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
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.
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.
Coconut Cove is accessible over the viaduct .
Why a duck ?
The excess fertilizer was because they were redistributing Camel-a’s unwelcome talking points .
WOH Terms very explicitly state no upgrades, breakfast, anything for Globalists at Vacation Club properties unfortunately
Rich people problems.
Kyle mentioned the odor was horse manure. As a liquid spray the culprit is probably something called biosolids. Florida allows the use of sewage treatment plant waste as fertilizer. It is now supposed to be ” safe “. It stinks. It’s cheap and widely used. Good thing the mangroves made beach access impossible.
@Maryland – That’s interesting to note, I had no idea.
Kyle, you’re not being fair to this property. They’re under no obligation to offer you Globalist benefits. Terms are very clear about that. As the owner of a travel agency and a travel writer surely you knew that. I hope you haven’t been advising clients otherwise. You got your badge for HVC, and you should consider that a win.
HVC properties don’t have to honor any elite benefits?
@Christian – Jerry is right. And there’s an easy way to find out, just go to Terms and Conditions for World of Hyatt: https://www.hyatt.com/help/terms/world-of-hyatt?icamp=woh_terms_tberfooter#IIC – then control+F or command+F (on a Mac) “vacation” then look at each benefit segment and ensure that there’s not a single benefit that Hyatt Vacation Club is required to offer.
Or Hyatt could have just made it easier and said at the top of the page: “Hyatt Vacation Club properties do not offer elite status benefits outside of earning and redeeming World of Hyatt points.” But they didn’t do that.
For what it’s worth, even without status at other chains properties have honored a later checkout than 11 AM without laughing us out of the lobby. Those properties had no need to honor that request either but did so am I really such a fool for even asking? I guess that’s up to the reader. But Hyatt doesn’t make it easy when stating their policy clearly could be.
You know, Jerry, I owned that all over this review and to act as though I didn’t either intentionally shades it as though I am being unfair or maybe you just skimmed it.
“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.”
“Late checkout, and early check-in aren’t a thing at least at this vacation property.”
“Generally, your World of Hyatt benefits should be considered null and void at this property in a traditional hotel sense.” – This is true, fair, and unbiased.
I mean, honestly Jerry, how much more could I own it? I also mentioned that I am not yet a Globalist again, “As we close out the year, we are striving for Globalist status with Hyatt.” And I think lastly, the notion that because I own a travel agency and am a travel writer means that every caveat and asterisk is common knowledge to me or anyone else on this network is a leap that doesn’t really grasp the total breadth of a sprawling industry full of special circumstances. I also never once said that I expected World of Hyatt benefits to be offered, but I was making it clear for others who might come to expect them at any hotel with Hyatt in the name without a full review of the terms and conditions of the program.
I am happy to get my HVC badge, and will probably try out other properties for longer stays in less… fragrant locations.
If we’re going to do quotes, here are some of mine:
“all but laughed at when we asked about some standard Hyatt benefits” And why wouldn’t you have been? You knew you weren’t entitled. I guess there’s no harm in asking, but why write about it?
“Globalists that are used to 4pm checkouts would be in for a rude awakening” Why? They’re not entitled to it.
“but whether breakfast is included for Globalists is unknown to me” Isn’t it your job as a travel advisor to know just that?
It isn’t about “owning it,” it seems like you intentionally wrote a piece lamenting not getting benefits you’re not entitled to.
As for not understanding the program as a travel advisor, I suppose that’s reasonable, but most of your readers obsess over the ins-and-outs of loyalty programs, and we assume you do too. We learn from blogs like LALF, support you when you have legitimate gripes, but also hold you to a higher standard.
As a farm kid, I completely understoog your comment about the animal manure!
I agree 100% with Jerry. This is the 3rd or 4th time that you inappropriately criticize a vacation club/timeshare property for not honoring elite benefits. I called you out on it in the comments last time and will keep calling you out on it. Timeshare properties just have a different business model, and if you don’t like it, then stop staying there and allow the rest of us to enjoy large apartment-style resorts under the Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton name at costs much much cheaper than the presidential suite of a regular hotel. And stop complaining about free breakfast not being provided when you don’t even know if it should be honored (or better yet, do your research, as it takes 1 minute to find out that elite benefits aren’t honored at Hyatt Vacation Clubs or ANY timeshare property). I can’t stand your unprofessional reviews of vacation club/timeshare properties. Matthew: are you listening? Please stop Kyle from posting these reviews. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about and he’s very sensitive and defensive to constructive criticism.
@Daniel M – I’ve only ever stayed at one other vacation rental property to my knowledge. I have written once about the sale pitch for timeshares, and another where there was actually a good value proposition for buyers.
That said, if the brands are both going to offer the properties alongside hotels, but also not mention that benefits don’t apply why is it a problem to point it out here? Wouldn’t a reasonable person presume that if there are 20-30 brands all sold and marketed alongside each other, all of which receive the same benefits that if there is just one of those brands for which none of the benefits apply that it should be singled out, mentioned, made clear to guests? Would it be reasonable for someone reading the product review who might be a status holder because of their credit card (Explorist at Hyatt, Gold at Hilton or Marriott, etc.) would want to know that of the myriad choices, this particular brand segment doesn’t honor the program benefits?
Seems about as fair as it gets. If you want to make it common knowledge, mark it conspicuously. If you want to hide it, wouldn’t it be wrong for someone reviewing to NOT point it out?