HoustonConsultant

That is a bummer to hear. I'll take dated but huge and spacious for the kids.

plazc

Extremely specific scenario I am hoping experienced guests at this property can help with any insights:

Status-less (well, Discoverist) traveler with lots of Chase and Hyatt points to burn the week of Thanksgiving for 2, 3, or 4 nights. We would be traveling as a part of four total adults (me+wife, and my parents) plus ~22 month old twin toddlers. The amenities caught my eye and the points cost for suites in particular seems too good to be true, comparing 114,000 points vs. $3,700 to $4,000 cash price depending on dates of travel.

• Is there a catch or is this just a lucky redemption at ~3 to 3.5 cents per point?
  
  
• Is a premium suite even worth it, or should I just plan to book my parents their own separate, standard room? "Worth it" means comfort for us and the toddlers, e.g. having a separate bedroom space with a closeable door & blackout curtains for them to sleep without us disturbing them (and vice versa). I see no advantage other than treating my parents to having them share a suite with us, but if it works out to be a better price for everyone in the same enormous room, then so be it.
  
  
• To wit, does anyone have experience traveling to this property with two toddlers? Ideally they would sleep in pack and plays. Are they available? The website is ambiguous, listing them only under the unavailable Litton House cottage.
  
  
• Is either of the available premium suites (VIP Suite, Patio Suite) a better room type to plan around, if the premium suite is worth it? The descriptions seem wildly different but are too limited to really tell.

My questions above are largely informed by this helpful comment from spgplat21 which seems to imply it may be best / feasible to just book the Jr Suite for 61,000 points @ an even more insane 5+ CPP.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing and able to take the time to reply.

djo4gq

Just spent a couple of nights at the HR Lost Pines over Thanksgiving. We checked in on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and checked out the Friday after. Booked two rooms with points and used a SNA for one room to secure a Junior Suite.

First off, the place was packed. I never know what to expect for Thanksgiving, since I’ve spent a few Thanksgiving weekends in empty hotels. But given that this was a resort property, I’m assuming many families used the holiday as an opportunity to take a long weekend trip.

Our party was two couples with no kids (no judgement, we are expecting our first child in January). I call this out because I think we were the lone adults-only group in the entire resort. HR Lost Pines is listed as a family-friendly resort and the clientele, especially on Thanksgiving, matched that description. If you are looking for a tranquil getaway, sans children, I would recommend going elsewhere.

Rooms: As mentioned previously, we had one king room and one junior suite. The king room was nice and relatively spacious. The rooms had been previously renovated, and while it had old bones, the furniture had been updated and felt modern.

The junior suite was beautiful. The floorplan was well-designed, as the left side of the suite was the living room and bar, while the right side was the bedroom and bathroom. It felt as if the suite was two distinct areas, despite having a smaller square footage for a typical suite.

Bathrooms in both rooms were about the same size, and had a small walk-in shower and a tub. This was actually the only part of the rooms that did feel a bit dated.

Amenities: There was a lot to do on property, even in the colder weather. The grounds were well-kept, the outdoor games (ping-pong, cornhole, horseshoes) were in good condition, and there were different “hikes” you could take around the property. There were also a lot of holiday themed activities during the day, but we didn’t partake in any, since most of them were tailored for kids.

The spa was excellent, although it’s not as breathtaking of a spa experience as you would have at a traditional luxury property. Our massages were outstanding. Even if you don’t want to pay for a spa treatment, you can use the sauna, steam room, and pool/hot tub for free. This was a nice, quiet respite from all of the kids who had seemingly taken over the resort.

The gym was large and equipment was updated. There was one room with cardio machines (6 treadmills, 3 bikes, 3 ellipticals, a peloton bike, and a rowing machine). There was another weight room, which had a mix of free weights and machines.

We tried to play tennis, but there was only one court, and it was in use with a 30 minute wait for the entire weekend. Same goes for pickleball and basketball. Unfortunately, many parents used this as a playground for their kids instead of an actual court.

The pool area was large, but most areas were closed for the week due to the colder weather.

Dining: We only ate breakfast on property, since we had read reviews about the poor quality of the lunch/dinner options at the resort. There is a new sushi restaurant on property, called Sushi by Scratch, that has pretty good reviews, but they were completely booked during our stay.

The breakfast buffet was one of the better HR buffets I have seen. There was a great selection of fruit, multiple egg dishes, an omelet station, 5-6 types of pastries, smoothies and yogurt bowls. There was also an a la carte option, but after seeing some of the uninspiring plates at other tables, we decided to go with the buffet.

The breakfast was served in a large dining room that felt like you were in a high-end mess hall. Don’t get me wrong, the space was recently renovated and nicely designed, however, the high ceilings and large rectangular room make it feel as if you were at camp, rather than a restaurant.

