Description: We spent three nights at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country ("HHC") in July of 2011 with our 16 month old daughter. We were seeking a relaxing vacation where we could enjoy the resort and the amenities that were available without having to leave the property. The HHC exceeded our expectations in every way.
Please note, this review consists of overall comments regarding the HHC’s outdoor complex. For a review of the outdoor complex, please refer to my review titled "Beautiful Texas Oasis for Families – Part One."
Indoor Complex: The HHC’s casual luxury extends from the outdoors to the indoors. Upon entering the lobby, guests are greeted with touches of stone, iron, and granite in muted natural colors. A long sitting area contains comfortable chairs and couches designed to feel rustic, yet elegant. The vibe of the interior is casual and relaxing. I was particularly taken with the carpet that lined the guest room hallways. It was an enlarged print of Texas’s state flower – the bluebonnet -- with touches of Indian Paint Brush – another wild flower that is prevalent throughout the state during the springtime. This small detail could easily be missed by most visitors, but it was a unique and thoughtful touch that was subtle and interesting.
The resort contains a few casual and fine dining options; however, we only utilized the General Store throughout our stay. I will comment on the pool bar and General Store noting that prices were not as exorbitant as certain other resorts of this caliber. Guests could dine on a whole pizza for $18 or grab some pool food (chicken strips, wrap) for under $10. I was also surprised to note that the General Store serves Starbucks coffee (which was tasty) and makes breakfast tacos for $3.75. For us, we were pleased that our room contained a mini-refrigerator with a very small freezer area. This allowed us to store our daughter’s milk and some sandwich items which we used to make lunch on a daily basis.
Rooms: We had a standard room with balcony which was on the west side of the property on the fourth floor. My husband likes to request a room away from the elevator to prevent noise. Normally, this is a good idea; however, the HHC’s building is a long rectangular building that webs out from the lobby area with two elevator bays – one on the west wing and one on the east wing. Because the building is so large, it was a treck back and forth from our room to the elevator and down to the pool area. We noted at check-in that most people request the first floor which contains a French door that immediately takes you directly onto the property. After traversing the large hallways multiple times with our luggage, we understood why these rooms are so popular.
In spite of the location (which is our fault for requesting it), the room was perfect. It was nicely sized (especially since the HHC is an ‘older’ resort) with the appropriate updates including a large flat screen television, granite countertops in the bathroom, and "resort-style" bedding. Across from the bathroom was a small mini bar which contained a single serve coffee maker and complimentary tea/coffee. The room was clean upon arrival and housekeeping restored it to its original condition on a daily basis in spite of our toddler’s propensity to litter the floor with all sorts of "cheerio" type treats. We were provided a crib for our 16 month old which easily fit in the hallway next to the door and closet area. I hung a sheet between the closet and the bathroom door which allowed her privacy while sleeping and permitted us to utilize the bathroom and watch television after we laid her down for bed. It was a great room layout for our family. The balcony was also nice touch. Although the width of the balcony was small, it was the full length of the room and spacious enough for two chairs and a small table. Regarding noise, the room was quiet. There was a sense that the walls were strategically a little bit more dense to mute the noise that would traditionally elevate in a kid-friendly resort such as the HHC. We had no issues with noise from our neighbors during our stay.
Service: Service at the resort can best be described as friendly. Take note, the HHC is a HUGE complex and during our stay, the resort was filled capacity. Lots and lots of people. We arrived at 3:30pm, a half hour prior to check-in, and our room was still being prepared. Rather than have us wait, the staff called housekeeping and checked to determine when the room would be cleaned. Basically, they rushed the room which allowed us to happily check in and get situated without having to wait (which was our preference). The drawback was that the room did not contain all of the typical amenities when we arrived (soap, shampoo, etc.) or the crib we had requested. We called the front desk and the amenities were delivered by housekeeping within 15 minutes of calling (great response time). Regarding the crib, the front desk informed us that they did not have one available at this time but that they could provide a pack n play if it was immediately necessary. I immediately got flustered since I knew my daughter would not sleep well in a pack n play for 3 nights. My calm husband kindly discussed the crib situation with the front desk and they informed him that they would do everything they could to get us the crib. He further explained that since we were early arrivals, they had not been released by those with a late check out date that day. We were so pleased with the front desk because the crib arrived no more than 20 minutes after we initially called. They were extremely apologetic and very helpful with explaining the situation. Even though we checked in early, the front desk was polite and considerate with our requests. As a result of their excellent communication during the initial wait for the crib, we totally understood the wait and could find no fault with the way the situation was handled. IMO – this is service at its best … sometimes, things do not initially go the way a person expects and good service is when a person goes out of their way to ensure that those expectations are met. The HHC did this very well through excellent communication and a prompt response.
We were also pleased to note that guest services provided us with chips and salsa and two complimentary bottles of water our first night of arrival. Further, they personally called the room each day to ensure that we had everything we needed. For such a large property, it is efficiently managed with an effort to maintain a personal touch in spite of the high capacity of people.
Overall: Overall, we absolutely loved our stay at the HHC and would definitely recommend this resort to other travelers – particularly those with children. The HHC is a perfect resort for families.
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