Hyatt Vacation Club at Wild Oak Ranch, San Antonio

The sales presentation is why I gave this a low rating. Hunter was friendly, but said Hyatt was different from other timeshare sales, without high pressure or passing guests from one person to the next. We spoke with three people, and it felt very high pressure. We said fairly early that we wouldn't buy, yet spent over 2 1/2 hours there. We didn't receive the promised incentive, though skipping the meeting would've meant paying the retail price for our stay. At check-in, they required my husband's physical driver's license. He'd lost it at the airport and had a digital ID accepted by TSA Pre Check, but Hyatt sales wouldn't accept that. They only said it was policy, with no practical reason, and none of our correspondence said the ID had to be a physical card. The resort itself was clean, nice, and well kept. It was too cold for the pool or lazy river, and there weren't many guests, clearly the low season. We skipped the only on-site restaurant after reading poor reviews. The stay was relaxing, though we heard a lot of road noise with the patio door open in the evening. We had a one-bedroom in the Cedar Elm building, and the washing machine was ridiculously loud.

The pool was clean and a perfect temperature, and there were several great waterslides. I didn't have kids with me, so I can't say much about the children's activities, and the center was closed while I was there. I was disappointed that the lazy river was also closed, since I was looking forward to it after seeing it on the website. The room was clean, the A.C worked very well, and we had a small balcony. Shower pressure was weak, but the coffee pot was great and fast. They offer plenty of things to borrow or provide if you've forgotten something, which is a nice perk. There are walking trails, lots of parking, tennis, basketball, and plenty to do. The location isn't especially close to the area's main attractions, though it's not too far. There was a lot of construction, and we couldn't reach the TV cables to connect our Roku because the TV sat too close to the wall. We also struggled to get a few items we requested. Staff tried three times, but a language barrier led to the wrong things every time. I gave up, and only later thought I should've tried Google Translate. Still, we had a nice stay.

They charge extra for nearly every kids' activity, and the place felt small and strict about everything. At the pool, I had a speaker turned very low, only loud enough for me to hear, but a worker came over and told me, “I need that off.” The way they approached me felt very unprofessional. Nobody was complaining, so I didn't understand the issue. If you're after a relaxing place, this felt like a prison. My daughter met the height requirement on the sign for a slide and went down several times. Then staff said she wasn't tall enough, even though her head touched the sign. They made a big issue of it and she was in tears. They offered another kids' activity for $25 as an apology. This place is a joke, and we won't return. The customer service and how we were treated were terrible. We've stayed at many resorts and never been treated this way.

We had such a good time that we've already booked another stay. It's a great spot, not far from Sea World, and feels comfortable for families. The deer walking by at night were peaceful to watch. There's plenty to do without leaving, including the amazing lazy river, a mini playground, and an on-site restaurant.