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Hyatt opening hotels in Santorini and Sardinia in 2022

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Hyatt is pushing ahead with its European expansion with the announcement of two very interesting openings for 2022.

First up is Magma Resort Santorini, due to open in mid-2022. An image is below.

This will be part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt’s version of Marriott’s Autograph or Hilton’s Curio Collection. These brands allow hotels to join a chain without adhering to any strict brand standards as long as they are high quality.

Magma Resort Santorini Hyatt

Magma Resort Santorini “will offer one-of-a-kind luxury stays. The 59-room resort will be nestled among traditional old vineyards and located on the lava-made slopes of Vourvoulos where guests will be able to enjoy stunning Santorini sunsets.”

It is already on the Hyatt website here although not bookable.

Second up is 7Pines Resort Sardinia, part of the Destination by Hyatt brand. This is expected to open in mid 2022. It is not a surprise to see this resort join Hyatt after the original 7Pines Resort in Ibiza signed last year.

To quote: “7Pines Resort Sardinia will mark the second Destination by Hyatt hotel in Europe. Ideally located overlooking the archipelago of La Maddalena and surrounded by untouched coastline and a nature reserve, guests will enjoy laid-back luxury and a deep sense of place in this unique setting.”

Hyatt’s presence in Madrid will be boosted by Thompson Madrid, also expected in mid 2022. This marks the reintroduction of the Thompson brand to Europe – it gave up its London hotel in Knightsbridge after a couple of, presumably unsuccessful, years.

Hyatt opening hotels in Santorini and Sardinia in 2022

To quote: “The dynamic, thoughtfully curated hotel will be located in the center of the new Golden Mile of Madrid, steps away from the most visited icons of the city. Striking design and spaces, including a rooftop terrace and pool, are sure to make the hotel a cultural hub showcasing the individuality of the locale.”

Santorini and Sardinia are likely to be exceptionally good value for World of Hyatt redemptions. World of Hyatt has ‘last room availability’ which means that if a standard room is bookable for cash, it must be made available for points. With Hyatt’s award chart capping out at 35,000 points, it should be easy to exceed our 1.1p per Hyatt point valuation in Summer.

Hyatt has also excellent value suite and suite upgrade awards, which I took advantage of on my recent trip to Paris.

The problem, of course, is that there is no easy route to earn Hyatt points in the UK without ‘heads in beds’. There is no credit card and no credit card transfer partners.

Doing a Membership Rewards transfer deal with American Express would be a big win for both sides in my view. The lack of partners puts people off doing occasional Hyatt stays as there is no way of topping up the points earned.

PS. Looking further ahead, Hyatt has signed two luxury resorts on Lanzarote – Alila Lanzarote and Grand Hyatt Lanzarote – which will open in 2025.


World of Hyatt update – November 2024:

Get bonus points: World of Hyatt is not currently running a global promotion

New to World of Hyatt?  Read our overview of World of Hyatt here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on what we think World of Hyatt points are worth is here.

Buy points: If you need additional World of Hyatt points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from Hyatt and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (58)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Dani says:

    I can’t believe the service I received with Virgin Money (a la Clydesdale Bank). Ended up closing the VA card, just so many cock ups.

    I’m not sure the bank ‘is qualified’ for such a complex banking facility..we will see.

    • Frank says:

      Thats your personal experience. One of few

      • John says:

        One of many

        • Frank says:

          ..with no real explanation or context whatsoever

        • Bob says:

          Indeed. One of my first transactions on my new VA+ card was a Virgin cash booking. No extra (double) points were awarded as advertised so I raised a complaint.
          That was almost 2 months ago, and I’ve heard nothing since except for an email stating that the complaint will be resolved within 8 weeks or I can go to the Ombudsmen. I’ve not been credited the missing miles… Surely this is as simple as it gets!

          • Melonfarmer says:

            Yes, they seem to have forgotten about double points… I quoted their website at them, but it’s not worth the bother.

            Re. Curve idea: Virgin in “bandwagon-jumping” shock?

            Still can’t believe that the Creation saga (I’m on the naughty step) was due to some “have a go hero” worried about the 0.3% vs 0.2% interchange fee. Other routes are still available.

        • CarpalTravel says:

          +1

    • Secret Squirrel says:

      Yes, pretty awful service but see what happens when you make an official complaint. 🙂

    • Ian says:

      Every company providing every type of service has examples of good and bad customer service. I opened a Virgin Money account a few months ago and have had not a singe issue with it. Just because some people have had bad experiences doesn’t mean everyone else will.

    • Chrism20 says:

      My accounts are all ex Clydesdale and never seem to have many issues tbh.

      We’re there issues when Virgin was standalone or have they all materialised with merging the three banks into one name?

    • Track says:

      I can add up to this. VM (Clydesdale Bank) were unable to honour Direct Debit Guarantee for a 10 quid cancelled DD.

  • Frank says:

    Yes we want this curve styled card ASAP!!

    • Andrew says:

      Can’t imagine how disappointing it would be with Clydesdale’s IT powering it.

