. Small, but comfortable balcony. We were blessed with precious sunsets each day.
Service is great, all friendly staff and knowledgeable, empowered to act.
Club has basic, but good quality breakfast. Smoked salmon, espresso machine, fresh fruit, egg frittata, etc. Great Service from Gale, she has worked at the Club since hotel opening on 9/11.
Afternoon snacks and dessert are good enough. Beer and wine are $3-$5 and served by staff. Spacious, great staff, overall pretty good club and as good as it gets for a domestic lounge.
Third day we were told we could go to main restaurant for breakfast. Same food as lounge, except for an egg station.
I specifically returned to this property since it is very kid friendly. Climbing wall, multiple pools, lazy river, slides, face painting and balloon, magic show, smores, etc, etc. They do have a paid half and full day kids camp ($45 and $95). The property does have an adults only area, and kids do keep away (except for hot tub)
We did go to the private beach at Hickory Island and the boat ride is nice, saw dolphins. The beach is powder white sand with lots of seashells. Very quiet and relaxing vibe. No food or service, free beach chairs. We brought drinks and food, had a good time, cold water.
Finally, also complimentary for Globalist, use of spacious and complete gym and spa. Steam, Sauna, showers, relaxing pool and meditation rooms. Very nice. Day pass is $25, free with Spa Service.
Nightly live music.

Overall this resort is fantastic, great service from everyone, from valet, bell, check in, pool staff, etc, Very well kept outdoor areas and rooms, decent club, great Globalist treatment. F&B is reasonably priced, they could charge more since they have you resort captive.

I will definitely return and hopefully book before Peak pricing starts.

Edit: I just received an email with a timeshare offer for ths resort, 3 nights $299 +$100 credit, unfortunately valet and RF not waived.

mstrg325

Hi,

We love this property and are returning this year. Does anyone have the name and/or email of the GM for this property? Thanks in advance.

Hot Pocket

The family and I are here now on the second day of their reopening. I can offer some observations on current conditions:

the Plantation property will not reopen until sometime in June, so no current reciprocity

no trolley, the boat to the island is running and they are using the double decker for distancing purposes, but you have to walk to it

regency club is closed, we were offered 12 breakfast vouchers for tanglewood (3 nights x 4 guests). When pressed on what the breakfast covered, the answer was we don’t know, just charge it to the room if needed. No buffet all menu.

water park is open 9-5 and fully staffed with people disinfecting tubes, etc

bar is closed

as globalists we were offered a $25 voucher to cool beans

can’t pour champagne at check in so we were given a bottle

no daily housekeeping, it is only by request and it was suggested that the front desk would do towel replacements and anything else a guest needed. My impression was that you could have daily housekeeping if you really wanted it but it would be outside the norm. I don’t love this personally especially in a $700/nt suite with kids but understand the reasoning and can live with it

it was obvious at check in that many protocols have been updated to give guests a sense that they are being proactively protected from the virus. All staff are wearing masks though I didn’t see a single guest wearing one. There is a substantial effort to sanitize things like inner tubes and keep people at proper distance. Editorial comment, I see why they feel like they should do this and it is appreciated, but in hot humid non hotspot SWFL, life has generally gotten back to normal and many (most?) people are “over it” when it comes to masks and quarantines.

i go back many years with this property and admit to a positive bias towards it. We are enjoying our stay greatly and feel like management and staff have generally made the right decisions and we are glad it has reopened, unlike Grand Cypress which cancelled me out for June and will not reopen until at least July 1 (to match Disney)

I am happy to try to answer any questions for FTers and specifically Hyatt elites considering this property

Hot Pocket

Any updates on this property? I'm guessing SOMEONE has stayed there since my Memorial Day report above.

If not, I will provide an updated Columbus Day report next week

Beckles

Looking forward to a recent report, I must say that their Work from Hyatt promo is awfully tempting, unfortunately my kids are actually back going to school (we could have opted for virtual, but only 12% of the kids in our school did so). With the Work from Hyatt promo they have rates starting at around $200/night that include parking, resort fee, and $50/night food & beverage credit, the catch is you have to stay for a minimum of seven nights. Throw in the bonus points for the current promo, and that deal looks even better.

Dsnow0819

We stayed here back in late July, but much was the same from Memorial Day. Used a TSU and got the wonderful Island Suite.

Club was closed and breakfast was a served buffet. It was good and they had a great outdoor dining area. I was also offered the $25 a day at cool beans for the lounge closure.

Boat to the beach was running but with limited seating. Water park was as normal with extra cleaning protocols.

Housekeeping was only offered every third night. The valet was open.

Compared to other hotels it was as normal as you will find.

dmgrayinva

How was your trip? Anything new to report?

cfabar1

We stayed recently. Very nice. Bus still not running as frequently, some restaurants have limited menus still. Overall, a nice stay.

Hot Pocket

Sorry for the delay in reporting. Not much has changed since my other review upthread, and our experience aligned with the other recent reports. It's pretty much business as normal, although sadly they have discontinued champagne at check-in. The breakfast buffet at Tanglewood is served Sat-Sun-Mon and is noticeably better than the limited a la carte selections from when they reopened. It's still a la carte Tue-Fri. Globalists get $25 daily to Cool Beans in lieu of the Regency Club.

All in all, it remains a great choice for families and they continue to really go out of their way to recognize and take care of top elites.

harbourxie

$200/night? I am wondering how to get that rate. I am seeing now $250+ for weekday and $400 for weekend. Thanks,

azepine00

Back to back prive 3d nt free should be more cost effective in most cases - i suspect occupancy and rates will go up with holiday demand beyond hurricane season.
it is fairly busy with thanksgiving crowds but going early helps. Buffet breakfast all week due to holidays. Club is obviously closed but in addition to buffet passes globs get $25/nt coupons to snack/coffee shop - to go sandwiches salads etc are about $10 there.
Overall good service - they are definitely trying to keep things going with reasonable precautions.

harbourxie

My agent told me the back to back Prive 3rd night free won't work for consecutive stays. Did you try it? Thanks,