We’ve been to the Park Hyatt Aviara multiple times in the past. While the property itself is beautiful, we came away quite disappointed with our latest stay.

Booking

Thanks to hitting 60 elite nights in the World of Hyatt program, I was given a Category 1-7 free night certificate to use within six months of crossing the threshold. Given we live in Southern California, two of the easiest Category 7 hotels to visit are virtually right in our backyard. We had recently been to the Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas and so decided to go to nearby Park Hyatt Aviara. We’ve been to the Park Hyatt Aviara several times in the past and recalled it being quite good post-renovation, but we wanted to get away for the weekend and see how things were holding up. We ended up coming here over Labor Day weekend–arriving on Saturday and leaving on Monday–using a combination of that free night certificate and 35,000 Hyatt points. If paying cash, expect rates to easily top $700/night here.

Earning World of Hyatt points

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

Chase has a couple of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points that can transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 rate:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred card (refer-a-friend link) that offers 75,000 points for spending $5,000 in the first three months.
• There is currently a limited-time offer (refer-a-friend link) on the Chase Ink Business Preferred that gives an excellent 100,000 points for spending $8,000 in the first three months.

The Hyatt personal credit card (not an affiliate link) offers a 30,000 point bonus when spending $3,000 in three months. On top of that, you get 2X earnings during the first six months until you reach $15,000 in spend. At most, this is a 45,000 card for spending $15,000–and most certainly not the 60,000 bonus it claims disingenuously claims. But, on the bright side, if that $15,000 spend happens within the same calendar year, you’ll also get six elite night credits and a Category 1-4 free night certificate.

The small business version of the Hyatt credit card (refer-a-friend link) offers a limited-time 80,000 point bonus when spending $10,000 in three months. The main appeal here is the easier path towards earning elite status (5 elite night credit for every $10,000 in spend per calendar year), but it also gives up to $100 back on Hyatt purchases.

Arrival and First Impressions

After its remodel, I’ve felt like the Park Hyatt Aviara has done a good job preserving its Mexican villa motif on the exterior of the house, with a very grand and modern interior feel. All parking at the hotel is done via valet service, which was free for us given I am a Globalist member using points or a free night certificate. We arrived the same day a wedding was going on, so it was a little crowded in the valet circle, but ultimately not too delayed.

The hotel has an electrical vehicle charger on site. When I asked the valet attendant about using it, he shrugged and commented “the problem is finding an open charger”. I asked multiple times during my stay and each time I was turned down. Don’t rely on this hotel to charge your vehicle for you, sadly.

Inside the hotel, you’ll find a very large lobby with doors that lead straight out into the expansive yard beyond. It’s well-worth spending some time in the area, particularly at night by the firepits where we would eventually spend our evening burning off some extra energy the kids had pent up after dinner (seemed to be a common activity for other families too).

Anyways, back in the lobby, the front desk is immediately found to the left as you enter from valet. We were thanked for being a Globalist member and told about the features of the resort. The front desk agent then walked us out of the lobby over to the elevators to make sure we knew where we were going and continued to talk about what to expect over the weekend. We very much appreciated the brief walk to get us where we needed to go and wished more hotels (especially those that charge this much for a night’s stay) would offer this level of service.

The Room

The lobby in this resort is located on floor 3, with the entrance to the pools found on floor 1. Our room for this stay was 270, one level below the main floor where the restaurant is located–remember that detail as it will prove to be quite important.

For this stay, young Char wanted to give a tour of the room features. First up is the short hallway with the closet on the righthand side and the bathroom on the left.

Next up is the king bed. The bed itself is comfortable with plenty of thick blankets to keep you warm at night. Each side of the bed had its own series of electrical outlets, making it efficient to charge your devices at night.

Next to the bed was the pull-out sofa. The room is large enough that you can open up the spare bed and have plenty of space to walk around it. But note that its design means that you should lie parallel to the long edge of the couch and not the way housekeeping set it up in the picture below (unless you’re as short as a child).

Directly across from the bed would be the TV and some dresser drawers. We didn’t end up using the TV much during our stay, which tends to be the case.

And across from the sofa is the table, an armoire, and some nice decorations on the wall. No complaints from me on the use of the table as a desk while working.

