Carmelo Resort & Spa Uruguay REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Jun 22, 2015, 12:31 pm
Article detailing the transfer from Four Seasons: http://www.businesswire.com/news/hom...0622006034/en/
Looks like it will be a category 5, so only 20,000 points per night.
Jun 24, 2015, 4:18 am
Fdw
Jan 8, 2016, 10:03 pm
Jun 6, 2016, 12:02 pm
Carmelo Resort & Spa, A Hyatt Hotel
Ruta 21 Carmelo, Colonia UY
2 Suites & no Bungalow (14 Photos)
Carmelo Resort & Spa, A Hyatt Hotel
I visited this hotel in 2008 when it was a Four Seasons. At the time I loved it. This time I got a great rate and took advantage of the opportunity to do a mattress running. Reserved a bi level suite but arranged with the hotel to be upgraded to the newly refurbished premium bi level suite for the first 6 days using a DSU. There are only 4 of these at the property.
Hotel entrance
Hotel walkways
Premium Bi-Level Suite
- Modern decoration
- 2 full bathrooms (2 showers & 1 bathtub)
- Automatic blinds
- Hugeee comfortable sofa
- 1 desk downstairs, 1 upstairs with a 21" iMac.
- 2 big tvs (70" & 50")
- Heated floor downstairs
- Day bed
- New carpets
- Nice smell
- Kitchenette, actually just a small countertop with a sink.
Livingroom
Kitchenette (?)
Downstairs bathroom
Bed and desk with iMac 21"
Dressing area
Upstairs bathroom
View from room D30
Bi-Level Suite
- Dirty & smelly curtains, carpets and sofas
- Fungus in some of the showers (had to change rooms once due to this)
- Old rock hard bed in some rooms
- Downstairs bathroom smell really bad all the time.
- Heating is very poor downstairs
Livingroom
Bedroom
Bathroom similar to the one in the Premium Suite
Bungalow
Sadly I was not able to try the Bungalows, I made a request but they argued that they were all occupied, even though the website was showing multiple room availability and they blamed that to a system error..
Dining
Buffet breakfast is included with all rates, and it's served at the restaurant. Eggs a la carte are free of charge. There are other items like bagel with salmon, french toasts, pancakes and waffles that can be requested for a price (12-20usd each).
Food outside breakfast is expensive and not bad, but not great.
Basta Pedro, in Puerto Camacho, is a small restaurant by the same owner, it's nearby and can be reached by bike or with the hotel's van (both free). They have nicer and much cheaper food. You can charge the bill to your room.
Spa & Activities
Spa is nice but unattended, it was always missing towels, water, robes, shampoo, etc. Slippers provided are reused and in terrible condition. Cleanness is an issue. Hairdryer only on women's bathroom...
Activities at the property and nearby locations can be found at: http://issuu.com/hyattcarmelo/docs/actividades_hyatt_carmelo
Bikes, Yoga & bakery classes are complimentary. Also there is a mixology class but not sure if that’s free.
Yoga was fantastic with Pat & Oliver. Great boat and canoa trips with Fernando.
Overall
I loved the Premium Bi-Level Suite . If you can not secure this room I would not recommend staying at this hotel. Other rooms are smelly, cold downstairs and in need of refurbishment.
Overall, the hotel is in an awesome location, with extremely polite but sometimes inefficient service. Most rooms are in need of refurbishment ASAP.
A tip: Uruguay has tax free hotels for foreigners, as well as for food if paying with credit card.
Jun 19, 2016, 6:16 am
Would you recommend hiring a car? Our plan is to drive from Montevideo and then get the boat to BA, but would be useful to hear your thoughts.
Jun 21, 2016, 7:49 am
There is little question that the property just barely hit FS standards, although it is a perfectly fine Hyatt. I liked it.
Jul 26, 2016, 6:34 pm
I had forgotten about this message, sorry!
Yes, I would recommend hiring a car. It'll give you the freedom to roam around Carmelo and nearby sights... you shouldn't miss: the Narbona wine lodge (8 km), Estancia y Capilla Narbona (7 km), Puerto Camacho (4 km), Carmelo city (9 km), and Colonia del Sacramento (85 km).
From Montevideo to Hyatt there are 250 kms. If you leave early, perhaps you can stop by Colonia on your way, this will only add about 20 kms more to the whole trip.
Mind that google maps has two different locations for Hyatt Carmelo... the correct one is "Hyatt Carmelo Resort, Colonia Esterella Colonia, Uruguay" or -33.959245, -58.343528. There's another one that's misleading, especially if you are driving.
There are two options by boat to get to BA:
1. The most used one is Buquebus, which you can take from Colonia or Montevideo. Perhaps, you can arrange with the rent-a-car company to leave your car in Colonia, so you don't need to go all the way back to Montevideo.
2. The other option is Cacciola (at http://cacciolaviajes.com), which you can take directly from Carmelo.
Main difference is that Buquebus takes cars (in case you want to take your rented car) and arrives at the hear of BA, while Cacciola arrives in Tigre (35 kms away from BA). Cacciola has it’s own buses that will take you from BA to Tigre and back (wouldn't recommend it, though).
If you can arrange Buquebus from Colonia, I'd strongly recommend that option.
BTW Car rentals are tax free in Uruguay.
If you are planning to stay at Hyatt Centric Montevideo, check the thread here, I resently posted a small review of 2 suites.
Last edited by lautaro; Jul 26, 2016 at 6:39 pm Reason: Correction
Nov 25, 2019, 6:12 am
Nov 25, 2019, 10:16 am
Carmelo yacht
Narbona winery
Antique cars a horse barn
Horseback
Feb 21, 2020, 10:40 am
Feb 21, 2020, 2:16 pm
More info at the government's website: https://turismo.gub.uy/index.php/en/benefits
BTW Argentina has tax free policy in hotels for foreigners also
