Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge Review – Ski Resort Meets Apartments

Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge Review – Ski Resort Meets Apartments

My Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge review comes after a recent 2-night stay at this property. This is a category Hyatt 6 property and is located at the base of the Breckenridge ski resort. Does it merit the category rating? Are you paying just for the location, or does the hotel really have something to offer inside? I’ll cover all of this as we look at pricing, location, and the guest room, plus service & amenities.

Booking Process

I’m in the US for a few weeks and thought it would be a good time to check out something I can’t do anywhere else: stay at a Hyatt Residence Club. These timeshare / ownership-style properties can be booked by non-owners, as well. They’re located only in the US in places like popular ski destinations, Key West, and Puerto Rico. The cheapest HRC property is actually in Sedona, Arizona. I wanted to do some snowboarding as part of my trip, so I found availability at the Breckenridge location.

As a category 6 property, Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge Main Street Station charges 25,000 points per night. This will get you the standard room, which is a studio apartment. Because I booked using points, I didn’t have to pay the resort fee. The cash price was $465 per night, so I got almost 1.9 cents per point of value. That’s above average for a Hyatt booking, according to our estimates.

Many HRC properties have special rules, like a minimum number of nights. Also, they don’t always accept points bookings, which was the case with several other properties I looked at during the time I wanted to travel.

Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge Review

After staying here 2 nights, what was it like? My review will cover the location, what’s on the property, and also what you get as a guest. This covers the room, amenities & service.

A Quick Note About Hyatt Benefits

Despite being a Hyatt Globalist (their top tier), Hyatt Residence Club properties don’t offer most of the benefits of the World of Hyatt loyalty program. You can read more information here. Thus, there are no upgrades, club lounges, etc. to discuss in the review.

Location

I’ll go out on a limb to say that no one comes to Breckenridge without planning to do outdoor activities. Ski, snowboard, hike in the summer, etc. With that in mind, the Hyatt Residence Club location is near the base of Peak 9 in the Breckenridge ski resort. A short walk around a pond puts you at the ticket office and ski lift to go up the mountain.

The building I circled is the Hyatt Residence Club. I took this with my back to the ticket window at the base of the ski resort. Like I said, it’s close!

The property is also located on South Main Street at the Main Street Station area. This area is full of shops, restaurants, sporting good stores, and ski & snowboard rental shops. It also includes a large underground parking area, which has a special parking area free for guests at the property. You can only access this area with your hotel key.

I will note that the elevators were very spacious. However, they were also very slow and jerky. They jerked to a stop when arriving at your floor.

The combination of easy access to the ski area + nearby shops & restaurants to visit after you’re off the mountain makes this a great location. It’s at the edge of the Main Street area, where activity starts to taper off. I found that a nice perk, because other properties situated right next to restaurants & cafes had a ton of people lined up outside the door making noise all the time. The HRC property is a bit removed from that, so you can get away from the craziness during peak times.

Property

The property is impressive. Despite being surrounded on all sides by other businesses & hotels, they have fit a lot of things into the space they have. Breckenridge as a city, along with the hotel, maintains a “ski town of years gone by” look. There are no tall buildings, skyscrapers, or 20-story hotel towers. The Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge is only 4 floors.

In the rear of the property, there is a heated pool. You can even see the steam coming off of it.

The hot tubs are closed, however.

If you go out the front door, turn left, and down some stairs, this is where you find the pool and the hot tubs. If you turn around, back towards the hotel, you’re looking at Grand Central & Charter Sports. As a hotel guest, you can store your ski & snowboard gear here for free overnight. Show your claim check to get your gear & turn it back in.

Inside, there are also lockers for daily use. The rear of the store has a hallway which connects to the parking garage. Further down the hallway, hotel guests can use their room keys to access the elevator to guest rooms.

The ski valet not only offers storage but also rentals, sales, etc.

And they have lockers for daily use (free for guests on property).

Adjacent to the ski valet and lockers, there’s a fitness center. It is shared by several properties in the area. Due to COVID restrictions, you need to reserve a time in advance. Your key won’t let you in outside a reserved time.

Hotel Interior

A sign outside asked that only 1 person from each group come into the lobby for check in. When I arrived, 2 friendly employees greeted me. Though I saw other people coming & going, I was the only person checking in at the time.

The lobby area is spacious. Lots of windows and glass doors allow the natural light to come in. Though there are seating areas, I never saw anyone using them any time I passed through the lobby.

