Why Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Is the Ultimate Family-Friendly Resort on the East Coast

We are so fortunate to have a family where cousins truly are your best friends! I have three siblings and each has two kids. All of our kids get a long so well and have found true friendship in their cousins! My youngest son and my niece, Ronni, are a year apart and have been attached at the hips for years! 

Before summer was even in full swing, these two plotted out a trip!  Although we didn’t go with their initial plan, the trip ended up being such a great way to spend a long weekend!  We ended up heading to Cambridge, Maryland to stay at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort.

Embassy Suites – Bethesda, Maryland

To get the most out of our long weekend, we decided to leave Thursday afternoon and drive about four of our six hours and stay the night at the Embassy Suites in Bethesda, Maryland.   We are typically huge fans of Embassy Suites because they have rooms that comfortably sleep our large family, and offer an evening happy hour as well as cooked-to-order breakfast that’s included with your stay.

We weren’t as impressed with this Embassy Suites though.  There were no larger rooms, breakfast was limited to four people and the pool had restricted hours because they rent their pool out for swim lessons. 

It was only one night our our weekend, so we made it work. We’re typically pretty loyal to Hilton hotels and book direct, but we had a $50 credit to use up with our Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card so we booke dthis hotel in the Chase Travel Portal. With our credit, we only spent around $111 for the night.

When we arrived, it was pouring, so we decided to order pizza and just stay in for the night.  After we ate, we headed to the bar for our free happy hour drinks and snacks.  By the time happy hour was over, the pool was available to guests, so we enjoyed some swimming and time in the hot tub before heading to bed.

Quick Stop – Washington, DC

Our initial plan was to head to the zoo for the morning, but it was still raining so we decided to do something indoors. I thought it’d be cool to head into Washington, DC and just check out the Air and Space Museum.  Although the museum is free, I didn’t realize they were timed tickets so by the time we made the decision to go ,they were sold out.

The Natural History Museum is pretty much across the street and had no timed entry so we decided to go there instead.  We got to snap some pictures of the kids with the National Monument and Capitol Building before heading into the Museum.  We spent time in the museum and had lunch before heading out of the city to our hotel.

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort

Of course we hit traffic so it took us a little longer than we planned, but we arrived at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort around 4pm – just in time for check in!  Our room was ready so we unloaded our bags and headed up to the room.

At check in, I asked if any upgrades were available and we ended up getting a room with a small Juliette-type balcony with a partial water view.  It always pays to ask if upgrades are available! Our room had a refrigerator so we were able to keep drinks and food cold.  Right down the hall, there was a coffee shop with microwaves right outside that we could use, which was nice.

Once we were checked in, the kids just wanted to swim.  It was overcast and chilly so I took my youngest son and my niece to the pool, while my husband and two older boys played some disc golf.

Resort Activities

Once we were done with the pool, we got to explore the resort a little more.  There were so many activities available for the kids, making this such a great option for families!  They had a large outdoor pool with a waterslide, an indoor pool with an indoor/outdoor hot tub and then another pool and hot tub for adults only.  The outdoor pool closed earlier, but the indoor pool was open late and around 7pm, they played a “dive-in” movie each night.

They also had mini-golf, cornhole, giant chess board, pool tables and more – all included with your stay. As the sun set, they lit the big outdoor fire pits and had s’mores kits available for purchase.  Since I knew about these fire pits, I planned ahead and packed all the ingredients we needed to save some cash!

The next morning, my son, niece and I explored more of the resort, while my husband and older boys booked some time at the on-site golf simulator (this was an added cost).  We walked the trails, went out onto the docks, played mini-golf, enjoyed some arcade time and swam.  It was much warmer our second day and the kids participated in the waterslide contest.  My son ended up winning a prize for being the fastest kid! 

On-Site Dining: Pools & Bars

The resort had a few different dining options. There were some fancicer restaurants, but also a quick grab and go market as well as a quick service restaurant by the pool. For lunch, we ordered lunch by the pool, which was good and reasonably priced too.

In addition to restaurants, bars are also available – both in the restaurants and out by the pool. After lunch, my husband and I decided to grab a drink from one of the hotel bars.  When we checked in, we got tickets for a free beer or wine.  It was nice to have some time to ourselves, while the kids hung out in the room.  We walked around the resort, just enjoying how peaceful it was.  In the adults only pool area, we grabbed a spiked fresh squeezed lemonade, which was so good!

Fishing

When we got back to the room, the kids wanted to go fishing.  We rented poles from the hotel and ran to Walmart (which was right across the street) to grab some bait.  They all fished for a while and I took the time to sit on a lounge chair and read!  Something I don’t get to do too often!

Family Golf

The resort was on a golf course and they offered family golfing after 4pm.  We were able to golf 4 holes with a cart and clubs for $35/person.  My oldest was dying to golf so he and I scheduled a tee time, while the rest of the kids continued to fish.

On-Site Dining: Blue Point Provision Company

After golf, we called the Blue Point Provision company, one of the on-site restaurants, to see if they had availability. We were lucky that they could seat us. Our food was great and it was just a nice walk to get there.  The hotel had so much to do right on the property, allowing us to relax and not have to worry about going anywhere!

Overall Takeaway

Our kids begged to stay just one more day, because they loved it that much!  In all honesty, I think 3 days would have been perfect – two days was just a little short.  We would absolutely book this hotel again!  It’s a fairly short drive for us from Ohio and gave us a true resort feel, making it the perfect long weekend escape!

How We Saved

If you’ve read my blog, you know that we try to maximize our credit card points as much as possible.  Sometimes it’s more than just points though.  Often times credit cards have other money-saving offers that really help give you even more bang for your buck!

We booked the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay on points so our hotel cost for two nights was $0.  The cash cost for our room was over $600 PER NIGHT! Our total hotel cost for our three-night weekend was just $111, which is what we paid for our hotel on the way. We don’t always stay in luxury hotels, but we love to have the opportunity to stay – especially when they are free!

When it came to activities, Washington, DC is so family-friendly and budget-friendly!  Many of the museums like the National History Museum and National Air and Space Museum are free to enter.  Plus, many of the monuments are free as well – and for us, we were able to capture pictures with those monuments in the background with no added cost.  Besides parking, we didn’t pay anything for our activities.  And if we went to the zoo instead, we would have only paid to park since entrance is also free.

Activities at the Hyatt were plentiful and most were included in our stay (the golf simulator, fishing and family golf were extra).  The kids were never bored at this resort! I love finding places that really make it easy to just relax and stay onsite the entire time, if you choose, but close enough to places like Walmart for a quick grocery run.  This hotel truly fit the bill.

We charged all of our hotel purchases to our room (fishing pole rental, dining and drinks, golf simulator, family golfing, etc.). I had an offer on my American Express Gold credit card, that gave me a $100 statement credit when we spent $500+ at select Hyatt Resorts. This was a bonus and allowed us to save on our other food and activity expenses.

Why We Love Points & Miles

There are so many ways to save on travel with credit cards! With points and miles, we are able to take trips that we wouldn’t normally be able to take!

What are your favorite credit card perks?

Looking for some inspiration on your next points & miles trip? Check out some of our recent ones:

Key West, FL

Albuquerque, NM + Grand Canyon + Las Vegas

San Antonio, TX

Charleston, SC