Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa — Hotel in Carlsbad

On December 28, 2021, 7am, the toilet was completely blocked and it was my first time in my life to see how water spreader out to the floor from a dirty flushing toilet. I called Guest Service immediately to report this issue, and asked them to fix the toilet, and clean our room, and we will be back to room around 1pm. The guest service lady was kind and told me she would call engineer right away, also would inform Housekeeper dept to clean our room. However, when we came back at 12:45pm, I could not believe my eyes: the room was entirely messy: not be cleaned at all, the toilet was fixed but dirty towel were threw on the toilet room’s floor… called Guest Service again, and she apologized and promised to clean On December 28, 2021, 5:45pm, my child and I went downstairs Ember&Rye to check in our 6pm Topgolf Swing Suit($75 per hour), we arrived 15 minutes earlier so I didn’t feel anything wrong when I asked to check in, one male bartender about 35-40 years old told me “we are very busy now, can you wait for a moment?” I said “ok, no problem”, so my child and I waited outside of bar (open floor plan without doors). Though my child was keeping asking me why we could not check in, I explained to him that we arrived a little earlier and still few minutes left. During that time we walked around and found the Topgolf Suite was full of trash, food on its table, sofa, I was worried about it seemed at least need 10 minutes to clean up. Until 6pm, I asked again for check in, same bartender, he grabbed out an iPad and asked me loudly:”what’s your first and last name?” I told him though I felt not comfortable and didn’t understand why he suddenly increased his voice. However, after he checked me in he still told us”just give us a moment.” I still said ok, until I found they were still in the bar and no body went to clean our reserved room. At 6:10pm, eventually I questioned him”it’s 6:10pm already, and we only booked this room for 1 hour, why don’t you check us in?” He was so mad and turned around his body immediately, yelled to me”you can see how we are very busy right now, it’s only 10 minutes, what’s your point??!” My child and I were completely shocked what we had heard, I said “we have been here for 25 minutes to wait for a check in, 2 bartenders with 3 waitresses, 12 guests, obviously you can check us in on time and it’s already 10 minutes late.” He didn’t answer me and stayed away from us(picture this: 6:10pm, a mom with a 7 years child have been waiting for 25 minutes to be checked in for their reservation at 6pm right standing in front of bars, the only place to check in for Topgolf Swing Suites). Even more worse, 6:15pm, when this bartender passed two drinks to a couple who stepped in for a drink to go, he clicked the computer to charge them and said to them “it’s only 15 minutes, what’s her point?”. Then he laughed at us with this couple together. My child and I were right standing next to this couple, obviously this bartender knew I would hear that complain, but he wanted us to hear. Later when another bartender came to us with a dirty cloth, a cleanser bottle on his hands, informed us to go to the Topgolf room, I asked to see his manager instead. Finally I met a female manager there, she looked kind at the beginning and tried to lead us to the reservation right away, after I refused her she looked angry as well, when my child was crying loudly due to frustration to the bartender who yelled us, I started to cry as well and asked the female manager: “it’s that bartender who insulted us.” She warned me “if you keep saying that, you know I can call a security right now!” At that moment, I made a decision to give up this reservation and was determined to get a justice, I refused to go to our reserved suites and just stood there to ask her to call the security. We left on 29 with an overcharged bill(they removed wrong charge though) I felt very sad and sorry to my son that I was not able to give him a good...

TL;DR version - I didn't experience the 5-star hospitality I was expecting to receive. I don't mind paying for this subpar experience but I won't be able to get my family vacation time back.

There have been plenty of misses for a 5-star hotel. My family and I have stayed at many 5-star hotels in the states and overseas and I can tell what is considered standard for a 5-star hotel and what is considered going above and beyond but this stay was extremely below average.

Please keep in mind, I stayed in early October, so all my issues may have been addressed as I brought this up to the Assistant Rooms Manager. They only reimbursed me with hotel points when I insisted I won't ever be attending a Park Hyatt.

For example,

The kids & adults pool - there was a day when it was dirty. There were live wasps (more than 10) floating on top of the pool. There was also ripped up paper in the hot tub. My husband had to ask the waitstaff to get it cleaned.

Pool service - I understand that there may be an issue with staffing due to the pandemic but I was expecting a 5-star hotel to mitigate that. However, the service was very slow during the weekend and I had to remind the waitstaff of our order.

