The real review of the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. Must read! This is a gem. Have seen a few reviewers write negative things, and I’m not sure if there were teething issues, but I have glowing things to say about this property. The most bizarre comment that makes no sense is the view that this shouldn’t be a Park Hyatt. The property, room quality, service, and experiences are every bit at the top end of luxury within Hyatt and rival other top properties and brands - it’s deserving of its brand. I hope others write about their experiences more going forward, because a few old experiences or disappointing experiences should not be what remains written about this great property. I’ve stayed at many great hotels and resorts around the World, and this one is up there. ||||The property itself - stunning! Ocean views overlooking Nevis in the distance, beautiful grounds, great restaurants. ||||The lobby upon entering the property overlooks the ocean and the walk to the “Living Room” where you check in is surrounded by a koi pond on both sides. It’s beautiful. You can get fish food to feed the koi from the front desk. ||||The main pool with its infinity edge and zero entry is great. There’s a little interior sand beach area too if you want to stay at the pool, but have some beach feel too. The adults pool is quiet as it should be and is relaxing and picturesque. Both pools overlook the ocean and Nevis in the distance. There are plenty of chairs and umbrellas too, and it lacks the vibe of reserving chairs, which is a huge plus. None of that took place during our stay, and we always had choices of shady spots. They provide towels that stretch over the lounge chairs, which is a nice plus too. Staff frequently come by to offer drinks, food, or simply some cold water. ||||The restaurants all offer a lot of choice and different vibes. Fisherman’s Village is along the ocean with a pier, thatched roof, and outdoor bar. You hear the water coming up along the beach under the dock, which is a nice vibe. Food was excellent, especially the spiny lobster! They also cooked the snapper grilled even though that wasn’t the choice on the menu. The Stone Barn is cozy and more romantic. In the summer, the Stone Barn wasn’t open every night and different “pop ups” were available. While the Great House has three meals a day and is along the ocean with excellent food. I found the Great House high quality for all three meals, including dinner. With three dinner restaurant choices, the property provides a nice number of options for a longer stay. The pool bar has great salads and fish tacos - there’s more in the menu at the pool bar, but that’s what we enjoyed. There’s also a gelato and smoothie “shack” on the beach. Wish it was opened at night too for a late night dessert! We loved the coffee gelato that should be called “coffee chip” as there are a small chocolate pieces mixed in. Our favorite drinks at the bars were the Spice Trader and the Rum-Fashioned, but there are plenty of others to try. They’ll also offer you rum punch as a welcome drink upon check-in. ||||Note: Globalist breakfast benefit during low season was “at least” $65pp off the menu (though this $65 is after service and tax, so it’s really $50 of menu spend per person before this). The breakfast buffet is not offered in low season. $50 can go plenty far though. One morning, my wife and I each ordered an entree, shared a smoothie, shared a pastry basket, and each had iced lattes, and I thought we had to cover $1.30 of the $131.30! The front desk removed the breakfast from the online bill right away. By checkout, they even removed the $1.30 from our first day. The other days came to under $130 for the two of us. Loved the breakfast food items all around. The front desk on check in actually said you can get anything you want at breakfast except the Mimosa’s and they’d remove it, which ended up being the case, as they removed the $1.30. One other note was when we got hot coffees, it was never even a part of our breakfast bill - even though it was included anyway, I’d just thought I’d mention. ||||Not sure if it will be offered going forward, but on select nights this summer, they were offering a Sushi/Japanese dinner in Stone Barn. Loved the atmosphere and service, but we didn’t love the Japanese food we ordered (but we’re from NYC with some well-rated Sushi restaurants, so we might not too critical).||||On select Sunday’s, there is a Sunday Brunch in the Great House from 12-3pm. This is not included as part of the Globalist breakfast benefit. That said, we had breakfast a little earlier and sat down at 1:30 for the brunch. The Brunch was incredible. It looked like a lot of locals also came from across the area to experience it. I thought the hotel under-advertised how great the Brunch is. There was better Sushi than the pop-up from Stone Barn! And lots of great dishes like lobster salad, crabmeat salad, shrimp ceviche, and a beet salad. There was short rib, pasta, and more traditional American dishes. A selection of local dishes like oxtail (that I really liked), salt fish, and Johnny Cakes. And an amazing dessert buffet of fresh cakes, crème brûlée, tiramisu, gelato, and more. I’m not listing everything, but you get the point. It was impressive in its offering and food quality. ||||We also did the afternoon tea one of our days. It’s offered in the Great House. The food offered was over-the-top. The sandwiches were unique versus what I’ve experienced in London, but all were enjoyable. There were three scone choices (plain, raisin, and cheese). And the dessert selection was so vast, that my wife and I shared bites of one of each of the choices and brought the rest to another guest we met on our stay to enjoy. The tea was prepared