New Year’s Eve at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa

This past weekend, my family had the chance to stay three nights at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa. We had previously stayed there in July 2016 and enjoyed the beautiful summer scenery along with the fabulous pool area. Would a winter stay over New Year’s Eve at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines be just as fun?

I’ll cut to the chase. Yes! It was fabulous! Most of this review will sound like I’m gushing, because I am.

About Hyatt Lost Pines

The resort is located about 30 minutes east of Austin, Texas, but it feels like a world away. The hotel is three miles off the highway, and the road to the resort is narrow and hilly. It’s hard to imagine there is a large resort at the end of the road!

Hyatt Lost Pines sits near the banks of the Colorado River. The resort has ~500 rooms, a golf course, spa and water park. Parents can utilize Camp Hyatt for a date night! Hyatt Lost Pines also offers horseback riding and partners with the nature park next door to offer hiking, fishing, zip lining, etc.

The resort is simply stunning in the summer. Watch this video to understand its beauty and size.

Our Room

We stayed in a room with two queen beds and a rollaway bed for my “extra” child. We had plenty of room!

The room also had a chair, desk with two chairs, and small refrigerator:

The large bathroom with separate tub and shower:

And a balcony:

 

Family Activities

Hyatt Lost Pines is a destination resort. All of the entertainment you need is onsite, and there is really no need to leave.

This past weekend, we experienced many of the same family activities that were offered during our summer visit.

Although it was cold, my kids did enjoy the main pool and the family hot tub on the first day. Of course, we didn’t spend most of our day in the lazy river like we did over the summer, but the kids were satisfied.

My boys played ping pong overlooking the river:

We also played outdoor games like bocce ball, horse shoes and ladder golf.

My daughter enjoyed meeting many of the animals that live at the resort, including the longhorn cattle and the alpacas:

We also watched a special bird show and got to see a laughing kookaburra, Eurasian eagle-owl, hawk, vulture and raven.

We bundled up for a chilly hay ride:

One night, a game truck rolled up for a few hours!

My daughter went crazy for this neon dance party in one of the ballrooms:

And thank goodness for some indoor games as well:

Every evening, we ended up making s’mores around the fire pit:

The activity schedule varies greatly depending on the season and weekend vs. weekday. You can see the event guide from last weekend to get an idea of all that was offered. The hotel has more activities during busy time periods and weekends.

Most of the activities are free (or included with the hotel’s resort fee).

New Year’s Eve at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines

Hyatt Lost Pines had some special activities just for New Year’s Eve. The carnival showed up on Dec 30 and lasted for two days. Woohoo! The rides and games were included in the New Year’s room rate, so we didn’t have to pay extra for each ride and game.

There were six rides, two that were geared toward younger kids and four that were for older kids and adults. My boys went on the Moby Dick ride at least 20 times!

The carnival also had a fun house with a mirror maze and a giant slide.

There were several carnival games that were fun to try. My kids won a handful of prizes, including stuffed animals, mustaches, slime, sunglasses, etc.

Unfortunately, the second day of the carnival was VERY COLD. Most people stayed inside. Not my kids. They wanted to stay. We froze!

A kiddie train and horse-drawn carriage rides were also happening in the afternoon and evening.

A barbecue buffet was included in the New Year’s package. The dinner included several meat carving stations as well as yummy sides and a separate dessert section. We were stuffed!

Inside, the resort had a fun photo booth, face painting, balloon animals and a dance party that lasted until 1:30 a.m.!

At 9:30 p.m., we all stepped outside in the cold to enjoy fireworks. It was great that the fireworks were earlier in the night so that younger kids (and adults!) didn’t have to stay up until midnight. We enjoyed the convenience of walking back to our room instead of having to fight traffic and deal with drunk drivers on the road.

The combination of the resort activities plus the special New Year’s activities kept us very occupied. My son said he felt like we were on a Disney Cruise on land!

Spa Django and Fitness Center

The resort fee ($34 per day plus tax) includes access to the amenities at Spa Django. I didn’t utilize the spa on our last visit, so I decided to check it out. I’m so glad I did!

The spa attendant gave me a robe and slippers, and I had full use of the women’s indoor steam room, sauna and hot tub (the men’s side has the same amenities).

I could also use the co-ed outdoor heated pool and hot tub.

I ended up going to the spa two days in a row. It was so relaxing, even without getting a spa treatment.

My husband used the fitness center. It had Gatorade and cold towels.

Food Options

On our first visit to Hyatt Lost Pines, we had access to the Regency Club Lounge because of my Hyatt Diamond status. We did not have access to the lounge this time, so we tried a few more of the food options.

While Hyatt Lost Pines does have three full-service restaurants, we didn’t eat at any of them during this visit. The New Year’s Eve package included a dinner buffet on NYE and a breakfast buffet on New Year’s Day. We drove to a great Mexican restaurant in Bastrop for dinner one night, had pizza from an onsite food truck another night, and we grabbed a few quick bites at McDade’s Emporium. The to-go food at McDade’s Emporium was reasonably priced and tasty.

The Hyatt Lost Pines Touch

I had hoped that the weather last weekend would be at least in the average range for the area, in the 50s and 60s. However, a cold front swept through, and the temps remained in the high 20s and 30s with a lot of wind. It really kept us inside more than we wanted.

The staff at Hyatt Lost Pines was keenly aware of the cold and tried to make things as pleasant as possible for all of the guests. One night, as we drove back from dinner and headed for the parking lot, we noticed a golf cart following us. When we got out of the car, the employee told us to hop in instead of walking to the door. My boys also were offered a ride when walking from the carnival to the s’mores fire pit. We were thrilled to get out of the cold for those walks and very grateful for the employees offering the rides.

Cost of New Year’s Eve and Using Points for a Stay

The New Year’s package at Hyatt Lost Pines includes a lot of awesome stuff—extra family activities, dinner and breakfast buffet, dance party and fireworks—but it also comes with a hefty price tag. This year, rooms started at $500 a night with a two-night minimum. By the time taxes and resort fee are added in, the cost is at least $1200 for a two-night stay around New Year’s.

However, if you book very far in advance, historically some rooms have been available to book using World of Hyatt points or discounted rates like the Hyatt Friends and Family rate. Hyatt Lost Pines costs 20,000 points per night or 10,000 points + half the cash rate. As of this post’s publishing date, rooms are available on points for New Year’s Eve 2018/2019. I doubt these rooms will be available on points for much longer. Edited to add: If you book on points, the NYE dinner and breakfast buffets are not included. This year, the price was $80 for adults, $40 for kids, with kids 5 and under free. 

If you have Chase Ultimate Rewards points from a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer the points to Hyatt on a 1:1 basis.  You can also apply for the Chase Hyatt card (see Leana’s referral link here and Nancy’s referral link here) and get 60,000 points after spending $6000 in the first six months.

Bottom Line: Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is a great resort that is a blast in the summer and winter! Does New Year’s Eve at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines sound appealing to you? Or would you rather visit in the summer?

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