Hyatt made a really smart move last year by adding Small Luxury Hotel properties to their portfolio for members to book. At present, the number of available Small Luxury Hotels bookable through Hyatt is 110 properties. Here is what you are probably better off booking one of these properties than Hyatt’s own hotels.
Why the Small Luxury Hotels are Better for Hyatt Members Than Hyatt’s Own Hotels
Read: My Experience as a Hyatt Member at a Small Luxury Hotel
Let me start by saying this – if you are a Hyatt Globalist, you are better off with Hyatt’s own brands. For all other Hyatt members, including non-elite members, you are likely better off booking Small Luxury Hotels – in cities where the brands both exist.
Also, take note that, at present, there are only 110 SLH properties bookable through the Hyatt partnership. SLH has over 500 properties and not all of them will be included (though most will) so you can check out this page to see all SLH hotels to get an idea of what may come.
Read: All 25 Small Luxury Hotels Bookable with Hyatt Free Night Certificates
Small Luxury Hotels Are Unique
The Langshott Manor
While we all may be used to the more rigid designs of chain hotels and brands, it can be nice to take a break and experience a unique hotel stay. Sure, Park Hyatt properties and Andaz hotels offer some of that more local color and design to give it a unique flair, but some of these SLH hotels are truly unique!
Just take a scroll through the properties on this page – from historic buildings to palaces to exotic island destinations, SLH has something for everyone. And the reason for this is because these are all unique, individual hotels.
The Keemala in Phuket, Thailand
If you want a different stay experience (but still earn Hyatt points), staying at one of the 110 SLH properties that are in the World of Hyatt program can give you a different experience.
All Hyatt Members Get Better Benefits at Small Luxury Hotels than Hyatt Hotels
The Exclesior Hotel – Courtesy of Hyatt
If you are a basic Hyatt member with no status, Discoverist, Explorist, or Globalist, you are all eligible for the benefits that are given to all Hyatt members. Here are those benefits:
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Daily Complimentary Continental Breakfast
- Room Upgrade (one category at check-in if available)
- Early check-in (noon, based upon availability at check-in)
- Late check-out (2:00pm, based upon availability at check-in)
The real game-changers for low/non-elites is the free daily complimentary breakfast (available for two guests per room) and the room upgrade. The early checkin/late checkout are also nice perks but may not be something everyone would use each visit.
Even mid-tier Explorist members do not get a one category upgrade at Hyatt hotels! Getting this at some of these unique properties in the SLH family should be really great.
All Hyatt members also get these benefits of earnings and redemptions:
- World of Hyatt members earn 5 Base Points per $1 USD spent on eligible room revenue
- World of Hyatt members will receive their standard tier Bonus Points on eligible room revenue spend (10% Discoverist, 20% Explorist, 30% Globalist)
- Qualifying nights at SLH hotels will count toward earning World of Hyatt elite-tier status
- World of Hyatt members can redeem points to use for free night awards on SLH hotel reservations; each SLH property has been categorized into Hyatt’s existing hotel award chart, which includes a new Category 8 at 40,000 points
Basically, you get all the good stuff you would get at regular Hyatt hotels – including the fact that you will earn points on your stays and the nights count towards status!
SLH Hotels Offer Better Vacation Destinations
Rome, Mykonos, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Santorini, and Asian beaches – what do all these have in common? There are three big things – great vacation destinations, no Hyatt-brand hotels, and many SLH hotels.
The Santorini Secret Suites & Spa in Santorini, Greece – Available with Hyatt Points
While it may seem foolish to plan a vacation around the hotel, the truth is that many of us have points that we earmark for certain trips and it can be a big bummer to realize that the places on our vacation shortlist do not have Hyatt hotels or it may be some cookie-cutter styled hotel in a really exotic place.
That’s right, it has always been a bit of a puzzler but Hyatt only had 1 hotel in all Italy. Now, there are 24 additional hotels in Italy with Hyatt, thanks to Small Luxury Hotels. In fact, there are 7 in Rome alone!
The Greek islands have been populated with Hyatt-redemption hotels now as well when there was previously just 2 Hyatt hotels in all of Greece (and only on the mainland).
This means that you can put your Hyatt points to work for you to some truly top tier vacation destinations!
Some Premium Rooms with Points – YMMV
Ok, this one will not apply to all of them but I definitely suggest you check the SLH properties you are interested in for this. Here is one such situation. The Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa in Jackson, Wyoming is a Category 6 hotel. This means it requires 25,000 points per night. With Hyatt properties, that would book into the base room.
At the Rusty Parrot, it actually books into their top room, the King Room Fireplace. All the rooms are the same size but this one comes with a fireplace and large soaking tub. Not bad for booking with points!
Again, this won’t be at all properties and may switch around as hotels work on their classifications so definitely check it out!
Featured image is the Aleenta Resort and Spa Phuket, courtesy of the hotel website
Hi Charlie,
the small lux hotels are a great addition. That being said – many of the Greek hotels are all adults only. This is not evident on the pages of these hotels on the Hyatt website.
Good point! It is a shame that they aren’t more clear about that (though I imagine if people specify the number of people on the reservation, it will tell them?).
Bear in mind that you have to book through Hyatt to take advantage of their benefits at SLH properties, and doing so may not get you the best rate. At least booking through SLH (which offers similar benefits through its program) comes with a best rate guarantee which often won’t provide as good a rate as booking directly with the properties.
Inclusions like breakfast are common at premium properties, indeed booking most premium properties through a Virtuoso or similar agent will come with perks at myriad top end hotels.
The benefit to the partnership is on the redemption side, though many hotels aren’t a fantastic deal on a points vs price basis, it appears to me that Hyatt’s reimbursement of these properties must be higher than for their own hotels.
@Gary – Correct on the booking but the price difference is only on the prepaid side (since Hyatt does not offer this through their channels for this partnership). If you look at the regular rate through SLH, it is the same as Hyatt.
True on the breakfast as well but still a nice perk if you are using points or want to earn points on a stay.
I have been through many of the properties now to compare redemption rates versus cash rates and there are some properties that are absolute standouts (in Phuket, for example, rates are over $1,000 but the point redemption is 30K) while others are just “eh”. It will be nice to see this build out and at least there are plenty more properties to use points at now, especially in southern Europe, a place that (as you know) has been very quiet for Hyatt until now.
Charlie,
Great observation. Great post. I had nearly ruled out Hyatt as an option for Italy — you opened up 24 possibilities. Thanks!
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The headline here, presently, is that the vast majority of SLH are not bookable on points due to lack of participation, lack of standard rooms, or IT errors on Hyatt side loading inventory properly. Even difficult to book revenue rates for many locations. I have twitter DM into hconcierge, but no reply yet.
+1
Have been banging my head trying to get SLH bookings to work on the Hyatt website.
I recently received the new WOH CC. What level of status would that be?
Your article seems to suggest that Globalists receive no additional benefits at SLH properties over any other World of Hyatt member. Is that correct? That is, does being a Globalist at SLH mean absolutely nothing?
That is correct. They may get the 4PM checkout but nothing else that the basic Hyatt member would not receive (could change if they allow suite upgrades to be used, but that would also allow points to be used for upgrades as well).
Wow. I’d completely missed that. Thank you.