Review: Hyatt Vacation Club At Coconut Cove

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Our one-night stay at Hyatt Vacation Club at Coconut Cove was a mixed bag for reasons obvious and self-inflicted but a few outside our control too. 

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Location

Bonita Springs is south of Fort Myers about a third of the way to Naples, Florida. The road leading to the resort is the same one that heads to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, one of our favorites. It should be noted that while this property is very near the ocean, it is not near a sandy beach. Mangroves fill the waterfront which remains inaccessible. Just off Highway 41 (Tamiami Trail) there’s extensive shopping and dining options but they are about a mile or two away from the property.

Address: 11800 Coconut Plantation Dr, Bonita Springs, FL 34134

Phone: +1 239-947-7300

Google Maps Link

Why We Chose This Property

As we close out the year, we are striving for Globalist status with Hyatt. We had stayed at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point a few weeks prior, but wanted to see if this was a better fit for guests when they come to Southwest Florida but need their own space.

That said, we did this wrong.

Like all major chains, Hyatt has a timeshare division which offers apartment/condominium style longer term vacation options for individual bookings both for cash and award redemptions. These properties are built differently than hotels but can be treated the same. But they are not the same.

This was not really suitable for a one-night stay, that’s my fault and no one else’s. Don’t misunderstand me, we slept just fine for the night and that was mostly the point, but the Hyatt benefits are not really honored.

Benefits

At check-in, despite a congenial exchange at the front desk, we were all but laughed at when we asked about some standard Hyatt benefits. Late checkout, and early check-in aren’t a thing at least at this vacation property. The night audit on duty all but laughed at us when we asked for just a 2pm checkout. He said he had never seen a checkout past noon but would call and ask. After 20-30 minutes, he reached back out and indicated he could not honor our request despite the hotel selling every available room category on the next day (they were not at capacity) and that he had secured us noon but that was it. Globalists that are used to 4pm checkouts would be in for a rude awakening.

There’s a restaurant on-site but whether breakfast is included for Globalists is unknown to me. Further, while upgrades should be possible, whether or not they are honored is another matter. At the time of our stay, we were Explorists and not offered an upgrade though sometimes we are.

Generally, your World of Hyatt benefits should be considered null and void at this property in a traditional hotel sense.

Property

The property is spread out as a large condominium resort often is. Several buildings which are named and numbered surround the pool area. There are three food and beverage locations including The Veranda which operates from 11-6:30 pm weekdays, and closes at 7 pm on weekends. The Tiki Bar is at the pool (weather permitting), and a Marketplace offers a convenience store option.

As a resort, and one that sees a lot of families for weeklong stays, there are daily activities included that range from arts and crafts to more active outdoor games. During our stay, the activities were scheduled for 3 pm which meant that neither on check-in nor check-out day would we have been able to enjoy this benefit.

There’s a golf course next door as well.

Pool Area

There are numerous pools at this property that offer every variance one could ask for including a zero-entry pool, a separate children and families area, a waterfall, hot tubs, and a lazy river. Even from early on in the day and outside of peak season, seats were starting to fill from 9 am.

Around the pools there are other outside games like ping pong tables, and sand volleyball courts.

Frankie was happy to be at the pool early in the day.

 

Stench

This is the first time I have ever had a “stench” segment and hopefully the last. The property was sprayed with fertilizer the morning we departed. The stench permeated the entire outdoor space of the expansive property. Other guests would open their doors and be taken aback at the extremely strong scent. It was way, way, way too much.

As many readers know, I grew up in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska. When I was young, the road leading to our home was a dirt road (now it’s paved and five lanes wide.) When I was in first grade across the street from my elementary school, one of the teachers owned a farm with horses. In fact, there were farms all around both my wife and I’s home growing up.

I say all that to say I could identify the type of fertilizer they used – as in the animal it came from. It was excessive to the point that the pool was unenjoyable (except for Frankie) and I wondered if we should be outside inhaling it at all. I raised the issue at the front desk and they said “we haven’t had any complaints from other guests” but from the looks on their faces, it’s possible that they didn’t speak up but impossible that they didn’t notice it.

Because of the incredible flora at the Hyatt Vacation Club at Coconut Grove, the landscapers had to distribute tons of the fertilizer but it was way too much, and way to strong.

It was enough of a reason to choose another property, it was peel-the-paint-off-the-walls strong.

Unloading fertilizer by the truck load.

For anyone morbidly curious, the fertilizer was horse manure.

Suite

Our suite on the third floor was spacious and well laid out. There was a full kitchen, two balconies, and a huge bathroom.

Living Room

The design of this room was premium, the entire suite was modern, clean, and bright. My parents watched the kids while we returned a rental car and they had room to play games, eat, and stretch out.

Our daughter was sleeping on the pull-out couch

Bedroom

The bedroom had more space than it knew how to use. The bed could have been larger without dominating the space. A closet wasn’t a walk-in (but it could have been) in between the bathroom and bedroom. An enclosed, screened-in balcony was off the bedroom and it was very, very big but unfortunately I failed to capture a photo in the day time.

Bathroom

This bathroom was utterly cavernous. A large tub was in between a huge glassed in shower at one end and a privacy water closet at the other end of a ten foot long double vanity.

Value

There is a daily resort charge of $35 (waived for Globalists on award stay.) Daily rates range from $180 to the mid $300s nightly in my searches dependent on occupancy and season and excluding taxes. For a points redemption, the property charges 20,000 points per night. Live And Let’s Fly assigns a minimum value of 2¢/point in the World of Hyatt loyalty program so even in high season, cash is recommended. We shouldn’t have stayed there on a one-night stay, that was our mistake. And for families that can find nightly rates in the high $100s for at least a three-night stay, the property is an excellent value. But for one-night stays or award redemptions, guests would be better choosing the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point next door.