I will admit it.   I am more used to traveling for business by myself. I’ve always liked Hyatt Place hotels for a few reasons – the proximity to the airport, the free breakfast, the layout of the rooms which include a desk and a sofa and for the overall consistency of the Hyatt brand – it’s generally a good product in a good location. And perfect for solo business travel.  So what happens when you bring your family to a Hyatt Place at a resort location?

The best part of the Hyatt Place Dewey Beach is actually across the street.

The 108 room Hyatt Place Dewey Beach opened September 2013, and I have been excited to try this property out.  So we packed up the car and drove with my sister and her kids.  And they even survived my ‘scary driving’!!!

We stayed in room with two beds on the third floor. In a remarkable show of consistency, this room could have been in ANY Hyatt Place ANYWHERE.

The Good:

Free breakfast – a Hyatt Place brand standard is their “a.m. Kitchen Skillet” aka free breakfast.  It works really well in this location since there aren’t a lot of breakfast places within a few blocks of the hotel.  They feature 3 hot items warmed in skillets along with pastry, oatmeal, fruit and yogurt.

In-room refrigerator – a good place to store your beer milk for the children

Guaranteed 4pm check out for Diamond Members – while Diamonds don’t get a whole lot of ‘extras’ at Hyatt Place hotels since wifi and breakfast is included, it was nice to spend the last day on the beach until 3pm, and then go back to the room in time for quick showers before packing up the car.

Check-in, check-out, bar and lobby café all in one!

The Bad:

Resort towns in the summer – Big crowds, and the hotel was at maximum occupancy.  The hotel has an 11am check out time, but since I am a Hyatt Diamond member and was hoping to check in around noon.  But nope, no room.  In fact a room didn’t become available until 3:30pm which is after their check in time of 3pm

Hallway noise – While we thankfully didn’t hear a lot of people in the hallway, you could definitely here the creak of the doors, then the slam of the doors closing.

The ‘meh’:

The indoor saltwater pool –  it seems like a good idea in theory, but it was still a chilly pool that reeked of chlorine placed awkwardly off the lobby.  Despite it being less than a year old it was showing signs of wear, and there wasn’t much in terms of decor in the drab space.

Bland, but serviceable, saltwater pool.

The hotel is pet friendly – For stays of 1 to 6 nights there is a $75 non-refundable pet fee.  For stays of 7-30 nights there is an additional $100 non-refundable pet fee on top of the $75 pet fee.  If you’re not a pet lover, you will want to stay on the 2^nd or 3^rd floor, as the first floor is the ‘pet friendly’ floor.

Bottom Line:

The Hyatt Place Dewy Beach is a Category 2 on the Hyatt Gold Passport chart.  It is 8,000 points a night or $55 and 4,000 points a night using Cash and Points.

On the drive to the hotel I called the Hyatt Diamond Line to find out about staying an extra night. The representative said I could – for $509 a night.  Um, thanks but no thanks, but see you next year Hyatt Place Dewey Beach!