Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa - Carlsbad, California

Formerly a Four Seasons resort, the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad California was our home base for a recent family trip to Southern California.

The location is great for accessing the beaches and beach side towns of Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Oceanside. It’s close to Legoland and isn't too far from the Wild Animal Park either. I would say it is a little far from San Diego itself if you want to do all the attractions there like Sea World, the Zoo, Old Town, museums, etc. You are looking at a ~40 minute drive each way with some traffic - if the traffic is bad then it is much longer.

We booked ourselves two connecting rooms which were very large and offered two doubles in one room and a king in the other. Hyatt did offer a family discount for booking two rooms so the price for both was pretty decent. The decor may be a little 'old person' in the rooms but don't be dissuaded by that as the beds were super comfortable, there was tons of space in the room and the  bathrooms were huge with lots of space. They had double vanities, a separate shower and tub and Le Labo's Bergamote amenities.

The resort itself was quite beautiful as well and we spent a lot of time around the pool area as well the lounge near the lobby enjoying drinks and desert there. The pool area was nice with lots of loungers and lounge covers! All resorts should have lounge covers for use as it keeps the amount of towels that people grab lower. During our stay the cabanas around the pool were free, simply first come first serve. Apparently they do charge for them after Memorial Day weekend when the hotel gets into high season. Drinks were great at the pool along with the chips, salsa and guacamole. The service was slow but that could be due to it being low season and less people on staff.

There are two large pools, one for families and one an adult pool only in an adult only area. When we were there there was almost no one using the adult pool. It would be nice if during the low season the adult pool and patio area weren’t for adults only. In February that area gets the sun the longest and would have been nice to use. I mean we thought about it as our teenage daughters are very well behaved and maybe we could have got away with using but we in the end we didn't give it a try. During high season when the sun shines longer and there are lots more people around I can see the need for the adult pool but not during low season.

We ordered room service one night, it's kind of a treat we do once a trip as our girls have loved it ever since we did it once when they were young and now it has become somewhat of a tradition. Well let me tell you the room service food at the Park Hyatt Aviara was terrible. Spaghetti and Meatballs, chicken noodle soup, a salmon dish all terrible. The only saving grace was the creme brûlée, that was amazing and we ended up ordering several times via room service and also had it down at the lounge. Funny thing is upon check out I overheard the gentleman next to me who was also checking out remarking how his stay was great except for the chicken noodle soup they ordered from room service! I think they need a revamp!

On the service side all the staff were great at the resort, from valets to front desk to the wait staff - they all made the stay pleasant.

I only have one other gripe and that is the resort has Valet Parking only. As you may have read in our review of the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage we are a very spontaneous family who like to come and go a lot in our travels and having to call down or wait for our car every time we want to jet makes for a bit of a loss in that spontaneity feeling (not to mention a hit to the wallet each time for tipping the valet) This is a big resort with lots of space - enough for self parking unlike downtown hotels in major cities where valet really makes sense.

Overall we really enjoyed this resort and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice family friendly place to stay in the Northern San Diego area.

Hotel details
Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa (Book here)
World Of Hyatt Category: 4
Points required for a free night (Standard Room) 20,000
Points required for a free night (Suite) 32,000 Points
Points+Cash Requirement: 12,000 Points + US$125 per night for standard rooms

Talk to us! Have you stayed at the Park Hyatt Aviara resort? What do you think of it? If not do you think you'll give it a try?