On our recent Florida Spring Break trip, my family had the opportunity to stay at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa for two nights following our 5-night stay at Sheraton Sand Key Resort. We rented a car and drove about 2 ½ hours south near the Fort Myers area to stay at the Hyatt in Bonita Springs.
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point has been on my hotel wish list for a few years now. Leana has stayed here in the past and blogged about it a few times.
Well, no surprise, I wholeheartedly agree with her opinion of the resort. It is spectacular! I hope you will indulge me as I gush about the resort from my family’s perspective.
Arrival at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point
The hotel is located at the end of Coconut Road, past a golf course and condo complex. As we drove up, I thought the building looked small.
However, looks can be deceiving. The building is longer than it is wider, and there are 18 floors and 454 rooms.
As we entered the lobby, words that came to my mind were “upscale” and “pampered”. The marble floors and décor were very tasteful.
Warning! If you have kids, make sure they do not look to the left into Cool Beans as you enter the hotel. Candy galore!
The check-in desk had a gated kids’ corner nearby. Although we arrived early at around 1:30 p.m., our room was ready.
This is the view to the back of the hotel:
Our Room
Because of my Hyatt Explorist status, we were upgraded to a higher floor balcony room with a sunset view. Not all of the rooms have balconies.
The room was over 100 square feet larger than our room at Sheraton Sand Key Resort. We had ample room for the five of us.
The bathroom was quite large as well.
We opted to put the inflatable bed for my youngest at the foot of our beds, and we still had room to walk around.
Below us on our balcony we could see the lawn and pond. Our best view was to the right for the sunset.
Regency Club Lounge
A few days before our trip, I called Hyatt to use one of my Explorist Club Lounge upgrades. When I checked in, we received a card with the lounge hours.
On the afternoon we arrived, we went to the lounge for snacks and drinks. There were cookies and the best house-made granola bars.
Our first evening in the hotel, we ate the hors d’oeuvres for dinner. There was a small section of cheeses, bread, fruit and vegetables.
There was also a salad section as well as chicken/black beans in cones and on crackers.
The hot dish that night was lemon chicken potstickers. Yum!
We ate breakfast in the lounge both days. There was juice, hard boiled eggs and fruit:
A selection of bread and egg burritos:
I was definitely glad we had access to the lounge! We saved a bunch of money on food, and it was convenient to have access to the drinks and snacks.
Lawn and Pools
We couldn’t wait to explore the lawn and pool area! The hotel was designed well. We could exit the elevators one floor below the lobby and walk through this painted walkway directly to the pools. It was great to skip the lobby in our wet swim suits.
The lawn had a relaxing area with hammocks:
The lawn also had giant Jenga, cornhole, a giant Connect 4, a putt-putt course and a golf chip area.
On our first night, we purchased a s’mores kit from Cool Beans and relaxed at one of the two fire pits.
Closest to the hotel building is the adult pool and hot tub. I used the hot tub a few times by myself while my husband was watching the kids.
This pool in the center has a lovely water fall and restaurant tables behind it. We were puzzled why nobody was in this pool! After we dipped our hands in, we understood why. This was the only pool on property that was not heated.
The main family pool has three sections. This first section has a slide for 42 inches and above.
This middle section is zero-entry.
The far section has a basketball hoop and a slide for smaller kids.
The main pool was open until 10 p.m.
My kids loved the new water park area with a lazy river and three water slides.
See my vacation video for the water slides in action. The height requirement for these slides is 48 inches. The slides are faster, and my boys and husband had a blast!
There was ping-pong, cornhole and a few organized activities around the pool area, but we couldn’t drag our kids out of the pools long enough for that.
Private Island Beach—Big Hickory Island
On our second morning, we took Hyatt’s boat to the private island beach on Big Hickory Island. We reserved seats online for the first ride in the morning. We could have taken a shuttle to the boat dock, but we chose to walk there via the boardwalk in the back of the hotel.
On the boat ride, we saw a few dolphins jumping out of the water.
Once we arrived, it was a short walk to the beach.
The beach is very unspoiled, with only one structure on the island (an event center with restrooms). Hyatt shares this island/beach with the condo complex next door, but there were plenty of lounge chairs available when we arrived.
If you are feeling adventurous, I recommend walking to the north side of the island to view fish and birds. It’s a gorgeous spot.
While we were there, we saw several dolphins swim by about 30 feet from the shore. The beach also had a ton of shells.
Camp Hyatt for Date Night
On our second night, we splurged on a date night by putting our two younger kids in Camp Hyatt. On Friday and Saturday nights, it’s open from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. for $65/child. This price includes dinner.
The entrance to Camp Hyatt:
It just so happened that our kids were the only kids who signed up for the night, so they had the run of the place. I took some photos before we took off for dinner:
The camp had a private outdoor space as well.
While our kids were at Camp Hyatt, we had a lovely dinner at Roy’s Restaurant. I had been to Roy’s in Tokyo and Ko Olina, Oahu, and the food is superb.
Our kids had a smashing time at Camp Hyatt. In addition to playing games and making crafts inside, they bowled outside, roasted s’mores around the campfire and went to Cool Beans for ice cream. They also got to play in the arcade next door and earned prizes. We definitely got our money’s worth!
I love that certain Hyatt resorts have these kids clubs. I wish we had discovered this when our kids were just a bit younger!
