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Last summer over July 4^th holiday, my family spent three nights at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines outside of Austin, Texas. We loved it! You can read about it here and here.

We loved it so much that we decided to book a short stay this winter at its sister resort, Hyatt Regency Hill Country in San Antonio. I booked a regular room on a Points + Cash rate and used a Diamond Suite Upgrade (from my free matched Diamond Status) to upgrade us to a Hill Country Suite.

Location

Hyatt Regency Hill Country is located inside San Antonio city limits. It’s only 2 miles from SeaWorld and 20 minutes from the Riverwalk. The first sign was right on the access road to State Highway 151.

After we turned onto Hyatt Resort Drive, we stopped at a security gate. We had to tell the guard our names, and he gave us a parking permit.

As we drove further down the road, we saw the circle drive at the lobby. The shape and layout of the buildings and even the parking lot was nearly identical to Hyatt Lost Pines.

Arrival/Lobby

We arrived around 11:30 a.m. Near the front desk, there was this cave my kids could explore, as well as a table with coloring supplies. Our room was ready early.

The lobby was decorated for the holidays. There were several different sections that looked similar to this, as well as two fire places. Lots of tables, chess games, etc. It was beautiful.

One of my favorite parts about the lobby is the fruit-infused water.

Hill Country Suite

Our room had a separate bedroom with a king bed, small table with chair and TV. It was nice to have our own space (with a door!) separate from our kids.

The living room had a sofa sleeper, chair, table with four chairs, TV and refrigerator.

Hyatt gave us a rollaway bed for our “extra” child, so this is how it looked at night for sleeping.

Our suite had a gigantic closet in the hallway leading to the bathroom.

The living room and bedroom both opened up to this large corner balcony with a view of the lawn.

 

Grounds

The resort grounds were lovely. It felt like we were on a well-manicured southern ranch.

The resort had some recreation activities spread around the back, including corn hole, bikes, badminton, etc.

My kids loved playing at this park (right down the stairs from our room). It had a tetherball court and a tree swing, which were both a big hit.

Throughout the resort, there were several benches and swings for lounging.

My son loved the trees, which were great for climbing.

Activities

The resort had many family activities during our stay.

 

Every night, Hyatt provided s’mores for roasting. One night, we roasted inside.

The last night, the temperatures were high enough to roast outside. Yum!

Each night, there was a family movie in the ballroom. During warmer months, the movies are outside. Hyatt provided chairs, blankets and popcorn (all included in the resort fee).

During our stay, one of the ballrooms had indoor recreation activities. There was a large bounce house, giant Connect Four, corn hole, ladder golf, hula hoops, building blocks, etc.

On New Year’s Eve, Hyatt hosted an adult party in the bar and a family party in the ballroom. The resort handed out hats and noise makers. The family party had a DJ and dance floor. Two of my kids cut it up on the dance floor! You can probably guess which kid was too cool for dancing.

Pool Area

The pools at Hyatt Hill Country were similar to Hyatt Lost Pines in many ways. The main pool had a few waterfalls, water basketball and volleyball.

There were two hot tubs with waterfalls.

There was also a sand beach area and a lazy river.

The resort advertised heated pools, but we found the water to be very chilly. There was a small kiddie pool that was heated:

And this Texas-shaped pool was heated. During the summer and busier months, this Texas pool serves as the adult-only area. However, while we were there it was open to all ages.

I liked the water slide because it didn’t dump out into a pool.

My boys had a blast on the Flow Rider. This cost an extra $25 for two hours, but it was so fun. You could go on a paddle board or do stand-up surfing.

One afternoon, we decided to head to the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch to enjoy the pools there. Many guests didn’t seem to know about this benefit, but guests of Hyatt Hill Country can enjoy the amenities at this nearby Hyatt timeshare property.

We drove over to Wild Oak Ranch, which was about a mile away. It looked similar to Hyatt Hill Country, but had a smaller, more intimate setting. We were able to check out towels from the kids’ club with no issues.

The outdoor pools were much warmer at Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch. Much, much warmer.