tableside with fresh tea leaves (3 choices offered). We liked the tea, but it was a hot day, so we had less tea than usual! Some of the items like the lobster roll sandwich and some of the desserts were repeats from the Brunch selection - we were ok with that and it was a nice experience to try the afternoon tea and the Brunch during our stay. ||||There are also other restaurant options nearby. We happened to experience Spice Mill, just outside the entrance to the Park Hyatt grounds as well as Reggae Beach Bar. Reggae Beach Bar has a popular Lobster Fest dinner on Fridays starting at 6pm. Make a reservation. It is a super casual restaurant on the beach with some seating in an open air environment or on plastic tables and chairs on the beach itself - really casual like I said. They have live music on Fridays that’s very good. The spiny lobster was huge in portion size and excellent. It comes with two other proteins you pick from and a buffet of sides. It’s a good value. One other note, it’s a 15 minute walk from the Park Hyatt lobby but the bellman also drives guests there - we tipped him, but the shuttle is free, and we called and he picked us up after dinner. The restaurant can call if you don’t have a phone. The Spice Mill is a 5 minute walk from the lobby, but we took the shuttle again. I’d call it upscale casual at Spice Mill if that makes any sense! The service was great, as was the food and rumtini’s (the rumtini was a recommendation from someone at the Park Hyatt front desk). This might be a theme, but we ordered the spiny lobster again! We found it a little less chewy than Maine lobster and had to have it again. ||||There are a number of “experiences” that are included with the resort fee. As typical, Globalists get the resort fee waived as well. These are the ones we enjoyed, all of which I’d highly recommend, and all again were included as part of the resort fee. ||1. Mixology class. Jose, the bartender at Flemings Bar inside the Great House teaches this class. He is so nice, knowledgable, a great teacher, and a great mixologist. He taught us about all the different bar tools he uses, how to use them, why you use them, etc. we made two cocktails that are signature items on the bar menu. And he had members from the group volunteer to make the drinks for everyone. ||2. Rum Tasting. Jose taught this class too. He poured three different brands of rum. We learned a lot about the history of rum and how each of the choices we tasted varied and “attempted” to analyze the rums as we tried them. ||3. Cooking demonstration. We helped and observed a chef making a curried snapper and potstickers. It was a pretty hot afternoon in the open-air Fisherman’s Village (and we were tired from a big day), so I felt a little less into it, but still glad to have experienced this.||4. Bonfire. This was offered on one of the nights during our stay. Free smores kits near the beach surrounded by string lights. Was a nice little snack and a fun time! ||||The fitness center was nice. We used it every morning. It had a selection of equipment, weight machines, free weights, and a Peloton (with toe holder so you don’t need to bring your Peloton shoes). There were cold water bottles and plenty of towels. We did not do the fitness classes, but several were offered on mornings during our stay (yoga, cross-fit). ||||The Spa seemed very nice. A lot of guests experienced it, and we heard really amazing things, but we did not use it. ||||The service was so friendly, it was an absolute joy to experience getting to know so many of the talented Park Hyatt team members that work on property. I saw some reviews say the service at the restaurants was slow. We did not experience this. And the restaurant staff was helpful and wanted to share their views on dishes to help us decide. One server at breakfast even said to my wife if she didn’t like her choice, she’d bring out a different entree for her. They custom prepared the fish entree at Fisherman’s Village and brought us a side of Johnny Cakes at the Great House for breakfast. Even the grounds staff was super friendly. They keep up the property really well. And we saw two guests with fresh coconuts and straws. They said the ground crew will get you a coconut and cut it open for you to drink fresh coconut water! There are staff with golf carts that can take you around. They drove us to our room from check-in with a little property tour, and they also scheduled a late check-out and luggage pick-up, and were right on time for the luggage (and they drove us back in the golf cart to the lobby with our bags). The property is entirely walkable, but you can request a cart anytime. One time we were walking to dinner and a cart was passing by, and they offered us a ride. The staff pull to the side and wait for guests to walk past to not disturb anyone with the golf carts that are walking around the property. ||||Our room. We stayed in a Pool View Suite. This is very conservatively labeled by the property, as it had a full-on ocean view beyond the pool. We really liked our room. We used a Suite Upgrade Award from the standard room. I didn’t bother asking for a plunge pool suite as these are premium suites, and many prior guests reported about paying a fee to upgrade to one. That said, the plunge pools did look very nice, so it may be worth it. We loved the pools on the property, so we didn’t mind not having a private one. The pool view suites also walked right out to the main pool, so we liked our easy access to the pool even if it wasn’t a private plunge pool! The room had a sitting area with a big sofa and 2nd TV. The bathroom was very nice, with a high end shower, double sinks, and a soaking tub. The bathroom and master BR use sliding doors to close it off from the sitting area and