Signage near and on the luggage carts said that they were sanitized throughout the day and whenever returned by someone.

The media room just off the lobby was impressive. Pre-COVID, they would show nightly movies in here. They’ve done away with that but continued the ability to reserve it in 3-hour blocks. This 30-seat theater (stadium-style seating) with a giant screen is a feature I’ve never seen at a hotel. You can connect your own computer to it, play DVDs, watch TV, etc.

Within the Hyatt property, the hallway that leads to the ski valet is on “P”, which is 1 floor below the lobby. In this hallway, there are vending machines that accept cash, cards, and tap to pay from mobile.

There is also free laundry for guests. There are 2 washers & 2 dryers.

Provide your own soap, of course. Reservations aren’t needed, and it’s open any time you want to use it.

Room Key

Since there are multiple areas to use your room key, the keys are actually 2-sided. Using one end called “room” opens your room and the door from the ski valet. The other side opens the entrance to the pool, gym, and exterior doors when the front desk is closed at night. However, the gate to the parking area required the “room” side.

Luckily, most doors had a sign telling you which side of the key to use.

Guest Room

At check-in, I was assigned to room 4405 on the 4th floor. Before going to my room, I took my snowboard to the ski valet, since there are signs throughout the property stating “no ski equipment in the rooms or elevators”. In fact, the welcome information stated there’s a $500 fine for keeping the equipment in your room. Thus, I took care of this first.

The property has only 4 floors, and each floor has 12 rooms. 4405 is at the end of the hallway.

When I arrived at the door to my room, I was surprised to not see any kind of seal or “recently cleaned” signs. This has become normal in COVID travel. The fact this surprised me tells me how much my concept of travel has changed this past year.

Kitchen

You enter through the kitchen. This is the view towards the door into the room.

I have stayed at timeshare-type properties before, but that was a long time ago. I’ve never stayed at a Hyatt Residence Inn nor booked a timeshare for myself. I was curious to see what exactly the kitchen included.

On the right, there is a 2 burner stove and full-size refrigerator. Above the stove is a microwave, but it’s old and still has the dial timer, rather than just pushing buttons with numbers.

Above the microwave, in the cabinet with the exhaust, is a blender.

On the left, there is a sink (with garbage disposal) and a fair amount of counter space, plus lots of drawers and storage space.

There are rags, a cutting board & a fresh roll of paper towels.

At the other end of the counter is a coffee maker, sugar & sweetener. They provide some coffee. This is standard for a hotel room, but as a “residence” type of accommodation, I wasn’t sure if any food items would be included. The first pack is free, and the sign says is $5 for additional packs. Not a very good price.

There is a dishwasher located on the left, also.

Full sets of dishes, pots & pans, glasses, etc. are provided.

The kitchen also included spatulas, hot pads, and a tea kettle. There’s also a toaster. Anything you could need for cooking & eating during your stay is included, minus the food.

Along with trash & recycling bins, I was surprised to find a compost bag.

At the edge of the kitchen area, this cubby could be used for shoes, storage, etc.

At the edge of the kitchen, there is a table with 2 chairs. Move the table and this door folds down into a 2nd bed. This Murphy bed is a queen size.

Bed

I really liked this bed. It’s a king size, and I found it to be the right mix of soft & firm. The pillows were good. I normally hate hotel pillows, but these actually provided support. They didn’t fall into nothingness when you put your head on them. From the layout of the room, it was easy to access both sides of the bed.

Each side of the bed has a nightstand. One side has a clock/radio/alarm, and the other has the house phone. Both sides have lamps and an outlet for charging your devices. The nightstands each have 2 big drawers.

Views

Next to the bed, there are 2 windows. From room 4405, the view is away from the ski slopes. The view is of other guest properties nearby. However, it snowed every day I was here, and I really enjoyed watching the snowfall from the window.

The wooden blinds are easy to operate. Note that there is a piece chipped off on one of them.

Bathroom

The bathroom was spacious. It had all of the features you’d want, including lots of storage space.

There is a shower in the corner. It’s not gigantic but is decently spacious. The shower gets hot quickly and has good pressure. However, it does drip for a while after you turn it off.

There also is a jacuzzi tub. I used it, and it was great. You know how most hotel bath tubs suffer from that “auto drain” problem where it sucks out the water during your bath? And then half of your body is no longer under water? This one didn’t have that problem. The jets were good but not great. But the size and depth of the tub made it very enjoyable.

