Sailrock Resort in Turks & Caicos Adds Inter-Island Flights; Shifting to Hyatt Category 8
The partnership between World of Hyatt and the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, initially announced last August, has progressed quickly. We've seen three rounds of integrations (in November, January and February), opening up a plethora of new luxurious resorts at which you can earn and redeem your Hyatt points. This has included several properties in areas where Hyatt didn't previously have a presence, and one that got a lot of attention is the Sailrock Resort in the Turks & Caicos.
If you're considering using your Hyatt points for a stay there, this just got much more valuable. The resort recently added round-trip, inter-island flights from Providenciales International Airport (PLS) to South Caicos International Airport (XSC) along with round-trip transfers from the airport to the resort as built-in components of stays at the property -- including those booked with Hyatt points. This is a fantastic new perk, one that we'd love to see extended to the various points hotels in the Maldives that tack on hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars worth of seaplane and boat transfers.
Of course, this change does come at a cost: Effective 11am Central Time on April 8, 2019, Sailrock Resort will shift into Hyatt's top-tier Category 8, moving from 30,000 points per night to 40,000 points per night.
However, this does open up a narrow window for you to maximize this newly-added perk. If you can book an award stay at Sailrock before the pricing change is implemented, you'll pay the current price (30k points per night) and enjoy the included inter-island transfers.
These transfers are regularly scheduled commercial flights on interCaribbean Airways. There are two daily flights in each direction:
- JY121 departs Providenciales at 8:30 AM, arrives in South Caicos at 9:00 AM
- JY161 departs Providenciales at 3:40 PM, arrives in South Caicos at 4:15 PM
- JY122 departs South Caicos at 9:10 AM, arrives in Providenciales at 9:40 AM
- JY162 departs South Caicos at 4:25 PM, arrives in Providenciales at 5:00 PM
As a result, you should try to time your arrival into Providenciales to coincide with the afternoon flight or plan to spend some time on the main island first. For additional details on these transfers, check out this link on the resort's website.
Awards at Sailrock Resort property book into a 47-square-meter (~500-square-foot) Ridgetop Ocean View Suite. This is an open floorplan, includes a kitchenette, soaking tub and a wraparound terrace to take in the beauty of the island. However, just be aware that in our searches, it appears that the hotel requires a three-night minimum to book through World of Hyatt, regardless of whether you're using your points or paying for your stay outright. If you search for a shorter stay through Hyatt's website, you'll receive the following error message:
If you extend that search just by a day, availability will appear:
If you're short on Hyatt points, remember that you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points directly to the World of Hyatt program, one of my favorite ways to get maximum value from the program.
Bottom Line
This is a great new perk to be included for guests that simplifies the whole process. Even though paying for these flights isn't normally that expensive (~$100 per person on the various dates I looked), it's still nice to not have to worry about getting to this remote destination and simply having points take care of it all. Just be sure to finalize your plans now if you can, since this limited-time pricing at the current 30k level is only available through 11am Central Time on April 8, 2019.
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