Carmelo Resort And Spa In Uruguay Is Now A Hyatt

Travis,

Did you mean Buenos Aires, instead of Buenos Aries?

Not a great use of points in low season but a good value for the South American summer.

Other than golf, what is there to do in the area? Or is it primarily a beach/golf type of resort?

Uruguay is a wonderful country. Used some points to stay at the Conrad Punta Del Este during our honeymoon. But why are they obsessed with Miller Genuine Draft MGD down there?

Mehhhh!!!! Nothing exciting to do there unless you want to rest. Also, this seems to be a very small hotel judging by the number of rooms so don't expect much activity around you.

It's interesting to me this is being branded as a Hyatt and not a Park Hyatt, given the Four Seasons heritage in play here. When it was a FS, I know it was packaged together with the Four Seasons Buenos Aires for stays and transfers, so it's a bit curious to me that (so far) Hyatt is not similarly pairing the Park Hyatt BA and the Hyatt Carmelo.

Then again, my impression of the Four Seasons Carmelo (which I hadn't visited, but researched a ton) was that it was a bit of a vanity project by a local multimillionaire, and that while it was very pretty, it was: (i) a bit of a boring location even with Uruguay (since it's 45 minutes from Colonia, and not anywhere near the attractions along the coast); (ii) strangely conceived of, architecturally and design-wise, as a Balinese style resort; and (iii) nice, but nowhere near Four Seasons standards, especially when it came to food/beverage.

To me, it almost feels like Aviara all over again, where Hyatt gets Four Seasons' sloppy seconds on distinctly third-tier properties. At least Hyatt seems to have learned a lesson and held off on branding it a Park in this case (though Carmelo seems more Park-appropriate than Aviara)...

I stayed at the property 3 times when it was a Four Seasons. I always enjoyed staying there. Yes it is very remote and yes it takes a VERY long time to get to (although FS did have direct charter flights from BA to near the resort). I always thought the hotel grounds were immaculate and I loved the mix of Asian and South American influences everywhere. The outdoor pool is very large, but unheated, and always extremely cold. If I wanted to swim, I always swam in the indoor pool. As for activities, it was a bit limited but there was horseback riding, cultural activities, wine tours, and just enjoying being “unplugged” and out in nature. I am sad to see it is no longer a Four Seasons, but I’m excited to go back and again now that it is a Hyatt.

According to Google Maps, you can take a ferry from Delta Del Tigre Port in Buenos Aires directly to Carmelo Port. Looks like this ferry doesn't allow cars though. Anyhow, if you're planning on going, perhaps this is worth looking in to.

Interesting comments everyone. I actually love the remote middle-of-nowhere places, so this sounds really cool. Also $1000 / night is too rich for my blood, so the fact that it's not going in at a PH is probably a positive to me at least.

Great post.....exactly what I expect from this blog...........and that pool is beastly and as a swimmer I embrace the big cold pool........20k is a bargain.........I'm going.........I'm frickin going.............

I've visited Uruguay at least once a year for the last 12 years to see a good friend I went to school with in the US. It's a beautiful country for beaches and relaxing but it's pretty sleepy unless you are in MVD or Punta del Este, Punta is an awesome city during the North American winter (Ralph Lauren has rented a house there for New Years a couple times recently). There are many beaches up the coast that you can rent an awesome house and not be on the river for much less than the Hyatt. Super easy country to drive in and have the freedom of visiting towns along the coast as well as Chuy, the border town where the Main Street separates UY with Brazil. Bottom line, you can get the Urguyan experience pretty easily without the Hyatt and if your want a South American resort, Argentina has many by a lake to enjoy and not stuck by a muddy river.

I stayed there about 3.5y ago now - it was an FHR property (as many FS hotels are), so I received an upgrade to a bi-level suite (which was fantastic), half bottle of wine, chocolate-coated strawberries, breakfast and free lunch and dinner! It was meant to be dinner for 2, but Amex Platinum Travel Service called the hotel and they agreed to swap it to two meals for one. I agree with the comments re a slightly unusual mix of South American and Asian influences, but I still found it a nice relaxing place with friendly staff. I did a horseback tour which was also excellent. The drive through the countryside from Colonia up to Carmelo was also very pleasant - overall a very enjoyable break.