The 4 Best Hyatt Redemptions for Luxury Resorts

Looking for the best Hyatt redemptions? This well-known hotel chain features over 1,000 properties around the world, including an all-inclusive resort portfolio and a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

Luckily, Hyatt is one of the few remaining hotel chains that maintain a semi-fixed award chart, which means you’ll be able to find some award redemption sweet spots. Sure, there are lots of lower-cost Category 1 and Category 2 Hyatt hotels that'll cost around 5,000 to 8,000 points per night (like Hyatt Place and Hyatt House properties), which can be a wise use of points. But sometimes, it's fun to splurge on big lavish resorts.

And just like how the lower-cost Hyatt properties tend to be excellent redemptions, resorts on the highest end also tend to be excellent (and sometimes even better) redemptions relative to dollar value. With that, here are the best high-end resorts that are also amazing Hyatt redemptions.

» Learn more: The guide to hotel award charts, broken down by brand

The Hyatt award chart

Before jumping to the best luxury Hyatt resorts for redeeming points, understand how Hyatt award redemptions work. Each Hyatt property is given a hotel category between 1-8, with 1 representing lower-cost Hyatt hotels, and 8 representing the most expensive properties.

As it stands, Hyatt has three different award charts: standard, peak and off-peak. You'll pay slightly more than usual to travel during peak, and of course, you'll save a bit when traveling during off-peak. Additionally, the amount of World of Hyatt points owed per night can also vary based on room type (so bigger, suite-style rooms cost more).

» Learn more: The best ways to earn Hyatt points

For standard room rewards, here are the prices you'll pay based on the hotel’s category:

Generally speaking, properties with high cash prices will have a higher category number, while budget hotels have lower category numbers. But occasionally you'll find a deal where rooms with ultra-high cash rates don't necessarily have an ultra-high category number. And with that, there are a few luxury properties (which generally entail expensive sticker prices) that are usually a good deal when booked on points.

Here are the best of them:

Best Hyatt point redemptions for luxury resorts

1. Calala Island

As an SLH hotel, Calala Island, which is located in the Nicaraguan Caribbean, is perhaps the best redemption you’ll be able to find using your Hyatt points. Why? Because the hotel is located on its own private island — and features just four suites. Total.

The property calls itself “ultra all-inclusive,” which means that all foods, drinks, transfers and tons of different activities are included in the room rate. But that does come with a price. The hotel charges more than $2,000 per night; it also has a three-night minimum.

Rather than paying almost $9,000 for a three-night stay, however, you can also choose to redeem Hyatt points. Standard award redemptions can start from 40,000 points per night for Calala Island.

At this rate, for a room that costs $2,950 per night, you’d be redeeming World of Hyatt points for about 7.4 cents each, more than double NerdWallet’s valuation of 2.8 cents per point.

» Learn more: What are travel points worth and why do they matter?

2. Alila Kothaifaru Maldives

A brand new Hyatt resort, the Alila Kothaifaru Maldives features expansive beach villas with separate bedrooms, private pools and ocean views. Although you won’t be able to book an overwater villa using Hyatt points, you can still enjoy these beach villas starting from 25,000 points per night on off-peak dates.

Cash rates vary according to season, but you can expect to pay around $1,000 or more for a room. At this rate, you’d be redeeming Hyatt points for around 4 cents each or better.

3. Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort

If you’re looking to stay in the U.S., the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort offers high-end luxury in Hawaii. As a Category 8 hotel, standard pricing starts from 40,000 points per night.

Even for a standard room, cash rates are still high for this hotel. For example, a room with a king bed could cost $1,464 per night.

At this rate, you’d be redeeming Hyatt points for a value of about 3.7 cents each. While this isn’t as high as, say, Calala Island, it still presents a solid redemption value.

One thing to note about this property is that it can be tricky to find and book award nights, especially for short stays. But with time, determination and a bit of flexibility, you may find a valuable redemption that suits your travel plans.

4. Alila Ventana Big Sur

Another fan favorite, the Alila Ventana Big Sur is located on California's central coast. Perched on a mountain overlooking the ocean, the property features stunning views and excellent hiking.

Unusually, it’s a semi-inclusive property — all your food and nonalcoholic beverages are complimentary while alcoholic drinks aren't.

Finding off-peak award availability here is difficult because of the property’s popularity. Instead, you can expect better luck paying the peak price starting from 45,000 points for this Category 8 hotel.

Unfortunately, even with the lack of free alcoholic drinks, room rates at this resort are high. After taxes and fees, you can expect to pay between $2,500 and $3,000 for a single night’s stay in a standard room.

Even when redeeming your points during peak pricing for these rooms, you could still get a great value out of your points of about 5.6 to 6.7 cents each.

» Learn more: The best hotel credit cards right now

Award availability

Of course, it’s all well and good to talk about redeeming points for these aspirational properties. But when it comes down to it, does it even matter if you can’t find award availability?

Searching for award nights can be done manually, though it can take a long time. And if the property you’re searching has low availability, this may become more frustrating than it’s worth.

For a long time, there’s been no solution to quickly and easily search award availability for Hyatt rooms. However, a recently launched website called Max My Point has created a limited feature to do just that.

It’s a free service that searches inventory for top properties from Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton. While it doesn’t display the full portfolio for each hotel chain, it does hit some of the big ones, including most of the properties on this list.

Along with a calendar showing availability, the site also displays the nightly rate and your cent per point redemption value.

The website is newer, so it isn’t perfect, but as of now, it’s the fastest and easiest way to search for rooms with Hyatt’s top properties.

How to find the best Hyatt redemptions

There’s no denying that Hyatt has some fantastic sweet spots, including many all-inclusive options. Whatever your taste, Hyatt likely has a hotel for you — and thanks to its semi-fixed award chart, your points can take you far.

However, searching for award nights can be a long and annoying process, especially if you’re attempting to find rooms manually. Although it’s not perfect, taking advantage of Max My Point’s search algorithm can take a lot of the effort out of unearthing those hard-to-find rooms.

Photo courtesy of Hyatt.