I lately had an opportunity to attend a five-course dinner on the Thompson Denver resort, a part of the Hyatt model’s A Style of Thompson: Chef Sequence. That is one in every of many actions out there by Discover, Hyatt’s expertise platform, the place World of Hyatt members can earn and burn factors.
Here is all the pieces you might want to find out about Discover, what my expertise was like and why I believe Discover is value contemplating when planning your subsequent journey.
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What’s the Discover expertise platform?
In accordance with Hyatt’s web site, “FIND is a market that provides entry to fastidiously curated wellbeing experiences to assist encourage individuals to be their finest selves.” There are at present over 500 experiences in over 75 locations out there on the Find website.
If you happen to’re planning a visit (or on the lookout for one thing enjoyable to do at house), you possibly can search by nation or state to see what’s on supply in your vacation spot. It’s also possible to search by class (arts, tradition & group, exploration and restoration), or you possibly can enter key phrases to slender your search.
Not like some resort expertise platforms, which deal with exhibits or sporting occasions, Discover’s choice runs the gamut. In fact, your choices will rely on the place you are headed — and large cities appear to have the very best choice. Costs differ drastically, too.
Some examples embrace a beer tasting in Prague ($33 or 2,377 World of Hyatt factors), a snorkeling tour in Honolulu ($184 or 13,148 factors) and a half-day tour of Marrakech ($349 or 24,960 factors).
It’s also possible to discover tickets to exhibits and museums, letting you earn and burn Hyatt factors on one thing you might have already been planning. As an illustration, an entry ticket to the Nashville Nation Music Corridor of Fame and Museum prices $31 or 2,225 factors, or you may see “Aladdin” on Broadway for $110 or 7,849 factors.
Some experiences are “curated” by a Hyatt resort, however you usually haven’t got to remain on the resort to e-book the expertise. The exception is for experiences that explicitly embrace a resort keep, like a “Depraved”-themed night time on the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor ($475 or 33,955 factors).
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Anybody can view Discover experiences, however you should be a World of Hyatt member to buy them. If you happen to log into your account whereas looking out, you possibly can favourite particular experiences to avoid wasting them for later.
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My World of Hyatt Discover expertise
A Style of Thompson: Chef Sequence is an element of a bigger Chef Sequence occasion that’s out there on Discover as half of a bigger bundle, which incorporates tickets for 2 to the dinner, a meet-and-greet with the chef, a predinner cocktail hour and one night time’s keep on the resort — in my case, it was the Thompson Denver.
My expertise additionally included a number of goodies ready for me in my room: a signed copy of the chef’s recipe e-book, a field of three of his favourite spice blends, a Thompson water bottle, glowing wine and mineral water on ice, and house-made ganache bites (made specifically vegan for me).
The ganache bites had been as scrumptious as they regarded.
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RACHEL CRAFT/THE POINTS GUY
The five-course meal was equally scrumptious. Though the Discover web site states “no substitutes offered” for friends with dietary restrictions or meals allergy symptoms, the chef fortunately accommodated my vegan weight loss plan — and it was top-of-the-line meals I’ve eaten. It was not solely flavorful but in addition protein-packed and filling (a tough mixture to search out in vegan restaurant choices).
My omnivorous companions appeared to take pleasure in their commonplace menu simply as a lot. Everybody — from my husband, who will eat something, to seasoned culinary writers — appeared impressed with the meals.
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RACHEL CRAFT/THE POINTS GUY
This dinner on the Thompson Denver was a one-time occasion, however the Chef Sequence will proceed with related occasions at California’s Thompson Palm Springs in January and The Cape, a Thompson Hotel in Mexico in February. If you happen to’re enthusiastic about attending and you’ve got particular dietary wants, I’d advocate contacting the resort to see if they’ll accommodate you earlier than reserving your ticket since this Discover expertise was nonrefundable.
The Thompson Denver Discover bundle value $832 or 59,428 World of Hyatt factors. Nevertheless, you may additionally purchase tickets to the dinner solely by Thompson’s website for $135 per particular person or $195 with wine pairings. This included the welcome cocktail hour and one of many chef’s signature spice blends however not the opposite gadgets included with the Discover bundle.
As a lot as I loved my Discover expertise, I want the tickets alone had been out there through Discover. The identical applies to Thompson Denver’s different occasions, together with a chocolate-making workshop, a vacation drag present and a New 12 months’s Day pajama brunch — none of that are at present out there by Discover.
The extra choices Hyatt provides to the Discover platform, the higher as a result of Discover is a great tool for Hyatt loyalists like me. Here is why.
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Are World of Hyatt Discover experiences value it?
If you happen to redeem World of Hyatt factors for a Discover expertise, normally, you may get a price round 1.4 cents per level. That is decrease than TPG’s December 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents every for World of Hyatt factors, but it surely’s not horrible for an expertise redemption.
I maintain the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which lets me redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards factors for actions by the Chase Travel℠ portal at a fee of 1.25 cents every. Or, I may e-book actions with my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card; in the event that they code as journey, I may use Capital One miles to reimburse myself at a fee of 1 cent every. The Discover platform affords higher worth than both of those choices.
You probably have your eye on a Discover expertise that will be prohibitively costly, otherwise you’re decided to plan a whole trip on factors and miles, this can be a stable choice. Nevertheless, you possibly can in all probability get more value out of your Hyatt points by redeeming them for Hyatt resort stays, particularly at luxurious properties or throughout peak dates.
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If you happen to’d somewhat save your factors for a extra aspirational redemption, you’ve the choice to e-book Discover actions with money and earn Hyatt factors. The truth is, World of Hyatt members earn 10 factors per eligible greenback spent on Discover — double what you’d earn on Hyatt stays as a primary member. You will earn much more factors if you happen to maintain Hyatt elite status or pay with a Hyatt bank card, as much as a most of 17 points per dollar. Plus, factors earned by Discover rely towards Hyatt elite status.
Discover works in another way than different resort platforms, like Hilton Honors Experiences and Marriott Bonvoy Moments. These require you to bid factors on experiences, so that you by no means know precisely what number of factors you may must spend — or if you happen to’ll even get the expertise. And with most resort platforms, you do not have the choice to pay money and earn bonus factors.
Hyatt’s flat charges make it simpler to plan your trip, and I respect that you may select between incomes or burning factors right here. If an inexpensive exercise catches my eye, I will in all probability buy it with my World of Hyatt Credit Card to spice up my Hyatt account stability. If I discover one thing dearer, just like the Thompson Denver Chef Sequence and mixed resort bundle, I would think about redeeming factors for it as an alternative.
It’s also possible to reward Discover experiences to household and mates, a pleasant choice to have if you happen to’re on the lookout for a unique gift idea for a hard-to-shop-for liked one. And, in 2023, Hyatt launched a brand new function: A choose few Discover experiences at the moment are offered with factors at public sale, extra in keeping with different resort platforms.
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Backside line
As a Hyatt loyalist, I believe the Discover platform is an thrilling and probably precious instrument. Actions are at all times an enormous a part of my trip plans, and I am thrilled to have a option to both redeem factors for them or earn not less than 10 factors per greenback on them. If different Discover experiences are as high-quality because the one I lately attended, they stand to supply nice worth.
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