10 Things to Know About Park Hyatt St. Kitts

I recently took a 3-night family trip to the Park Hyatt St. Kitts, which has been on my radar ever since it opened in November 2017.

The 78-room, 48-suite resort felt super quiet and relaxing during our stay. Upon arrival and being greeted by a beautiful open lobby featuring a koi pond with lily pads, while sipping a delicious mixed fruit welcome drink, I was excited to immerse myself into all of the luxury one would expect when staying at a Park Hyatt.

Rather than a standard review of my own, in this post you’ll find a condensed trip report with lots of pictures and 10 tips I think you’ll find useful if you’re planning a visit to the Park Hyatt St. Kitts soon.

Getting There

Luckily, there are many ways to use your miles to fly to St. Kitts to keep your trip affordable. The island of St. Kitts itself is very small (it’s only 68 square miles), and The Park Hyatt St. Kitts is located in Christophe Harbour, a tranquil stretch of beach right on Banana Bay, overlooking sister island, Nevis.

Getting from SKB to the Park Hyatt St. Kitts is a simple and scenic 20-minute taxi ride that will cost around $32 (or a private-transfer arranged by the hotel for a staggering $180{!!} each way).

Our trip was short, so we spent the majority of our 3-night stay at the resort, but if you want to do a bit of exploring or dine off-premises, it might make financial sense to consider renting a car since the price of taxis will add up. There’s free valet parking at the hotel.

Free Nights

While the resort has previously offered great nightly rates including resort credits periodically throughout the year, I decided to redeem 30,000 World of Hyatt points per night for the 3-night stay to keep our short family getaway affordable. The total cost for a standard room during our travel dates would have been $2,214.30, so I’d say it’s an excellent use of 90,000 World of Hyatt points!

Using World of Hyatt points is an excellent idea if you’re considering a stay at the Park Hyatt St Kitts. With standard room rates pricing over $700 after taxes and fees, you’re getting more than 2 cents per point in value when you redeem 30,000 points per night.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points after spending just $3,000 in 3 months. You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred and/or Chase Sapphire Reserve 1:1 into Hyatt points.

Elite Benefits

As a World of Hyatt Globalist, I received an email from the hotel’s concierge team about a week before arrival asking if we had any special requests (including preferred time both for housekeeping service and evening turndown service, which was a nice gesture).

Elite benefits for Hyatt Globalists include: a suite upgrade (if available), free daily breakfast, and 4pm late check out. Wifi is free throughout the resort, and the signal was really strong across the entire property.

The Room

Upon arrival, I delightfully found out that we’d been upgraded into a Sea View Suite (room 414), which is two upgrade levels above the standard Park Suite King. Several other Globalist friends have received upgrades into the Nevis Peak Suite, which features a private plunge pool.

It’s also worth mentioning a fun fact: 1/3 of the rooms at the property come with their own private pool (my guess is that the hotel refrains from offering these rooms as upgrades to families with young children for safety, but don’t quote me on that). Occupancy was very low during my visit, and I appreciated the upgrade into a beautiful and spacious 678-sq ft Sea View Suite.

The room was absolutely gorgeous, featuring a clean, simple design. There was a separate lounge area with a large couch, two 50″ flat screen TVs, two-person dining table, small mini bar (not included), private terrace, and plenty of room for a rollaway-bed. There were fresh apples as a welcome amenity.

The bedroom had a large California king bed, TV, and gorgeous ocean views. The only complaint I had was that the mattress was painfully firm. The sliding doors onto the outside terrace featured an accordion mesh screen if you wanted to feel the gentle breeze or hear the ocean while in the room.

The bathroom featured dual sinks, heated floors, a deep soaking tub, and a giant shower. Bath products were from Le Labo and were always plentiful and frequently restocked. Bathrobes and slippers were available in both adult and kids sizes which was a cute and luxurious touch.

Kids Club

The Park Hyatt St. Kitts offers a complimentary kids club from 9am to 5pm for children 3-12 years old called Island Fort by Camp Hyatt. Younger kids are welcome to join in as well as long as they’re accompanied by a parent. I must say that the facilities were very nice, featuring both an indoor and outdoor play space.

There are plenty of free weekly, scheduled activities for kids to participate in, along with a few activities requiring an additional fee. My kids only spent 3 hours at the kids club on one day of our visit. Though they were the only kids there, they still had a great time and the staff members were excellent.

For parents looking for a bit of alone time in the evenings, in-room babysitting is available for $20 per hour for one child ($10 per each additional). I personally did not use the babysitting service, but I thought it would be helpful to share.

