Alex
My family recently returned home from spending our fall break at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines located just outside Austin, Texas. We had never visited Texas as a family and usually spend our family vacations at the beach so this was a new experience for us. Spoiler…we loved it! Keep reading to hear what it’s like to visit Hyatt Regency Lost Pines on points and how you can do it too!
Listen to our Podcast #51 Best Hotels and Resorts in Texas on Points and Miles to hear about some other family-friendly resorts in Texas.
We used Southwest® Rapid Rewards to fly roundtrip on Southwest Airlines from Salt Lake City to Austin. By utilizing our Southwest Companion Passes, my husband and I were each able to fly one kid for free (minus $5.60 in taxes each way). We paid about 17,500 points round-trip per person.
Southwest is my go-to airline for family travel. If you want to learn more about navigating Southwest Airlines, including the Southwest Companion Pass, the Southwest credit cards, their boarding process, getting refunds when the price drops on your flights, and more make sure to get our free Ultimate Guide to Southwest Airlines®.
The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is a category 5 Hyatt, meaning it will cost you 17K points/night off-peak, 20K points/night at standard pricing, and 23K points/night at peak pricing. We paid 66,000 points for our three-night stay (one standard night and two peak nights).
You can easily earn a three-night stay here with The World Of Hyatt Credit Card welcome offer.The card_name and Ink Business cards would be a great option, too.
All information about the World of Hyatt Credit Card has been collected independently by Travel Mom Squad. The World of Hyatt Credit Card is no longer available through Travel Mom Squad.
It is about a 30-minute drive from the Austin airport to the Hyatt. The resort is located a bit in the middle of nowhere, which is part of the charm.
After turning off the main highway, we drove briefly before getting to a gate that led us up to the resort. The sign listed the parking rates: self-parking is $18 a night, and valet parking is $42 a night. As a Hyatt Globalist, those parking fees are waived.
Once we arrived, we left our van with the valet and checked into our room. Walking through the lobby, I knew I would like this place. The lobby is the first impression of a hotel, so I appreciate it when a hotel has a nice one. This lobby was spacious and well-decorated with a classy country ranch feel.
I had booked the standard room but applied a suite upgrade award (SUA) to the booking to have a standard suite for my family. Having a suite for my family of 6 makes the stay so much more comfortable for all of us! You earn two of these awards after you hit 50 nights with Hyatt and two additional awards for every 10 nights after that. If you hit Hyatt Globalist, you will receive four of these awards a year. Suite Upgrade Awards are one of my favorite Hyatt Globalist perks!
Our room had a pullout sofa bed—thanks to the configuration, my three oldest were able to sleep comfortably there. We also had a separate room with a king bed. We had a small patio with a couple of chairs, but we didn’t spend time out there as it faced the road. The room was very spacious and perfect for our family.
Jess and her family drove up from Houston and met us at the resort! They booked the standard room and were upgraded to one with a view.
Where this resort really shines is all the activities. We were here for three days, didn’t leave the resort, and still didn’t do even close to all the activities available.
There is a $40-a-night resort fee, but when you book with points, those fees are waived!
Here is what is included in the Hyatt Lost Pines resort fee:
Additionally, on arrival, you’ll be given a calendar with a list of all the daily activities, which include craft times, stargazing, hikes, horseshoe tournaments, outdoor movies, and more.
The waterpark was probably my kids’ favorite part of the resort. They loved the lazy river and waterslide (which are not heated) and the main kid’s pool (which is heated). We spent a few hours here each day and ordered lunch poolside. We all really enjoyed the piña coladas!
In addition to all the free activities at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines, there are also various paid activities. These include horseback riding, zip lining, fishing, shotgun trap shooting, and more.
My older three boys did an archery and tomahawk throwing activity during our stay. They really enjoyed this! It was a little pricey at around $95 per kid, but worth the splurge, in my opinion, to do something new. They had two instructors who were great with them! They spent about 30 minutes doing archery and another 30 doing tomahawk throwing.
The kids also did a GPS geocaching activity. This one was cheaper at around $25 per kid. Each kid was given a GPS that led them to various boxes. Inside the box was an activity for them to do in their journals. It was a cute activity, but some kids got a little bored. It took them about an hour to find all the boxes. I liked this activity as it took us around the resort, and I got to see some areas I hadn’t seen yet.
As I mentioned before, the resort is a little isolated, so there isn’t anything super conveniently located if you want to eat away from the resort that I know of. We ate all of our meals on the property. There is a mini fridge, so you could easily pack some snacks and breakfast/lunch foods.
Thanks to our Globalist status, we could enjoy a complimentary breakfast at Heartwood House. There is an a la carte menu, or you can opt for the buffet. We did a little of both. The buffet is about $35 for adults and $15 for kids. I really enjoyed the breakfast buffet.
We ate lunch poolside each day. For dinner, we ate at Maverick’s Roadhouse twice, and one night, we enjoyed the BBQ buffet back at Heartwood House. If you have kids five and under, great news—they’ll eat for free at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines! Overall, we enjoyed the food here.
I would 100% use points to return to Hyatt Regency Lost Pines. My kids loved it! There is so much to do. It is a great resort for families with elementary-aged kids– our kids even made friends with some other kids there! We loved the open spaces for roaming around and the resort’s activities.
Podcast #51 Best Hotels and Resorts in Texas on Points and Miles
Podcast #62. Planning Your Next Family Vacation: Top Family-Friendly Hotels and Resorts
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