bathroom. Two robes are provided, as are slippers. There are plenty of towel hooks in the bathroom to hang towels if you’re ok to re-use them the next day. The room stayed nice and cool from the AC. Housekeeping was fine enough, but not a standout. They cleaned the room once per day, usually early afternoon. They only leave three bath towels. There was not a turndown service, which would have been a good addition. They do come back in the early evening to re-fill an ice bucket and leave some really good chocolates each night. Wish they’d freshen up the bathroom early evening when they revisit though. ||||The beach was fine. Not the best Caribbean beach I’ve been to, but still a beautiful beach, and the views across to Nevis are really nice. The entry to the ocean has a really soft, fine black sand that was really nice experience versus what I’ve usually seen. We found the water a bit rough on most days. It had times where it was a nice turquoise blue, but not all day. There was some seaweed (it’s been a tough summer this year for a lot of beaches), but it wasn’t overwhelming. The staff cleans the seaweed each day. We brought water shoes because we were told it can be a little pebbly. We forgot to take them with us to the beach though, and it was fine enough without them, though there are some small rocks in places, but I wouldn’t call it rocky by any means. The beach overlooks Nevis and is a really nice setting. There is a shady area with some tree cover right on the beach and plenty of lounge chairs either in that shady area or across the beachfront (with umbrellas if want shade out in the open area too). ||||If you have a longer stay, there are a number of excursions to choose from. We just enjoyed a relaxing break at the property, but if you want more action, you can find it. There are catamaran cruises, snorkeling trips, jet ski rentals. There’s a casino in the Marriott a short taxi away. And some guests had taxi drivers take them around St Kitts for tours of the island for a half-day. It was actually pretty reasonable. You can also go to other beaches on St Kitts. There is a boat pier right at the hotel if you want to visit Nevis. I think it was $60 round trip per person and leaves frequently. There are some excursions to do on Nevis as well. The boat ride to Nevis is less than 10 minutes as the hotel faces Nevis along the “narrows”, so it’s a short boat ride. ||||Travel to/from the airport was easy. We didn’t pre-order a car, but the hotel will do that for you. There is a small upcharge if the hotel reserves you a car. We had the hotel pre-book us a car for the return to the airport to be sure we had one ready. When we arrived, there’s a taxi stand right outside, and we got a taxi quickly. The rate was $40 one-way, plus $1 per suitcase. The hotel will charge $55 one-way, but no added fee per suitcase. ||||Overall, I’d highly recommend this property, and we really...
   Read moreSo for context it’s important to note that this is not the typical type of hotel we stay in. In my life I have probably stayed in hotels of this caliber only 2 or 3 times. So I’m not able to like compare it to the four seasons on Nevis or something like that. However I really thought it was outstanding- super classy/luxurious and yet still very laid back and family friendly. It is an absolutely beautiful (and distinctive) location. That view across the water with Nevis and the peak and the cloud is something we’ll always remember. ||It just felt beautiful and elegant to me. There is just something really nice about having every part of it feel elegant. Again maybe rich people wouldn’t find it that different but I will say I knew it was going to be nice and was still even more impressed at how luxurious it was. If people find reason to complain I don’t fault them, particularly for the prices they are paying, but I will say that if you can find things to complain about the luxury or setting of this hotel your life is pretty good. ||We went with our family of kids who ranged from 2-14 and they all loved it too. We didn’t even look to the kids club since the kids were having fun but the kids who were in it seemed to like it. It was super low key but I couldn’t believe how much the kids liked it. They seemed to really respond to the perfect weather and the low key vibe of lounging and swimming ||The pool is awesome. My two year old just loved the zero entry and the shallow side. Being able to hang out with him while immersed in that view was so great. It’s the focal point of the resort (which is surprisingly small) and is just a wonderful spot. All of the kids seemed to be really enjoying it. What’s unique for me relative to other resorts that I’ve been to is how well behaved all the kids were and how they all seemed to just enjoy the low key vibe of the pool||My eight year old loved the beach. As others have mentioned it’s not white sand- it actually has a lot of dark sand that seems to be metallic a little (it stuck to my daughters iPhone case with the magnet) but it’s low key and he was in it all day riding the (pretty small) waves. Being able to sit and watch him on the background was great and he basically spent all day in the ocean.||Our 14 year old lounged for three straight days reading and listening to music under the umbrella. I was most worried she would be bored but she really liked it. On that note it’s amazing how easy it is to enjoy the beach- there’s so few people that you just plop down and enjoy it when you want. They have lemon water and chairs and towels and suntan lotion so you just plop down and enjoy immediately. Again different vibe from other beach resorts where it feels competitive or something to get spots. ||The people were all really nice. As an introvert I really appreciated that people were friendly but really all just doing their own thing. People who are more social than us might not actually like that part but I thought it was great. Again all very friendly and low key.