Inside the armoire was a mini-fridge, the coffee setup, and an ice bucket.

The bathroom is also nicely decorated, with a bathtub that worked pretty well for soaking the kids. Next to the tub on one side is a large mirror with a double sink. However, we did need to call for another towel to be delivered.

On the other side of the tub is the shower. The controls can be reached without getting yourself wet and the shower got plenty warm and the pressure was good. Overall, it’s a good shower that served its purpose well.

Toiletries are by Le Labo Bergamote 22, which is the standard offering for Park Hyatt hotels these days (count me as one who misses Blaise Mautin back in the day in European Park Hyatt hotels).

If you wanted to walk out with your own bottle to take home, it will cost you $120/bottle. Of course, you could buy your own in smaller quantities for cheaper. Or you could just bring your own bottle and fill it if you’re that desperate to bring some home (to be clear, I don’t do this).

Outside the room was the nice outdoor lawn where we could watch the wedding taking place as though we were an invited guest but forced to sit up in the nosebleed section.

Hotel and Weekend Amenities

When checking in, the hotel provided details on the benefits of being a Globalist member at the hotel. This included complimentary breakfast (up to $120 value) at Ponto Lago and an attempt at giving you a late checkout (not a guarantee at resorts).

We also received information on activities going on this weekend. As we were checking in on Saturday, we unfortunately missed most of the activities. This seemed to benefit those the most who checked in on Friday.

Breakfast at Ponto Lago

Each morning, we got up early enough to avoid the morning rush for breakfast (we enjoy starting the day between 7AM and 7:30AM). It was simple enough to check in at the host stand and then we were quickly directed to our table.

A menu is distributed in the event you don’t want the buffet, but we ended up going with the buffet both mornings we were here. One thing that our server mentioned that wasn’t explicitly described anywhere else was that two specialty drinks per table (the “wellness juices” in the menu below) can be included for Globalists for free with our buffet, on top of the usual offering of coffee, tea, and juice.

Kids breakfast menus were also distributed. The other side of the menu is a coloring sheet, for those interested.

We started the day with the Acai Bliss and Green Juice while the kids were satisfied with their orange juice and milk.

The buffet itself is pretty good for a buffet, with food that stayed moist while maintained at an appropriate temperature. There is good variety and the choices did change between the two days we were here. You can also order fresh eggs and they have a scrumptious assortment of fresh-baked pastries. I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

If you wanted to compare against the nearby Alila Marea, I think the food is better at the Alila but, to be fair, it’s not fully comparable between a buffet and a plated meal.

Dinner at Ponto Lago

One night at the Park Hyatt, we decided to have dinner at Ponto Lago, the same place we eat at for breakfast. I neglected to take photos of the dining room and kitchen for breakfast, so you’ll get to see it below for dinner. Just as we like to eat breakfast earlier than most, we also like to eat dinner early and so we came here before anyone else showed up.

The dinner menus for the adults were handed out several menus, including one menu that covered the food and a couple of menus that described all the drink options. In reality, there were a total of seven menus for drinks, but I’ll just give a brief snapshot by just showing two of them.

The kids also received their own dinner menu. Again, the back of the menu was a coloring sheet.

We had a table in the corner of the restaurant. Overall, I would describe the restaurant as living up to expectations I have for a nicer resort. It’s not going to win any awards on a state-level, but I think they’ve got a good restaurant in the local area.

Dinner started with some arepas, which were quite good.

We followed that up with some Pacific Oysters. The dish comes with some green aguachile, but I think it’s good enough with just a light squeeze of lemon.

Then the kids meals appeared. Alex went with the Marinara and Meatballs, which came with quite a few meatballs on top of the dish.

Char chose her favorite dish–Macaroni and Cheese–and was happy with the portion and the quality of the dish.

Jenn and I each chose the Butter Poached Lobster Taco to start. It perhaps seems a little ridiculous that each taco is $24 but there was plenty of lobster piled onto each and the dish was very delicious.

We also shared the Ember Grilled Scallops, which was fine though a bit on the salty side for our tastes. We ended up thinking the lobster tacos were the better choice.

Later in the meal, I ended up choosing a mezcal flight, much to the delight of the waitress, as she was very passionate about the mezcal being served here and even allowed me to sample a fourth option after getting into a conversation about the drinks. If you’re a fan of mezcal or tequila, they have many options here to tickle your fancy.

