I just arrived at the brand new Park Hyatt St. Kitts, the newest high-end hotel in the Hyatt portfolio. This Caribbean hotel is located on an island in the country of The Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis, a two-island nation. Getting here from the west coast wasn’t a short trip, but now that I’m here there’s a lot to say – and a lot to like.
Review Posts:
- Park Hyatt St. Kitts – Initial Review and First Impressions
- Introduction: Park Hyatt St. Kitts
- Review: Park Hyatt St. Kitts Transportation & Check-in
- Review: Park Hyatt St. Kitts Sea View Suite
- Review: Park Hyatt St. Kitts Park Executive Suite
- Review: Park Hyatt St. Kitts Gym, Pools, Beach, & Restaurants
- Review: Park Hyatt St. Kitts Miraval Life in Balance Spa
- Park Hyatt St. Kitts Final Thoughts
First Impressions
First off, the property grounds are beautiful. Everything is brand new and appointed with a relaxing zen-like vibe. The property is built on a hillside that meets the beach, so golf carts are all around the property to help staff and guests get around. In that respect the property is very similar to the Conrad Koh Samui, which I reviewed here and here.
The great views are noticeable even before you check-in as you walk straight into an open-air entryway. Immediately visible is the view straight to the ocean. Check-in was done quickly and we were whisked away on a golf cart to our room. We were upgraded from a standard King room to a Sea View Suite, which is a “Standard Suite” according to the hotel website. I do have Globalist status and wanted to apply a suite upgrade certificate, but I’m staying on an ineligible rate so this upgrade is likely due to my status alone.
The Sea View Suite is like a Junior Suite, with a living room and bedroom separated only by a small wall that holds the TVs. The room and bathroom are well appointed with higher-end finishes that you would expect from the Park Hyatt brand.
The best part of the room, however, is the balcony/deck and view. Even though I’m not on the top level of the building, and even though our room is a bit off to the side instead of overlooking a swimming pool, the views are still spectacular. The balcony also includes a table and chairs and a separate day bed.
We walked the grounds after settling into our room a bit and saw what the resort has to offer. There are two separate swimming pools, both of which were empty. There are also several areas to lounge and relax, three different restaurants, a fitness center, and a spa. Everything looked great, at least the parts we could see since it was already dark.
Most importantly, the entire resort is empty. I’m not sure if it’s because the property just opened its doors on November 1st or because it’s had so many delays. Whatever it is, so far it’s working out great for me.
Almost Perfect…
That’s not to say there aren’t any issues. As with any newly opened hotels, there will always be kinks to be worked out. The service has been very good as all the staff are friendly so far, but there are other things that could be improved. For example, on our way to dinner we stopped by the Spa, which is a Miraval Spa by the way, to ask about treatments and get the spa menu. She was helpful and gave us great information. But on our way back we stopped by to ask a couple of questions about treatment options and were informed that about 60% of the options were not even available yet. None of the half-day or full-day treatments are available yet, none of the yoga or meditation options, and none of the hair or manicure/pedicure options are available yet. The only treatments available at this time are body massages and facials.
I understand the property taking time to get fully up to speed, but it would have been useful to be informed of that when we stopped by the spa the first time. The only other thing I could complain about so far is that it would have been great to be upgraded to a higher-end suite. The property is clearly empty – there’s not very many people here at all right now as evidenced by us having an entire restaurant to ourselves for dinner. This is a gripe I have with other hotels too, so I’m not holding this against the Park Hyatt St. Kitts.
Any Questions?
Besides those two minor items, everything has been fantastic. I think it would be hard to be disappointed here as long as your expectations are set appropriately. Remember, it’s a high-end property with high-end prices. I will follow up with a full review after we finish our stay, but feel free to ask questions if you think of any.
I’m going next month! How did you travel from the airport to the hotel? What were the prices like at the restaurant? Is the hotel walking distance from anything?
We took a regular taxi. We had “bouncer” on the way there and “flames” on the way back to the airport. They were both very welcoming. It was $40 on the way to the resort because we asked him to stop at a grocery store for about 15 minutes. It was $30 on the way back. He even stopped at a road-side souvenir stand for about 10 minutes for us. There are no gift shops at the resort and we wanted to bring something back for the kids. The PH wanted about $250 for RT transfer. The prices are high at the restaurants. Expect to pay $150 per couple for a dinner with an entree and some sides. It can be much higher if you go all out. My wife and I walked to Spice Mill (10 minutes) for saturday night burger night. They have it every saturday and it was fantastic. I think we spent a total of $50 and included two full meals and my wife had dessert. That was a bargain compared to the PH. We had a modest pool lunch with a chicken wrap and two small beef sliders one day that was $70
what about alcohol? did you bring your own (duty free or grocery store?) or buy drinks at the hotel?
