Grand Hyatt - Pitstops for Kids

How to save on accommodations for your next family vacation

January 15, 2018 By Amy Hagstrom

Getting ready to plan your holiday travels? Early planners can reap the benefits of early bird specials, deals, and savings, making family vacations more affordable. Here’s how to save on accommodations for your next family vacation:

Think long-term:

Instead of chasing last-minute deals, parents planning ahead have time to earn loyalty rewards. Start here, with a comparison of hotel loyalty reward programs to figure out which one is right for you. Then, if you have team travel, school field trip travel, or business travel between now and your family vacation, bank those points!

Plan to stay in one place:

Instead of booking hotel room stays in multiple destinations, plan to stay in one place for the length of your vacation. Rent a vacation home instead of paying for rooms (usually the best deal if staying for a week or more). The family will have room to spread out, you can save dough on meals in, transportation, and laundry, and everyone will feel more relaxed. Our favorite home vacation rental sites to work with:

HomeAway: Best for international rentals, city rentals, and off-the-beaten-path rentals.

Dwellable: Best for deals, resort-town rentals.

VacationRoost: Best for luxury rentals, ski town rentals.

Let someone else find the deals for you:

Sites such as HotelsCheap.org can find the best rates based on current room occupancy (and vacancies). What many parents don’t realize: using a discount hotel site can work when planning travel in advance, too. Be sure to add your hotel loyalty program number to your stay when you arrive; the front desk staff can do that for you. I spoke with HotelsCheap about planning family vacations. Read the interview here for inspiration!

For more options, check travel deals at ChameleonJohn.com. They have coupons and deals for 100’s of travel portals and hotel booking sites. Make sure to check them for better deals and savings.

Find hotels with concierge lounges and clubs:

It sounds like upgrading to a concierge level or paying for club lounge access at a hotel would be an extravagance. In fact, it can save families money, if they utilize it properly. For instance, Grand Hyatts offer their Grand Club, which, in most cases, includes a full breakfast spread, cold drinks and snacks all day long, and lunch offerings. In the evening, families can find appetizers and desserts. In some cases, an upgrade to club level is under $75 per night, which, for a family of four or five, can be the cost of a meal out. Plan to eat breakfast in the club, grab drinks for your day out, then eat dessert there at night: even if you’re away from the hotel most of the day, you’ll save substantial money. Select Starwood hotels offer their SPG Kids Pass upgrade during the summer months, which allow kids all-inclusive dining.

Remember that the extras add up:

If you’re staying at a luxury hotel that does not offer a concierge level worth paying for, remember that little things, such a parking, breakfast, and wifi, can add up over the course of a stay. To save hundreds over the course of a 3-4 night stay, it’s often easier to downgrade your hotel for its free amenities than find a web deal or coupon code. Pick a hotel away from a city center to get free parking, free breakfast, and free wifi. Bonus points if it’s right on a public transit line, so you don’t have to pay for parking in the city or resort town, too.

Best of 2014: Best destinations for families you can book now!

December 22, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

Every December, we take time to reflect upon the past year of travel, and select five experiences—yes, just five!—that we crown the best of the year. Last year, our top travel experiences of 2013 took us from Alaska to the Caribbean. This year, we’re focusing on the American West and MidAtlantic, showcasing everything from five-star city hotels to cabins. We stand behind these picks as the best destinations for families, 2014.

Best Destinations for Families: our picks from 2014

Experience Grand Teton National Park ‘behind the scenes’:

You’ve heard it from us before: no outdoor tour operation does family adventure better than O.A.R.S. We loved their Rogue River itinerary, so we embarked on their OARS Jackson Lake 2 night adventure confident we’d have an amazing time. What makes it so great? Beyond the near perfect guest service we’ve found consistently with O.A.R.S., the Jackson Lake kayaking adventure allows families to see a new side of Grand Teton National Park. We slept literally in the shadow of the peaks of Grand Teton, hiked to lakes less traversed by car camping families, and swam on the far banks of the lake, inaccessible to anyone without a boat. Check out our full review of the O.A.R.S. Jackson Lake 2 night kayak tour.

Play cowboy or cowgirl for a week:

Also located within the boundary of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, Triangle X Ranch is has been around for generations as a working ranch and guest ranch. For many, it’s become an annual summer tradition; when we visited, we were surprised to learn that almost 80% of guests are on a return visit. That’s your true review, right there! While at Triangle X dude ranch, we got to ride our personal horses for the week two times per day, hike, relax at the ranch, go on Snake River float trips, and enjoy plenty of family bonding time around the campfires, in the kitchen and dining rooms, and while on the trail. Want to take your whole family to summer camp? This is it. Read our full review of Triangle X Ranch.

Learn US government and history in our nation’s capital:

School-aged kids get so much out of Washington DC! Truth be told, so do parents. I didn’t expect to love our time in the nation’s capital as much as I did; Washington DC is safe, walkable, and family-friendly. Best of all, almost all the attractions you’ll want to visit are free to the public. Many tours do require advanced planning, however, so best get started for your spring or summer visit! We recommend a Club-level stay at Grand Hyatt Washington: it’s a spurge, but also makes good travel sense. You’ll be close enough to the action to walk everywhere, and can eat most meals in the relaxed atmosphere of the club. Read our full review of Grand Hyatt DC.

