Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa

If you're looking for a fun place to have a family vacation, a golf outing with some buds, or a corporate or social function, then you need to call the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa. This family friendly resort offers the best of everything that you expect from a quality resort - excellent Texas hospitality and service second to none, good accommodations, a variety of dining choices, championship golf on 27 of the best holes in Texas, plenty of activities for kids and adults, and a top notch spa to work out the weekday stress and weekend kinks.

The Hyatt Hill Country is located about 25 minutes northwest of downtown San Antonio and was built to blend into and take advantage of the original ranch land. The Hyatt has done an excellent job of landscaping the 300 acres giving you the feel that you're in the country and far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The Hyatt offers a rustic yet elegant Texas motif with exposed wood beams, wood-trimmed porches, huge stone fireplaces, and country brown leather furniture - all of which give you that pure Texas look and feel. The halls are lined with fabulous art and pictures of the original ranch, Texas countryside, and Texas personalities. During a conversation with Rebecca Martinez, Director of Public Relations, she stated that "Service was what distinguished the Hyatt Hill Country from other Resorts" and we agree. We have stayed at a number of different resorts and we found the Hyatt Hill Country's service and hospitality to be heads and tails above most other resorts. All of the employees seemed to love their role of providing excellent service to each and every guest. Some examples of the excellent service we received included:

• a staff member (we couldn't figure out what his job function was) who consistently stopped by our area at the pool asking if everything was ok, if we needed a waitress, or if there was anything he could do for us
• the golf pro shop staff from the front desk to the guys who wiped your clubs clean and drove you to your car all knew and used our name and were focused on making our golf experience memorable
• the two doorman and all the bell hops who greet you with a warm smile and a helpful hand
• the concierge who was able to make some perfect recommendations on dinning and nightlife
• the security guard who saw us walking back from the parking lot late one night with three young kids and called an extra golf cart to help transport us back to the lobby. Ten minutes later, there was a knock at our door and the same security guard was there with an ice cream and three large chocolate chip cookies for the kids!

The Hyatt Hill Country is focused on being very family friendly. Your kids are not going to be bored at the Hyatt as they enjoy: the sandy beach, tubing the lazy river, riding around on the free bikes, the swimming pool, playground, movies on the lawn, fun planned activities, free s'mores each evening, or Camp Hyatt for kids 3 to 12. The Director of Golf, Susie Womack, encourages kids to play her courses and has junior clinics as well as player development programs for all ages. If for some strange reason they get bored, or if you're staying for more than a weekend, the Hyatt is only 3 minutes from Sea World which has Shamu, thrilling rides, water park, shows, and more.

The Hyatt Hill Country has a relaxed comfortable feeling about it and with the landscaping, flowing river, flowering plants, and trees you feel like you've got plenty of space and that you're part of a nature preserve. If you want to escape from the other guests and have some quiet peaceful relaxation, the Hyatt has done a great job of setting up benches, hammocks, and rocking chairs in remote isolated areas. In addition the wood trimmed porch overlooking the lawn, flowers, and rambling river has rocking chairs to relax with a cup of coffee and the paper or a refreshing cocktail and appitizer in the evening.

The Hyatt Hill Country was recently named as one of the best hotels in the US for families and was recognized as having one of the best pools according to Trip Advisor's Travelers' Choice 2008. For the fifteenth consecutive year, Hyatt Hill Country received the 2008 AAA Four Diamond Award.

Amenities & Activities

What makes the Hyatt Hill Country enjoyable is the wide variety of outdoor activities and fun things to do. Some of the activities include:

one of the best lazy or rambling rivers ever! The 950 foot river meanders through a thickly wooded area making it seem like you're on a remote portion of the Guadalupe River - the water is just as cool and refreshing as the Guadalupe! You can lazily drift by the sandy beach, through the woods, under a couple bridges, and into the pool. Kids and adults of all ages will love it - particularly on a very hot day!

two awesome pools under 4 acres of lush landscaping and plenty of trees, one of which is an adults only pool. Each pool area has a hot tub, plenty of lawn chairs, and excellent wait service. The main pool has an entry into the lazy river, volleyball net, basketball net, and a water fall.

