Park Hyatt New York Review
Overview & Pricing
Park Hyatt New York, the company’s flagship property, is a relatively new five diamond luxury hotel located in the heart of Manhattan. On a recent trip to New York my wife, daughter and I stayed for two nights. The lowest category rooms were going for $765 per night plus taxes during our stay. I redeemed 30,000 points for each of the two nights.
Key Stats
- Base Room Prices: ~$765 plus tax.
- Award Costs: 30,000 points per night.
- My Stay: 2 nights in a Deluxe Park View room for a cost of 60,000 points.
Location
The Park Hyatt New York is in an amazing location. Located on the lower floors of One57 (also nicknamed the Billionaire’s Building) the hotel has entrances on both 57th and 58th street. It is about a 5 minute walk to the subway and less than 3 minutes to Central Park. In the immediate area you will find high-end shopping and dining along with just about anything else you need.
Check-In
Since the hotel is located inside of a condo tower, it has a small entry lobby on the ground floor. From there you take an elevator up to the real lobby. My wife, daughter and I stayed our first two nights in New York at the Intercontinental Times Square and took an Uber to the hotel. Our Uber driver approached the wrong way and ended up dropping us directly across 58th street from the entrance to avoid making an illegal U-turn.
Our arrival at the hotel was underwhelming. While the 58th street entrance is grand, the doormen did not greet us nor did they offer to take our bags. Once inside, we checked in with an attendant on the ground floor. She took my information and credit card and explained I was booked into a non-park view Deluxe room. As a Diamond I should have been in a Park View room if available, so I asked for one. She did comply, but told me we would have to wait.
At other Park Hyatt properties the attendant will escort you to a waiting area and even escort you to your room. That simply wasn’t the case here. After about 5 minutes of checking in, she finally offered to have someone take our bags, but we declined. She then pointed to the elevators and told us to wait upstairs in the main lobby.
Once upstairs we waited in the lobby area for only about 10 minutes until we were given keys to our room. The room elevators (different from the ones that get you to the lobby) are located around the corner and I had to walk back to the desk to ask how to find them. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the service shortcomings.
Room Review
The Park Hyatt New York is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed in. From the stylish and modern public areas down to the amazing rooms. Our 20th story Deluxe Park View room was simply appointed, but it felt comfortable and luxurious. It was also quite large for New York City. While I have no complaints about the room at all, the service once again was a letdown.
For example we had requested a crib when reserving the room and then again at check-in, but it was nowhere to be found. After following up, it took over three hours for one to be delivered. Simply unacceptable for an $800 per night 210 room hotel.
As one would expect in a hotel of this caliber, the room is fairly high tech. For convenience, a tablet is included where you can order room service, request extra amenities and order turndown. On the first night we were headed out to Central Park so I decided to order turndown to test it out. The tablet let me schedule turndown for 7:10PM. We arrived back at the room at 7:40PM and nothing had been touched. The housekeeper did knock on our door at 7:50PM asking if we needed anything, but no mention of a turndown was made.
While the room area was extremely nice, the bathroom took it to another level! With heated stone floors, a television built right into the mirror and an amazing bath overlooking a sliver of Central Park, I was in heaven. The shower which had several heads including a rain head built into the ceiling, also had the best water pressure I have ever encountered. It was simply amazing.
Food
As a Hyatt Diamond member, I receive either 1,000 points or a welcome amenity. Unlike some properties where you are given a list of things to choose from, we only had the choice of “sweet” or “savory” when checking in. I chose sweet. Since it was my wife’s birthday, I had put that information on the reservation and apparently they took the opportunity to combine my amenity with their “Happy Birthday”.
On our first night we arrived back in the room to find a bottle of wine and a small tiramisu accompanied by a note. It felt like a nice gesture to celebrate her birthday, but apparently it was my amenity?!? It seems like they piggybacked on the Diamond amenity. This would have been fine if the note didn’t sort of hint at the fact that this was a gesture for her birthday. Again, not a huge deal, but another little miss.
