Cmag211

Does anyone have any idea how warm the pools are? Looks like it’s going to be chilly when we are there.

BasedChe

They are comfortable, they stay heated till 10pm.

myperks

Has anyone done the Smokehouse for lunch since they reopened. Seeing some posts online saying it can also be a venue for guests as part of the dining plan. Wondering if anyone has experienced it so far.

Cmag211

I’ll be there soon. I’ll try it out and report back.

Skink

It was so cold when I was there that the restaurant was passing out blankets at dinner, and the pools were still at comfortable temperatures during the day.

Cmag211

Following back up about Smokehouse - it was awesome. Everything is included, with the exception of alcohol.

We grabbed a Mexican Coke, hard cider, a couple bags of chips and a candy bar. I figured we would have to pay for all of the additional items beyond the official entree and sides, but she said anything we want was free and zeroed out our bill besides a $7 hard cider. The sides were all solid, but the brisket was surprisingly good. It was a very large, fatty serving so my wife and I split it.

Tip: there is a decent selection of beer and cider that’s roughly 30-50% cheaper than most of the offerings in the main resort. Almost all alcoholic drinks were $6-7 including IPAs and hard ciders.

Overall this is a great addition to the all-inclusive plan.

coleslaw

Very reasonable prices.

There’s a pretty nice bar just north of the smokehouse - Bug Sur Tap House - great little outdoor patio area, good beers on tap and there’s a store/deli joined onto it that sells beer to go.

myperks

thanks for the follow up.

Can you have this on the day of departure as lunch? I think they brought lunch on the day of departure back.

and is the smokehouse open everyday?

Cmag211

I’m not sure on this one, might want to reach out to them directly to ask.

As of right now, it’s only open Wednesday-Sunday.

SFO_FT

Lunch at the pool on both day of arrival and day of departure now included. Also, meals can be taken at the smokehouse, and are in addition to the 3 meals on the main property.

Jonesdds

Wanted to share my experience at this wonderful property. Booked 5 nights Friday th Wednesday the first weekend of car week. For you that don’t know what I mean early to mid Aug.

Beautiful drive up coast from Santa Barbara, first time I’ve not had controlled one way traffic on any stretch in many years, made this drive 30 times at least. Heard later in week Lucia Lodge burned, very sad for this very remote location.

Arrived at 3 pm. Room not ready, said 4 pm which is check in, fair enough. This is an all inclusive property, they provide lunch even on check in so we ate at pool near check in area. No T mobile coverage, assume limited all carriers, used WiFi for calls text which proved very iffy the whole stay. No text by 4:30 so walked over room ready, I’m going to assume text didn’t go through, not sure.

We we’re assigned room 52. This is the best room in the place. Highest spot on property. I wasn’t able to book standard room and upgrade so booked Big Sur Suite 48k. Lots of points but remember, all inclusive. What I can’t understand is our room type is the biggest one, other than a single cottage near us. Seems to me the 12k points gets you either an outdoor shower or a hot tub. Without the view we had. Based on my research of property nothing compared to our view of the ocean. Seems not at all worth it for 12k points to book higher. Someone correct me if wrong.

I’d thought eating breakfast and dinner every day(I went to Laguna Seca track two days and Carmel one day so lunch a few days) I’d be disappointed after awhile with lack of selection. I was not, plenty of options, repeated with Octopus only which was phenomenal. Outside, awesome views, weather largely fantastic. If you like martinis, awesome presentation. Even 5 nights, totally fine.

Other observations. Hiking, pool was great, excellent service for most part(turndown a little off, when is it not), room was huge, comfortable, etc. Be somewhat fit, if you are in room we were in it’s a fairly steep hike there. But, they are always happy to drive you. Restaurants a pretty long way, either gravel path or road, get a pickup for dinner. Breakfast in room was timely if not early, ordering night before on iPad they provide. Self park, you lessen your walk for most rooms and if using your car you will want this access. Standard rooms booked over $2000/night. 48k points, one of bests rooms, all the food you can possibly eat. No better Hyatt redemption IMHO.

special thanks to Katina my Globalist concierge for setting this up, you are invaluable. HIGHLY recommend this property. Already booked next year, it’s a tough reservation.

aCavalierInCoach

Looks like future (way future) points reservations specify a one night deposit on CC here -- does that mean they put a $3k non-refundable charge against your card for the privilege of making a points reservation?

59Impala

no, If you pay w/points then they are anyway immediately deducted from your account and counts as pre-paid. If it is non-refundable and you cancel your stay you would get your points back, but be charged the cash equivalent.

Kacee

It's possible they would charge you one night deposit.

But it would be refundable subject to the cancellation policy.

aCavalierInCoach

So, there is no cash deposit put down - okay. So presumably the below is a fully refundable reservation with the "points" subbing in for the 14 day refundable deposit? That makes sense to me but it seems like it could be spelled out more clearly vs what they have below. Bold mine

Details
Free Night in a Standard Suite
Deposit Policy
Credit Card Deposit Required 1 NIGHT(S) DEPOSIT WILL BE CHARGED TO CREDIT CARD
Cancellation Policy
14 Days Prior Or One Night Fee One Night Dpst At Booking