Grand Hyatt Vail

Beautiful hotel with top notch service. Great staff, amazing rooms, delicious food and drinks. Would stay here over and over again.

Beautiful Location, Poor Hospitality, and Unexpected Charges My wife and I recently spent five days at the Grand Hyatt Vail in Vail, Colorado. Considering the reputation of the Hyatt brand and the premium prices associated with a luxury resort, we arrived expecting exceptional hospitality, attentive service, and a memorable vacation. Unfortunately, our experience fell considerably short of those expectations. Gessner Grill – Breakfast Service That Missed the Mark On our first morning, we decided to have breakfast at Gessner Grill. What should have been a pleasant start to our vacation turned into a frustrating experience. Our waiter struggled to understand English, which made communication difficult. My wife ordered toast with her breakfast but was instead served a link of elk sausage. When we brought the mistake to our waiter's attention, he apologized and assured us that the toast would be brought out immediately. Unfortunately, that never happened. We finished our entire breakfast, and the toast never arrived. To make matters worse, we had to request basic table necessities, including silverware and napkins. Even our coffee was served without spoons. These are simple details that should never be overlooked, especially at a hotel positioning itself as a luxury destination. Fireside Bar and Lounge – Lukewarm Food and Slow Service On our second evening, we chose to have dinner at the Fireside Bar and Lounge. We both ordered the bison chili, and I requested a beer while my wife ordered water. The chili arrived barely warm. A hearty bowl of chili should be served hot, not lukewarm. I also enjoy having a beer before dinner, but despite ordering it when we were seated, our meals arrived before my beer. I had to remind our waiter twice before the beer was finally delivered. Again, communication difficulties appeared to contribute to the poor service. For a resort of this caliber, having to repeatedly ask for something as simple as a beverage is unacceptable. Gore Creek Market – Unfriendly Service and Unavailable Menu Items Our morning visits to Gore Creek Market were equally disappointing. The baristas were not particularly friendly, and communication was often challenging. Even more frustrating was the fact that several beverages prominently displayed on the overhead menu were unavailable. On one occasion, while waiting for my Americano to be prepared, I watched five other customers walk away disappointed because the beverages they wanted could not be provided. After our second morning, we gave up on Gore Creek Market altogether and decided that making coffee in our hotel room was a much better option. International Staffing – Communication and Hospitality Concerns One of the most noticeable aspects of our stay was the large number of international employees working throughout the resort. I certainly recognize that individuals from different countries bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to the hospitality industry. However, regardless of where employees come from, guests at a luxury American resort should reasonably expect staff members to communicate effectively in English, understand customer requests, and demonstrate basic courtesy and attentiveness. Unfortunately, we repeatedly encountered language barriers, misunderstandings, and what we perceived as a general lack of warmth and hospitality. Our concerns are not about the nationality of the employees themselves, but rather Hyatt's apparent failure to ensure that its staff, regardless of background, are properly trained and prepared to deliver the level of service its guests are paying to receive. A luxury hotel should make its guests feel welcome, comfortable, and well cared for. Too often, that was missing during our stay. Valet Parking Staff – The Bright Spot of Our Visit Ironically, the most pleasant interactions we experienced during our entire five-day stay were with the valet parking attendants. These individuals were consistently friendly, personable, courteous, and genuinely enjoyable to speak with. They made us feel welcome and demonstrated the kind of hospitality we had expected throughout the resort. The valet team deserves special recognition for providing service that stood in sharp contrast to many of our other experiences. The Final Surprise – Unexpected Resort Fees Perhaps the most frustrating part of our visit came when we checked out. We booked our vacation through Southwest Getaways Vacations, with the understanding that our package included airfare, hotel accommodations, and all applicable fees. Imagine our surprise when we were presented with additional charges of: Valet Parking: $62 per day Resort Fee: $68 per day Resort Fee Sales Tax: $6.39 per day Resort Fee Occupancy Tax: $0.95 per day Over our five-day stay, those charges amounted to a $686.70 in additional fees. I can understand charging for valet parking, since that is a specific service being provided. However, the additional $68 daily resort fee was particularly aggravating. What exactly were we receiving for that charge? I viewed the Hyatt website and found that there were allegedly 19 services and amenities that the Hyatt would provide which would "enhance the guest experience," such as weekly yoga & singing bowl meditation classes, guided nature walks daily, champagne sabering and toast, fly fishing casting lessons, shuttle loop into Vail and Lionshead Village, ski and bike valet services (not available at the time), and access to ice skating rink and use of hotel ice skates (not available at the time). We did not use any of these service or amenities, and I believe if people wanted to engage in these type of activities, they should pay for these services on a as-needed basis. From our perspective, absolutely nothing of meaningful value. We were already paying premium prices for our accommodations, dining, and beverages. To add another $68 per day simply for staying at the resort seemed unreasonable and excessive. What made matters worse was that our vacation package had been advertised as including all fees. Whether this was a failure of Southwest Vacations to disclose the charges or Hyatt's pricing practices, the result was the same: an unpleasant and expensive surprise at checkout. Guests should never have to discover substantial mandatory charges at the end of their vacation. Final Thoughts – Luxury Prices Without Luxury Service The Grand Hyatt Vail enjoys a beautiful location in one of Colorado's premier vacation destinations. Unfortunately, beautiful surroundings cannot compensate for disappointing food service, communication difficulties, inattentive employees, and unexpected charges. With the notable exception of the excellent American valet attendants, our experience fell far short of what we expected from a hotel carrying the Hyatt name. Luxury hospitality is not simply about an impressive building, a beautiful setting, or premium room rates. It is about making guests feel welcome, anticipating their needs, communicating effectively, and delivering genuine customer service. Based on our experience, the Grand Hyatt Vail failed to meet those standards. After spending five days at this property, I left with the impression that the Grand Hyatt is far more successful at charging luxury prices than consistently delivering a luxury experience. I cannot recommend the Grand Hyatt Vail, and this experience has seriously diminished my confidence in choosing other Hyatt properties for future vacations.

We hosted our daughter’s wedding at the Grand Hyatt Vail. It was a lovely stay. The staff was welcoming. The suite was beautiful. The views are spectacular from every point st the property. The dining was great. Great venue for a wedding! Spectacular food and a fabulous place for guests to enjoy themselves during their stay. A short walk to Vail village via walking path behind the hotel. Beautiful and pet friendly!

This was a perfect, relaxing end to our time in Colorado. The staff was so helpful and friendly, our suite facing the mountains was huge, comfy and met all of our needs! We loved that we were able to leave our vehicle with valet and take the hotel shuttle to Vail Town Center and Lionshead. We thoroughly enjoyed the meals that we had at the Gessner and just the friendly helpful vibe that came from everyone that we met!

First, a very nice hotel with great rooms- tasteful, clean, functional, and comfortable. I really liked the layout and found the many outlets and placement of outlets convenient for laptop, phone charging, ironing- it just made sense. The bedding was very comfortable and it didn’t feel generic, and it wasn’t crazy colored modern- it felt relaxing. Pool area was beautiful and fitness room was exceptional. Staff was genuinely friendly. The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is that it really should be a 4 star hotel. It lacks the high-end luxury of other 5 star hotels in the area. That doesn’t detract from the experience and it is priced appropriately but if you’re expecting a truly 5 star experience you may be disappointed. So it met and maybe exceeded expectations for the price point in the area, but not the expectations I have when I’m looking for a truly 5 star experience. And, unless you like Japanese/Sushi, the dining options are lackluster. That being said, I will definitely stay there again and would highly recommend.