Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Review: Family-Friendly Fun!

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines outside of Austin, Texas is probably best described as a Hyatt-style dude ranch (or I've seen some reviews call it family camp). Honestly, it's just fun.

This resort is nestled in what's best described as a small forest and it's a drive to reach the edges of the property. On property there is everything you could ever want - good food, tons of things for both adults and kids to do, and lot's of family activities. And the resort itself doesn't let you down in terms of quality.

Our family stayed here for the week for spring break, and we loved it! Our kids are begging us to go back again next year.

Overall Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Impressions

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is an amazing resort for kids and families. It's a beautiful setting outside of Austin, Texas, which also makes it really easy to get to. 

On the property there is so much to do: golf, amazing pool with a lazy river and water slide, horseback riding, animals, games, and so much more.

The food is excellent as well, at each of their restaurants.

There were not many downsides to this resort. I'm stretching when I say the only downside is the distance from downtown Austin. It's not really that big of a deal but it's the only bad thing we have to say.

I have to mention we did have a billing issue getting our Globalist breakfast benefit removed from our bill, but it was handled by the team (though confirmation didn't come until two days after we left).

Our family is planning a return trip here, we loved it so much!

Our Trip Background

We used 246,000 points (which breaks down to 41,000 points per night) and a Suite Upgrade Award.

The cash price would have been $809 per night for our room, or $4,854. It wasn't the greatest redemption at roughly $0.02 per point, but it was the week we wanted and a great room!

From a Globalist perspective, this resort takes care of you! The value your status and value you as a guest. We appreciated everything offered both as a Globalist and simply the resort amenities. They freely hand out waters, they offer room upgrades, while they messed up the breakfast billing they fixed it and apologized. 

As someone that stays at a lot of Hyatt properties, this property does everything right.

About Hyatt Regency Lost Pines

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is a hotel located outside Austin, Texas in Bastrop. This resort is designed as a fun, family friendly property, located along a river.

The resort has a full 18 hole golf course, horseback riding, animals on property, a pool and lazy river, shooting range, multiple restaurants, and activities all day/everyday. 

Every night they have smores around the firepits. It's a great experience.

The grounds are beautiful. You can see my view sitting on my room's patio. 

What's Included?

While this is a Hyatt Regency, this resort has more activities than almost any property I've stayed at.

Free activities:

• Waterpark: pool, lazy river, water slides.
• Bikes: There are free bikes on property and you can ride around.
• Yard Games: There are so many games all over, including ping pong.
• Courts: Play tennis or pickleball.
• Animal Petting Zoo: You can pet the animals.
• Indoor Games: Pool and ping pong.

Paid activities:

• Golf: 18 hole golf course, with driving range.
• Horseback Riding: They have stables on the property for rides.
• Shooting: They have a trap shooting range.
• Archery: There is an archery range.
• River Activities: You can take a raft, canoe, or kayak down the Colorado river along side the property
• Fishing: You can fish out of the lake on property (though I don't know if anyone actually catches anything).

Resort Experience

The resort is awesome. There is so much to do, but they also execute it well.

Arrival

Driving into Lost Pines is crazy (in a good way). You see the sign off the highway and enter the property, but then you drive for another 8 minutes or so through the forest on a meandering road until you finally reach the resort.

It's seriously tucked into the forest, which is also what makes it so beautiful!

Front Desk

They also were kind about offering water bottles whenever we asked, which is always a nice touch. I hate hotels that are stingy about water.

The team at the desk was also great about recommending various activities and what they enjoyed.

Shopping

There is a gift shop that also doubles as the ice cream parlor right across from the check in counter.

The golf shop also has a great selection of apparel. 

Parking

Parking is very easy and there's tons of self parking. Honestly, I'd recommend self parking (which is $18 per day) versus valet. There's no real reason to valet at this property unless it's included in your stay (which is is for Globalists). 

Gym

The gym was excellent and never crowded. The gym also connects to the tennis courts if you wanted to play.

Spa

The spa looked enjoyable overlooking the lake on property. We didn't get any treatments done, but it seemed enjoyable.