Bar - The bar was also short staffed, which I would have expected after the pool service issue. However, the drinks weren’t consistent. The first time I ordered from the bar, I ordered the Hanami Ritual. The following day, I ordered the same thing and it was a completely different drink.

Room Service - The customer service was very below average. I asked Room Service what the soup of the day was and they said it was Red Pepper Soup. I ordered that and that’s not what was delivered. I explained to the person who delivered it and he had to prove that what I ordered was wrong and explained… “no, that was yesterday’s”. I then had to explain that was what was told to me. I also texted Concierge to deliver a birthday cake slice for my husband at a certain time as I wanted to surprise my husband when we got back from the pool and it wasn’t there. I then had to call Room Service to have it delivered. The slice arrived and it wasn’t what I was expecting as it was extremely small. The cake on the Room Service menu was 3x bigger than what was given. It was embarrassing on my part that I tried to make my husband’s birthday special, but it was also a shock to see what was given versus what I asked.

Internet - Horrible. It was always going in and out and when connected to Wi-Fi, I couldn’t text or send emails.

Housekeeping - The first time our room was serviced, our garbage wasn’t thrown out. The dirty dishes were stacked and still on the table. I did bring this up to the front desk and they did apologize for the inconvenience and sent us dessert.

Water refill station - This was located next to our room. Although this was a nice, convenient concept, the water had dirt in it. Furthermore, there were empty beer bottles in that room for days. It seems that there was no up-keep in that room.

Market - Inconsistent customer service. There was one server who I asked if they provide whole milk in a cup, and she lectured me on how they only serve whole milk unless asked. The following day, a pleasant server asked me if I would prefer whole or non-fat milk. She was the only person there who gave excellent, genuine customer service with a smile.

I hope this helps! I was extremely disappointed when I read great reviews about this resort, only to be disappointed with my...

Where do I start?? I booked a stay with Park Hyatt Aviara as it was one of the resorts included in the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection available through my Visa Signature card. Booking through the Visa signature website and using my card provided additional perks during my stay which was really nice. My boyfriend and I were there for six nights over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Prior to getting to the resort, I had emailed the spa as I wanted to book a service for me and my partner while we were there and due to my busy work schedule it was difficult for me to make a call and get a reservation set but the Spa staff were very helpful in coordinating the appointment and making sure all my needs were met.

From the moment we arrived to the moment we left all of the staff went above and beyond to ensure our comfort and satisfaction with the accommodations.

There were a few people that really made our stay enjoyable that deserve mentioning:

Breakfasts at Ponto Lago- Paula took excellent care of us, and really made the mornings very enjoyable. Memo and Sylvia make the best omelettes. Sam was very helpful in answering our questions regarding benefits with our reservation, Carina was awesome as well.

Valet- all of the valet staff were very efficient and quick. Anytime we would call for the car by the time we walked down it was ready to go, and they always asked us if we wanted waters for the road. Ron was really great to talk with, and always made sure that we were taken care of.

The free shuttle to the golf course was pretty awesome too and because we were guests at the resort we got to rent golf clubs and go to the driving range free of charge. What a beautiful golf course!

Concierge- I cannot recall if this is his specific department, but we met a man named Joe, who we met as we were strolling down the hallways just exploring all that the resort had to offer. Joe greeted us and gave us a tour around the property. He was always very welcoming and so kind and made every considerable attempt to make sure that we were enjoying our stay, and that all our needs were met. My boyfriend and I were very impressed with his disposition and the attention he took. One night we wanted to do s’mores by the fire, but it was past the time that s’more kit were available. He pointed us in the right direction, and another girl found a few packs for us which we were so happy about.

Market- they have a little market that has all the little odds and ends you might need during your stay. My boyfriend wanted to get a new pair of flip-flops so we went down there and we met Shaheen who works in the gift shop back there. She was very helpful and so easy to talk to and we always made it a point to stop in and say hi to her in the mornings they have some pretty awesome stuff in the gift shop and really great quality.

I could go on and on about what a magnificent time we had at this resort. The accommodations are amazing. The housekeeping staff are top notch. The pools and spas are well-maintained, fully stocked and the facility cleanliness is impeccable. We didn’t want to leave! After a week of being here, the staff had gotten to know us after a few days, and were personable yet professional. If I have an opportunity to stay here again, we definitely will. Thank you to all the staff for making our Thanksgiving vacation that much...