We also were entitled to free breakfast during our stay. Since our check-in was so disjointed I forgot to ask about how breakfast is handled and the information wasn’t proactively offered. In fact, they left something else out as well. It wasn’t until we went downstairs for breakfast on the first morning that we learned the restaurant was closed for refurbishment. Instead of their normal spread, they had a makeshift buffet setup in their lounge area.
Since the makeshift area they were using wasn’t a restaurant, the dining experience was strange. The seating (mostly couches) did not make it easy to eat and the hot dishes were TERRIBLE. Soggy egg whites, cold pancakes and hard potatoes. There were only six hot items to choose from and they were all cold and bad. Thankfully the cold items (fruit, meat and pastries) were top notch. The bagels for example were amazing.
Maybe you are wondering what this costs for normal people? The bill was $105 all-in for two people including an 18% service charge that wasn’t supposed to be added for small parties according to the menu. (We didn’t pay that since it was taken off of our bill at checkout as Diamond members.)
Diamond members at this property are also able to order room service breakfast. Had I been told about the restaurant situation at check-in I would have ordered room service the first day, however it was too late by the time I found out. Thankfully the room service food was better. MUCH better.
The hotel gives you $45 per person to use towards room service. While the food and gratuity are included, you do have to pay the $6 delivery charge. With 3 of us in the room, I was told I could spend up to $135. That bought us quite a lot of food including Eggs Benedict, fresh fruit, pancakes and the amazing Maine Lobster Egg White Scramble seen above. It was a feast and one that made up for the terrible breakfast the morning before.
Facilities
The Park Hyatt New York has a fantastic pool located on the top floor of the hotel. In fact, I would say it was the best “tower hotel pool” I had ever seen until I visited the Andaz in Tokyo a month or so later. The pool is large, has great city views and there are lounge chairs and a hot tub as well. It was very busy when I went the first time, so I snuck back up early in the morning to take some photos.
Just above the pool is a very well equipped gym area. It has all of the equipment you would expect along with chilled towels and water. The views weren’t too shabby either!
Amenities
Given that it is a 5 star hotel in Manhattan, the concierge can get you just about anything. Since we were traveling with a baby, we weren’t in need of much in terms of restaurant or show tickets, but we did take advantage of one awesome perk. The hotel gives guests a free bike rental to explore Central Park. All you need to do is ask the concierge and they will provide you with a certificate.
The certificate is redeemed at a bike shop about a block away. We were given two certificates and included was a car seat for Ellie as well. If you want to rent for longer than two hours then the charge is minimal. We had an amazing time riding around Central Park.
Conclusion
The Park Hyatt New York is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever stayed in. I truly have no complaints about the rooms, public areas or facilities at all. With that said, the service was a huge letdown. Sure some of the things I have mentioned might be a bit nitpicky, but this is a 5 star flagship property that costs $800+ per night. My review takes that into account.
When we left on our final day, I felt like we had stayed at a 5 star hotel with 3 star service. Not something I would ever complain to management about, but something that would probably keep me from staying here again given the much cheaper (and almost equally as nice) options that exist.
More Photos
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Stayed here Oct 2015 for 2 nights and the service was fantastic. Completely different arrival and check in experience. sorry to hear many with bad experiences.
Wife and I just stayed there in December for 2 nights and said the exact same thing to ourselves. Couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but we won’t be back either, especially at that price we can get a really nice suite at several properties in NYC that we like a lot. I think if our room was $350 for the night, we would have been singing its praises, but $950 means you better be damn good and they weren’t.
Photos, not phones, LOL.
I suppose it’s hard to tell from the phones, but the in “Main Lobby check-in desk” photo it seems like panels are falling off the wall. And in “Lobby sitting area” the chair backs and pillows on the couch seems quite worn!
Was it a crib or pack n play that they finally delivered?
It was a very nice wooden crib. Not one of those metal death cribs that most Hyatts have.
May be you didn’t hold a hundred dollar bill in your hand when you got off the taxi, that’s why the doorman didn’t offer to take your bags. LOL
Bummer! I just booked six nights for the first week of June as an end-of-school treat for my kids and really looked forward to this stay.
We had the same service issues at PH Chicago before Thanksgiving. I waited for the doorman to open the door for us, but he didn’t offer to take our bags even though we were traveling with three young kids. The staff never acknowledged us during our stay as we came and went. The room and bathroom were the smallest of any PH we’ve stayed in, but it had a beautiful view of the Water Tower and the lake. We even watched the Magnificant Mile Christmas Parade there!
