Hyatt Vacation Club at The Welk – Escondido, CA

Terrible! I did a promotional time share presentation here and was sold on a "gift" of 7 days in Hawaii. Such a scam!!! They give you a certificate to a fake company and expect you to literally send them a cashiers check or money in the mail. This company is Casablanca Express. Look up the reviews. Would you want to send your money there? I have a terrible taste in my mouth from this experience and makes me think twice about ever staying at a Hyatt again. I can't believe a company that I thought had such high standards would do that! seriously WTF. the promotional code for the other gift didn't even work! What a JOKE! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!

If I could give zero stars, I would. This isn’t just a "dirty room" issue; this hotel has a deep-rooted, systemic infestation. Within minutes of checking in, I found a cockroach in the kitchen. Management’s solution was to move me to an entirely separate building—yet the nightmare continued. I found another cockroach in the second building as well. This proves the infestation is property-wide and that moving rooms is a useless "Band-Aid" fix. It is clear that the hotel's hygiene standards are non-existent. For your own health and peace of mind, stay anywhere else. Unless you want to bring roaches home in your luggage, avoid this place like the plague.

We love this place, so glad we decided to give it a shot! We got a 2 bedroom villa for our family of 5 for 3 nights. Check in was fast and easy, I was nervous after reading reviews of having to wait over an hour in line to check in but when we arrived around 6pm we were the only ones in line and got checked in and given our parking pass quickly, they do try and get you to attend a timeshare presentation when getting your parking pass but he was very kind and not pushy at all. The villa is beautiful, clean, large and tastefully decorated. Both rooms and the living room have a slider out to the large balcony, bathrooms are huge and have double sinks, showers have shampoo, conditioner and body wash (good stuff that smells great), two beds in one room and king in the other, master bedroom has an awesome tub and separate shower, both have a door to a private toilet which is nice with a large family. The couch folds out into a bed, extra linen provided and a tv in every room. Plenty of seating on balcony and large dining table, full kitchen stocked with dishes, pots and pans, coffee maker, toaster etc. they provided coffee, liquid mini creamers, tea bags, sugar packs, salt and pepper, trash bags, 6 dishwasher tabs, dish soap and sponges, kitchen towels, 3 single tide laundry detergent boxes and 8 dryer sheets which was great. We only used two pool facilities but they have multiple, the main pool with the slide and food area was pretty busy for our liking but the one closest to our room was not crowded, had a pool, 2 hot tubs and a lap pool. Rec rooms (multiple on property) have pool tables, foosball, some arcade games, air hockey, pool towels etc. to use as desired. They have a golf cart shuttle to take you around the large property if you want to visit the volleyball court, fishing area with poles available for rent, theatre, restaurant etc. All staff we encountered were very friendly and welcoming, they do seem to get very busy at times and don’t answer the phone but I just waited a few minutes and tried again. We were unable to get one of the tv remotes to work late night and they sent someone within 30 minutes, called and asked where we could purchase ice and they had a 5 gallon bag brought to us complimentary as well as extra laundry soap and we had purchased food one night that needed a cookie sheet, I called because there wasn’t one in the room and they brought us one!! Very impressed and appreciative!!! We did not receive housecleaning services but there is a vacuum and broom in the villa. We called for extra towels and bags and they brought them within a reasonable time. We had Walmart groceries delivered to our room on day 1 to save on meals so I can’t comment on the food, they do have barbecue areas available at each area though and a couple food places available on site including a nice restaurant by check in and a quick service snack shack with things like nachos and hot dogs and a bar with a small selection of alcohol at one of the main pools. The spa only has massage and facial services available right now, not sure if they normally offer more services but they do call it a “full-service spa” I was hoping to get my hair cut and a pedicure but that’s ok, not a huge deal and saved me some money haha. Is the place absolutely perfect? No. But is anywhere? I could pick it apart like some do with small things, maybe the baseboards could use a dusting, caulking could be touched up etc but I don’t care about that as long as it’s clean and comfortable which it is! My only complaint is the WiFi, it is free but useless, only worked a couple times and was slow but we’re on vacay so shouldn’t need it much anyway. I would live here lol it’s beautiful, modern, lots of things to explore and the staff is great, we love it and can’t wait to come back. We stayed in the “Gypsy” building.

Our experience overall was good. The spring break crowds were done, so the vibe was very chill every where. The check-in process did seem a bit slow, so I can only imagine the time it would take on a very busy day. The staff was always very accommodating and helpful. Our unit was very quiet, although the view was nothing special. We would go there again.

This place has so many serious issues that people need to be aware. First, do not expect to get a good night’s sleep. Between extremely loud neighbors, paper-thin walls, and heavy machinery and lawn equipment starting at dawn and running nonstop, rest is nearly impossible. When I contacted the front desk, I was told this is “how things have been since 1962” and essentially that nothing can be done. There was zero acknowledgment that guests are paying to sleep and rest. What made this even worse was being told, almost as if it were a selling point, that the constant noise and early-morning machinery are “why the grounds look nice” and somehow benefit guests. That explanation is both dismissive and absurd. Guests should not have to sacrifice basic comfort and sleep just to justify landscaping. Second, cleanliness is unacceptable. There were insects everywhere, cockroaches, spiders, and visible webs. The carpets felt old and poorly maintained, and the overall condition of the room triggered allergies. It honestly feels like basic upkeep has been neglected for years. Maintenance is another major problem. Several appliances did not work, wifi doesn’t work and when requesting help, staff appeared overwhelmed and sometimes responded with frustration rather than assistance. It seems like they are understaffed and unable to keep up with the number of rooms. Amenities like the fitness center and pool are not properly maintained either. There are safety concerns, including lack of cleaning and no clear precautions people slipping and getting seriously hurt no real accountability from management. The most concerning part is management’s attitude. The repeated response, “this is how it’s always been since 1962”, is not acceptable. That is not an explanation; it’s an excuse. Guests should not feel stuck or dismissed when raising legitimate concerns. This place feels poorly managed, understaffed, and neglected. I would strongly recommend staying elsewhere.