Nestled in a residential neighborhood in Carlsbad, California, the Park Hyatt Aviara is not exactly my style, but a comfortable hotel with good service and ideal for a short getaway from San Diego or Los Angeles.
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Heidi and I enjoy this hotel, but I must admit that it feels very different than the minimalism you find at many Park Hyatt properties. That’s because this hotel used to be a Four Seasons property…and it sill looks like a Four Seasons. That’s not a knock, just an observation.
Anyway, its about a 90-minute drive my house and this review will cover two weekends I spent here, one in a standard room and one in a suite.
Park Hyatt Aviara Common Areas
Think country club. Marble floors, wood paneling, ornate floral arrangements, and plenty of space. Check-in agents are very kind and I was thanked profusely for my World of Hyatt Globalist Status. Outside, you’ll find well-manicured gardens, neatly trimmed grass, and plenty of palm trees. Even the drive in from the street to the resort feels like night and day as you leave the cookie-cutter residential neighborhood the hotel is situated and drive into a sprawling resort and upscale gated community.
Park Hyatt Aviara Guest Room
Our guest room included a king size bed, desk, couch, and a nice patio overlooking lush grounds below. Again, not really my style, but very-well maintained.
The bathroom included a separate bathtub and shower, two sinks with a reddish marble countertop, and separate water closet.
Turn down service is offered each night.
Park Hyatt Aviara King Courtyard Suite
The hotel has 327 rooms, including 43 suites. That said, the hotel is pretty stingy with upgrades. Out of four stays over the years, I have only received one complimentary suite upgrade. For the suite pictures below, I used one of my confirmed suite upgrades.
My King Courtyard suite was 855 square feet and included a queen sofa sleeper in the living room, perfect for my son.
I appreciate the illy espresso machines in each room, which I find very acceptable for machine-made coffee.
The bathroom was very much like the standard room.
Suites also include a large walk-in closet.
Park Hyatt Aviara Dining
As I mentioned, I don’t like leaving the resort once I arrive, meaning we eat at the hotel.
Argyle Steakhouse
Argyle Steakhouse is called “San Diego’s premier steakhouse” (by them of course) and located on 18th green of the resort’s golf course. You can take a golf cart from the hotel to the restaurant or plan on a 7-10 minute walk.
Heidi and I enjoy a very nice steak dinner here with great service (thanks Jesse) and tasty food, though Heidi ordered a hangar steak and should have ordered a filet.
California Bistro
Breakfast is in California Bistro and includes a nice buffet spread or a la carte menu. Cappuccino is extra (annoying, even though still free for Globalist members), but the food is high-quality and tasty, with a nice selection of baked goods, omelet bar, and fresh fruit, and a smoothie of the day.
If you’re not into breakfast, there is free coffee and tea just outside the restaurant.
Ocean Pool Bar & Grill
My only complaint occurred here. Service was not attentive and not very detail-oriented. My wife ordered a breast of chicken from the kid’s menu and they brought her a chicken burger instead (and charged $10 extra for it). My nachos were delicious, though.
Aviara Market
Aviara Market includes freshly-made pastries and coffee. We had coffee here in the afternoon and while good, I’d rather just have an espresso in my room.
Vivace
The only restaurant we have not tried yet is Vivace, the hotel’s Italian restaurant. Next time, we will try it.
Park Hyatt Aviara Pool
I appreciate that the resort has a family pool and adult’s only pool. Both, however, were mostly empty during my stays. If you forget sunscreen, the resort has you covered.
Park Hyatt Aviara Spa
A full service spa is available with a very nice wellness area with whirlpool, sauna, and spa. I quite enjoyed spending a couple afternoons just lounging in here.
Park Hyatt Aviara Fitness
The resort offers a large fitness center with cardiovascular and strength training machines plus free weights.
Park Hyatt Aviara Golf + Tennis
I don’t play golf or tennis, but both are available.
CONCLUSION
Don’t come to this hotel if you want to hang out at the beach or head to San Diego. It’s too far. This is a resort that you come here to stay at. With nice pools, fitness, spa, and several restaurants, when I come here I don’t leave until checkout.
Have you stayed at the Park Hyatt Aviara? How did you like it?
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Have stayed there a few times. Both as Park Hyatt and FS. Most recently this past summer. It feels very California Development and lacks a whole lot of charm. Comfortable and all but a far cry from other Park Hyatt properties….as yes, I do prefer more minimal and something unique.
More interesting is that your wife orders from the kid’s menu. My GF does a well and it’s interesting the reactions you get. Honestly, the food is the same and the portions often pretty exact for a lot less!
We ate at the Italian place and it was fine. Nothing to write home about.
Oh and…
I think your wife should do a post on “Techniques and Strategies on Ordering as an Adult from the Kid’s Menu”
I don’t think it’s cool for adults to order from the kids menu. I would never do that even if I wasn’t that hungry.
Ok, looks like this will be a post tomorrow…
Lukas, what if the item you want is only on the kid’s menu and not the adult menu?
I was astonished one day when we both ordered a cheeseburger at a Four Seasons. Mine from the adult and hers from the kids. It came out exactly the same and I swear she even got more French fries.
I love how you scratch off the price and fixed yourself instead of asking the server to update. I’ve never really thought about that, but if they want the tip you give them, I guess it kind of forces them to fix it without having to wait, explain, etc. Nice 🙂
I even let them keep the extra taxes. 😉
I also got a chuckle out of that!
When did you stay here – during the lockdown?
Fall.
Why the commas as in: 13,64 for $13.64
That’s the German influence. I always use commas instead of periods like they do in Europe.
I noticed you also write 1 and 9 in the European manner. I went to high school in Europe, but elementary school in the States, and aside from an inclination to write my dates as DD/MM/YY, my handwriting was fixed in the American standard by the time I moved to Europe and it hasn’t changed. Interesting!
When the server brought out the wrong food, did you give the restaurant a chance to correct the mistake? Also, did your wife ate only the chicken, or she partook the entire dish? Or did they offer to charge only the kids meal price when you spoke up, but the server did not correct it? This is my number one frustration as a restaurant owner – people don’t speak up about issues when the server do the check-in, and then write a negative review on Yelp. Give them a chance to course-correct, or ask to speak to a manager to provide feedback. Otherwise the same issue will come up over and over again.
I guess curious mind would like to know what was the dollar amount showed up on the room folio.
We did. They said “oops” and then said, oh well, it’s the same chicken. She did not eat the bread, pickles, or onions, not that it should matter since they just would have thrown it out. They promised to correct it on the bill, but did not. I gave them 10 minutes to even return to the table but our server went missing in action. With no one even checking up on us, I just made the correction myself and left. $30.64 was indeed charged to the room.
I’m surprised you tipped so much for bad service. I get that servers rely on tips, but giving them in excess of 20% for bad service seems to reward their behavior.
Also, I’m curious about your Argyle bill. You only had to pay extra for the asparagus side, a sauce, and a drink? The salad and dessert were included?
I hope this shows we don’t order off the kid’s menu to save a few bucks, but to avoid waste.
We’ve gone for about 5 days every summer for the past 10 years. Always have great service. We also go to the beach in Encinitas, Del Mar, or Carlsbad every day. The hotel has beach stuff to borrow. Also usually go into one of these towns for dinner (10-20 min drive).