||So we are cheap and again probably not the target luxury demographic so we did try to save money. The $6 smoothies at Fanes are probably the best thing- they use fresh fruit and it’s like basically a healthy lunch. We also stopped at a grocery store on the way in and reordered groceries from ramstogo and also ordered dinner from 869togo.com (basically a local doordash) and only ate one dinner at the hotel (which was delicious and worth the expense). I was also fortunate enough to be able to use my 40-night guest of honor award for free breakfast (which for four people for four days was like a 1,000 savings). So my advic.e would be to make friends with a Hyatt globalist- and get that- it’s huge. Random fact here is that under 5 yos eat free at the restaurants||You may see/hear about reggae beach bar off site as a place to eat/drink but I was not a fan- it’s like a trashy spring break vibe. ||I had planned to rent a car and really use this more as a base for nice swims in between exploring. However despite a reservation confirmed online and the day before with the Thrifty at the airport it was actually closed the day I arrived for some holiday and then I could never get a hold of them. At first I was bummed because I was like what am I going to do at this resort for four days and then loved it.||Overall I just thought it was wonderful- something we’ll always remember as a very special place and set of days. It was luxurious beautiful and is exactly the kind...
   Read moreThis property is breathtaking. The pool is gorgeous, perfect private beach, rooms are clean and very spacious. I am not giving this hotel five stars because of the service. I have never felt this unwelcome staying at a hotel. My friend and I stayed here, in May, for my birthday. As soon as we pulled up to the front of the hotel, the valet questioned what we were doing. When we told him we were checking in, he quickly changed his attitude/tone and offered to valet, or a self-park option. We agreed to let him valet. When we got out of the car, we started to look for the check-in desk. There were about four staff members standing around and not one person tried to help direct us to where we needed to go - they completely ignored us. Once we found the check-in, the ladies were very friendly and happy to help us as soon as they were done checking-out two guests. They brought us refreshments and a cool towelette while we waited. After we got our room key, they offered to drive us to our room and give a little tour of the property, which we accepted. Our driver almost crashed our golf cart because he wasn't paying attention. When we got to the room, he brought our luggage into the room and showed us our amenities (mini bar, espresso machine, etc) which was nice. My friend had put in the special requests to have something nice in the room for my birthday to make it special, and they didn't do anything, not even a card. When we went to the pool shortly after checking-in, they had plenty of chairs and towels. It’s a gorgeous pool. Not one person came over to offer drinks or see if we needed anything, but we saw others at the pool who had received beverage service. We ended up going out for dinner instead of dining at the Park Hyatt and when we returned, we decided to self-park (so we wouldn't have to deal with the valet again). When we got to the gate, the security once again questioned us if we were just going to dinner, when we said we were staying there and showed him our parking pass (the valet had given us) he then asked for proof and our room keys, giving us a look like he didn’t believe us. The last day, we had booked 80 min massages at the spa (which were wonderful by the way). The spa itself is very pretty and relaxing. After we were done with the massages, my friend wanted to see if there was time for facials and if they had any availability. They didn't, which was understandable since we didn't book those ahead of time and they didn't have enough staff. To make up for not being able to help us, she offered to bring us a face mask to enjoy while we used the sauna and the hot tub. About 20 mins went by and we never saw her. We asked another staff member if they could investigate this for us. About 10 minutes later, they bring us a paper dixie cup with a powder in a separate container and said to mix it with water and apply to our face. She didn't even bring any kind of applicator or anything. I ended up bringing the whole thing back to the original lady and she apologized and offered to make it and bring it back to us. She ended up mixing the face mask and putting it in a ceramic dish and had a face brush, so we could apply this to our face. It ended up being nice and should have been done like this in the first place. Lastly, right before we checked out (45 mins) we get a knock on the door saying they need to restock our mini bar. Seeing as there were only a handful of people staying at the hotel at the time, I don’t understand why he needed to come right then. The people that check the rooms/mini bars/refrigerators, should have a list of when people are checking out/in. As someone who works in high end hotels (including Hyatt hotels) for 7 years, this entire experience is completely unacceptable. You would think they would value the guests who were staying here and make them feel more welcomed, especially in the off season and being a brand-new hotel. I have never experienced a stay like this, anywhere. My recommendation would be to put your staff through training, as most...
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