      • Melonfarmer says:

        Credit card service took a dive when they stopped the web client & thus removed secure messaging.

        Pre Covid the phone was good. Memorable for the (pre August 2021) “payments to brokers have always been blocked” statement (er, no they haven’t, but best not to push it).

  • Thywillbedone says:

    With more Hyatt properties opening in Europe, what chance a credit card launch here? Is there no economic case for it?

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      At 0.3% interchange fee?

      • Thywillbedone says:

        Interchange fees no longer at that level with the UK having left the EU…

        • Track says:

          They are at that level for UK to UK transactions (domestic).

          Only UK to EU and vice versa cross border transactions are up for grabs (eg Visa on Amazon Luxembourg entity).

        • Rob says:

          Interchange fees are unchanged – EU law became UK law, word for word.

      • Rob says:

        It’s not about the fee income. It’s about getting people interacting with your brand. Run it to break even and the branding benefits are just icing on top.

  • Paul says:

    Santorini- 40 years ago stayed in a youth hostel and had a fab time!
    Went back in August – OMG if ever there was an example of mass tourism destroying an island. Ludicrously expensively sub par service.

    • Peggerz says:

      +1.
      42 years ago to be precise. Sleeping bag laid out on the roof of the youth hostel IIRC, sleeping under the stars.

      • PerkyPat says:

        It was kind of a cave, wasnt it? Was there in 1983, so memories have faded a bit. Wonderful time though.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Even becoming an Amex MR transfer partner would be a great step in the right direction.

    • Lady London says:

      Mykonos too ruined in the same way, from what I understand

      Of course we ourselves are part of the problem

  • Cat says:

    It is worth mentioning that, in order to enjoy sunsets on Santorini (or indeedany island), you really should be on the West Coast, rather than the North-East coast, where Vourvoulos is. This is especially true on Santorini, where the East Coast comes with spectacular Caldera views.

    • Cat says:

      Indeedany is not the name of another Greek island, it was meant to be two separate words.
      If only we could edit our comments…

      • Phil W says:

        There was me frantically punching away at my keyboard searching for glorious sunsets on this mystical island of Indeedany.

        Almost as anticlimactic as the time I searched Google Images for Lesboss.

      • Alex Sm says:

        Yes, comment editing is a much-needed feature here… hopefully @Rob and @Rhys will introduce it at the next upgrade of the site/forum

        • Rhys says:

          Post editing is enabled in the forums for 5 mins after posting.

          • Chas says:

            That doesn’t help when forum posts go to moderation (albeit a useful and often called for feature)!

      • Mike says:

        I thought “indeedany island” was going to be my dream destination

        • Cat says:

          In that case @Mike, for me Indeedany island is a tropical paradise with palm-fringed white sand beaches, azure blue seas teeming with colourful fish, unbleached coral reef, delicious cheap local cuisine and a rainforest clad interior filled with endemic wildlife.

          What is Indeedany island like for you?

    • rich says:

      Lol – you win today’s award for stating the bleeding obvious. East coast is best for sunrises too btw folks!

      • Cat says:

        Yes, but it’s not as bleeding obvious that Vourvoulos is on the NE Coast, unless you know Santorini quite well, now is it?

        • TGLoyalty says:

          Only if you use google maps to check where somewhere is.

          • Rhys says:

            You’d be amazed at how often people don’t use their own initiative. Not everyone is as thorough as you are TG 🙂

          • TGLoyalty says:

            Yeah I can imagine.

            Tbh the internet can be a rabbit hole for info on properties but google maps and look at the general area / location is always a must for me.

        • Chrisasaurus says:

          No but most people know that the sun sets to the west…

          • Rhys says:

            I think you’re missing Cat’s point there Chris 🙂

          • Cat says:

            It’s also worth noting that not everyone knows just how spectacular sunsets are over the Caldera, when enjoyed from a clifftop cocktail bar. They might not realise what they’re missing out on, even if they look on Google maps (unless they use the topographical map, and can cope with contour lines). You can keep quibbling whether I should state the obvious if you really have that much time to waste today, but there was useful information in my post, and TBH given how many people here still argue about vaccines here, some people clearly need the bleeding obvious stating for them.

            I suspect he’s deliberately missing my point, Rhys! Always happy to spell things out though (occupational hazard, I suppose). Thanks for the tip about the editing function.

        • rich says:

          Sorry Cat, I was only messing around. The thought of being sat at one’s west facing hotel beach bar watching the sunset over the Greek islands with a beer in hand has brightened what is a cold wet winter day.

  • Graham Walsh says:

    Will it be a 💳?? 😂

    • TGLoyalty says:

      It’s probably a white label version of curve branded for virgin.

  • manilabay says:

    Looking at the images, or maybe it’s because they are a mockup, will Happy Points be a new points currency for Virgin Money? Maybe transferable to Virgin Points at an awful rate…just speculation but I wouldn’t be surprised

  • Magic Mike says:

    It would be quite hard for Virgin/Clydesdale to “do a Creation” and bin all their customers who have (ab)used Curve, as some here including Rob have suggested, if they were planning on launching their own version…?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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