Recently we spent a weekend at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel And Spa On Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey. So far, this was our fourth stay at this property, and we always enjoy it.
The hotel is a 22-acre property with two large outdoor pools, hot tubs, dining, a little outdoor area where you can play ping pong or a giant jenga, a gazebo with a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, and obviously a golf course.
Booking
Hyatt Regency Monterey is a Category 4 Hyatt hotel. Thus we spent 15,000 Hyatt points per night for a Standard Room with two queen beds ($361 + tax and resort fees cash value, which ended up being $445.61 for one night).
You know how hotel chains have their membership levels based on the number of qualifying nights you have with them each year (or how many base points you earn with your stays)? Hyatt has four tiers: Member, Discoverist, Explorist, and the highest Globalist status. Last year we were finally able to earn Globalist, which extends throughout February 2023, so we have plenty of time to explore the perks of the status.
It’s worth noting that it was a lot easier to achieve the status in 2021 because Hyatt have cut the number of qualifying nights needed by 2 so you had to stay only 30 nights to get Globalist, coupled with the great World of Hyatt credit card that gives you a head start of 5 qualifying nights just by owning the card as well as giving you 2 nights per $5,000 spent it made it a lot easier to earn Globalist. It was our first stay being Globalists so we didn’t quite know what to expect in terms of getting an upgrade.
Globalist Upgrade
We were delighted at check-in to be upgraded to a relatively spacious (685 sq. ft) Monterey Suite with One King Bed, a living room with a sleeper sofa, and two bathrooms. The bedroom bathroom had a huge shower cabin with a rain shower.
The suite was on the ground floor and it had a little patio with the views of Del Monte Golf Course.
That was just perfect with the little ones (it saves you so much time with no elevator). In the evening, we put baby Zoe to sleep in the room, and the 3 of us spent some quality time outside gazing at the stars. Sophia was really happy about it! And in the morning, when Zoe fell asleep in the stroller on the way back from our walk, we just let her nap on the patio for a while.
Amenities
One of the biggest advantages of the hotel is an amazing pool area with a hot tub which is usually not crowded. Even though the hotel offers 24-hour room service (“roam service”), whenever we stay at the hotel, we order food for delivery on DoorDash from our favorite lunch place in Monterey called Lalla Grill and then have the food by the pool. Once you’re done with the food, you can return to enjoying the pool!
Dining
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel dining options include an onsite restaurant called Sea Root that serves breakfast and dinner, The Bar at Sea Root with an outdoor fire pit seating area, and a Knuckles Sports Bar (which was closed for the season).
Sea Root
Since we had already spent the day in the city, we decided to stay for dinner at the hotel’s onsite restaurant Sea Root; it was definitely more convenient with the kids. The food was well prepared and nicely presented, and the service was excellent, as always. For dinner, we had a few cocktails, an appetizer, and a couple of entrees; the kids had their usual pizza from the kid’s menu.
Nevertheless, we all agreed that breakfast was better than dinner the night before.
One of the nicest perks of being a Globalist is that you get a complimentary breakfast, so we didn’t pay a cent for it! For breakfast, we opted out of the hotel’s breakfast buffet, and we had strawberry pancakes, bagels, and lox, eggs Benedict, and Sophia had kids’ chocolate chip pancakes.
The Bar at Sea Root
The restaurant has an outdoor bar area, The Bar at Sea Root, located by the large cracking fire pits overlooking the golf course. It was indeed a comfortable and relaxing space to enjoy your food, drink, and roast marshmallows (our girls absolutely loved it). The hotel’s staff provided us with all the supplies we needed to make the perfect s’mores.
Area Attractions
Right after breakfast, we decided to take a stroll to the Old Fisherman’s Wharf.
The Hotel is not quite in the downtown Monterey area or the by the ocean, but it’s only about a 5-minute drive or a 30-minute walk to the Fisherman’s Wharf and a 10-minute drive to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
We know the perfect spot for sea lions sighting — right at the end of the Municipal Wharf 2. It never disappoints!
The standard check-out time at Hyatt Regency Monterey is at noon. Still, another amazing thing about being a Globalist is that you can get a late check-out at 4 pm, which is great because you get almost the entire day to enjoy the amenities and don’t have to rush yourself.
On Points With Kids Summary
1 night spent at Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel And Spa On Del Monte Golf Course, 15,000 points per night. Cash rate was $445.61 per night which equals to 2.96 cents per point, an outstanding value!
You can apply for the following credit cards to earn Hyatt points that can be redeemed at Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel And Spa On Del Monte Golf Course:
- Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card application
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card application (Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to the World of Hyatt program)
