Scott G
August 27, 2024
I had very high expectations for the Park Hyatt Aviara after reading so much about it and seeing it consistently ranked as one of the top Hyatt properties in the US. But I was definitely a bit disappointed after our stay. Here is a brief recap of our issues: 1. Upon check-in, we were thanked for our Hyatt status, but were immediately asked if we would like to pay to upgrade to a better view on the "highest floor" because our room was on the "lowest floor" with no view. We declined, but were told we would get the nicer view anyway. Okay, that would have been great EXCEPT... 2. We went to the room, opened the door, only to find that the room they gave us was not yet cleaned from the previous guests. Trash was everywhere and one of the beds didn't have sheets. I went back to the front desk and was given a courtyard view room. The courtyard was absolutely beautiful EXCEPT... 3. Every night the hotel transforms the beautiful courtyard into either a wedding reception or corporate event. We have to watch employees set up all day, have to endure blasting music late into the night, and have to deal with drunk guests returning to their room at midnight and waking us up (you can hear everything in the hallway). On 3 of the 4 nights here, there were events in the courtyard. The entire courtyard gets closed down and the next morning there is trash outside. 4. Prices at the hotel are outrageous for no reason: overnight parking is $65/night! There is no shortage of space at this resort and I am no stranger to high pricing (from NYC), but this is on another level. $65 is more than our car rental cost per day. The only thing worse than the parking rates are the prices in the market hotel store. A 1L bottle of water and a small kids bottle of milk cost $14. After the first day, we simply refrained from eating or drinking at the hotel. I don't mind spending more for a higher level of service and a higher quality product, but a bottle of water (and most of the products at the store) are generic commodities and these are bought at wholesale for next to nothing. This is just taking advantage of hotel guests. 5. Speaking of bottled water, we didn't get our daily water bottles as part of our Hyatt status, but it took us until the last night to realize it was because we were missing our nightly turndown service. This wasn't intentional, we didn't know there was nightly turndown. 6. We got locked out of our room twice because of a faulty security bolt. The security bolt would somehow lock as the door would shut and we would have to call security to come and open it. 7. Someone tried to deliver a package to our room, thinking we were part of one of the corporate events. I wonder if this hotel has no idea how to work their inventory system. So yes, there is no question that this is a beautiful hotel and overall we still had a very nice trip, but the Park Hyatt Aviara seem to prioritize the never ending private/corporate events over regular guests, the prices fo