Grand Hyatt Vail review – The Points Guy

What is the Grand Hyatt Vail?

How to book the Grand Hyatt Vail

The location of the Grand Hyatt Vail

The location of this property can be seen as hit or miss — it really comes down to your personal preference. The Grand Hyatt Vail sits in Cascade Village (if you are looking at a trail map, it’s the village as far to the east as possible), and there’s not much else nearby. There’s no true “village” like you’ll find on other parts of the mountain, so there won’t be any shops or restaurants right out your front steps. However, the hotel operates a shuttle to both Vail Village and Lionshead every 15 to 20 minutes, and while I never experienced the shuttle myself, I heard from others that it ran pretty efficiently. Or, if you rent a car, both villages offer two free hours of parking in the morning and free parking anytime after 3 p.m.

But this more removed location also makes it desirable. The property is quiet and peaceful. While on the back patio or relaxing in the hot tub, you only see the mountains in the backdrop — not a busy street with crowds of people. And the hotel offers a ton on-site, so you might find that you never need to leave.

Those looking to spend the day on the slopes will also appreciate the chairlift right outside the property. Because the chairlift is exclusively for hotel guests and those staying in the nearby condos, there is never a lift line. In fact, with this chairlift, you can fully avoid the base of Vail throughout the entire day — if you want.

However, if you’re traveling with little ones who are enrolled in ski school, you might find yourself taking the shuttle or driving to ski school. Because of this, you’ll need to leave plenty of extra time in the morning and, unfortunately, miss out on the true ski-in, ski-out experience — one of the reasons you stay at this property.

During our two-night, three-day stay, we actually never left the property post-skiing, and that worked extremely well for our family. We visited the villages during the day while taking a quick ski break and utilized everything that the hotel had to offer after a long day of skiing. If we had been staying for an extended period of time — more than four nights — we probably would have preferred a location closer to the village. But for our stay, we appreciated the location.

Rooms at the Grand Hyatt Vail

With many room types available at the property, you’re bound to find one that works for your needs. The standard rooms — which are those available with points — include a 340- to 360-square-foot room with either two queen beds or one king. Slightly upgraded rooms include mountain view rooms and deluxe mountain view rooms, which are the same size as the standard rooms but have better views and, in select rooms, balconies. Then there are premium rooms, which are larger at 540 square feet; each of these offers mountain views and a fireplace — plus two queen beds or one king. From there, many suites of various sizes are available, with the largest being a two-bedroom presidential suite.

During our stay — which was during Presidents Day week, a peak time of year — I overheard many people being upgraded to deluxe and/or premium rooms, which made me believe that the property is quite generous with their upgrades.

Restaurants at the Grand Hyatt Vail

With many restaurant and dining options at the Grand Hyatt Vail, mealtimes at the property were incredibly easy.

Gessner Steakhouse & Bar

Gessner Steakhouse & Bar offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is where we ate breakfast every morning and where the hotel offers a large menu or a full buffet breakfast. I personally ordered off the menu each morning, but the buffet looked quite appetizing, too — especially since you can order an omelet with the buffet. Because of my Globalist status, breakfasts were included in our nightly rate. Without the Globalist benefit, the buffet is $22 per person. My children enjoyed pancakes every morning, which would’ve cost $19 without the free breakfast benefit.

Gore Creek Market

For breakfast — or just snacks, pastries, prepared sandwiches and more throughout the day — there’s the Gore Creek Market. This was a great grab-and-go option for us that we utilized at times for breakfast, post-ski snacks and even late-night ice cream. At the market, you’ll also find everyday essentials such as Advil, razors and water bottles. The market is the best way to go if you want to keep your food costs down — especially for breakfast.

Fireside Lounge

Off the lobby, there’s also the Fireside Lounge. This was an ideal place to sit and relax while listening to music and enjoying the views. With the fireplace going, you could get a drink, appetizers or a meal. Cocktails hover around $18. After 4 p.m., this was quite a lively and social area, with a patio off the back and steps down to the pool deck.

Makoto Vail

If you’re really looking to treat yourself, especially if you enjoy Japanese cuisine, there’s the brand-new Makoto Vail helmed by renowned chef Makoto Okuwa. We ate at this restaurant one night and absolutely loved the food, as well as the vibe. We also thought the pricing here was pretty reasonable — some of the items we ordered included ramen ($15), edamame ($8) and a salmon avocado roll ($16). For our family of four, the meal ended up costing about $130 with tip included. In fact, it was almost comparable to the cost of our room service the night before.

