As I mentioned in the introduction, our drive from the airport was arranged by the hotel but contracted to TransCabo. They didn’t have car seats for our girls. But, the short ride from the airport was quick and painless.
Upon our arrival at the Ziva, we were greeted by the bell staff who took our luggage while we went to the premium check-in area due to my new Diamond status.
The open-air lobby really is stunning and provides a fantastic first impression of the property.
Shantal assisted us with check-in and informed us we’d been upgraded to an ocean view room because of my status. She reviewed the other Diamond benefits of the property, which included:
- premium brand alcohol
- a premium lounge (which we never visited)
- high speed internet
- the ability to make dinner reservations
- a choice on when housekeeping would service our room
Choosing when housekeeping comes is actually really helpful for us because my youngest daughter still naps in the afternoon. On other trips, we’ve skipped housekeeping to avoid the 2pm knock on the door.
The first full day of our stay, there seemed to be some confusion about when to service our room. I think our request of anytime before 2pm was communicated as a 2pm checkout time. But, we talked to the front desk and everything worked well the rest of our trip.
Shantal was also able to help us with a $100 spa credit offer for having the (no longer available) Hyatt Credit Card, which we received an email and postcard about before our trip. When I brought up the deal, Shantal said the normal process is a voucher is mailed to you after booking using the number on the promotion. Our points and credit card night were booked using a different phone number. So, we were not mailed a voucher.
Before our trip, I proactively contacted Hyatt’s outstanding Twitter team to get clarification about the promotion.
When I showed the correspondence to Shantal, she said she’d look into it and let me know. On our way back from lunch later that day, we ran into her and she said we were all set for the spa credit.
Before we left for our room, I asked about the possibility of a paid upgrade to a one-bedroom suite. Shantal quoted a rate of more than $400 per night. So, we stuck with the room we were assigned. In the map below, our room was near the number 8.
Our room was in the main building (A in the map above) a few floors above the lobby. We had a short walk from the elevator along the open air hallway.
As you enter the room there are a couple of closets and the minibar on the right and then the bathroom is on the left.
The bathroom had double sinks and plenty of counter space.
To the left of the sink was a partitioned toilet area.
Then to the right of the sink was the large shower and jetted tub.
You could open the shutters between the bathroom and bedroom to make the room feel larger.
The room had two double beds with a nightstand in between. The beds faced a flat screen TV.
There were plenty of plugs throughout the room. I particularly appreciated the USB ports, which helped keep phones and iPads charged throughout our trip.
Beyond the beds was a couch, which could convert into a bed if you need it. As is often the case with a pullout, the sofa was quite firm. There were also a couple of chairs around a small table.
A welcome gift was left for us on the table. While it’s a nice gesture, I couldn’t help but think it was unnecessary at an all-inclusive resort.
The best feature of the room was the view. I spent most mornings sitting on the balcony watching for plumes of water from the whale’s that are in town. Very rarely, you could see a big enough splash in the distance that a whale must have breached.
It was also nice to have a visitor half way through our stay. We helped relocate this little guy back outside.
Bottom line
The room was large enough to meet our needs. The beds were a little firm and the chairs and sofa weren’t particularly comfortable. But, we didn’t spend much time in the room because there are plenty of things to do at the resort. The view was fantastic and the balcony was a great place to relax in between trips to the pool or beach.
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