Pools

One of the main family attractions at the Park Hyatt Aviara is the collection of pools and waterslides it has. No, it’s not going to compete with some hotels that have their own waterpark attached to it, but it works for those looking for a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of nearby San Diego, Irvine, or Los Angeles.

That being said, we found the pool unbearably crowded during our stay–the only reprieve came very early in the morning, which was the only time I could take pictures without showing just how much of a madhouse it was here. If you don’t get here by mid-morning, you’re going to have a very difficult time finding pool chairs. We came here around lunchtime and there was no hope for us to find a spot until a nice family allowed us to take a chair next to their cabana. The hotel simply does not have enough seating to fit everyone here. Part of that has to do with it being a holiday weekend, but I got the impression from hotel staff that it wasn’t that atypical of a normal weekend to have difficulties finding a chair.

The main pool here has a zero-entry access on one side of it to make it easier for little ones. It’s not designed for lap swimming, but rather just lounging. In keeping with the theme of it being a packed weekend, there were a number of kids here roughhousing to the point where kids were getting hurt but no one from the hotel seemed interested in getting involved to break up or police the action.

Next to the main pool is the only hot tub in the area, which was typically packed beyond occupancy limits.

And then off in the corner were the two waterslides (one open and one enclosed). There was at least staff on hand here to make sure the rules were followed.

If you’re interested in a calmer section, there is an adults-only pool and hot tub just past the poolside restaurant. That’s probably the better bet if you’re here during a holiday weekend and don’t have kids.

The poolside restaurant is called Water’s Edge, and it too was extremely busy during the lunch hour. We had difficulty flagging anyone down to take our order and to pay when we were done. You’d think that perhaps standing here would help speed up the process, but a lot of people had the same idea and the line just didn’t move as every employee seemed focused on other tasks.

We did eventually get someone to bring our food to our chair and thought it was your typical poolside lunch offering. On a side note, I’m glad the kids preferred getting fresh fruit to accompany their meals rather than fries.

The adults went with the unhealthy but massive Aviara Nachos. This was more than enough for us to share without needing anything more.

Just outside the pool area are a few lawn games. With less crowding over here, I kind of liked it more than the pool itself.

Fitness Center

Looking to burn off some fat from all the excessive eating you might do at the resort? There is a fitness center in the back of the hotel near the conference rooms. It’s allegedly protected by a keycard scanner, but it seemed to be turned off for our stay and anyone could just open the door.

Once inside, you’ll find some fresh fruit and towels (is it sad that I have to call out towels being available in a gym?).

For a resort of this size, and as busy a weekend it was over the holiday, the gym was lightly used. The one thing it’s missing is just some natural lighting. It’s a bit of a shame it’s hidden away by the conference rooms and not overlooking the resort grounds.

Visiting Batiquitos Lagoon

What else can you do at the resort? Well you can take a nice stroll by the Batiquitos Lagoon. Just head out to the valet area and let the attendant know you want to go down to the Lagoon. The hotel has a couple of cars parked outside just for this purpose (it’s also where the golf course and country club is located).

Once down in the area, there is enough signage to help you move along the trail and get a nice view of the area. This is also something that’s perfect to do on a busy weekend where you want some peace and relaxation away from the crowds.

Towards the end of the lagoon trail, there is a small nature center run by volunteers. Inside, you’ll find plenty of displays of local wildlife and information on the area.

You’ll also find a corner that has lots of activities for younger children. We had some difficulty in prying the kids out of this section.

When you’re done with the trail, just flag down staff to ask for a ride back. Also, there’s a secret stash of cookies down here that you can help yourself to. It’s up to the parents if they want to let kids in on the secret.

Other Facilities

If you’re here and don’t have Globalist status or otherwise want breakfast that isn’t free, stop by the lobby store and get some coffee, pastries, or breakfast sandwiches. There was a line here in the morning for exactly that reason, so plan accordingly.

Also in the lobby is a fun little game room with some TVs, a few mismatched couches, and a pool table. The pool table seemed lightly used during our stay, so we helped ourselves a couple of times to using it.

And just adjacent to the game room is the Topgolf Swing Suite where you can practice your swing. I haven’t played golf in well over a decade at this point, so I can’t comment on what it’s like.