27 holes of golf which are some of the best courses in Texas plus an excellent practice facility with lessons and clinics for all ages

tons of kids activities from a playground to the Camp Hyatt which has scheduled activities three times a day. On our visit, the kids could get their face painted in the lobby, ride bikes (trikes, small bikes with training wheels, or 18" cruisers), join one of the juniors golf clinics, cook s'mores by the campfire, spend time at the playground, build sand castles on the lazy river sandy beach, swim in the pool, play ping pong, watch a movie on the lawn, and lots more - trust me, the kids will have fun, give you lots of thanks and high fives, and then sleep all the way home! It was fun to peddle around the property and on the nature trail.

lots of activities for the adults, some of which include: a very complete health center to shed some pounds after a scrumptious meal at Antlers Lodge or too many beers at the pool or Charlie's Long Bar a one mile jogging/bike/walking nature trail thru the trees and lush colorful landscaping plus animal, tree, and plant descriptive plaques hammocks, benches, and rocking chairs strategically placed for some well needed relaxation and serenity a tennis court, water and sand volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and tetherball a very good golf practice facility including lessons and clinics and of course the pool and lazy river (it's not just for kids!)

Golf

If you want to incorporate golf into your vacation or stay at the Hyatt, you're in heaven and the kids or spouse aren't going to miss your four hour absence with the fun things for them to do while you're golfing. The Hyatt offers three different Arthur Hill designed nine hole courses, each with their own unique character and challenges. All three nines are in excellent condition and very well maintained and landscaped. You can find a course and set of tee boxes that will challenge any skill level or a nine that is forgiving, relaxing, and fun to play.

Each of the courses leverages the terrain that it meanders through, for example, the Oaks Course is heavily treed with majestic oaks, the Lakes Course has 3 lakes that add beauty and challenge, and the Creeks Course is named after the creek bed that runs alongside and across a lot of the fairways. To learn more about the courses, read our review of each - here is a link to the reviews of the Oaks Course, Lakes Course, and the Creeks Course. Our favorite was the Lakes Course - very scenic, lots of variety, some fun yet very challenging holes, and nine holes that fair but demand good club selection and course management.

Service at the golf course is impeccable. For example, the cart boys greeted us at our car and wiped down the clubs and dropped them off at our car at the end of the round, everyone had a big smile and how can I help you look, they all seemed to know and use our name, and they are clearly very proud of their courses. The Hyatt is focused on service and making sure your round is enjoyable and memorable and they want this to be very family, women, and kid friendly. As such, you'll find clinics, junior lessons, golf camps, and player development programs for all ages.

The Pro Shop is very well stocked with everything that you'll need. And adjoining the Pro Shop is a fine dining restaurant (Antlers Lodge) and an excellent 19th hole, Cactus Oak Tavern, with good food, great drinks, TVs, and a pool table - an excellent place to spend some time settling your bet, reminiscing about your round, and planning when you can come back for more.

Spa

As good as the golf is, the Windflower Spa is it's equal. As you walk to the Spa down the stone walkway landscaped with a variety of colorful plants, you get the sense that you are in for something special - and you won't be disappointed. The 21 treatment rooms are in two barns from Texas ranches that have been redone into an amazing and beautiful center housing the Spa. In addition to the treatment rooms, there is an outside patio with lounge chairs and a fabulous pool and hot tub for relaxing before or after your treatment. Windflower is the perfect place to get rid of the work stress, massage the sore muscles from all the activities during your stay at the Hyatt, or just rejuvenate the body.

The Windflower Spa offers a wide variety of services for men and women, some of which include:

• "timeless aromasoul massage rituals" which are 60 to 90 minutes with a variety of oils, cultural massage therapies, and facials
• several one and a half to seven hour packages with a wide variety of treatments
• fifty to eighty minute massages including therapeutic, hydro, deep-tissue, stone, or custom
• body rituals like mud wraps, d-age moisture wrap, or nutritional organic wrap

Dining & Nightlife

With the resort's five restaurants, you can easily find something to fit your budget and taste buds - from burgers or nachos at the pool to fine gourmet dining in Antlers Lodge. After golf, make sure you stop in at the 19th hole Cactus Oak Tavern for a drink, sandwich or salad, a game of pool, or to catch the score on a golf tournament or football game.

The Springhouse Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and has an expansive breakfast buffet - the Eggs Benedict are excellent. Adjoining the Pro Shop is Antlers Lodge and the Cactus Oak Tavern. Antlers Lodge has an open kitchen within a spacious dinning room with elegant wood furnishings, an inviting fireplace, and its namesake chandelier created from 500 pairs of naturally shed antlers. Antlers Lodge serves a tantalizing menu filled with innovative twists on traditional Texas fare.

Cactus Oak Tavern offers a continental type breakfast and lunch menu with salads (the Asian salad was excellent), burgers, and sandwiches. Plus they have a full bar, pool table, and TVs. Papa Ed's Pool Bar and Grill serves fantastic nachos (we had to have a second order they were so good), burgers, sandwiches, snacks, and cold drinks at the pool.

Charlie's Long Bar is the perfect place to unwind and end an evening. Charlie's is a recreation of an authentic western saloon with a 56 foot carved wood and copper topped bar, TV's, jukebox, shuffleboard, pool, darts, and video games. Needless to say, we spent a few hours here sipping cold beer and trying to win a competitive game of pool and shuffleboard.

