Episode Description

If you’ve been eyeing one of Hyatt’s newer Mexico resorts and wondering whether it’s actually worth your points, you’re not alone.

I’m joined this week by Michele from Fancy Travel Pointers, and the two of us have both separately stayed at Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabo del Sol and Alila Mayakoba within the last six months. Instead of each doing a solo review, we decided to sit down and compare notes, since we booked, stayed, and experienced both properties independently and didn’t come away agreeing on everything.

We walk through exactly how we each booked these stays in points, what room categories and upgrades we landed, and how the two resorts stack up on rooms, pools, dining, and service. I talk about the exceptional pool service and an unexpected ear-piercing emergency at Park Hyatt Cabo, and Michele shares why the lagoon side sold her on Alila Mayakoba over the beach. We also get into the dining misses at both properties, whether either one has a kids’ club, and how Hyatt’s newly changed award chart is reshaping whether a category 8 redemption like Park Hyatt Cabo still makes sense going forward. Michele also weighs in on how both properties compare to the neighboring Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, long considered the pinnacle points redemption in the area.

Whether you’ve got one of these resorts on your wish list or you’re just trying to figure out where your Hyatt points go furthest right now, this conversation should help you decide.

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What You’ll Learn from this Episode

• Why booking the same resort before and after a major award chart change can completely shift whether a redemption still makes sense
• How suite upgrade awards actually work in practice versus in theory, and why some properties make them nearly impossible to use
• What separates a resort that feels reliably “luxury” from one that’s still finding its service footing
• Why the ratio of standard suites to standard rooms at a property matters more than the category number alone
• How to think about choosing between two similar redemptions based on who you’re traveling with, not just which one photographs better
• Why menu transparency and dining structure can make or break the value of an otherwise excellent redemption

Featured On the Show

• Follow Michele on Instagram
• Check out the Points and Miles Travel Chats podcast here
• Check out the Fancy Travel Pointers website here
• Follow me on Instagram
• Get on the waitlist for the Points Made Easy Course here!
• If you have any questions or you want me to dive deeper into a specific topic, email me here: podcast@pointmetofirstclass.com

Click here to download the full episode transcript

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