Skiing Free at Keystone
3.8.22
My family loves to ski so I have had my eye on the Hyatt Place Keystone for a while now. I have tried to plan this trip for two years through the pandemic and when we finally were able to pull the trigger, it was a tremendous value.
In this article:
Location
Keystone resort is about 2 hours from Denver airport (DEN) in the heart of Summit County. It is about 15 minutes from Breckenridge and not far from the town of Frisco, which has all the food and shopping you may need. Keystone is known as being a kid friendly mountain, and although this lends itself to some busy beginner runs, there is certainly terrain for all skill levels.
Booking
I booked a 2 Queen Bed room at the Hyatt Place for 15,000 World of Hyatt points at standard pricing per night. With rates upwards of $500/night, this is a great redemption at 3.3 cents/point. I transferred my points from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account, as Chase is the only flexible currency that can be transferred to Hyatt. Plus resort fees are waived on all points bookings.
The room was on the small side and a bit dated but we did manage with our family of 5, as there is a small couch that is adequate for a smaller child. We did have a great view of the slopes, which are just minutes away.
Amenities
The parking here is very limited, but we did have surprising luck finding spots on a busy holiday weekend. If there are no spots available, the Hyatt offers complimentary valet parking. The Hyatt Place has a small bar area, a market that has some grab and go snacks, and has free breakfast included. This included pandemic staples of heated and wrapped breakfast sandwiches and burritos, cereal, oatmeal, breads and juices. Although not extensive it was enough to fill us up for the morning of skiing.
There are 2 hot tubs, but no pool on property. There is also a small fitness area.
They have ski lockers in the basement for your gear, one locker per room, that can hold about 4 sets of skis. There is a local shuttle bus system that runs every 40 minutes, but honestly, it's an easy 5-10 minute walk to the slopes, see map below.
Perks
In general, the Hyatt is an adequate place to rest your head close to the slopes, and at 15,000 points standard rate per night a great value when lodging near ski resorts is hard to find at reasonable rates. But aside from all that, it is the perks that really make this a great proposition. There is a pool at the nearby Keystone Lodge that you get free access to. You get free skating (just pay for skates) at the huge frozen lake turned ice rink near the Keystone Lodge. Most importantly, at all Keystone resort hotels, up to two kids 12 and under ski free with an adult for the duration of your stay. The Hyatt is included in this perk. For our 3 night stay, that meant my two younger kids skied free all 3 days we were there. With window rates upward of $100/day, this is where the true value lies when staying at Hyatt Place Keystone.
Overall
All in all, the Hyatt Place Keystone proved to be a great option for a family ski vacation out West. Although the hotel is showing some wear, the perks far outweigh the rough edges. And as a Hyatt category 4 costing 12,000-18,000 points, a great way to make some memories while saving money.
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