Having 2 sinks is a nice touch. Since this is a studio apartment, it’s unlikely that there would be many people staying in this room. However, there’s no need to fight over the sink for a couple’s getaway.

Lots of storage under the sinks.

Only 1 drawer had something in it. A hair dryer is provided, which is nice. Considering it’s winter, most people don’t want to out with wet hair.

A box of tissues, soap bar & lotions were provided. Surprisingly, the soap & lotion had no scent at all. They were good quality, though.

The shampoo smells like citrus+mint. The conditioner is lavender. No complaints with either of these.

During normal times, this sign on the mirror lets you know how to keep your towels or get new ones from housekeeping. During normal times, full housekeeping is only on the 4th day. At present, though, there’s no housekeeping until you check out. The room had so many towels I could’ve used a new one every day, though. (regarding housekeeping: you can just set your trash in the hallway during specific times, and they’ll grab it)

Notice that the wallpaper by this sign is tearing away. It needs glued back down.

Closets

Continuing with the theme of “lots of storage”, there are 2 closets in the bedroom area. This one is next to the bed. It has hangers and bath robes. There also is a portable heater & a box fan. Extra blankets are on the top shelf.

The 2nd closet is around the corner from the kitchen area. It includes a shoe cubby, a broom, iron & ironing board, and one of those fold-out racks for unpacking your suitcase. Is there a name for these? On the top shelf, there are extra blankets for the fold-out bed.

  Room Amenities

Between the sleeping area and the kitchen area sits the best part of the room, in my opinion. These 2 chairs aren’t overly comfortable, but I loved relaxing by the fire.

The fireplace and TV sit next to the table & Murphy bed.

The gas fireplace is easy to use and provides a good amount of warmth.

Tucked between the Murphy bed and mantel, there’s an on/off switch for the fireplace. Easy!

Information for the TV and a sanitized TV remote sit on a small table between the 2 chairs.

Since there’s a fireplace, I was happy to see some safety features in the room.

Near the fireplace, there’s a carbon monoxide detector.

In the center of the room, there’s a ceiling fan. There’s a smoke detector & 2 water sprinklers in the room, as well.

The room also had this fan, on top of the shoe cubby near the kitchen. I looked at the information, and along with the fact it seemed complicated to use, there’s also a warning about fines for breaking it. I decided to not touch it.

Next to this, there is a full-size coat rack plus several hooks on the wall. This is also where the thermostat and light switches for the table area & chairs by the fire area are.

I will point out that no switch could control any lights in the bed area. If you want lights near the bed, you need to walk over and turn on the lamp. The same applies in reverse: if you’re in bed but the light in the kitchen is on, walk over there to turn it off. Most hotels these days have switches by the door and by the bed that can control everything, so this was something I missed during my stay.

Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge COVID Restrictions

Because of COVID restrictions and how it’s altered our lives, I received a lot of information at check in.

The first page highlights some of the recent changes and updated cleaning policies.

Along with the normal info about front desk hours & the wifi password, this page also told about the “skis in your room” fine and changes to housekeeping/trash collection.

This page tells the pool hours and also the fact that you need a reservation. For the media center or gym, 1 person reserves it, but their entire group can use it together. However, for the pool, you must specify the number of people in your reservation. This is strictly enforced, because they do reservations by numbers of people. This means you could reserve for 3 in your family, and another couple could reserve 2 to hang out at the other side of the pool while you’re also there, etc.

They also gave me a map of the surrounding area. This was handy for finding a shop to get my snowboard waxed, as well as all of the explanations about the pool, ski valet, parking, etc. during check in.

In the guest room, I found more information on the table. This included what they are doing for cleaning, housekeeping updates, and also a request to run the dishwasher at your check out. That way, the housekeeping staff doesn’t need to wash your dishes on top of all their other responsibilities.

This information says they will not enter your room with anyone present, except in emergencies. If you call for items, they will be left at your door for no-contact delivery. Maintenance people will only come in when you are out of the room.

Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge Staff Review

Now that we’ve looked at the hotel and the grounds, how was the staff? My Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge staff review will cover interactions with staff from before my arrival, through the stay, and until I left.

Prior To Arrival

Prior to my arrival, the staff didn’t contact me. I had semi-expected a welcome email of some sort, telling me about COVID policies or even just thanking me for booking. This has been pretty normal with my hotel reservations over the past few months. The HRC Breckenridge didn’t send me anything. I just received the automated booking confirmation email. This didn’t bother me, it just seemed different than normal.