Pools

There are two pools at the Park Hyatt St Kitts- an adults-only pool on the upper level and the lagoon pool. Both pools offer “infinity” views out into the Caribbean Sea. I only spent time at the family-friendly lagoon pool, which features an area of “beach”, but the resort was so quiet that I often forgot it was the “family pool”. There was never more than a handful of guests out by the pool for the entire duration of our stay.

It’s also worth noting that the pools are not heated – though the water temperature seemed fine for the kids, it was a bit too cold for me to enjoy. Sunscreen and bug spray is available at several stations near the pools. There are also several daybeds/cabanas available for an additional fee, but they all seemed to remain unoccupied each day.

Beach

The beach at the Park Hyatt St. Kitts was awesome and great for families. The waves were gentle and the sand was soft, powdery, and clean. Though some people have mentioned a seaweed problem, the staff did a great job cleaning and grooming the beach. Seaweed was not at all an issue for us during our stay, so perhaps it’s even seasonal.

At the beach, all non-motorized water sports are free to use (life vests, floats, paddle boards, kayaks, etc.). There are also fishing poles available to use, and you can catch fish right off the pier (this was certainly a hit for the kids).

Pool Bar

A great way to enjoy a refreshing cocktail, grab a bite, and kick back with the best scenic views the resort has to offer is to hang by the pool bar. There’s live music around lunch time a few times a week, which added a nice Caribbean ambiance.

We had lunch at the Rampart Pool bar every day out of convenience. Though it was pricey (menus below) and the portions were small, I didn’t suffer from “sticker shock” because I came in knowing what to expect. The kale caesar salad with grilled calamari was tasty and healthy and the burger was hearty and filling.

There’s also a dedicated kids menu, which I thought was exceptionally expensive for very small portions. For example, a very small bowl of simple spaghetti with marinara sauce is $16 before taxes and service charge is factored in. If you’re traveling with young kids, I strongly suggest packing plenty of snacks from home ahead of time to have on hand between meals.

Restaurants

Aside from the Rampart Pool Bar, there are three formal restaurants at the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. The hotel’s main restaurant is The Great House, and they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We only came here for breakfast every morning, which was included with my Globalist status (otherwise its $45 per person for the buffet + whatever entrees from the menu you wish to try). You can also order menu items a la carte.

The breakfast spread was impressive with a generous buffet featuring fresh fruits, pastries, cold cuts, hot dishes, yogurts, etc. and a la carte menu featuring both classic breakfast items and traditional island dishes.

I personally enjoyed the “twice baked egg” from the breakfast menu.

In my family, breakfast is a leisurely past-time when traveling, and the best thing about having breakfast at The Great House is that kids can play nearby in the sand at the beach near the restaurant.

All I can say is that it’s a nice way to truly savor and appreciate the last sips of your morning cappuccino in a breathtaking setting without feeling rushed once the kids decide breakfast is a thing of the past. Parents know exactly how amazing this feeling of tranquility is!

The Fisherman’s Village is an outdoor seafood restaurant that’s open for lunch and dinner with gorgeous views of the pier. We only had one meal here- dinner. Although it cost a pretty penny, the fish was very fresh and the ambiance was picturesque, especially at sunset. The tuna entree I ordered was fantastic.

Last but not least, The Stone Barn is the resort’s fine-dining restaurant and it’s strictly adults-only. We did not dine here during our stay, so I can’t speak for the experience.

In terms of pricing, expect cocktails to be about $15, lunch courses to be about $20, and dinner to be in the $30-$40 range per dish. All food checks are subject to a hefty 12% tax and 10% service charge, which adds up quickly for families.

As far as service, I found everyone to be attentive and friendly and up to par with what I’d expect at a luxury Caribbean resort.

Many guests from previous trip reports shared that they dined off-property. I’ll be honest, there are a few local restaurants and bars nearby, but not many. Spice Mill seems to be a popular option, which is just off the property that offers food at slightly-discounted prices.

We did take a taxi to a recommended restaurant called Rock Lobster in Bassettere one evening, but to be honest, the food didn’t wow me and with the cost of the taxi both ways, there really wasn’t much of a savings.

Day Trip To Nevis

There’s only two and a half miles of glimmering sea between St. Kitts and Nevis, and it’s worth taking the short trip over to Nevis for the day. The 10-minute boat ride to Nevis conveniently runs right at the dock at Fisherman’s Village at the resort. We booked our roundtrip transfer at the concierge desk for a total of $110 for two adults and two children. You can also buy tickets directly on board.

Bottom Line

I’ve rambled a lot in this post, but I hope I was able to provide some helpful information to those who are planning a trip to the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. I truly enjoyed my stay, and I’d certainly visit again.

For most people, I’d say three nights at this property is enough because it is secluded and it does get expensive. But three nights in paradise sure beats the polar vortex I escaped at home!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

For those who have visited the Park Hyatt St. Kitts already, what were your impressions?