Steven R.
Yelp
I've stayed in so many hotels of different types and categories, but I don't think any executes on their mission with more excellence and consistency than the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines.
First, I appreciate the generous availability of award bookings of different levels. I appreciated Mathew and Jessica in particular, who were very helpful in answering my questions and securing connecting rooms during the reservation process.
The schedule of activities can keep kids entertained for days and days; mine had a great time with their daily alpaca visits and pettings, various arts and crafts activities, freeze tag, the guided night hike (including the night vision goggles), stargazing with the telescopes and astronomer guides, activity room with bounce house, frequent bike rentals from the bike corral, movie nights on the lawn outside, and nightly s'mores at the fire pits. These were all included in the $40/night resort fee.
The hotel is experimenting this year with keeping the water park open off-season, which means that in addition to the heated activity pool and hot tub, the lazy river and water slide were also available (albeit very cold). The poolside bar was serving an abbreviated menu. Very nice.
The arcade is a little off the beaten path and it would be easy to miss entirely if you aren't paying attention, but it has some fun games in there like air hockey, Guitar Hero II, Pac-Man / Galaga, and some others at reasonable prices (they take credit cards in there now).
The Spa is another great thing here that many guests probably miss. Everyone has free access to the facility alongside the fitness center; it has some very cushy locker rooms with relaxation lounges, steam rooms and sauna, and hot tub, as well as a co-ed outdoor pool and hot tub. The locker room hot tubs are worth a special mention because they are actually outside, so you are fenced in for privacy and have a canopy above for shade but still get to enjoy the outside. It's great for a cold day. This whole area is immaculately maintained and gets very little use. (Pro tip: swing by there for some water or a complimentary coffee. Great place to go hang and get away from kids, even if you are just sitting in the Relax area of the locker room. It's worth a visit!)
The hotel lobby is beautiful. There are many fire pits around the property that are amazing for a late-night hang out when it's not hot outside. They have changed up some of the dining options and added a nice, new bar concept called Maude's where the old activity desk used to be. The prices on food and drinks are generally reasonable.
The breakfast in Heartwood House (formerly Firewheel Cafe) is robust and reasonably priced for what it is; lots of great options including an omelet station, fresh waffles, smoothies, smoked salmon and bagels, and a variety of pastries and cereals and other hot breakfast items. They always have non-pork meat options available: chicken sausage for the omelets one day, brisket in some scrambled eggs on another, and more brisket at the omelet station at the New Years' Day brunch. McDade's also deserves special mention; it's great to have a place to go for small essentials and simple eats. You can get a variety of coffee drinks around $5-$7, packaged salads, wraps, and sandwiches, and a nice pizza for $15. A family of 4-5 could very reasonably do dinner from there for like $30-$40 and eat in your room, one of the tables outside McDade's, or outside on the deck. (The deck is beautiful with exquisite attention to detail, e.g. lights mounted in the trees to accentuate the branches.) Maverick's has a great patio area; this one is great with kids because they can run to the playground while parents maintain line of sight from the table.
I'd be remiss not to note the incredible job on their New Years' Eve festivities. These far exceeded expectations: they handed out all sorts of props and toys for the kids, had set up free adult beverages and sodas inside for several hours, had a movie on the lawn, and ended with an incredible fireworks show right over our heads. They managed to keep up an incredible partyesque vibe for several hours and made it fun for kids and adults alike. Just very well done, and included some nice remarks from the General Manager as well. The New Years' Day brunch was also very well done; huge kudos to them for the excellent bloody mary and mimosa bars. It's been a while since I had a good, fully-loaded bloody mary. Lots of strong options there.
This hotel pays extreme attention to the guest experience and is always looking to improve. Every single staff person I interacted with was courteous and helpful and seemed aligned to the hotel's mission and delivering on that experience. I don't know how they manage to run this tight of a ship, but I'm done experimenting with new vacation destinations and will be very content just to start bringing the family here at every opportunity.