However, I did call them before my arrival. A friendly woman answered my call regarding rental cars. I’ve been to places with special laws in the winter (ex: your tires must have chains or you need special “winter tires”) and I asked about this. For all I knew, the property wasn’t on a paved road. She informed me that most people get an SUV, due to the snow, and all-wheel drive is even better, in case of ice. However, any car is legally permitted.

Check In

I would describe everyone I encountered on the staff to be helpful and friendly. Even the cleaning staff I passed in the hallway said “hello”. Since this isn’t an enormous property with 5,000 guests, it feels like they take a more personal approach.

At check-in, there is temporary parking by the front door. A sign outside asks that only 1 person from each group come into the lobby for check in. The 2 people at the front desk were young and friendly. The young man who helped me turned out to be the person I saw most during my stay.

They gave me 4 keys, which I found hilarious. My reservation was for 1 on the website. Maybe 2 keys just in case, if you think I might lose a key. For a studio apartment, I found it pretty funny that I got 4 keys.

I also got all of the information about parking, a paper to put on the dashboard, and even a walkthrough of the media room.

When I arrived in my room, I found 2 wet, dirty rags on one of the chairs near the fireplace. Since housekeeping isn’t entering the rooms, I wasn’t sure how to return the rags to housekeeping. I decided to just take them to the front desk. “These were in my room, but it’s not a big problem. They just need washed.” The young man was very apologetic, but it really wasn’t a big deal. I see this as evidence they cleaned my room, which is a positive.

During The Stay

While everyone at the property was courteous and helpful, I would say this young man is borderline “too friendly”. You know those people who you want to just ask “where is a gear shop to get my snowboard waxed?” and you get a 10-minute answer? Including a hand-drawn map to a place that’s just across the street? He was nice and eager to help, but sometimes “across the street, look for the green sign” is sufficient. Not every question throughout my stay needed a long answer. He’s friendly, but he could be more efficient sometimes.

The rest of the staff were efficient, friendly, and knew the answers to any questions I might have (hours & locations of places, where to pick up lift tickets, how the free bus around town works, etc.).

Check Out

Check out was unbelievably simple. The night before leaving, they told me I could skip the check-out process if I wanted. There were no charges on my room bill, so just drop the keys in the box in the parking garage on the way out. I liked that!

When I left, I loaded my stuff in the rental car then dropped my keys in the box in the parking garage. I did call them a few minutes later to let them know I’d checked out from 4405. Very easy check-out process.

Resort Fee

We’ve talked about resort fees a few times recently. I even encountered 2 recently that were quite ridiculous: Hotel 50 Bowery in NYC and Wyndhurst Manor & Club in Massachusetts.

Nothing–I repeat: nothing–could compare to the lunacy of the resort fee at Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge. Luckily, I didn’t have to pay this fee.

They charge $16.84 per night. I could not find any info ANYWHERE on the Hyatt site, property info page, Hyatt Residence Club page…nothing. Then I stumbled on ResortFeeChecker.com, where they contact properties to ask what the resort fee covers.

The lunacy of a resort fee for an in-safe room is baffling. Now that I figured out what it’s for, I’m even more relieved that I didn’t pay this fee. It’s ridiculous. I’ve had a free in-room safe in tons of hotels and don’t see this as worth a fee.

To be fair, if they had said the resort fee was for the ski valet or something similar, I would find it justifiable. After I took some time to think about it, I guess the approach and how it’s labeled makes a big difference. I wouldn’t be paying it anyway, since Hyatt doesn’t charge resort fees on award stays (or for Globalists at any time at normal hotels, but this benefit doesn’t apply at HRC properties). This doesn’t have a major impact on my Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge review, but it is a negative element. Telling people you’re charging them a daily fee for the in-room safe is a tough pill to swallow.

Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge Review – Final Thoughts

What’s my overall Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge review? It’s a fantastic location, full of amenities, and just a touch of TLC around the property would go a long way. Several signs in the parking garage and even the main entrance still say Hyatt Vacation Club. They changed names in 2009, so that’s beyond the “work in progress” tolerance. The wallpaper in the bathroom and broken piece on my blinds could use a bit of TLC.

That being said, this is a fantastic property. The value of “what you get” when staying here is incredible if you consider the ski valet, free parking, pool, gym & media room. There’s ample space in the guest room. The value of location + amenities here is fantastic. Would I recommend this place? Absolutely.