Hyatt Coconut Point Vs. Sheraton Sand Key
After our trip, I asked our kids which hotel they liked better. Immediately they said Hyatt Coconut Point. The water slides were so much fun, and the boat ride to the beach was great. Hyatt definitely had more amenities and felt more resort-ish compared to the Sheraton from earlier in our trip.
However, from the perspective of me and my husband, the answer is not as clear cut. Comparing the two resorts is like comparing apples and oranges. Clearwater Beach (near Sheraton Sand Key) is such a charming little beach town. It has lots of character, mom and pop restaurants and family activities. Compared to Bonita Springs (where Hyatt is located), it’s much more diverse and quirky.
While the Hyatt is clearly a more upscale property and the pool area is top notch, we felt like Bonita Springs was a little more vanilla and lacked the charm of Clearwater Beach and Sand Key. As we drove around Bonita Springs to get to Roy’s Restaurant and then again to the airport, everything felt very cookie cutter. Mansions, high-end shopping centers with couture shops, $100k cars.
In my opinion, Hyatt Coconut Point is a great destination resort. If you want to stay put and indulge in the pools and private island beach, it’s perfect.
However, if you want to stay close to the beach and at the same time take part in activities of a charming beach town, Sheraton Sand Key Resort wins. I’m glad we got to experience both.
Using Points to Stay at Hyatt Coconut Point
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa currently costs 15,000 Hyatt points. The easiest way to get Hyatt points is to transfer them from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
This offer has changed. See this link for the latest credit card offers.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card currently has 50,000 bonus points after spending $4000 in the first three months. The annual fee is waived the first year, but Chase’s 5/24 rule applies to this card.
If you add an authorized user who also makes a purchase, you get 5000 additional points. Combined with the points from the bonus and minimum spending, you would have 59,000 points. That’s almost enough for four nights at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. You can also sign up for Chase Hyatt Signature Visa. See this link for more details.
Who is ready to book a stay at this awesome resort?
Update: it appears that the resort now only issues up to four wristbands per regular room.
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I noticed that you had 5 guests in your room. Did the hotel give you any grief about exceeding the “max occupancy”? Was it a problem to get wristbands for everybody for the water park?
I’ll chime in because I just recently stayed in this resort. I saw a note on the website that they now only issue four wristbands per room. Not sure if it’s enforced, though. I only have four people in my family, so it’s not an issue for us. If you book a suite, you should be able to get extra wristbands up to maxinimum occupancy. But you have to book a minimum of three nights using Points. The suites are quite nice.
@Anonymous In March 2017 I was able to get five wristbands with no issues. Nobody batted and eye at my “extra” third child. If that policy has changed, I would hope that the hotel would at least give you a 5th wrist band for a small charge like other resorts.
My parents live a few miles from this resort, I never knew it was so nice! I love the idea of the kids club… what a great amenity, worth every penny!
You should check it out sometime! The kids club was well worth it. I hope to go back! 🙂
@Jennifer – just received an email congratulating me on my Explorist status with 4 lounge passes – woohoo!!! I already have 2 uses for them – hmmm may need to plan another weekend getaway before they expire. Thanks for the info!!!!
@Stephanie Yay! Jennifer actually asked me to follow up with you and check if you go the status. I was about to email you. Very happy for you!
Nancy, your trip report is awesome! Much better than the ones I’ve done. 🙂 I do agree, Bonita Springs area is “vanilla.” That’s a perfect way to describe it. But the resort is great for relaxing, not soaking in the local culture. Glad you enjoyed it!
@Stephanie
I hope you’ll get to stay here someday. It’s perfect for young children.
@Jennifer – thanks!!!! I was hoping to use the Lounge Access in Kauai — sure would make my life a whole lot easier with 2 kids. I’ll just be patient then. Thanks so much for the post.
@Nancy – I didn’t realize Hyatt Camp was that pricey, but when you factor in all that they did for the kids, then I would say it’s worth it as well.
@Stephanie–yeah, Camp Hyatt was pretty pricey, but after sharing one hotel room for the week we decided it was worth the splurge. I just put our two younger kids in it, my oldest stayed back in the room. 🙂
@Nancy — wow looks like such a great place. Not sure we’ll ever be in that part of Florida ever, but it’s definitely on my Favorites list for Hyatt. Thanks for the write-up.
@Jennifer – how long did it take for Hyatt to do the MLife match? I was told 2 weeks, and then the lady said that I wouldn’t get lounge access awards because I would have to earn those through points & stays.
@Stephanie, it seems like it took about two weeks. I didn’t call March 1 because I figured they’d be swamped with calls. It was probably a few days after that when I called. I had about given up on it happening, but then I got an email saying I was an Explorist. I checked and the four certificates are in my account. I definitely didn’t earn them through points or stays. I hope yours post soon!
Glad you had a nice time. We love this resort and have gone several times for the weekend. We’ve been with the kids, but sometimes we go without for a nice couple’s trip. I’ll be sad if it ever jumps to a Cat 5 and I can’t use my renewal certificates here. I have one trip booked already for this year but may be adding another since I just got my Explorist status thanks to the Mlife tier match trick. Yay! I wish the lounge certificates would be good on the anniversary nights.
I’m jealous that you get to visit this resort many times. 🙂 I wish it was easier for us to fly from Dallas to Ft. Myers, because I would return in a heartbeat!