Earn points on a yacht and more SLH properties with Hyatt points

Hyatt has today announced the expansion of their partnership with Small Luxury hotels of the World, with a number of SLH properties newly bookable with World of Hyatt points starting today. In a unique twist, one of the options they highlight is a yacht in Ecuador, though sadly that property is earn only despite being categorized at Category 8. There is no doubt that SLH continues to bring unique opportunities in places where Hyatt never would have otherwise had a footprint.

List of new hotels bookable with Hyatt points

World of Hyatt shares this list of hotels newly-bookable with points:

• Auberge de Cassagne Spa in Le Pontent Avignon, France – Category 6
• Bergwelt Grindelwald – Alpine Design Resort in Grindelwald, Switzerland – Category 6
• Breidenbacher Hof in Dusseldorf, Germany – Category 6
• Ca’ di Dio in Venice, Italy – Category 6 (opening August 1)
• Gaia Riverlodge in Cayo District, Belize – Category 6
• Hotel La Roya in Saint-Florent, France – Category 6
• Hotel Raphael in Paris, France – Category 6
• Itzana Resort & Residences in Placencia, Belize – Category 5
• La Torre del Canonigo in Ibiza, Spain – Category 6
• Les Bories in Gordes en Provence, France – Category 6
• Le Domaine d’Ablon in Ablon, France – Category 8
• L’Escale Resort Marina & Spa in Mahé, Seychelles – Category 8
• Matachica Resort & Spa in Ambergris Caye, Belize– Category 6
• M/Y Kontiki Wayra – Kontiki Expeditions in Manta, Ecuador – Category 8 (Earn Only) (Available for booking starting August 8)
• The American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel – Category 6
• The Dunstane Houses in Edinburgh, United Kingdom – Category 5
• The Grady in Louisville, Kentucky, United States – Category 5
• Villa Soligo in Farra di Soligo, Trevosi, Italy – Category 3
• White Coast Pool Suites in Milos, Greece – Category 6
• Wilder Townhouse in Dublin, Ireland – Category 4

Quick Thoughts

A number of those properties expand Hyatt’s footprint in places where they would otherwise be highly unlikely to gain a presence. That’s the big benefit of the SLH partnership: World of Hyatt members get access to luxury properties in places where Hyatt probably wouldn’t otherwise build a hotel and Hyatt members booking through Hyatt get free breakfast, 2pm late checkout based on availability, and a room upgrade based on availability even with no World of Hyatt elite status. Here’s more details of the SLH partnership.

It is nice to see that most of these properties are Category 6 or lower, with a couple even bookable using World of Hyatt Cat 1-4 free night certificates. Note though that I’m not finding any availabilities on points at some of these properties which I assume might be an indication of being slowly loaded into the system. For instance, I assume that the “small double room” at Wilder Townhouse will be the one bookable with points (and that you can hope for an available upgrade to the “popular” room since the “small” room is so small as to not even have a picture of a bed.

But what I really like about the SLH partnership is the ability to get off the beaten path a bit. For instance, while I’ve been to Venice and would certainly consider a side trip to Verona (though I’ve never been), I can’t imagine I would end up in the area of Villa Soligo without an SLH property there, but I could imagine a picnic on this lawn.

And I see there is a winery a 4-minute walk up the road as well as some local restaurants and a gelateria, so why not? I’d be game for checking it out.

It’s a shame at the yacht in Ecuador is an earn-only situation rather than a redemption opportunity seeing as how the ship only sails 7-night itineraries leaving on Sundays at a cash price of around $2300 per night for two people (its maiden voyage is August 8th), so it would actually be an excellent use of points. The itinerary looks pretty good. I never made it to the starting point (Manta), though I spent a few weeks in a coastal town called Canoa that many said had a similar vibe. I see that the ship spends a couple of days in the Puerto Lopez area and Machalilla National Park. Los Frailes beach there is far more beautiful than pictures capture. As someone who does not enjoy boats and as someone who has enjoyed the incredibly reasonable prices of most everything in Ecuador, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to sign up for this, but it’s cool that you can earn Hyatt points doing it if that’s your thing. Interestingly, it looks like the company operating it is out of Madrid, Spain.

Overall, these additional SLH properties represent good opportunities.

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