Step back in time in Gettysburg:

What a sobering, awe-inspiring, and important historical landmark to visit with kids! Gettysburg, PA is a must-do with kids old enough to learn about Civil War battles in the context of US history. We recommend this trip for kids ages 8 and up, and suggest families stay 2-3 days before or after a trip to study more American history in Williamsburg or Philadelphia. The Gettysburg historic battlefield is best toured with a licensed battlefield guide; book one to ride with you in your car for the absolute best experience. Be sure to leave time to explore the town, too. Read our full review of our time in Gettysburg.

Play in the snow in the Colorado Rockies:

Keystone Colorado is arguably the most family-friendly ski resort in the Rockies. It certainly goes out of its way to cater to kids. However, this doesn’t mean Keystone isn’t up to the challenge of serious skiers and snowboarders: behind kid-centric Dercum Mountain, two more peaks await, with steeps and deeps, cat-accessed terrain, and plenty of bumps. After each ski day, Keystone pulls out all the stops, with daily Kidtopia activities geared just for kids 12 and under, weekly parades, and even fireworks displays. No wonder Keystone has been compared to Disney…on ice. Check out our long weekend at Keystone.

Where did your family’s 2014 travel take you? What are your top picks?

Where to stay in DC: Grand Hyatt Washington

September 12, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

Wondering where to stay in DC? We love Grand Hyatt hotels. When budget allows, the Grand Hyatt option ensures great service and even better amenities. (Check out our additional Grand Hyatt reviews for Seattle, San Diego, and Kauai.)

Grand Hyatt Washington is no exception. With a great location on H Street (five blocks from the Mall and four from the White House), a Metro stop in the building, and a pool, it’s excellent for families visiting Washington DC with kids.

Room amenities:

I don’t know what it is about them, but Grand Hyatt beds are amazingly comfortable. We stayed in a standard double room, which included a mini-fridge, large flat-screen TV, shower and bath, and free wifi. We had an iPod docking station and a work desk with multiple charging docks/plug-ins, which was very welcome. We had a view of H street and free wifi, but it’s the little touches I love most: the bedside reading lights, the illuminating glow of the bed stand light panels, and the killer in-room coffee (that’s unusual!).

Hyatt Grand Club:

For approximately $75 per day, families can upgrade their room to include Grand Club access (or book a 12th floor club room). We had club access during our stay, and it worked very well for us. What’s included: the Grand Club is located on the 12th floor, and accessible only if your keycard is activated. In the club, a private dining area includes iPads and TVs, plus a computer station and printer and newspapers. Cold and hot drinks, including soda, waters, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are available at all times. During breakfast hours, a full continental breakfast, including lox, cheeses, oatmeal, quiche, cereals, danish, breads, and juices, is on offer. During lunch, expect a full lunch spread with sandwich makings, etc. Between lunch and dinner, a trail mix station, cold drinks, and homemade cookies are available, plus fresh fruit. At dinner, appetizers include cheese plates, crab cakes, small salads, sushi, and the like (it’s different every night). Can you make a full meal of it? We do! During dinner, wine, beer, and liquor are also on-hand, paid by an honor system. In the late evening, desserts are set out.

If you’re at the club during these meal hours, the upgrade is absolutely worth the price, especially if you’re feeding the whole family. Before deciding, take a hard look at your itinerary to decide where you’ll be during meals. We’ve found that it’s worth it to us if we eat breakfast there, plus one other meal, eating the other out on the town. It’s also wonderful to grab cold water bottles or juice every day before heading out. In DC, there’s lots of walking and it can be hot, so we returned to the room daily for a break, allowing us to take advantage of the club.

Hotel amenities:

The Hyatt uses the on-site FIT club for its guests, which includes a full fitness center and indoor pool. There’s a sauna in the locker rooms (for adults only). The pool is small and can get crowded, but is still an luxury to have in a downtown city hotel.

We appreciated the free wifi throughout the hotel, and the bellman service. There is valet parking (I believe it was $40 per day), and the Metro’s Center Station is located below the lobby. We didn’t need a car at all: we either walked, took a taxi, or took the Metro everywhere in the city center. (For reference, a cab ride to or from nearly all points along the Mall cost about $6. In the summer heat, it was worth it.)

The hotel has a concierge on-hand during daytime hours, available in the hotel lobby. Definitely take advantage of his or her expertise.

Dining:

We dined in the Grand Club, but there are numerous restaurants onsite, including a Starbucks, deli, casual ‘Grand Slam’ restaurant, the upscale Grand Cafe, and local favorite Cure bistro. Room service is also available. In short, you won’t need to leave the hotel for food if you don’t want to. If you do venture out, Five Guys is located two blocks away, and Shake Shack is four blocks away on 9th.

Date last visited:

July 2014

Distance from the interstate:

Close to I-95, I-66, and I-395.

Rates:

Rate vary widely, depending on the season. During the time of our 4th of July visit, rates were above $400 per night, but can be as low as $159 per night. Don’t assume any hotel is out of your price range until you’ve checked the current rates.

Directions:

The Grand Hyatt is located at 1000 H Street, only blocks from just about everything. Take the Metro to the Metro Center station from the airport, or take a cab if you don’t have a car.

As I disclose whenever applicable, we were guests of the Grand Hyatt during our stay. All opinions are our own.