The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek: Perfect

“Wait, Andy, we’re not staying there are we?  That place is so expensive!”

“You’re right Mom, it runs about $700/night.”

“OMG Andy!  Absolutely not!”

“Ok, it NORMALLY runs $700/night, we got a slightly better rate.”

“Oh.  Ok then, I’m excited!”

I have a wonderful mother.  She’s the best mom ever.  I can’t say enough great things about her, suffice it to say she deserves every bit of good in the world.  We all recently suffered a death in the family and I thought she needed to get out of town for a few days so we grabbed a cheap American fare to Denver and went on a nice weekend in Colorado.  When I was putting the plans together, I thought to check out rates at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, just to laugh at how expensive they were.  Wait.  $128/night.  Ok done.  Resort fees ($25/night since it was offseason) and valet fees ($25/night since it was offseason)?  Yep, fine, whatever, booked.

Put simply, the Park Hyatt is one of those epic hotels where you feel like you need to capitalize the The in front of the name.  It has a sterling reputation, and by “sterling” I mean “expensive”.  So how did we manage such a great rate?  Read on.

Shoulder Season

Ski resorts tend to be busy during the summer and the winter.  The in-between period is called “shoulder season”, because obviously.  Anyway, rates tend to plummet at the resorts during the shoulder season because it’s too cold to go hiking or any of the other summer activities and there’s not enough snow for the ski slopes to open yet.  So, if you ever want to check out some of these megaluxury resorts for cheap rates, hit them up during Shoulder Season.  It will seem a little empty (primarily because it is) but you’ll be amazed at how peaceful it can be.

The Experience

We pulled up to the valet stand in our Silvercar and a gentleman appeared and escorted our bags to the check-in counter where we caught our first glimpse of the beautiful and majestic lobby/atrium (pics to come).  It was the most Mountain Cabin thing I had ever seen.  It was a huge room but had the cozy feeling where all you think about is campfires, skiing, cold beers, frequent flyer points, photography tips, you know the drill.  Ok, at least the first few.

The check-in agent was pleased to inform us that our room was ready and promptly gave us instructions on where to go.  We were on the second floor in a double queen room.  As we walked in, we saw the wine and cheese appetizer I had emailed the hotel about and they were gracious enough to have waiting for us.  The presentation was beautiful and it only served as the centerpiece of a fantastic room in the Park Hyatt tradition.

The wine was a smooth and light Merlot that I really enjoyed.  The room was comfortable and inviting.

The bathroom was equally as nice, featuring Bergamote 22 amenities.

The room was excellent, absolutely no complaints and the view was unbeatable.

The Property

The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek resides smack in the middle of Beaver Creek Village, featuring plenty of shops, restaurants, and a great ice-skating rink.  For those of you unaware, Beaver Creek is a higher-end ski resort that’s owned by Vail.  It’s a smaller resort but is kept that way on purpose to preserve the high-end feel.  The Park Hyatt is the best expression of this.  Luxurious but approachable and personable.

After our first night, I awoke early the next morning (which was difficult with the blackout curtains in the room) to walk around the property and grab some pictures.

Around the slopeside of the property you could see the various seating areas they had for people to enjoy the scenery and random campfires that would be lit at night.

Inside there was the 8100 Restaurant (which we didn’t go to) and a cafe/deli.

The interior of the Park Hyatt was just gorgeous.

The centerpiece of the interior decor had to be the massive atrium.

Like I said, it was just perfect.

So what did we do?

Nothing.  We relaxed, walked around the village, ate when we felt like it, watched Texas A&M beat the Auburn Tigers, and enjoyed everything the cool mountain air and the fantastic staff at the hotel offered to us.

One of the nicest little touches was the smores happy hour.  You go by the restaurant to pick up a smores kit (again, during the off season you pick up a kit, during ski season they bring out all sorts of gourmet marshmallows for you) and sit out by the fire and roast yourself a smore or two three.

We smored for a while and lazily went to bed.

Wrapping up

I loved our stay at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek.  We were made to feel very special, even though they were running a bit light that weekend.  I can’t imagine what it’s like during ski season, but I almost think it’s worth the extravagant price tag to check it out, so this may not be the only time you hear about me visiting this wonderful place.  It’s that good.

Visit the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek.  Period.

Best,
Andy