The issue with the room…

So you stuck with the review this far and finally got to the interesting part. There were two problems we had with the room–one minor and one major. Let’s talk about the minor problem first. I like using security features in the room. I don’t want strangers entering the room, especially late at night, so I use the locks available to me. Well, I’m not quite sure if the issue was the lock itself or the moulding around the door, but the door latch would not clear all the way when swung open. This actually caused the door to lock behind us as we left the room and prevented our re-entry. We needed to get someone from maintenance out to open it for us, and we promptly never used the lock again out of fear of a repeat.

Now let’s talk about the major design issue of the room itself. Each night during our stay, we would hear very loud scraping reverberating through the walls as we tried to sleep. It sounded as though it were nails on a chalkboard that someone was doing in another room and we could hear it clearly in our room. This wasn’t a problem that existed during the day but it became very clear at night there was a problem.

Remember how I said at the beginning of the review that our room was one level below the main lobby? Well, directly above our room was an outdoor seating area where you can grab a bite to eat or have a drink near the bar. The scraping noise we were hearing were each and every chair moving as people shifted in their seats, got up or sat down, or even dropped things onto the floor (yeah, quite a few people dropped their keys on the floor in a night). We didn’t hear this during the day because the space isn’t used as a restaurant during daytime hours. And to be sure of the sound, the morning after, I FaceTimed Jenn while I went upstairs to move the chairs and she confirmed the awful sound came from that.

Each and every room in this block would have the same issue, so if you happen to be in rooms 268-285, please ask to be reassigned elsewhere.

You might think “why not tell the front desk and get moved?” and, of course, we tried that. The first night of the stay, we called and were denied a room change–the hotel was too full–and that while the restaurant closed at 10PM, it was the cleaning team who was moving the furniture around, not the other guests–though the noise persisted to well past midnight. The second night, we called again, and subsequently informed that we couldn’t move yet again and that simply nothing could be done for us. Rather than showing sympathy, the front desk gave us the impression that we were bothering them by calling and complaining. You don’t want to have these rooms, especially if you have children with you.

So on check out, we were asked how our stay was, and I used it as an opportunity to stress how disappointing the stay was because of the room issue. The front desk agent mentioned to us that it’s a known issue for these rooms, but it was necessary to put people here because of the holiday weekend, and that he would credit us 30,000 Hyatt points and $100 off the dinner we had. Quite frankly, the response leaves more questions for me than it does answers:

• It’s a known issue for the hotel and they are planning to convert these rooms into something else, so I’m not sure why they would allow guests into the rooms at all.
• They can control how many rooms get sold for a holiday weekend; this response seems like a pure cash grab by the hotel knowing they have extra rooms to potentially fill even knowing a significant defect exists (incidental sales will still benefit them even if they have to refund the entire cost of the room).
• It seemed disingenuous of them to refund me only 30,000 Hyatt points when it cost me 35,000 Hyatt points for the peak-period weekend stay. I probably could have fought it more, but I was more interested in getting out than arguing over 5,000 points.

Recommendation: No, because of the service

If you had asked me about my opinion of the Park Hyatt Aviara before this most recent stay, I would have said the answer is a yes. The property grounds are beautiful, the service level was pretty good for the area, and it was good with children. Mixing it in with this stay, I think the other positive is the quality of the Ponto Lago restaurant for both breakfast and dinner.

But unfortunately, I have to also balance out the recommendation with what we actually experienced in our most-recent visit. The basic service of a hotel is to provide a good night’s rest. Why else would I choose a hotel? And I simply cannot recommend it based on what we experienced. If you could guarantee yourself to not stay in that room block (and hopefully the hotel has already begun progress to convert that space into something else), then perhaps you’ll be fine here.

Even still, the service level dropped significantly from our past stays here to the point where the pool area was just about unusable and we felt like we were being the nuisance, complaining about a material room issue they already knew about but still had the desire to put guests into the rooms. That to me says more about the culture of the hotel than anything else would. Call it a tell that there is a deeper issue at foot here that rubs me the wrong way.

Until the service level improves back to a level commensurate with the price being charged, we won’t be back.

What are your thoughts of the Park Hyatt Aviara?