We swam outside for a while, and also enjoyed the indoor pool area. We could swim from the outdoor pool right into the indoor pool.

The indoor pool slide was quite fast. Once we convinced my 12-year-old to go down the slide, he had so much fun that he went down it at least 10 times in a row. It takes a lot to bring a smile to my tween’s face, but that slide sure did it.

Food

Unfortunately, the club lounge was not open during our stay. I was surprised and disappointed, since we loved the lounge at Hyatt Lost Pines so much.

However, Hyatt gave me an extra 2500 points (standard for a closed lounge). We were allowed to eat at the hotel’s breakfast buffet each day as part of my Diamond status benefits.

The breakfast spread was quite large. It had almost every breakfast food you could think of, including an omelette station. The pancakes were awesome! The cash price of the breakfast buffet for my family of 5 would have been over $80, so if I didn’t have the Diamond status we would have eaten elsewhere.

The other restaurants mirrored the choices at Lost Pines. There was a fancy restaurant (Antlers), a casual restaurant (Springhouse Café, which was closed for renovation), a bar with some food and a General Store.

We ate dinner at the General Store one night. It had some inexpensive fast-food options like pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, breakfast tacos, etc. We also ate inside the bar one night, since it had the full Springhouse Café menu during renovation. The prices were decent.

The upside to the club lounge being closed is that we ventured outside the hotel for a few meals. San Antonio has much better quality and quantity of Mexican food than Dallas, that’s for sure!

Comparing Hyatt Hill Country to Hyatt Lost Pines

We stayed at both within a six-month period. Service at both resorts was outstanding!

Rooms: Lost Pines has an edge on standard rooms. Hill Country rooms that fit four people have full-size beds vs. queen-size beds at Lost Pines. Full-size beds are hard for two adults to share, and also hard for an adult to share with a wiggly kid. Am I right?!?!

Pool: I’m going to give Hill Country the edge here. The pool area has more waterfalls, and the main pool has more shade than Lost Pines. We found the pool at Lost Pines to be almost too hot last summer. Also, Hill Country has the Flow Rider, which is great for older kids and adults. Plus, Hill Country guests can go to Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch’s indoor pool area, which is especially handy during the cold weather.

Activities: Both resorts have a spa, golf course and lots of family activities. However, Lost Pines has more activities, especially if you add in the horseback riding and river activities on the property. Lost Pines collaborates with the state park next door for zip lining, fishing, shooting, etc. Lost Pines also has fireworks twice a year.

Price: Hill Country is less expensive than Lost Pines on both points and cash rates. It costs 15,000 points vs. 20,000 points for Lost Pines. Hill Country has more competition from nearby resorts (JW Marriott and La Cantera).

Atmosphere: Lost Pines feels more laid back to me. I think it’s because it’s more isolated, and people go there for a destination resort. At Hill Country, people do the activities, but they also run off to go to SeaWorld, the Alamo, etc.

The bottom line is that both are great resorts. If you are visiting Texas from another state, I recommend Hill Country. It has nice amenities, yet is close to sites in San Antonio (my favorite Texas city). If you live in Texas and are looking for a nice retreat for a family reunion, and you want to feel like you’re on an upscale ranch with many country activities without leaving the resort, choose Lost Pines.

Using Miles and Points

Update: The following offers have changed. See our Hot Deals section.

The Chase Hyatt Visa card offers two free nights after spending $2000 in the first three months. It has a $75 annual fee (not waived). Here is a direct non-affiliate link. This card is currently not subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.

Other options are Chase Sapphire Reserve  (apply in branch in order to get 100K points), Chase Ink Business Preferred or Chase Sapphire Preferred. These cards are subject to 5/24 rule. You can use Ultimate Rewards points from the sign-up bonus for Hyatt program transfers on 1:1 basis. We don’t have direct links for these cards, but they do pay us commission if you apply through the site. Thanks for your support!

You can also use a travel rewards card like the Barclaycard Arrival Plus. The current sign-up bonus of 50,000 points is good toward $500 in travel credits.

Are you planning on going to either of these Hyatt resorts in Texas?

Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses

 

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