One of the crucial frequent complaints I hear about lodge factors is that folk assume they’ll solely earn and redeem them at cookie-cutter motels which can be part of massive chains.
Prior to now a number of years, nevertheless, most of the main lodge loyalty applications have began branching out with acquisitions of, or partnerships with, quirkier boutique motels.
Hilton, for example, now partners with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Marriott acquired Postcard Cabins simply over a yr in the past and, maybe most fascinating, Hyatt acquired Mr & Mrs Smith in 2023.
Mr & Mrs Smith is a reserving platform for over 1,800 luxurious and boutique motels world wide, and since its acquisition, it has now change into attainable to book hundreds of these hotels by means of Hyatt and earn and redeem factors similar to you’ll on another keep.
Due to its Mr & Mrs Smith affiliation, World of Hyatt has really change into my go-to lodge factors program for reserving stays at offbeat (however upscale!) boutique motels world wide.
That’s how I ended up at considered one of my favourite wine-country motels, Leeu Home, within the hamlet of Franschhoek in South Africa’s Cape Winelands over Bastille Day final summer season. Removed from a typical lodge expertise, my keep encapsulated simply what I recognize a lot about Hyatt’s linkup with Mr & Mrs Smith.
What’s Leeu Home?
With simply 12 rooms and suites, Leeu Home is an expensive boutique lodge alongside Franschhoek’s essential drag of Huguenot Avenue.
The lodge contains just a few Cape Dutch-style buildings with stunning, sculpture-filled gardens and even an inviting pool with gorgeous views of the dramatic Drakenstein Mountains.
Its location within the coronary heart of city means you don’t even want a automotive for those who don’t wish to hire one. You’ll be able to stroll to all of the eating places and boutiques on the town, and the lodge has shuttle service to close by wineries and its sister property simply outdoors the village, Leeu Estates.
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Leeu Home appears like simply that: a home the place you merely calm down by the crackling fire within the entrance front room and have a glass of wine from the area as you admire a few of the items from Leeu Assortment founder Analjit Singh’s spectacular artwork assortment.
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Most rooms are set off a central courtyard, so you’ll possible run into fellow visitors right here and there, although there’s a good quantity of privateness within the expansive rooms.
As a result of small measurement of the lodge, and thus the restricted visitor depend, each employees member will know you by identify just about as quickly as you arrive, they usually’re additionally readily available to supply assist reserving eating places and vineyard visits and recommendation on the very best close by mountain climbing trails.
Rooms at Leeu Home
My Basic Room was simply subsequent door to the foyer and had a set of glass doorways that I may curtain off for privateness. Although within the beginning class, it was practically 400 sq. toes and had a big essential bed room space with a king-size mattress wearing Egyptian cotton sheets.
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There was loads of closet area, a minibar that included coffee- and tea-making services, and a desk by the door, plus a flat-screen tv and cute blue and white tile accents.
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A big a part of the room’s footprint was taken up by the lavatory, which was positively palatial. It had good-looking black and white harlequin tiling and an unlimited glassed-in bathe, plus a separate country-style, clawfoot bathtub and twin marble vanities. The toilet was stocked with South African-made Therapeutic Earth tub merchandise.
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Spacious and luxurious, my room felt like a bit cocoon for enjoyable after a day of mountain climbing and wine tasting.
Eating at Leeu Home
Leeu Home has a small bar within the public front room simply inside the road entrance, and a essential restaurant adjoining to the backyard known as The Conservatory that’s primarily the place for breakfast, although there’s an all-day menu with a smattering of normal dishes, together with some sandwiches and pasta choices.
Although small, the breakfast buffet contains attractive fresh-baked pastries, loads of seasonal fruit and a selection of espresso drinks, teas and fresh-squeezed juices. Visitors may select from sizzling choices like avocado on rye toast, creamy native mushrooms on toast, eggs Benedict and French toast.
Curiously, charges bookable by means of Hyatt embody breakfast, and whenever you redeem factors on your room, it’s also included, which is a implausible bonus given the standard of the meals.
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As a substitute of sticking to The Conservatory for lunch or dinner, most visitors have a tendency to go out to the varied wine-tasting rooms within the space that serve meals — and a complimentary tasting at Mullineux & Leeu Household Wines at Leeu Estates is often included with stays at Leeu Home as properly.
The Leeu Assortment additionally contains a number of different eating places, a few of that are at Leeu Estates, just like the much-lauded La Petite Colombe, in addition to outposts on the town together with Protege and Epice on the close by Le Quartier Francais (one other boutique property on the town, although not bookable through Hyatt).
You may as well merely stroll throughout the road from Leeu Home and dine at a number of elegant institutions from chef Ryan Shell, together with Eleven for seasonal up to date Cape delicacies, Oku for Asian-influenced tasting menus and Yama for easy however hearty sushi.
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Facilities at Leeu Home
Given its measurement, there aren’t a ton of different on-property facilities at Leeu Home to talk of, aside from its implausible artwork assortment and its peaceable pool.
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Nevertheless, visitors can head to Leeu Estates, which is a five-minute drive away, to make use of the fitness center there in addition to to make use of the Leeu Spa by Therapeutic Earth.
There’s a quiet leisure space with a plunge pool.
The remedies, in the meantime, make the most of Therapeutic Earth merchandise with African-sourced elements like marula oil and Kalahari melon. Among the many signature experiences are a restorative hydration facial ($75 for 60 minutes) and a vinotherapy physique scrub and therapeutic massage that comes with antioxidants distilled from regionally grown pinotage grapes plus a clay physique masks.
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Reserving Leeu Home
If you wish to earn or redeem factors in addition to get pleasure from any elite advantages to which you’re entitled, the easiest way to ebook Leeu Home is thru Hyatt.
Fairly than a hard and fast chart with off-peak, commonplace and peak dates, like Hyatt makes use of for its personal properties, Mr & Mrs Smith properties are priced dynamically by way of factors.
That’s each excellent news and dangerous information. The excellent news is which you can ebook just about any out there room or suite when you’ve got the factors and are inclined to take action. The dangerous information is that you simply gained’t be getting the very best worth on your factors.
Throughout my go to, nightly charges began at $524 or 40,250 factors per evening for a Basic Room, yielding a worth of 1.3 cents per Hyatt level, properly under TPG’s January 2026 valuation of Hyatt factors at 1.7 cents apiece; this appears to be the usual worth you may get at this explicit property, irrespective of the date or sort of room or suite you ebook.
Nonetheless, if you’re swimming in Hyatt factors, redeeming them right here could be a good approach to save on in any other case costly stays.
If you happen to do wish to pay a money charge, take advantage of your keep through the use of a Hyatt-branded card just like the World of Hyatt Credit Card (see rates and fees) or World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (see rates and fees), each of which supply lucrative welcome bonuses, automated elite standing and elevated incomes charges at Hyatt properties.
Alternatively, if you wish to redeem Hyatt factors for a keep, you possibly can switch Final Rewards factors earned on playing cards just like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) on to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, which can put an award keep inside attain.
Backside line
Because of Hyatt’s acquisition of Mr & Mrs Smith, it’s now attainable to earn and redeem World of Hyatt factors at fabulous boutique motels world wide, together with boutique motels just like the 12-room Leeu Home within the Cape Winelands.
That’s why World of Hyatt stays considered one of my high loyalty applications, and why I’ll be maintaining a tally of my factors as much more Mr & Mrs Smith motels change into bookable by means of Hyatt.
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