Good Winter Rates at the Hyatt Chesapeake

I was out on the Eastern Shore last week, looking at the many, many eagles that inhabit Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge during the winter for an Escapes column. The birding is terrific there, but here's a tip that's more about the good life than the wildlife. Only a few miles from the refuge, the Hyatt Chesapeake Resort is nearly a half-price opportunity at this time of year. Rooms that go for $289 during the summer high season are regularly available now for as low as $159 via their Web site. True, you'll spend your time among empty golf courses and nearly deserted dining rooms and covered outdoor pools. But that's all the better for a quiet weekend with whomever it is you like to spend quiet weekends with.

We've reviewed this place twice in the Escapes column. We sent Marc Fisher when it opened in September 2002, and he largely panned it. He predicted that the place would grow into its potential, but that it had a ways to go to work out the kinks. Craig Stoltz returned for a second look in June 2004, and proclaimed it much improved.

Last week was my own first stay there and I liked it better than either Marc or Craig, at least at $159 a night, I did. The place sits on a wide and lovely stretch of the Choptank River, a major corner of the Chesapeake Bay. The rooms are big and well-appointed, the bathrooms are plush and roomy and there was, last week at least, enough buzz around the bars and public areas to keep it from feeling like Jack Nicholson was going to hew down the door to our room. Best of all for this time of year are the killer indoor pool and the hot tub that has both inside and outside halves. For the winter rates, not a bad place at all for a winter getaway.

By Steve Hendrix |  January 17, 2007; 1:53 PM ET  | Category:  Steve Hendrix , Tales from the Road
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