noobiewildcat

joecool1885

Our plunge pool is cool, a little chilly at night (haven't swam in it during day), ocean is warmer than our pool and plenty comfortable. The main pool is even warmer than that. Haven't tried adult pool.

joecool1885

Concluding a 7 night stay tomorrow morning, extended from 5 nights.
Full review at some point, but some notes:
initially paid 4th night free for standard room 4 nights, plus one night at standard rate for Park Executive Suite (~$650). YMMV, but I was upgraded for all of my nights to Park Executive Suite. The standard rate for the P.E Suite includes 2 50-minute massages, which we used for a couples massage. Would have cost $450 for that alone, so exceptional value. When we decided to extend our stay- last two nights booked Prive rate for Nevis Peak Suite (~$615), and confirmed our upgrade so we could stay in same room.

factory81

Great hotel, great amenities, good service. Well priced.

General Consensus: This is a great hotel that will allow you to have a top notch vacation. The service is good. Complimentary stand-up paddle board, kayak, snorkel gear, pool floats is awesome to have. In late November, the day length is long enough to allow you be at the pool from 8:30AM - 4:30 PM. St. Kitts in general is a great tourist destination, and I agree with many of the publications (like Bloomberg) that describe it as a must visit in 2018. The island is going to get busier and busier with tourism, no doubt about it. The views you can capture around the island are great. The amount of investment going on is crazy; some of them I stumbled on that are new or currently occurring include; Ritz Carlton, huge Ramada Hotel, Chistophe Harbour, Taiwan Eco Park/Taiwan Solar Panel installations, Bus Terminal station, Royal St Kitts Hotel + retail center, numerous investments by Asian firms and additional cruise port terminal to accept 2 more ships. The island is going to look incredibly different in 10 years, and taxi drivers were telling us that there is a effort by the government to teach Mandarin and attract more Asian investment. The ability to earn citizenship in St Kitts or Nevis by investing is attracting a ton of attention. I love Kauai, but St Kitts is so much less popular in comparison that you will just be pleased that you are not constantly waiting in traffic, sitting elbow to elbow at the most popular vistas, and dealing with everything that becoming Instagram famous can bring.

Pros: Globalist upgraded to nevis peak suite w/ DSU applied. Breakfast spread is pretty good, and on par with what you would get at the PH Paris Vendome. Rooms are well appointed. Staff interactions are warm and welcoming. As mentioned there is a great amount of sunlight around the hotel, with the sun only setting behind a hill around 4:30-5pm in the day, so you can really enjoy a ton of sun here, while looking across at Nevis. This isn't like being in South Beach, where it might struggle to break 80 degrees in winter, and the sun sets behind buildings at 2pm. All of the good beaches are right around the Park Hyatt, and Nevis is closer than ever, so exploring Pinneys beach is a 10 minute water taxi away.

Cons: The service at restaurants can be operating on island time. None of the pools seem to be heated, and this was only really a problem in the adult pool which was noticeably cooler than the main pool. You can spend $20-40 one way for a taxi ride out of the Park Hyatt, $20 to Salt Plage for instance, and $35-40 in to Basseterre. Mosquitoes. You don't see them in Kauai, but you will see them in the Caribbean, and they supposedly have occurrences of Zika.


Tips: I was able to stay at the Marriott for $107/nt, an amazing rate, and at 10 minutes from the airport, it was a perfect intro to the island, at what can be an amazing rate. If you are going to burn a whole day travelling to the island, and can score the Marriott hotel at a great rate, you might be able to inexpensively extend your vacation, or earn additional qualifying nights for Marriott status. The railway to tour the island is closer to the Marriott, and any taxi tours you take around the island will be cheaper from the Marriott vs. starting it way down by the Park Hyatt. We toured the town of Basseterre for an hour or two, bought some tshirts, and used that opportunity to take a $11/pp one way boat ride to Nevis, which was a super cheap (compared to private water taxi from PH) way to see the island of St Kitts on the way to Nevis. Yachtsman Grill on Nevis is a great place to eat. At the Marriott there is a great indian restaurant across the street called Tiranga, and also a Rams store with a small duty free and a selection of food/water/beer. I really enjoyed the indian restaurant (which there isn't any of down by the Park Hyatt), and was able to pickup a ton of water and beer at the Rams. Salt Plage, Spice Mill, what is located at Shipwreck beach, and the Pavilion are the only close dining options near the Park Hyatt. Spice Mill is the only one you can walk to. Salt Plage is the spot to watch the sunset. Make sure to reserve a table at the end of the deck at Salt Plage for the best experience.

In short: there is no reason to not visit the Park Hyatt St Kitts. It is a great beach resort, the staff are happy to help you enjoy your vacation as much as possible. The weather is incredible, and the beaches are good. I would return, and plan on returning.

Travlur

factory81, how was the plunge pool temp in the Nevis Suite? Comfortable enough to use? We have a stay booked here in the spring; one regular king room and one Nevis suite. I am hoping the extra money for the suite will be worth it for the outdoor space and pool.
Thanks!

factory81

Plunge pool was great. Warmer than the adult pool, and on par with the main pool. The outdoor space in the Nevis Suite is large. You could host a small party on it. It has a 3 piece dining table set, a day bed, a lounger, and room for a couple large decorations.

