Somewhere between the last day of camp and the first parent-teacher conference, there’s a window. Rates drop, crowds thin, and the resorts that were charging peak-summer prices in July start quietly sliding discounts across the table.
We went through the pile so you don’t have to. Below: a Florida resort marking its 25th birthday by knocking a quarter off your bill, $600 in walking-around money at a Texas Hill Country ranch with a brand-new lagoon, and a Santa Ynez golf package generous enough to feel like a clerical error.
Two are built for families. One is unapologetically for the grown-ups. All three are cheaper right now than they’ll be in December — and one has a deadline arriving faster than you’d like.
$600 to Spend However You Want in the Texas Hill Country
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort just wrapped a $100 million-plus renovation, and its “Play Your Way” package hands guests a $600 resort credit with essentially no instructions attached.
Spend it at The Big Spring, a brand-new 2.2-acre Crystal Lagoons lagoon with white sand beaches, cabanas, kayaking and paddleboarding — the first of its kind at a central U.S. resort. Or blow it on the FlowRider, the Toptracer driving range (35 bays where you can play virtual Pebble Beach or, inexplicably, Angry Birds), a treatment at Windflower Spa, or Texas wild game at Antlers Lodge.
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For families, the real draw is the five-acre water park: a 900-foot lazy river built to mimic a Texas river float, a two-story slide, and an adults-only pool for when you’ve had enough floating. New four-bedroom villas sleep the whole crew.
Ride the incredible deal! Photo courtesy of Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Villas
Alisal Ranch’s Fall Golf Deal: Two Rounds a Night, Which Is a Lot of Golf
Alisal Ranch sits on 10,500 acres of oak groves and rolling hills in the Santa Ynez Valley, just outside Santa Barbara — the kind of place where “understated luxury” means nobody comments on your golf shorts.
Through mid-December, the Fall Fairways package takes 20% off select Sunday-through-Thursday stays and includes two rounds of golf plus cart fees per night. Two. Per night. You can split them between the private Alisal Ranch Course and the acclaimed River Course, or just accept that this is now a golf trip.
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The rate also covers full breakfast and dinner daily, bar and restaurant beverages, a welcome amenity, and wine tasting with local partners. Two-night minimum, new reservations only, blackout dates apply. Evenings land at the historic Oak Bar. Book by phone: (888) 639-8072.
Around and around for less! Photo courtesy of Alisal Ranch
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Turns 25, Hands You 25% Off
The resort near Naples opened in September 2001, which means it has spent a quarter-century watching sunburned parents pretend the lazy river was for the kids. To mark the milestone, it’s offering 25 percent off stays through September 30 — book at hyattregencycoconutpoint.com with code 25for25.
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What you get for the discount: a three-acre water park with a palm-shaded lazy river, multiple pools (including one adults-only sanctuary), waterslides, and a complimentary 15-minute ferry to Big Hickory Island, where lounge chairs and umbrellas are waiting on a secluded white sand beach. Back on land there are fire pits, lawn games, a lakeside putting green, and dinner at Tarpon Bay or Tanglewood – A Southern Kitchen.
Fair warning: the spa is still under renovation until this fall. The lazy river is not.
Perfect place to be lazy. Photo courtesy of Hyatt Regency Coconut Point