Room Impressions

We used a suite upgrade award and the hotel was nice enough to upgrade us to the Patio Suite. This room is amazing, on the ground floor next to the lobby. Since my wife has a issues with mobility, a ground floor unit is always nice and this suite didn't disappoint.

(Sorry I failed on room pictures).

Bedroom

This room had a bedroom with a king size bed, and then in the "other room" a pull down murphy double bed.

The beds were comfy! 

The bedroom also had a sitting area, desk area, refrigerator, and more.

Bathroom

There were two bathrooms in this room. One was en-suite to the bedroom, and the other was on the other side of the family room area next to the pull down murphy bed.

Both bathrooms were great.

Other Areas

The room does have a lot of space - including a bar-type area and huge family room and dining area. We definitely didn't use all the space, but this would be a great space to book for a large family or event.

You could have this room be the main hangout or meeting spot.

Housekeeping

Housekeeping was amazing and we never went a day without service. We never noticed or had to bother them. They were on top of it.

On-Property Dining

The food here was good. We enjoyed every restaurant at least once, except for the sushi option. Breakfast was a solid offering every morning, and the other dining options and bars were also good.

Other than a day trip to San Antonio, we dined on property for our entire stay.

Breakfast: Heartwood House

Hyatt Regency has a pretty standard breakfast buffet, but Lost Pines elevates it quite a bit. They have the normal buffet with eggs, but also local inspired dishes, an omelet chef, and a great selection of pastries and juices.

The dining space is large and we never encountered a wait at any time during our stay. 

Lunch/Dinner: Maverick's Roadhouse

This is your standard burger joint with a variety of other options. While we enjoyed the food here, this place does get crowded and busy, and you can experience a wait.

We experienced waits on two nights. One to sit down, and another night had a huge delay in getting our food.

However, you can sit on the patio outside and let the kids run around the grass. That makes waiting much nicer for families!

Dinner: Stories

This is the steakhouse upstairs, and we enjoyed it. Really solid meal with great drinks as well. Another one where we opted to sit on the patio because the weather was amazing during our stay.

Lobby Bar: Maude's

The bar off the Lobby is Maude's, and it's got some great cocktails. Please try the Expresso Martini if you're open to it!

Pool Bar: Old Buck's Place

If you're looking for food and drinks at the pool, the pool side bar is a great option. Just be warned that it closes early sometimes for events. We were shocked to have ti closed at 5pm one day of our stay, as we were still enjoying the pool.

Ice Cream and Coffee: McDade's Coffee Emporium & Ice Cream Saloon

Right off the lobby, you can grab an ice cream cone for dessert. Coffee is served here in the morning.

Be warned, though, that there is usually just one person working and it can take some time depending on what's going on.

Resort Activities

We loved the activities on property. Everyday we were playing on the grass, checking out the resort, and having fun.

My son and I played a round of golf. We rafted down the Colorado river as a family. We spent a ton of time at the pool.

Another activity that only happens every now and then is stargazing. We were able to look through real 10 inch telescopes at night and honestly we saw the clearest picture of the moon I've ever seen. This was a huge hit with out family. Keep an eye out for this!

Here we pet the animals (which is fun every morning):

Trap shooting was a lot of fun with my son. Honestly, it's hard to find ranges where you can shoot with 12yo, but it was great that Lost Pines had the range, equipment, and a really nice coach.

Lost Pines also has a stable on the property and you can book horseback riding guided tours. The property is so lush it's fun to get out and ride.

The staff members here were also so friendly and helpful!

Alternatives

There's not a lot of alternatives to this property that encompass everything it has to offer. It's a fantastic resort, with golf, horseback riding, a pool and water slide, and so much more.

Honestly, your only other spots to stay that would have a similar experience might be the Omni Barton Creek (it has golf, but none of other key amenities), and the Kalahari Resorts Texas, which has an amazing pool area and something for families to consider as well.

Of course, you can have a great experience in downtown Austin at places like the Fairmont, Ritz Carlton, or Four Seasons as well. But you're not getting the dude ranch feel.

Final Thoughts

The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is truly an amazing property and one that our family plans to return to. It just has so many thing we love to do, and it's in a great location in a fun city.

If you're looking for a truly family-friendly resort in Texas, this property is it.