I stayed at the new Hyatt Place on Panama City Beach in November 2022. Panama City is in the Florida Panhandle on the Gulf of Mexico. If you haven’t been to the Florida Panhandle beaches you definitely should plan a trip. This area is known for warm, Caribbean like water and white sandy beaches.
Our stay was perfect. I can’t think of anything that could have been better. Even though the hotel has only been open for 3 months, everyone seemed to be well trained and everything ran smoothly. The service all over the hotel was great and the employees were very friendly. It was VERY nice for a Hyatt Place. Breakfast was considerably better than most Hyatt Place’s. I have Hyatt Explorist status and got a nice upgrade to a higher floor room with balcony, gulf view and sleeper sofa. Since I used points the $40 a day resort fee was waived.
If you’re new to points and miles, you can get a Explorist status easily by having the Wyndham Earner Business Card and status matching from Wyndham Diamond to Caesars Diamond to MGM Gold and then to Hyatt Explorist.
This hotel is a Category 4 so it was 12,000 points a night since I stayed during an off-peak time. I personally love to go to the beach in the spring and fall since I don’t enjoy the heat, so I was thrilled to get the off-peak rate. The range for category 4 Hyatt’s is 12,000 to 18,000 points a night.
There was a Coconut Charlie’s Beach Bar and Grill on the property that had really good , inexpensive food and drinks. (And even better priced happy hour Monday – Friday). The free breakfast is also at Coconut Charlie’s and there are multiple places you can sit. You can sit inside or outside, upstairs overlooking the pool or downstairs next to the pool.
There is free parking across the street or you can valet for $20/day. Parking was very easy to get to so I’m not sure why anyone would pay to valet. There was a pool and hot tub with a a small lazy river and intertubes. They have private cabanas for rent that are either gulf or pool facing for $150-$200 a day.. They also have Cornhole and Jenga by the pool. You get 2 beach chairs and 1 umbrella for free per room.
The closest airports are Panama City (ECP) , Destin(DSI), Destin/Ft Walton (VPS), Dothan (DHN) , and Pensacola (PNS).
Within 2.5- 4 hours are Mobile (MOB) and Tallahassee (TLH) or if you gamble you could fly into Gulfport (GPT). 5 hours away is New Orleans (MSY).
There is plenty so do in the area. There are arcades, theme parks, surfing, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and miniature golf. 30 minutes away are the more bougie beach towns of 30A which are definitely worth checking out . Everyone has their favorite, mine is Alys Beach. Alys has a very european feel to it with white architecture and splashes of color. Grayton Beach State Park is nearby and has some beautiful nature walks. If you are a shopper then check out the outlet stores in Destin which is about an hour away.
The best way to stay here for for free and get the resort fees waived is to use Hyatt points. Hyatt points can be earned with either the personal or business Hyatt Credit Cards or with any of Chase’s credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards Points since they can be transferred to Hyatt. The current sign up bonuses could get you 3-5 nights at this property. You do need to have either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Ink Preferred in order to transfer your points to Hyatt. Check out my article on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the #1 recommended beginner travel credit card. https://mostlyfreetravel.com/24-reasons-why-the-chase-sapphire-preferred-should-be-your-first-travel-credit-card-the-ultimate-guide/
If you already have one of those 3 cards and are able to transfer points to Hyatt, then I recommend considering getting one of the Chase Ink Business Cards if you have a business. Currently the cards are at their highest bonus ever of 90,000 points and there is no annual fee. Here is link to my blog post about the Ink cards. https://mostlyfreetravel.com/chase-ink-bonus/
Comment below if you have any questions or comments about the Hyatt Place Panama City Beach. If you have any credit card questions or would like a free credit card consultation you can find me on most social media @mostlyfreetravel or email me at [email protected].
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