Service: As mentioned by others on this thread, the service at the resort was excellent! Everyone that we interacted with was friendly, attentive, and went above and beyond to help us. Even though the place was busy and it seemed as if they were still short-staffed (there’s a huge ‘help wanted’ sign at the entrance of the resort), the staff was top notch.

As a Globalist, they removed all breakfast charges, valet, and resort fees without asking. We called the guest services desk for some more bottles of water, and they dropped off a bunch of bottles within 5 minutes of the request.

The only service issue was during our second breakfast, when the hostess took us to a table without any chairs, and seemed quite frazzled when we asked to move to a different table. It was a funny moment that she correct quickly, and pretty impressive for this to be the only service issue at such a large resort.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay. It’s an amazing place for families with children, but I would reconsider this resort if you are without kids. The suite upgrade was impressive and the waived resort fee due to Globalist status was a great value. I would not fly to visit this resort, but it was a nice getaway for a long weekend within driving distance of most big cities in Texas.



Main outdoor area behind the lobby

Main outdoor area behind the lobby

View of the Colorado River

Junior suite entrance

Junior suite closet area

Junior suite bathroom

Junior suite bedroom

Junior suite seating area

Junior suite TV and dining table

Junior suite bar area

Resort map

Resort activities

Lazy river

Lazy river

Lazy river and slide

Resort entrance

Kirk T

Any datapoints on how easy/frequent using Uber/Lyft is to make a trip to Austin? Will be staying at Lost Pines for two nights, but would probably want to go to Austin and back once a day. Is it hard to get a rideshare from Lost Pines to Austin? Would rather not rent a car, but if it's long wait times and very expensive, then will probably just suck it up and rent a car.

plazc

Definitely rent a car. It would be a very expensive Uber. And if you have your own car you’re free to go into town for HEB or non-property food.

Daftryan

uber and lyft will not come to the hotel. You’ll open the app and it will say “no drivers available.” Do not book this hotel if the idea is to go to Austin and come back once a day. It is FAR. Instead, book a hotel in Austin.

Kirk T

Appreciate both of your responses. Car rental it is, and will see if it making one trip is sufficient.

DealDetective

If you want to see Austin, stay in Austin. This property is not a good home base to see Austin, even with a rental car. When we go there, we don't leave the resort (even for meals) until we check out because it is so remote.

Kirk T

Thanks for the advice. We'll be arriving late into AUS the night before, so staying at HR Austin for one night. If the app tells me the room is ready, was considering going to HR Lost Pines midday the next day, so as to take advantage of activities at Lost Pines for the kiddos. Given the three consecutive recommendations, may consider staying in Austin until after dinner, then staying on HR Lost Pines property until checking out. Is there any standout restaurant or food option at HR Lost Pines?

martinplas

There are several. Stories is their fine dining venue and not always open , so call to check. They also have a coffe shop style restaurant that’s open for breakfast lunch and dinner and a large bar that serves bar food ( quesos , hamburgers, salads etc). The sushi restaurant is impossible to get in

OhDoctor

Planning on staying here in a few months as a family (2 adults, 2 children), and I see that both the VIP Suite and the Family Suite can be had for 40k points. The Family Suite sells for a little more per night, but the VIP Suite is nearly 500 square feet larger.

Tempted to book the VIP Suite because of the much larger space, but I'm reticent to ignore a "Family Suite" if we are the intended audience.

Any thoughts?

On a another note -- the resort charges extra for base rooms in the South Wing/Tower versus the North. Is the location that much more convenient to the hotel's amenities?

longtimereader firstimeposter

can’t comment on the suites but the south wing would be closer to the pools, playground, lake, fitness center and spa. Our terrace in the lone star suite opened up to the park (perfect for the kids). The north would be closer to the trail and the “petting zoo”.

Jchaps31

We stayed in the VIP suite last year with 2 adults and 3 children. Layout is a very large open room with a Murphy bed, table and a large couch, a standard king bedroom, what feels like a walk in closet/mud room that we used as a bedroom for kid 3 with a rollaway, and a large bathroom that has a tub. There is a 2nd bathroom attached to the larger room. Lots of patio space and doors throughout, but you can't really leave the room that way without going thru the landscaping.

There is a Nespresso machine in the room which is really nice.

​​​​ FYI, the breakfast buffet at lost pines is the best Hyatt breakfast we have been to.
​​​

OhDoctor

Thanks! We booked the VIP suite.

Daftryan

If this is the best Hyatt breakfast you have ever had, you have not stayed at nearly enough Hyatts. The buffet here is OK, but doesn't come close to places like The Cape, Andaz Mayakoba, Park Hyatt Mendoza, even HR Bellevue to name a few.