JoeWoodstock

I'm a bit confused. I see a rate later this month for "Standard Suite Points plus Cash" of 16,000 points + $400. I also see a rate for "LP Suite Pts Upgr" of $385 + 6,000 points. Both show that they book into a Junior Suite. Is this some kind of IQ test, or are the two different rates actually offering different things?

Thanks for help in clearing up my confusion,
--woodstock

sch_flyer

These are two different rates. One is Points+Cash, which is 1/2 Standard cash rate + 1/2 Award cost. The other one is the Suite Upgrade rate, which is the standard rate for a base (or sometime deluxe) room + 6K points. The upgrade option used to only be bookable via customer service, but is now bookable online for some properties.

Both book into the same exact suite. Depending on the property, usually one is more advantageous than the other, as you can see.

AllThePants

any recent experiences here? am looking at a getaway to get the family out of SoCal for spring break.

other options would be local, e.g. San Diego with pretty variable mid-april weather. or Vegas / Palm Springs -- with more reliable spring heat but with all the trappings / caveats of lugging toddlers to.

also, Hawaii obviously.

leaning towards heading to Austin for ~80 degree weather and a bit of a departure from the day to day. but wouldn't want to if the recent service has been too spotty to warrant the ~$500/nt rates.

also, from folks who have been here what's the optimum # of days to stay. we've got anywhere btw 3-5 days to spend.

martinplas

When I was there in November the coffee House, bar, pool bar, and Ice cream store ( pizza, sandwiches, Ice Crean )were the only restaurants open. Their fine dining restaurant and Regency club were both closed and not even opening on the weekends. Breakfast was a very good buffet with an omelette station. Other than that everything else was running including the lazy river and many of their daily free events for guests along with marshmallow roasting at night and movies outside on the grass. My optimum time staying is 3 days max. We love the spa there and it was open. if you are globalist you have free access to the steam , the sauna and its own outdoor hot tub. Their massages are very good also. They do have a lot of activity for kids from bead making to nature hikes slingshots and petting various different steers goats and farm animals. There’s free bicycles for anybody to use for nice bike rides on the property.

ClarkGriswold

I was there in late October and will probably be back soon. I wouldn't stay more than 3-4 nights unless you plan to do all the activities (horses, shooting, etc). Maybe because we live nearby, but I see this as more of a extended weekend place. I'd do a night or two in Austin proper (it's not a short drive from LP into town). The service is is fine, it's just not returned to the amazing levels it was at pre-covid - like everyone else finding and retaining staff right now is a problem. TBH, if you're coming in from SoCal and ok going international, consider keep flying down to Mexico (Cancun / Playa del Carmen). It's a short hop from any of the Texas airports and some great Hyatt properties down there.

AllThePants

Yeah - Mexico would've been our first choice -- but with a party of five most of the Mexico all-inclusives would require just to book two rooms which pushes the budget out of our comfort zone.

We'll definitely be in Austin proper meeting up with friends for part of the trip. Snagged some of the last rooms at the HR -- apparently MotoGP is in town and rooms are nuts for that weekend.

ClarkGriswold

I feel you, we're a party of five as well. If you have status and they'll bump you up or if they offer you a cheap cash upgrade, the junior suites at Lost Pines were recently renovated and the new layout works great. In any case, try to get on the first floor facing the back of resort. Walkout patio to grassy areas is so nice with little ones.

DotsTheWarlock

Does anybody have experience or issues with ordering food (doordash/ubereats) to the hotel? I'm planning 7 nights and I'm worried the family might get tired of the food/prices, especially with no club lounge, and limited nearby dining options. Long road trips make for cranky kids.

NJTeacher

Any "must do" extras to sign up for? I see they have horseback riding, ATV, etc. Going with my 10 year old and want to start signing up for things, but didn't know where to spend my limited funds. Thanks!

martinplas

no door dash experience but there is a good Italian restaurant not to far from the hotel.

AllThePants

Oh yeah. We've currently got a "patio suite" booked for 4 nights. which is basically the base rate + 9K points a night --- which seemed like a good upgrade rate. I've also got TSUs to burn, so was thinking about switching over to a Junior suite instead to save the points. But anybody with experience have an opinion on whether the 1345 sq ft "patio" suite" is worth 36K points over the 770 sq ft "junior" suite over a 4 night stay?

spgplat21

I don't think it's worth that premium, and I'd spend that $150+/night on food or golf. The patio suite is nice and certainly larger, but I'm not even sure why they call the other room a junior suite since the bedroom is separated by a door and the living room has a pull out sofa and small 4-person dining table.

AllThePants

Hmm - anybody with experience there during a weekday in April? I'm looking at their Facebook page and it looks like their water slides are only open on weekends currently. I'm currently booked for a mid-week stay, but don't want to be stuck there if there are no operational water slides for the kids.

Looking at their cabana rental website -- which I assume correlates reasonably to their expected crowds/operational capacity, it looks like it goes to full-week availability in March, but then drops back to weekends-only in April. Maybe this is because of TX spring breaks occurring in March?

Also have the question out formally to the property itself, but have yet to hear back...

skj

I'm with those that find 2 or 3 nights here is plenty. I'd be worrying about the family getting tired of more than the food if here for 7 nights.

NJTeacher

Let me know if you hear anything, I plan to stay during the week in April and was told that "recreation had not released their schedule yet". I'm worried that there won't be enough for us to do or that the water won't be warm enough to enjoy.