Why Is Hyatt Opening An All-Inclusive Grand Hyatt?

by joeheg

Hyatt already has an entire portfolio of brands created specifically for all-inclusive resorts. That makes its decision to open the first all-inclusive Grand Hyatt much more interesting than simply adding another resort in Mexico.

Grand Hyatt Los Cabos Resort, Golf & Spa is expected to become the first all-inclusive property in the history of the Grand Hyatt brand.

That may not initially sound like a significant change. Hyatt has operated all-inclusive resorts for years and already has brands including Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Secrets, Dreams, Zoëtry, Breathless and several others.

However, those brands were designed around the all-inclusive model. Grand Hyatt was not.

The Grand Hyatt brand has some excellent resort properties, but guests traditionally pay for the room and then pay separately for most of what they eat, drink and do during their stay. Grand Hyatt Los Cabos will take the type of large-scale resort experience already associated with the brand and package it as an all-inclusive.

A Grand Hyatt That Happens To Be All-Inclusive

Grand Hyatt Los Cabos is being developed within the Oleada Pacific Living & Golf community near Cabo San Lucas.

The resort is expected to have 301 rooms, six pools and 11 dining and drinking venues, including five à la carte restaurants. Plans also include swim-out rooms, suites with private plunge pools, a spa, children’s and teens’ clubs and an Ernie Els-designed golf course.

In other words, it still sounds very much like a Grand Hyatt.

The brand already operates large destination resorts with multiple restaurants, expansive pools, spas and enough activities to keep guests on the property for much of their stay. Grand Hyatt Kauai and Grand Hyatt Baha Mar are two obvious examples.

But unlike our experience during our stay in Kauai, guests at this Grand Hyatt will not receive a room bill filled with restaurant charges, drinks and other resort expenses.

Hyatt Already Has Plenty Of All-Inclusive Brands

What makes this opening especially interesting is that Hyatt does not need another all-inclusive brand.

The company already has Hyatt Ziva for family-oriented trips and Hyatt Zilara for adults-only resorts. Its acquisition of Apple Leisure Group added Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Zoëtry and several other all-inclusive brands to the portfolio.

Hyatt already has an all-inclusive option for nearly every type of traveler.

If it wanted another family-friendly resort in Los Cabos, it could have opened another Hyatt Ziva. If the goal were an adults-only luxury property, Hyatt could have chosen Secrets or Hyatt Zilara.

Instead, Hyatt is using the Grand Hyatt name.

That suggests the company does not want this property viewed as simply another addition to its existing all-inclusive collection. It wants the resort to be seen as a Grand Hyatt experience, with the all-inclusive format becoming part of how that experience is delivered.

Another Step Toward Luxury Experiences

Hyatt has increasingly leaned into luxury and experience-focused properties rather than trying to compete with larger hotel companies by having a hotel everywhere.

Grand Hyatt Los Cabos fits directly into that strategy. The brand has always included resorts, but none of them have been all-inclusive. Using the brand for this property shows that Hyatt is willing to take one of its best-known full-service names in a new direction when the location and experience support it.

The all-inclusive component does not replace the Grand Hyatt identity. It becomes another part of the resort experience.

World Of Hyatt Category E Pricing

Grand Hyatt Los Cabos has been placed in World of Hyatt’s all-inclusive Category E.

Standard-room awards at Category E properties range from 35,000 to 75,000 points per night. Hyatt’s all-inclusive resorts, like the hotels, have gone to an award chart with five pricing levels.

For Category E, those levels are:

35,000 points at the lowest rate, 45,000 points at the low rate, 55,000 points at the moderate rate, 65,000 points at the upper rate and 75,000 points at the top rate.

That is a considerable range. A five-night stay could cost anywhere from 175,000 to 375,000 World of Hyatt points, depending on how the individual nights are priced.

Paid Reservations Begin In January, But Awards Don’t

Hyatt’s website says Grand Hyatt Los Cabos is expected to open in December 2026. However, its booking system currently says the resort is accepting reservations for stays beginning January 22, 2027.

Even then, there are currently no standard-room award nights available until April.

That means someone willing to pay cash may be able to stay during the resort’s first several months, while World of Hyatt members will have to wait longer to use points.

Anyone hoping to use points will need to be flexible. Moving a trip by one or two nights could make the difference between finding an award and having no points option at all. It could also change the price of a stay by tens of thousands of points.

At these rates, I would carefully compare the points cost to the cash price. An all-inclusive resort includes more than a standard hotel stay, but 55,000 or 75,000 points for a single night is still a substantial redemption.

I Wouldn’t Book Too Close To Opening

Even though Hyatt is already accepting reservations, I would hesitate to book one of the earliest available dates.

Planned hotel openings can be pushed back, particularly for large resorts, where guest rooms, pools, restaurants, landscaping, staffing and recreational facilities all need to be ready at the same time.

There is also a difference between a hotel being open and being completely finished.

A resort may welcome guests while some restaurants are operating with limited hours, landscaping is still being completed, or construction continues in other areas. Employees may still be learning the property, and some amenities may not yet be running as smoothly as intended.

As we’ve written before, booking a hotel shortly after its opening can come with risks, even when the opening date does not change.

For a property charging as much as 75,000 World of Hyatt points per night, I would rather allow time for the resort to work through those initial problems.

Waiting a few months would also provide something Hyatt’s website cannot: reports from actual guests describing what is included, how the restaurants operate and whether the finished property delivers the Grand Hyatt experience being promised.

Final Thought

Grand Hyatt Los Cabos is not Hyatt’s first all-inclusive resort. It is not even Hyatt’s first all-inclusive resort in Los Cabos.

What makes it notable is the name on the building.

Grand Hyatt is already known for several impressive resort properties, but until now, none has been all-inclusive. Hyatt could have placed this resort under one of its many brands for that type of vacation.

Instead, it chose Grand Hyatt.

That makes the property another example of Hyatt’s growing emphasis on luxury experiences and gives World of Hyatt members a new way to use their points—although potentially a very expensive one.

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