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This is part of a review of the new Hyatt Zilara:
1. A First Look at the Hyatt Zilara Suites
My favorite benefit of the Zilara so far is the lounge. Â Anyone can go in, but it is never crowded.
An employee had mentioned to me that it is difficult making Hyatt Diamonds feel special at this property because they offer so many things to everyone staying there. Â I’m starting to see what he meant.
One of the benefits of the Zilara is a 24-hour lounge with heavy snacks and a full bar.
You can stop in any time for fruits or vegetables.
Plus hot options that always include nachos.
It is make your own beverage, and you can choose between the alcoholic variety, soda, or coffee.
There were comfortable seats in the lounge.
Plus a few options for games we took advantage of.
All in all, it was nice having a place to retreat to.  I enjoyed making my own drinks (but I’m also a former bartender 😛 ) and when we couldn’t get on the tennis courts, table tennis was a nice replacement.
It was also a great light lunch spot. Â We tended to drop in here to have some snacks instead of lunch. Â Between nice dinners and room service breakfast, it seemed a bit much for us to eat lunch as well, so this tided us over.
While you’re there can you ask if they accept Hyatt GCs. Might be a good way to save some mula with my milepoint premium membership 🙂
Thanks for the updates thus far. In the room descriptions it states that points rooms don’t receive premium liquor. Are Bacardi and Captain considered regular liquors? I see Bacardi in your lounge pic but I don’t see Captain.
How did you transfer to the hotel? Hyatt had some really cheap rates if you book directly through the hotel. I havent had a chance to confirm those rates though.
TIA
Rental cars were so cheap, we just grabbed one for the trip. (We had a bad experience with the transfer bus showing up really late in Jamaica once).
So, we discovered there was a magic drawer of liquor in our room a few days before we left. We aren’t sure if THAT’s the premium liquor benefit (we were on a paid stay), or if some rooms get access to the higher end liquors like 1800. We did not get access to 1800, but Bacardi, etc, we had access to. I don’t remember Captain specifically, but I remember spiced rums of equal or higher calibers. There were definitely nicer liquors than Bacardi and Cuervo available to everyone, but we had to pay extra for 1800.
Lower-level rooms don’t get access to the Chef’s Plate, which I wouldn’t use as your make or break decision of whether to stay there or not. It was fun, but not something we’d have felt we missed out if we didn’t do.
Oh, but a note that I’ll put in a future post. ALWAYS call your alcohol by name. If not, you get bottom shelf.
I Would love to know how the food was. I have enjoyed reading your blog about this property. It seems like an amazing points redemption since it includes everything.
Reviews of the food coming soon! 🙂
We are headed there next month. We are really looking forward to your review of the food as we’ll as as many tips as you can pass along for Diamond members. Do you think subtlety flashing a large bill at the front desk would get a nice upgraded room if you are staying on points?
They respond to tips there for sure. However, everything was written out on paper and not printed directly from the computer, so it may be difficult (if not impossible) for them to change it. The nice suites were sold out while we were there.
Make sure the person getting your car or meeting you off the shuttle checks his list because Diamond check in is elsewhere (and has copious champagne).
A lot of what you get in the diamond amenity, you can get in your room in the minibar for free. I’d go for the points, and an employee later told me he can’t tell the diamonds to go for the points, but he’s always hoping they will so they won’t be disappointed.
They are also still working out how to make Diamonds feel extra special. My guess is they will give Diamonds access to Chef’s Plate no matter what their suite access level actually is.
Thanks for the tips. Looking forward to the rest of your review. What is the best way to get there. We usually just grab a cab because I hate shuttles that make multiple stops. We are doing carry on, so we maximize beach/pool time. How is the beach Btw?
I will do a post on this very soon, but let me know if you have a trip coming up sooner than that if you need an answer now.