If for some reason you need to escape the Hyatt, within 5 minutes is the Stockyards for "dinin', drinkin', and dancin'." We enjoyed an ok meal here and really liked the adjoining bar and dance hall which had a pretty good county band. If you like live country music, then 15 minutes from the Hyatt is Floore's Country Store where you'll always find some top notch country musicians and might even catch Willie Nelson playing.

Accommodations

The Hyatt has 500 guestrooms and 58 suites. The rooms are upscale and very well appointed, having undergone a $13 million renovation in 2006. Each room has high speed internet access, TV, bathrobes, mini refrig, and coffee maker, plus a free morning newspaper. You are in for a perfect nights sleep on the Hyatt's Grand Bed - you'll need it after enjoying all the activities and getting an early morning start on the next day of fun. I thought about trying to take one of their beds home with me because they are so comfy, but I knew I'd never make it out the front door. We stayed in one of the suites which was outstanding. Our suite included: a large master bedroom with a king size bed, comfortable leather chair, and ottoman; a parlor with a refrig, TV, sleeper sofa, and table and chairs; and a large patio with chairs and a nice view. The adjoining room made the suite a perfect set-up to accommodate our group.

Corporate, Social, or Wedding Venue

The Hyatt Hill Country is renowned for its elegant indoor and outdoor meeting or wedding spaces, gourmet catering, Texas style hospitality and service, and group activities. With over 33,000 square feet of meeting space which can be tailored to fit any size group, the Hyatt is the perfect place for an elegant and memorable wedding, productive business function, or a fun social retreat.

The Hyatt can provide catering, planned activities, or team building exercises to fit your needs. The five meeting rooms and two elegant ballrooms plus the courtyard deck under the trees or the Luckenbach Pavilion overlooking the golf course are available for your functions.

When we stayed, there was a large wedding reception and dinner on the outdoor patio, the ceremony overlooking the golf course, and finally dancing to a lively band in one of the smaller ballrooms. Great place for a wedding.

Our Group's Feedback

Our stay at the Hyatt Hill Country included my two daughters, three grand kids, brother, son-in-law, and my lovely wife and to a tee, everyone in our party said that our time at the Hyatt was one of the best mini vacations ever! Here are just a few comments:

• "Loved it, incredible resort - warm and welcoming with down home Texas style hospitality. There is something for everyone and the rambling river and pool area were the best ever!"
• "Service is outstanding, everyone is friendly and helpful, the pool nachos and margaritas were fabulous, and the spa was unbelievable - soothing, relaxing, comfortable and someplace I was tempted to spend the whole day."
• "I really liked the playground, lazy river, the s'mores by the fire, the guy who brought me the ice cream and gave me a ride in his cart, and riding the tricycle wherever I wanted to!"
• "Fantastic family friendly resort with great employees. The cool refreshing pool and Charlie's Long Bar are outstanding - in fact, we got in trouble with the spouses because we spent so much time in Charlie's playing shuffleboard, pool, and video golf as we watched UT whip Arkansas 52 to 14 or something like that."
• "You can't beat the 27 holes of golf - each nine is different and offers it's own set of unique, fun, and challenging holes."
• "I really liked the wide variety of activities - ping pong tables, sand and water volleyball, outstanding golf course, jogging trails, tetherball, exercise room, free bikes, tennis courts, horseshoe pits - plus a great adult pool with a hot tub and a spa to work out the kinks after all this exercise. We needed more time to enjoy everything the Hyatt offers. "

Nearby Things To Do

If you're looking for some fun nightlife, then put on the cowboy hat and boots, and mosey 5 minutes down the road to Stockyards Steakhouse. They have a great dance floor, couple bar areas, and live country music most nights of the week.

Pericos is about 15 minutes away and has pretty good mexican food, a fantastic outdoor patio, and an outstanding band that had everybody dancing and singing.

Floores Country Store is one of the original dance halls in Texas and every weekend has great live music.

Downtown San Antonio is about 25 minutes away and they have everything you need from sports venues to the Riverwalk. You can find a lot of fun things to see and do on Texas Outside's San Antonio Page.

If you have kids and they for some strange reason get tired with the lazy river, sandy beach, bikes, playground, kid's camp, lawn movies, and other planned Hyatt activities, then Sea World is a couple minutes away and Fiesta Texas is about 15 minutes down the road. Both Sea World and Fiesta Texas have great water parks, thrilling amusement rides, live entertainment, and much more. Plan to spend a full day here. On the weekends the lines can be long.

Bottom line, you need to make sure that at least once a year you experience a fun and enjoyable stay at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa.

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