Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Hyatt reopens the ex-Byblos hotel in Malaga

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

From out of pretty much nowhere, Hyatt has become a good bet if you are looking to redeem points for a luxury summer holiday in Southern Europe.

Over the last couple of years we’ve covered openings such as 7Pines Resort Ibiza, 7Pines Resort Sardinia and Magma Resort Santorini. Hyatt has also bought the ex-Hilton Sa Torre Mallorca which will be integrated into World of Hyatt at some point.

We now also have La Zambra, website here, which is being described as “a relaxed, bohemian retreat”.

Hyatt La Zambra hotel

La Zambra is the former iconic Byblos Hotel in Mijas. Byblos opened in 1986 and was for many years an iconic and high profile luxury hideaway before closing in 2010.

The newly renovated hotel has become part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt portfolio, which consists of high-end independent hotels operating within the Hyatt ‘system’. Whilst retaining their own management, Unbound hotels act like directly managed Hyatt properties to all intents and purposes.

The nearest airport is Malaga which is 20 minutes drive away. Fuengirola, Puerto Banús and Malaga are all nearby.

The hotel has 197 rooms and suites as well as a 2,500 sq m spa and four restaurants. Sports facilities include two tennis courts, a paddle court and two outdoor swimming pools.

Hyatt La Zambra hotel room

La Zambra looks especially attractive to golfers, being adjacent to two 18-hole courses. It is not a beach hotel – you will need to travel 3km to the coast, with the hotel itself nestling in the Mijas mountains.

As a World of Hyatt redemption, the hotel is currently a Category 5 hotel. This means that redemptions cost between 17,000 and 23,000 points per night.

With rooms for next Summer starting at €700, La Zambra is exceptional value on a ‘pence per point’ basis. Even better, you can currently buy World of Hyatt points with a 30% discount via this link. You are paying around 1.3p per point.

At peak season, this means you are saving around 50% if you buy points to redeem here vs paying cash for a room directly. Even better is using points for a suite upgrade, which you can guarantee at the time of booking.

Two images of the hotel are above, click to enlarge. The website is here.


World of Hyatt update – April 2025:

Get bonus points: 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 (44)

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

  • Keith Malcolm says:

    The CP London Kingston has been closed to paying guests for a long time as it has a government contract to house Afghan refugees. My understanding is that they were expected to have found alternative accommodation long ago but that hasn’t happened. It was due to reopen to guests on 1 October and had been taking reservation then.

  • Thegasman says:

    I’ve stayed at CP Kingston a few times as it’s 1 mile from my sister’s house. It’s location is the only reason I’ve returned so I’m pretty surprised it’s even been nominated for any awards.

    They seem to always have big wedding receptions on that continue after midnight. Service is also patchy at best.

    If you look on Google reviews then it seems they are closing to accommodate refugees. This would fit with them able to be so specific with dates. It’s slightly odd behaviour for one of the “top performing” IHG hotels & is also very shabby customer service if they’re fobbing people off with a claims they have had to close unexpectedly.

    • Alex Sm says:

      This confirms my earlier wild guess in the comments above. Especially after Rwanda plans fell through…

      • John says:

        It’s funny how I’d like to visit Rwanda but refugees are desperate not to be sent there, and they get to stay in a CP while I’m more likely to find myself in an HIX.

        • Erico1875 says:

          I suppose that’s the difference between wanting to and having to

        • Charles Martel says:

          I guess the difference being if you’re in Rwanda and your application for asylum is refused you’re screwed, if the same happens in the UK you melt into the grey/black gig economy.

        • Chrisasaurus says:

          I’m going to wager the reasons you want to visit are not the same as the reasons that others are desperate not to be sent there

  • B says:

    O/T: any advice on buying gilts (if possible)?

  • NorthernLass says:

    The CP MAN has also quietly stopped accepting new bookings and is cancelling all others (though annoying not proactively contacting people until very close to their stays), I think the same applies re refugees. Presumably it’s on the basis that it looks as though the war in Ukraine will be going on for some time.

    • NorthernLass says:

      Or the Rwanda plan isn’t working (which anyone could have predicted, frankly!)

      • Charles Martel says:

        Rwanda would have accommodated 200 asylum seekers, 1,100 arrived on Friday alone, it was never more a sop to persuade the public they were doing something about the issue. If it had been a serious plan they would have removed the legal ambiguity with primary legislation as the Danish have done.

    • Brian78 says:

      “it looks as though the war in Ukraine will be going on for some time.”

      Well it did start in 2014

  • lumma says:

    At least extending the United cash back offer let’s you have a bit of time to see if you can afford a holiday in the USA in a couple of weeks time…

  • Kraut says:

    UK to Aus Upgrades

    Trying to use AMEX points to upgrade economy tickets to business for a trip in 6 months, are there any airlines that have unlimited upgrades or are they all restricted by the amount of award seats? Best option seems to be Emirates but even then they only seem to release seats occasionally so it is a lottery to transfer points over to SKywards and then hope the seats come up

  • Rob says:

    Yes, no problem.

  • Tracy says:

    Was looking at flights Edinburgh – Chicago for start of September next year (will be released in the next week for booking). £1350 each for basic economy over a weekend at the end of August lol…not going to happen even with £250 discount.

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.