I am not sure what the price difference of the Nevis Suite is, but I will say that the location of room 1321 was great. You were within a 10 minute walk of anything, and the size of the room really allowed you to unpack and enjoy yourself. The non-plunge pool rooms can have incredible views of the sunrise. 1321 does not have an unobstructed view of the sunrise, and will require walking to the beach.

Travlur

That is great to hear, thanks very much.

BOS_traveler

We just returned from 9 nights at the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. I would go back in a heartbeat. We booked through a Hyatt Prive agent and received the standard benefits ($100, breakfast, room upgrade, late checkout) and also received the buy 3 get 1 rate with $300 for every 4 nights (so $700 total). We booked the ocean view king and were upgraded to an ocean front king, We don't have Hyatt status, so I didn't expect or even ask for a double upgrade. The room was at ground level and we could walk right out from the terrace to the beach.
Pros: beautiful property, lovely fuss-free rooms, perfect weather, friendly and helpful staff, good service (not Four Seasons good, but good).
Cons: the pool water is too cold for my liking (and I'm a New Englander, used to cold water), food and drink is very expensive (some of which makes sense, since everything is brought in, some doesn't such as $7 beer on campus being $2 down the beach).
We didn't do as much exploring as I would have liked as I caught something on the flight down, but we did head to Nevis for a day. On Nevis we had lunch at the the Four Seasons. We had considered splitting our trip between FS and PH and decided against FS due to the ongoing construction, which I am glad we did after seeing it in person.
My SO golfed at Marriott on St. Kitts and said it was ok, but not spectacular. At PH, in addition to the pool water, there are some other quirks that could use some work. Room service consistently wanted to do turn down at 6PM - far too early considering we always had dinner at 8. After we commented on it they started coming at 6:30, still too early. They don't do a good job of telling you what is available on campus (I didn't learn there was a heated plunge pool and sauna until the day before we left) or nearby. The hotel is part of an in-development area called Christophe Harbour. There are a few restaurants, a marina and some shops, but you won't learn that from Park Hyatt. I was also told by others at those businesses that they have been trying to work on a shuttle service with PH without luck. The first thing they need to do is get the pools heated. The adult pool was far too cold to use, indicated by no one ever being in it. The large lagoon pool was ok after you heat up and want to cool off, but too cool in the deeper areas (about 4'9" deep) to stay for any time. The ocean was warmer than the pools. I believe others have commented on the beds. Request a mattress pad, you will need it and it makes a big difference (I woke with numb hands after the first night and was fine after the pad was added). Next time I will ask if they have a thinner bed cover. Even with the AC at 18.5 C (the lowest it would go), I was too hot to sleep with covers on.
I know this seems critical, but I really would go back.
In terms of flights, we ended up doing 9 nights instead of 8 because staying the extra day made our airfare cost about 50% less, so it paid for itself.
Just as an FYI, there is a vet college on island. Our return flight (St. Kitts to Miami) had numerous "emotional support animals" (at least 6 dogs and at least 4 cats) in cabin. If you have allergies make sure you have your meds on you and not in your checked luggage.

raiz

Just finished 7 night stay over the holidays. Hotel was nearly full so no upgrade at check in nor using SUA. However, was offered an upgrade beginning with out third night from a beachside king to a beachside suite. Gladly accepted and appreciated having the additional space.

I've read a few comments about the high food and beverage prices but to me pricing seemed commensurate for a high end resort and what I would expect to find at comparable properties i.e. Four Seasons, St Regis, etc. That said, the food could have been better, particularly lunch at the pool. The menu was uninspired and presentation left much to be desired.

General observations:

- Great kids club. Lots of activities, especially for the little ones (under 10). Lots of outdoor time and fantastic staff. There is a surcharge $25 for certain activities, including some basic arts and crafts. I thought this was petty and can add up as some days there were multiple "activities"

- Beach/pool service needs improvement. We found ourselves making our own beach beds most days. This was after about 45 minutes of sitting on the beds without towels. What was strange was that often there would be almost no one else at the beach and very few people at the pool so it's not like the staff was overwhelmed. We noticed other people making their own beds as well. Not acceptable at this level.

- Property did not feel overcrowded, even at full capacity. This goes for the beach, pool and restaurants

- Rooms are fairly basic, beach chic. Finishes on the cheaper-end and starting to show wear.

- Management seemed to genuinely appreciate receiving feedback.

59Impala

anybody else have experience in getting to the hotel from the airport? We'll be here in February and have now decided not to rent a car. Is a taxi the best way from the airport to the hotel and also priced at around 25 USD?
is this a fix price, or are the taxis metered? is it easy to grab a taxi at the airport, or should that be arranged in advance?

Thanks for any advice!

martinplas

59Impala

Thanks!!!

BOS_traveler

Very easy to get a tax from the airport to the PH. Getting a taxi from the PH to anywhere else requires some advance notice.

59Impala

on my upcoming stay I upgraded using the new 9k points/night for a premium suite to the Park Executive Suite.
I was contacted by the hotel ahead of my stay and they're asking if I have specific room requirements.

on Trip Advisor someone suggested a room in units 9-12 for killer views.

• Can anyone on FT confirm this too?
• Are there Park Executive Suites in these buildings?
• Does anyone have a hotel map/layout?
• any other suggestions on location of the room? Thinking of enjoying evening sun as long as possible etc.

Thanks!
Thanks for any suggestions

martinplas