Huge deal: All-Inclusive suite on a private island for 40,000 points per night

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

We've written previously about Hyatt's new partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, which brings hundreds of unique hotels to the Hyatt portfolio for bookings. Now, as noted by One Mile at a Time, one of the hotels integrated in the latest wave of the partnership is bookable. Calala Island, a resort property based on a private island off the coast of Nicaragua, is available for award bookings on Hyatt at a rate of 40,000 points/night. Why is this a big deal? Let's break it down.

It's on a private island

When we say private island, we mean it. This resort property has a total of four rooms that accommodate up to eight adults. And that's it. While this means that availability would seem to be scarce, the insanely high price tag likely drives folks away. At its cheapest, the junior suite (which is considered a 'base room') is $1,650/night. Generally speaking, however, rooms run in the low to mid $2,000 range per night.

It's 'Ultra all-Inclusive'

According to the website, Calala Island is "ultra all-inclusive." What does that mean? Drinks, food, activities and even airport transfers are included with your stay. This is important when you consider that similar aspirational hotels, like the Conrad Maldives, are top-tier award redemptions and will still charge you $700 round-trip for airport transfers.

It's close

One of the very best things about this hotel is just how very near it is to the US. Unlike getaways to Tahiti, where flight times will run 8+ hours (at a minimum), you can get from Miami to Managua nonstop on a 2.5-hour flight for under $300 round-trip. That makes this hotel extraordinarily accessible for US citizens, who are able to travel to Nicaragua without the need for a visa application.

It's easy to book with points

Perhaps my favorite part about this hotel is just how easy it is to book with points. Why? Because Hyatt is a transfer of Chase at a 1:1 ratio, and Chase points are very easy to earn. There are a number of Chase cards you can use to boost your Ultimate Rewards points:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.

Hyatt also has its own credit card:

• World of Hyatt Credit Card: Earn 30,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more bonus points by earning 2x bonus points total on purchases that normally earn 1x bonus point, on up to $15,000 in the first six months of account opening.

All this is to say that acquiring enough points for a stay here isn't all that hard given the amount of points on the line with sign-up bonuses alone. That's good, because 40,000 points/night is hefty — it's a brand new category for Hyatt and the most expensive cost around. But it's worth it. Check out these rates for a room over Christmas:

It is worth noting that there's a minimum stay requirement of three nights (though it may be more, seasonally). This makes sense given the nature of the resort and its rooms.

The easiest way to find rooms is via Calala Island's own website, which shows a calendar view of availability. Only the junior suite is bookable, so for the dates you'd like make sure its available. The calendar looks like this:

Then head on over to Hyatt's website and search your desired dates. Unfortunately, it's not always a perfect match between the two, as it appears SLH is able to restrict rooms for this resort. Still, as long as you're flexible you should be able to find a stay that works for you.

Bottom line

I am beyond excited for this hotel. It's another pinnacle of award redemptions, and unlike many of its competitors (Fiji, Bora Bora, Maldives etc.) its nearby and totally accessible. Even better, at the rate of 40,000 points/night it's affordable for nearly everyone, including me!