Omar – I don’t think you drink, but what have you heard about alcohol prices, etc? at the Andaz Papagayo it was crazy expensive and we decided we’d pick up a few bottles duty free next time.
You’re right, I don’t drink so I didn’t pay any attention to the alcohol menu. And now that I look at the menus I have, they don’t include the drink menus. I do have some info from the room service menu. Local beers are $7, imported are $8. Red wines go from $12/glass to $30/glass. Bottles go from $49-$144. Champagne $13-$32/glass and $60-$150/bottle
I also think it’s fair to say prices at the restaurants will be different. That’s the best I can do unfortunately.
$7-8 for a beer doesn’t sound too awful. (High, but not outrageous.) IME it’s the cocktails where they really kill you. Andaz Maui can be $14-17 or more.
Yup – I think i’ll buy two nice bottles of wine at Duty Free. . .
Do you have any contact info for the taxis? Thanks in advance.
I booked mine through the Concierge at the hotel. I believe it was Alvin’s Taxi Service.
Thanks very much for the detailed review. Any last comments that you didn’t add to your posts? I bet not but thought I would ask.
Sorry Brandon. I don’t have any contact info. We just got in the taxi line once we exited the airport. It was a short line and only took a couple minutes. Hopefully you get flames or bouncer. They took good care of us. Have a great trip!
I took a taxi, one the hotel arranged, and it was a flat $30 (I’m told that $30 is a flat cost to get to anywhere on the island in a taxi). I haven’t ventured out of the hotel yet. Food prices are very very high – I’ll post menus with my full review.
thanks.
Wanted to check with you as well for contact for the taxi — thanks for the write up. Have you heard of any changes over the past 6 months. Been reading up on Tripadvisor as well.
We just got back from here a couple weeks ago. Yes, it is beautiful. We lost diamond status and fell to explorist. The resort was almost empty as you mentioned. We counted 13 guests at the resort. We were a little disappointed that they didn’t upgrade us to a suite since they obviously had them available. I actually tried to arrange a paid suite upgrade prior to the visit and they forgot to get back to me. We did get a nice secluded room, but that is not a great way to start. The spa was completely broken when we were there. Less than half of the treatments were available. The sauna and steam shower weren’t working at all for the first two days of our three day trip. The lights weren’t working in the spa the first night. There were thousands of bugs in the plunge pool and they didn’t clean them out the next morning when I visited again. yuck! We actually had a lot of small issues and a couple larger ones. Their upper management has handled it well with us post trip and responded to a lot of feedback. There are a lot of positives here as well – it wasn’t all negative. Beautiful grounds and beach. Lots of places to sit around the resort and just relax in a peaceful setting. The balcony in the room was fabulous. It was very large and had comfortable furniture. Of course, the food and spa prices are typical PH – extremely high.
I just got back from the spa, and holy cow was it bad. The worst spa experience I’ve ever had! Some things out of their control, but most were fixable and they just weren’t paying attention to. Tons of negative feedback for the spa.
What does breakfast look like for globalist?
To be honest, many didn’t even know. The one person that sounded like they knew said “anything from the menu.” There was an option to have the buffet spread (continental spread with fruit, breads, yogurts, cereals, sliced meats) AND one prepared item of the menu. We went with that, and ordered an a la cart item. Not sure how it will be dealt with on the bill, so I’m curious to find that out. Breakfast food quality is not stellar, however.
Nice initial review, Omar.
However, a few things.
To be helpful for those considering the property for a future stay, all reviews really should state the following:
* Rate paid, whether points, cash or P+C.
* Room type & room # stayed-in.
* Always, always, always provide pics of the in-room shower 🙂
* Especially when it comes to resort properties, Travel Time & Expense form nearest major airport.
Those were items I planned on putting in my full review. To answer your questions:
-Staying on points and free night certificates
-Room number I wont give out yet because I’m still here, but I provided type in the post.
-Other pics will be available later – have to go through them all and edit them.
-It took about 25 minutes from SKB to the property, with a taxi that was arranged in advance. The cost in a taxi from/to anywhere on the island is $30. Cash only.
Are there waves on the beach there? Or is it flat and calm?
There are waves, but minimal. There’s definitely enough for you to feel relaxed by the water.
Have you seen many mosquitoes?
I didn’t see many, but they sure saw me. I should have used some bug spray!