BookerT

Any recent trip reports? Heading to this property in January.

nk15

The property is fine. Mention if you are celebrating something, they put a banner on the door and bring champagne and chocolate. No reservations are needed anywhere, except the Japanese grill Teppanyaki section, it is good to book in advance. The best view is pool and ocean. There are parties and events happening in the main pool (foam parties, etc, pretty cool). There is a small mall across from the entrance where you can buy sunglasses, sunscreen, etc. at half the price.I finished the trip unscathed with no diarrhea, which is a huge win in my book, lol...The waves on the beach were so high you could hear them from a far. We are talking huge waves, photo op type of high. No chance that humans will survive in that water, lol...

frudd38

Just noticed my existing reservation's cancellation policy went from 48 hours to 30 days... Is the resort allowed to change it? My email confirmation also clearly shows the 48 hours cancellation policy.

javabytes

HoustonConsultant

This is a very accurate statement. The only other benefit of the Ziva Suite is that it has an extra bathroom, but as a couple, rarely would you need the extra bathroom (although sometimes my wife wishes we had one)..

frudd38

Is there a post summarizing the best building in general or a map of the resort somewhere (can't seem to find it). We have 3 rooms with 2 infants/toddlers, so wanted to see how far the kids pool is or if it's ideal to have a room near there? TIA

BookerT

Heading there in 9 days so I don't have any firsthand knowledge, but there are some photos of the resort map posted on Tripadvisor in the guest photos.

Looks like Building "B" is closest to the kids' pool and Building "C" is closest to the adults' pool.

We are also travelling with 2 toddlers. Based on the map alone I think I would prefer to be in Building B facing the main pool/ocean. We are booked on points though so we might just end up wherever they stick us. We got an email from the property asking if we were interested in upgrade offers, but not expecting much special treatment as an Explorist.

frudd38

Nice, thank you. A map like this was what I was looking for (kind of surprising it's nowhere on the site).

HoustonConsultant

We (and toddlers) stayed in the B building. Balcony looked at the big pools and the front door opened overlooking the kiddie pool.

The staff at the Hyatt Kids Club were great. We didn't leave our kids there for the day, but our kids played in the play area and the staff let them bounce around inside doing stuff here and there. Each evening (I think at 7pm), they do a short kids show in the big theater. It is silly and generally non-nonsensical, but our three kids (4, 4, and 2 at the time) loved it for reasons that defy understanding. They do musical chairs and generally act silly for 20 or 30 minutes. The same staff at the kids club do the nightly kids shows.

You've probably already read this, but the ocean in front of the hotel won't be safe for toddlers (or adults). The surf is big. Our guys made lots of sand castles and would go out into the water up to their knees, but even then, you really had to watch out for the random rouge wave even that shallow.

BookerT

Quick hits from our 4 night award stay. Travelling with wife and 13 month old. Hyatt Explorist.

• We were not invited into the WOH check in area for some reason, but the line at normal check in was not long.
• Upgraded to an Ocean View Master King in building C.
• Asked about a cash upgrade to a one bedroom master suite (was hoping for a separate room for toddler to sleep in). Was quoted $500/night, which didn't make much sense. The price delta between the base room and the suite was only about $225/night if I made a paid booking online. They came up with the quote by looking at a piece of paper taped to a pencil box in the front drawer . . .
• Anyway, we were happy with the room. Good balcony and good views.
• Ate at buffet, hibachi, steakhouse, and italian restaurants. Steakhouse was my favorite of these. Oh yeah, also had a breakfast burrito at the 24-hour deli one morning at 5 am before fishing.
• Food was fine, nothing blew me away. Would have like to see more made-to-order stations at the buffet restaurant.
• Random restaurant closings irked me. Ate room service one night because only 2 of the kid-friendly restaurants were open and we weren't in the mood for either. The Spanish restaurant was closed every night. Buffet not open for dinners, which is not kid-friendly.
• Whole place was empty the first 2 nights - we were apparently there between two large groups.
• Cool and breezy weather this time of year. Kids pool area shady most of the day. Only saw 2 people swim in main pool entire stay as it is not heated. Finding chairs by infinity pool or at beach wasn't a problem. Spent most of time in the sand.
• Large group of Canadian bankers arrived on night 3. Completely took over resort.
• Had PA system set up blasting music and then a 10 minute firework show. Would have been upset but toddler thankfully took a late nap that day and was still up. Could hear music in our room but our white noise machine drowned it out.
• Went deep sea fishing and came back with fish. Hotel has recently changed policy and will not cook your fish -- got mixed answers from staff but eventually told no. Bellmen have a freezer and froze our fish to take back to US.
• Staff overall very friendly. Got same beach waiter every day. Brought us food from the different restaurants and kept our drinks topped off.
• Got 2 services at spa. Spa was nice, but resort-priced. Cheaper options across the street if you are willing to walk. Also a large walmart-type store right across the street if you forgot to bring anything.

Overall, good value as an award stay but I don't think I would return here for the cash rates they charge. Only my second all-inclusive, but felt like I ate and drank better at the Melia Resort I stayed at last time.

marathon15

Hello all, I didn't find anyone has tried this, so thought I 'm gonna ask. If we book 20k reward night for 2 adults ahead, are we able to add 2 children(9 yo and 12 yo) when we check in by paying additional cash instead of points? I know if paying by points, 2 adults and 2 children would be 40k, the same as 4 adults for 2 rooms. So I was wondering if we can stay in one Master Double, maybe we can pay the kids part by cash, which would be less than adults I assume. Also anyone has any idea of the additional child price? somewhere I read it was $60-70/kid/night, but not sure. Any comment will be appreciated.

roder

Can anyone confirm that Globalists still get premium liquor and the ability to make dinner reservations? How does this work in practice (sounds like there is a special wristband?)

BookerT

I thought that I read somewhere that an award booking could have up to 4 people in the room. You just had to make the reservation with a live person because the website just keeps adding points when you add more people.

Also, they are running a "kids stay free" promotion right now.

https://loscabos.ziva.hyatt.com/en/h...ferId=60947992

marathon15

Thanks BookerT. I did book The kids stay free promotion by paying cash, but I also need to book one additional night right after the promotional period, which would triple the cost with 'Kids stay free' promotion. So I will have to book with points. If I read correctly even if I book by calling for 2 adults and 2 children, it would still cost 40k, doesn't matter 2 rooms or 1 room. So I;m wondering if I just book 1 room for 20k for 2 adults, whether I can squeeze in the kids by paying cash at front desk.

gspurr

I was there in early November and yes, Globailists got both. A Globalist wristband is given that entitles you to premium liquor if you request it. For dinner reservations I called someone (I can't remember which desk, but they gave me the number to call when I checked in) and it was never a problem to get the time I wanted.

Overall I thought the food and drink options were good for an all-inclusive and the service was decent. I wasn't really that much of a fan of the resort though. I would not recommend it for families as there was a large contingent of guests who were into heavy drinking and partying (yes, I know it's Cabos, but the resort does market itself as a family resort). The music is also very loud when there are events/weddings on, which seems to be pretty much every night (or at least certainly on weekends).