Idaho is going through one of the coldest/snowiest winters in the past 30 years. Snow, ice, freezing rain, slush, inversions, misery. We had to escape it if only for a short while. Luckily, we already had a getaway booked for January not knowing just how badly we would end up needing it. This is kind of a funny story how it all came about actually. Back in September, we booked this trip out of spite for the sole purpose of getting back at the Hyatt hotel brand. Somewhat of a blessing in disguise, here is how we ended up visiting Aruba, Curacao, and South Beach Miami for free.
Last summer, Lacey and I visited Huntington Beach, CA. You may remember our post about it here. We ended up staying at a little Air BnB during that trip by default as Hyatt would not let us use the 4 free nights we earned from this card. The Hyatt reps were so awful and unhelpful while I was trying to book nights at one of their $200 per night properties down there. I felt like they were doing everything in their power to prevent me from redeeming the awards we earned. Long story short, Hyatt pissed me off super bad and I wanted to get back at ’em for how they treated us.
Angrily, I googled “most expensive Hyatt hotel”. At the top of the results was their resort in Aruba. What a coincidence, Southwest Airlines flies to Aruba meaning Lacey and I could get there for free because we earned the Companion Pass. This was our chance to stick it to Hyatt as these rooms were $600 per night. Suck it Hyatt. Side note, these rooms in Aruba were a challenge to book as well. Their website would tell me there was no availability when I search for 2 or 4 consecutive nights at this resort. Oddly, when I searched 1 night at a time it was available. So, I ended up having to make 4 separate reservations in order to get 4 nights in a row. Keep this in mind when you’re looking for availability on Hyatt’s website. I’m not kidding, they do their best to prevent you from using your rewards.
While booking our flights to Aruba, I found that we could break up the trip by making stops on the island of Curacao and in South Beach Miami. We had never been to either place and both looked amazing. We booked a suite for a night at the amazing Hilton resort in Curacao with honors points and booked 2 nights at the Shelborne Boutique Hotel on South Beach in Miami with Wyndham reward points. I have to mention how awesome the staff at the Shelborne resort were to us. I emailed them prior to the trip to confirm our reservation and briefly mentioned that it was an anniversary trip. When we checked in, they said “it looks like you are celebrating a special event with us so you have been upgraded to an ocean view penthouse suite.” I had totally forgot that I emailed ’em about it and was a little caught off guard at first. Then I turned to Lacey and said “happy anniversary, ha”. If that weren’t enough, they sent us a bottle of champagne later that night. That was pretty amazing of them and we are so grateful.
Our week-long trip was just what we needed to break up this awful winter here in Idaho. Each place we visited was amazing for their individual reasons. Aruba’s beautiful white sand beaches, flamingos, and iguanas made us feel like we were in a different reality. Curacao’s tropical surroundings and heavily Dutch influenced architecture had us wishing we had more time to spend there. The hustle and bustle of South Beach blended with the beauty and calm atmosphere at the beach had us asking each other if we were ready to move there.
One last thing to point out. We ended up paying $25 a night to upgrade our room at the Hyatt in Aruba to an ocean front suite. So for $100 + taxes we stayed in a room that was priced at $789 per night. We ended up getting a value of about $3100 from our 4 reward nights. Maybe Hyatt will rethink their customer service approach when someone is trying to book a $200 per night room next time 🙂
Total Amount of Free Flights/Hotels for this trip alone = $6,799 prior to taxes
- Southwest Flights – $2900 (we used Southwest points and the Companion Pass to book these flights)
- Hyatt in Aruba – $3100 (Lacey and I both signed up for this card to earn 2 free nights each)
- Hilton in Curacao – $309 (used a combination of these cards over time to earn Hilton Honors points)
- Shelborne Boutique Hotel on South Beach – $490 (we used Wyndham reward points from this card to book this)
Photos in Aruba –
Renaissance Island (where the Flamingos and Iguanas are)
Baby Bridge (natural arch)
Bon Bini Festival
California Lighthouse
Eagle Beach
first view upon opening our window shades at the Hyatt in Aruba. Not a bad start
“Baby Bridge”
rock garden near the natural bridge
at the “Bon Bini” festival
Photos in Curacao:
Downtown Willemstad
Hilton Curacao
view from our Hilton Suite in Curacao
Photos in South Beach:
Shelborne Boutique Hotel
South Beach
Henna Tattoo on South Beach
Lacey got her 1st Henna Tattoo on South Beach
view from our upgrade at the Shelborne in South Beach
