Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast

In a single word, the state of this property is "Sad" . . . we have stayed here through the years - several times going back to the 1990's. Now, an overwhelming amount of deferred maintenance is obvious everywhere you look - tired deck finishes, peeling paint, sparsely decorated rooms (almost at a three-star level), room furnishings, etc.. The staff are relentless in trying to sell Hyatt timeshares. It will take millions of such sales, a sliver at a time, to bring in the funds required to upgrade the property to its current price points. We booked an ocean-view suite at full rack ($600 per night) and were horribly disappointed in the room quality and overall value-for-money. One day we were out until about 4pm, returned to find the room had not been serviced. A call to the front desk went unanswered (thirty or so rings). Housekeeping did respond and sent someone to make the bed and bring fresh towels. This level of service with very low occupancy in July which should be a high occupancy month. Sad.

THIS beautiful property which we have been coming to multiple times a year for over 20 years has steadily declined in service. When we bought a timeshare here over 20years ago it was run by Hyatt and had the fine service that the best Hyatt properties always had. Some years ago (maybe 5-10) Marriott bought the property and after it did so it kept trying to push time-share owners into converting to “points”which we resisted. Since then, we have noticed that the quality of service has continued to decline. First it was no longer servicing the rooms each day of a multiple day stay….. then it became harder to get service when requested — such as for new clean towels each day. On this stay we discovered that the fireplaces were no longer being set up to be useful for a fire; they stopped providing kindling and instead gave papers to try to start fires — which any campfire type would know makes it very hard to get a fire with just paper and logs. Today I called and asked for kindling and was told that they don’t provide kindling any more!!!! I told the nice lady on the phone that it was virtually impossible to start a fire with only paper and big logs. She called back and said that she discovered her first answer was wrong and that they do have kindling and that they would send it over. Three hours later, and three more phone calls asking whether the kindling was actually going to be coming, the same lady said that she had requested it several times but that they have a lot of calls for service; I asked were they all for kindling and she said that they were not, but that they had a lot of calls for service and she didn’t know when/whether I’d ever get the kindling. If you are thinking of coming to Carmel Highlands forget the Hyatt Highland Inn. Stay at the Tickled Pink In which is right next door to the Hyatt property and just as lovely with great views and far better service. We’ve strayed there a couple of times and it is a much nicer place with better service that now exists at the Hyatt property.

I rarely leave 1-star reviews, but this hotel completely missed the mark. Check-in took over 2.5 hours because my room wasn’t ready, which set the tone for the rest of my stay. I have food allergies and brought my own breakfast—only to discover there was no refrigerator in the room. I had to keep my food on ice for three days, which is completely unacceptable in any modern hotel. There was also no iron in the room. I had to request a steamer, which took extra time and effort. After a full workday, I came back at 3 p.m. and housekeeping was still in my room, making it impossible to rest or get ready for the evening. To top it all off, I was woken up at midnight by a strange, constant noise in the room that I couldn’t identify. I ended up sleeping with earplugs just to get through the night. The internet didn’t work in my room, so I had to go down to the lobby every time I needed to get online. For a work trip, that’s a dealbreaker. Also, the bathroom lights are motion-sensored—every time I got up in the middle of the night, I was hit with full, blinding brightness, making it nearly impossible to fall back asleep. Adding insult to injury, the front desk manager promised me 8,000 points as compensation for the 2.5-hour delay at check-in, but I was never credited. Then I didn’t even receive the standard points for my stay. The lack of follow-through on that promise only reinforced how poorly managed this hotel is. Between the delays, lack of basic amenities, noise issues, unreliable internet, and broken promises, this stay was frustrating and uncomfortable from start to finish. I won’t be returning—and I definitely don’t recommend this hotel.

Jordan is the rudest front desk person I have encountered in quite some time. Two interactions with him, once to ask for a voucher, another to check out. He did not utter a single word, not even a single greeting. Just a blank stare and robotic motions to hand me stuff. What was an otherwise a nice stay instead turned to one of the most memorable craptacular experiences ever. Even inspired me to write a hotel review, which I hardly ever do. Anyway you probably read it elsewhere, the hotel is gorgeous, the views and the restaurant are great. The accommodation is meh, just the same bland cookie-cutter room you find at any other timeshare resort. That said, shoutout to the whirlpool tub in the bathroom. Thing's so big it has its own zip code. Legit the best 2 hour bath I've ever had in my life. In closing, Jordan you suck, and for Hyatt nerds considering a stay in the area, go to Carmel Valley Ranch or Ventana instead, they're waaay better.

Well appointed room and a beautiful property. The issues really started right at check in. Check-in is at 5 the room was not ready until 6 which made for grumpy toddlers that were expecting to eat dinner in the room. We requested a quiet room and crib and were given a handicapped room, no crib, next to the spa. The floor was still dirty and there was salt all over the table despite checking in a hour later than advertised. The shower drain was clogged, the carts the staff drive make a very loud beep when reversing which went on pretty late, and you have to sit through a sales pitch to get your parking pass. There’s not a lot of other options in the area for places to stay with a kitchen so grateful for that but disappointed otherwise.