A report that the opening of the prestigious Park Hyatt St. Kitts has been delayed …again.
Ben Schlappig (aka Lucky), a travel consultant, blogger, and avid points collector noted that in his postings in June 2016, indicated that the hotel was accepting reservations for stays as of March 1, 2017.
“It’s my understanding that the hotel was expecting to open way before then, but they just didn’t want to get into a situation where they had a major delay after starting to accept bookings. Well, unfortunately for them, that’s exactly what’s happening. The Park Hyatt St. Kitts now has a new estimated opening date of November 1,” Schlappig blogged on Sunday.
The agreement for the construction of the Park Hyatt St. Kitts was signed by then Prime Minister the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas in Dubai in 2012 and the ground breaking for its construction of the high-end resort took place on June 3rd 2013.
Schlappig said the opening of the Park Hyatt St. Kitts is one of the most anticipated.
“Hyatt doesn’t have many good luxury resorts in the Caribbean, so this will be a very nice addition to their portfolio. The renderings of the property look gorgeous, and I’m sure many will want to redeem their points here,” he said.
Schlappig said Park Hyatt St. Kitts will be a Category 7 World of Hyatt property, meaning that a redemption will cost:
• 30,000 World of Hyatt points for a free night (no blackout dates, as long as a standard room is available)
• 15,000 World of Hyatt points plus $300 using Points + Cash
• 48,000 World of Hyatt points for a free night in a suite (minimum of three night stay required)
“Will Run For Miles notes that the hotel has reached out to guests who were booked for stays before then and has given them three options:
1.) Move my reservation after Nov 1 (but not between Dec 23 and January 6) at the original price of my current reservation, up to $1000 per person for airline change fees, and two free additional nights.
2.) Move the reservation to the Andaz in Mexico at the same rate
3.) Cancel the reservation and up to $1000 per person airline change fees,” said Schlappig, who described the approach Park Hyatt St. Kitts is taking.
“Hotels are notorious for having delayed openings, and for many this became an opportunity to score a great deal on a stay. Just make a booking for shortly after a hotel is scheduled to open, and if they’re delayed they’ll almost always offer you a free future stay, bonus points, etc.
In this case I’d say the Park Hyatt St. Kitts is being fair, but also making sure that no one is exploiting the situation. If you still want to go to the resort they’ll cover any change fees on your tickets, and give you an extra two nights (which isn’t useful to many, since most people have limited vacation). But it avoids them having to give out a free stay,” said Schlappig.
He noted: “Offering to switch the reservation to the Andaz Mayakoba is hardly much of a deal, as that’s a Category 5 property, rather than a Category 7 property. Meanwhile $1,000 per person in airline change fees makes someone whole but doesn’t do anything to compensate for the lost planned vacation.”
“Apparently the Park Hyatt St. Kitts has some structural issues, so we’ll see if it even opens by November 1 now,” said Schlappig who travels about 400,000 miles a year, primarily using miles and points to fund his first class experiences.
He chronicles his adventures, along with industry news, at One Mile At A Time.