Activities at the Grand Hyatt Vail

Ice skating, sledding and daily treats

While our goal was to spend the bulk of our visit skiing, the hotel offers so much more. For the kids (or kids at heart), there’s an ice skating rink with complimentary ice skate rentals, sledding and daily treats at 4 p.m. From cookies and milk to s’mores, this was a great apres-ski activity for the entire family. There are also many fire pits around the property to sit and relax by.

Pool deck

The hotel also has a pool deck with a year-round heated pool and a hot tub. There’s a separate — and less crowded — hot tub at the back of the hotel, alongside the creek, too. This was a highlight for our family after a long day of skiing.

Game room

Just off of the market shop, there’s a small game room. Here, you’ll find two foosball tables, a life-size Connect Four and a comfortable TV area with video games. My kids loved being able to just go on their own and hang out after a day of skiing.

Topgolf Swing Suites

Possibly our favorite activity was Topgolf, which offers interactive games such as golf, soccer, hockey, dodgeball and carnival activities.

Located right on the property, the Topgolf Swing Suites make it possible to enjoy hours of incredibly fun entertainment without stepping foot off the property grounds. There are four reservation time slots available per day, allowing you to enjoy the suite in the morning, afternoon or evening. We thought the pricing was reasonable at $150, and although we just had our family of four, the suite can fit up to 12 people.

At each suite, there is a hostess who will teach you how to play and then also bring you food and drinks. The menu was similar to the regular restaurant menu, with many food and drink options. For a nonskiing activity, this ended up being a highlight, even for my daughter, who was hesitant going into it.

Ski valet at the Grand Hyatt Vail

One of the most convenient aspects of the hotel was the complimentary ski valet. Attached to the hotel, the ski valet makes it so you never have to go outside to boot up and get ready. The valet holds your skis and boots for you overnight, with the boots nice and warm in the morning when you retrieve them. There’s also plenty of seating with wire baskets to keep your shoes (or anything else) while you’re on the slopes.

At the ski valet, you can also rent skis (there are many package options), making your trip that much easier. We brought our skis from home with us, so I don’t have firsthand experience with renting here, but it looked to be an incredibly easy process. (You could even demo for the day.)

Besides the ski valet, there’s a small ski store. It came in handy when my daughter announced that her ski socks no longer fit, especially since pricing was comparable to any local shop.

Globalist benefits at the Grand Hyatt Vail

Those with Globalist status, Hyatt’s top-tier loyalty status, are treated very well at the Grand Hyatt Vail. In fact, there are many perks to make your stay that much more enjoyable. Due to having the World of Hyatt Credit Card and traveling quite often, my husband and I have maintained Globalist status for 15-plus years.

Since we used points to book the trip, resort fees were already waived at this property, but if we were staying during an off-peak time when it made more sense to pay for the room (instead of using points), we would’ve still had resort fees waived due to our Globalist status. Additionally, those with Globalist status on an award stay receive complimentary parking. At the Grand Hyatt Vail, parking is a hefty $55 per night, as only valet parking is offered, so with our status, we saved $110 by having this fee waived.

Another benefit for those with Globalist status is the full complimentary breakfast for up to two adults and two kids. During the check-in process, I was told about the benefit and informed that this perk could be used at the breakfast restaurant, for ordering room service or at the market — with no dollar cap.

We utilized the sit-down breakfast option both mornings and did a mix of ordering off the menu and the buffet, though one morning, my son preferred items from the market. This mix and match worked incredibly well for our family and allowed us an amazing, hearty breakfast before a long day on the slopes.

And, as mentioned before, the property seemed to be quite generous with room upgrades for those with Globalist status — or truly any status. We visited during school break, so the hotel was almost at capacity but was still willing to give us any room available, including a premium suite.

Accessibility

The Grand Hyatt Vail offers six different wheelchair-accessible room types with 32 inches of clear width, ranging from standard rooms to one-bedroom suites. All options have roll-in showers.

Throughout the hotel, you’ll find many wheelchair-accessible areas, including the lobby, several public spaces, the restaurants and the swimming pool (with a lift). The elevators also have brail, making it convenient for those with vision impairment needs.

The hotel felt very open, with wide hallways and doorways. I have a father-in-law in a wheelchair, and I felt as though he would have been able to navigate to many areas and into the elevators with no problem had he been traveling with us.

Additionally, aside from valet parking at the hotel, the concierges can help guests reserve accessible transportation for a fee with advance notice.

Alternatives to the Grand Hyatt Vail

If you aren’t swimming in Hyatt points and want to consider a different property — while still using some form of points — there are a few different options.

Bottom line

For a two- or three-night trip, I would stay at the Grand Hyatt Vail property again. We had a fabulous experience and really appreciated the luxurious offerings. However, for a longer stay — or one where I want to explore more — I might opt to stay closer to Lionshead or Vail Village.

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