Hyatt Category A All Inclusive Options
World of Hyatt has been a busy bee this week. They brought 52 new all inclusive hotels into the fold with another 40 or so on the way in the near future. With the latest additions Hyatt now has 26 unique brands, which means you can now earn 5 free night certificates via their brand explorer perk. That is all amazing news but the thing that surprised me most over the last week was seeing some Hyatt category A all inclusive options that start at just 12,000 points a night. I figured that was worth diving a bit deeper into, so let’s pop the hood and see what kind of options we have.
Hyatt Inclusive Award Chart
With the addition of so many new all inclusive resorts Hyatt decided to introduce a new award chart.
These line up in lock step with Category 4 properties on up from the normal award chart. There is a new level here though, F, which would be like a category 9 hotel for the main award chart. That chart only goes up to a category 8 currently. Maybe this is a level we will see over there as well in the near future.
I want to focus on the Category A properties though since they cost 12,000 / 15,000 / 18,000 points a night for off-peak / standard / peak award stays. Those are pretty amazing prices for an all inclusive resort. Unfortunately, category 1-4 free night certs do not work on these stays even though they line up with the cost of a category 4 hotel.
Hyatt Category A All Inclusive Options: Ranking
With the all inclusive properties added to the World of Hyatt portfolio so far we have 9 Hyatt category A all inclusive options to look at. They are as follows:
- Dreams Acapulco Resort & Spa
- Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana
- Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
- Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa
- Sunscape Akumal Beach Resort & Spa
- Sunscape Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa
- Sunscape Puerto Plata Dominican Republic
- Sunscape Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa
- Sunscape Sabor Cozumel
I took this list and then did a Trip Advisor deep dive on them plus looked through their website photos etc. I’ll put them in order from most desirable to least desirable for you. This is of course without me actually staying at any of the locations but it should give you a good idea of where to narrow your options down to.
9th – Sunscape Akumal Beach Resort & Spa
- Rated 4 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 8 of 9 all inclusive hotels in Akumal
- Least desirable location on the list
- 358 rooms
- Looks like smaller pools
- 8 restaurants, 8 bars (1 kids bar too)
8th – Dreams Acapulco Resort & Spa
- 3.5 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 2 of 3 all inclusive hotels in Acapulco
- A little more difficult to get to destination
- 605 rooms
- 8 restaurants, 5 bars
7th – Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
- 3.5 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 1 of 2 resorts in Panama City
- Unique location for an all inclusive
- 307 rooms
- 7 restaurants and 4 bars
6th – Sunscape Sabor Cozumel
- Rated 4 stars on TripAdvisor
- Rated 8 of 10 all inclusive resorts
- Slightly less desirable Cozumel destination
- 218 rooms
- 5 restaurants, 2 bars
5th – Sunscape Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa
- Rated 4 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 36 of 157 hotels in Puerto Vallarta
- Very desirable Puerto Vallarta location
- 340 rooms
- 6 restaurants, 4 bars
4th – Sunscape Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa
- Rated 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 4 of 25 hotels in Ixtapa
- Difficult to get to location with smaller airport option
- 285 rooms
- Looks like almost every room has a view
- 6 restaurants, 4 bars (1 kids bar)
3rd – Sunscape Puerto Plata Dominican Republic
- Rated 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 1 of 13 resorts in Puerto Plata
- More difficult location than Santo Domingo
- 585 rooms
- 9 restaurants, 6 bars
2nd – Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa
- 4.5 Stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 6 of 34 all inclusive resorts
- Desirable Punta Cana destination
- 620 Rooms
- Rooms look to be spacious with a patio / balcony
- 9 restaurants, 3 bars
1st – Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana
- 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor
- Ranked 11 of 34 all inclusive options
- Desirable Punta Cana destination
- All suites resort
- 500 rooms
- 8 restaurants, 7 bars
Final Thoughts
Even though Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa was ranked slightly higher than Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana on TripAdvisor I gave Palm Beach the top spot. The hotel just looked like it had a bit more to offer in terms of restaurants and bars. I don’t think you could go wrong with either option though. Both look to be awesome Hyatt category A all inclusive options.
The Sunscape Puerto Plata also looks like a great option, if you can find flights into Puerto Plata. Availability of flight options knocked it down some for sure, there are a few non stop flights from the US though. Otherwise you would need to fly into Santo Domingo and hop on a connection flight up to Puerto Plata.
The rest on the list, outside of Sunscape Dorado Pacifico Ixtapa, don’t look like anything worth planning a trip around. If you find a good flight to the area then maybe, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for them.
Have you visited any of these locations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Will they be charging extra points or fees for the 3rd and 4th guests in a room, as they do with Hyatt Ziva all inclusives?
I believe so
Sunscape properties are garbage, unless they’ve had a significant upgrade in the past two years. Their ‘free wifi’ is in the lobby only, to give you an idea.
Thanks for the info DJ – hopefully Hyatt taking over improves their service. The Puerto Plata location looks pretty nice but no idea how the food quality etc. is.
How many people can be booked using free night cert? I remember it used to be 4…any changes there?
It looks like cat 1-4 free night certs can’t be used on these properties.
Bummed Secrets Huatulco isn’t a Cat A property.