Last week, my husband surprised us! He made reservations at Lost Pines Hyatt Resort in Balstrop, TX (http://lostpines.hyatt.com). For all you Texas moms, it is about 1.5 hours from San Antonio (near Austin).
We spent the last three days enjoying family time and making fun memories. It was a wonderful little getaway to end our summer break.
I didn’t anticipate writing about the resort where we stayed, but it was so awesome that I want to recommend it. And, no … I don’t get any benefit or perks for promoting their hotel. This is not a paid advertisement 🙂
This place reminded us of the resort where “Dirty Dancing” was filmed, minus the dirty dancing. Well, I guess the staff could’ve had a secret meeting spot each night and got their groove on, but we were fast asleep by 11p because we were so exhausted!
There were activities each day — horse-drawn carriage rides, three-legged races, worm diggin’, petting zoo, wiffle ball, sponge tag, etc. In addition to the activities, the waterpark is wonderful. It has a lazy river, beach-style pool & sand (we made lots of sandcastles), basketball & volleyball nets, waterslide (which was perfect for my kids’ ages, seven and four). Every night, we made s’mores on the firepit. And, a movie follows on the lawn with unlimited popcorn and the hotel provides blankets so we could stretch out under the big, beautiful Texas sky. All of these activities are included with your resort rate. Just so you can get an idea, I took a picture of the event planner for this past weekend.
We went hiking on the trails in the morning. There are also bikes available, provided with your stay. The kids took their scooters and loved riding on all the paths.
Since the resort is located on the Colorado River, there are also other activities at an additional cost — kayaking, white water rafting, horseback riding (minimum age is 8 for most of these). There is also golfing, adult and youth spas.
The cost of the resort is more expensive than a normal hotel, but it was well worth it. And, they offer package deals. We were so impressed with the facility, activities and friendliness of the staff that we plan to make it an annual tradition for our family.
Vacationing with kids can sometimes be chaotic. But, this was just what we needed – relaxing, peaceful, restful. Now, we’re ready for the crazy schedule that the school year brings!
Here are some pictures:
{Gummy} Worm Diggin'
{We caught this armadillo digging through the mulch}
{Carter and the alpaca had a staring contest}
{Just made s'mores, movie set-up}
Do you have any favorite family-friendly vacation spots?
How fun! I just looked at the web site and was wondering how I could get my people (read: Mike) interested, and then I saw the golf course. Yea! All the activities you listed + golf and he would be much more likely.
Do you know if they have all those activities during the week and after school starts? If you don’t know, I can call and check. Thanks for the neat recommendation.
Hugs to you, friend! shawna
Shawna — Yes, they had weekday activities while we were there. Not quite sure about when school starts, though. It was so fun and the best part … we didn’t have a day of traveling!
Shawna — One more thing, if you guys decide to go … our favorite restaurant at the resort was Firewheel Cafe. They are kid-friendly and had an amazing dessert bar, including chocolate fountains. We ate so many chocolate-covered strawberries! We all loved it 🙂 Ella said it was like heaven, she’s still talking about it. Ha!
Sounds like you and your family had an amazing time! Brad and I were there in April (just the two of us) and it was so nice there. He loved the golfing and I loved the spa-so it is also a great romantic getaway. We will have to take the kids next time to enjoy all of the kid-friendly activities!
I saw the adult-only pool (along with the spa), and thought to myself that it would probably be a great romantic getaway! Glad you guys had a good time 🙂
This sounds great!! I have 4 little kids (6,4,4,1) and it saves time when there are a lot of activities already planned out. I have to go check this out!
Isabel – I appreciate you visiting my blog, so glad you commented! It was a treat. The pool has 1-ft, 2-ft and 3-ft area so both my kids could touch and I sat in a lawn chair in the water and relaxed. Oh, I want to go back!
We’ve always wanted to go there, but we haven’t made it. Yet. And now I wonder if the fire has affected it. Bastrop State Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the state. And at least half of it is gone. Do you know how close it is to the park?
Debi – The resort is on the Colorado River and is near the Bastrop State Park. I’ve been following Lost Pines on Twitter (just mentioned you on Twitter with their username), it seems they have no damage yet. I was amazed at how family-friendly it was, great little vacation. Been thinking & praying for all those in Bastrop affected by the wildfires.