Thanks for the tip on free bike rentals in Central Park. Do you have any other tips on NYC with kids? We were just there over Thanksgiving (after Chicago) and are looking forward to seeing the city when it’s warm.
Weird that the restaurant is already being refurbished, seeing as how the hotel is still relatively new.
I thought the same thing, but didn’t push too hard for an answer as to why it needed to be refurbished so soon.
The Hyatt Centric at Times Square just stated to remodel their restaurant as well on Jan 3, 2017 and the breakfast spread they offer in the rooftop bar is a joke.
This was my experience exactly. Great review. Hit it on the head.
fruit/cake is the norm diamond amenity. champange/wine is not.
“The hotel gives you $45 per person to use towards room service.”
Do they give this to everyone, or just because you are diamond? We are looking at using our 2 Free Nights there this summer. That would be a great perk.
Diamond only
Yes that is the Diamond breakfast amenity. Sorry for not making that clearer.
No problem. It was pretty clear – just wishful thinking on my behalf.
I completely agree with the review regarding the service at the Park Hyatt New York. I stayed at the Park Hyatt last year with my wife and 2 children for two nights and encountered service issues as well. We were not greeted at the door by the doorman and our room wasn’t ready despite arriving after the official check-in time. I did not ask for any compensation. However, since our room was not ready when we arrived, we were offered a free meal in their lounge which we accepted. The meal totaled $100-$110 for the four of us, but it ended up being free due to their tardiness. We were not escorted up to our room when it was ready and we had technical problems with the tablet in our room. The Park Hyatt sent a person to our room who took the tablet to get it repaired and never brought it back. We also had a service issue getting a room service tray out of our room. I was annoyed about the service issues we had encountered and I sent an email to the Park Hyatt New York Guest Relations Manager after the first night detailing the service issues we had experienced. The Guest Relations Manager responded by apologizing for the service miscues and asked if I could briefly speak to her at the front desk during check out the next day. When I checked out of the Park Hyatt, I spoke to someone in Guest Relations and the General Manager of the hotel. I did not ask for any compensation, but I explained to them how the above-mentioned service issues could ruin an otherwise nice stay at their hotel. Guest Relations apologized again for the service issues and asked if I would accept 30,000 Hyatt points that could be used at any Hyatt property. We accepted the points and Guest Relations expressed their hope that we would return to the Park Hyatt New York and give them another chance to demonstrate proper 5 star service.
I’m glad they made it right for you.
We have stayed there too and it felt really cold and stuffy. It was probably one of the best rooms I have had and if you were just getting away for a romantic weekend and were chilling in the room then it would be perfect. Location is also great….right across from the russian tea room too. We went for our 10 year anniversary and they gave us the same thing you got without status so definitely went cheap on you – should have taken the points and probably still would have gotten that!
We also stayed at the IC in NYC and we both preferred the feel of that hotel better even if it wasn’t as nice or in quite as good of a location.
Wife is staying in the Conrad next month with the bogo visa signature deal so I am curious to hear what she thinks of that.
To be honest one place worth checking out if you don’t mind skipping the view is the Hilton Garden Inn New York/Central Park South-Midtown West if you check in 24 hours early and snag a room on the 2nd floor with a decent sized private balcony – a rare NYC treat!
I think that Park Hyatt (overall) is not really a consistent 5* brand. Not that this is a good excuse, but it’s my personal feeling. I also feel that to reduce the chance of a non-5* experience you really have to focus on chains like Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons. I have a very strong bias towards Four Seasons, but a lot of what you describe just doesn’t happen at these properties. Hey, they make mistakes, but the baseline service levels are still much higher.
Your mention of this : “While the 58th street entrance is grand, the doormen did not greet us nor did they offer to take our bags,” is something I find can happen. I’m not sure why, but I take no embarrassment to make eye contact and say “HELLO! How ya’doin.” Lots tends to be going on in a city. Things do get overlooked. Not to mention, NOT pulling up right in front is sort of odd. In any event, I wouldn’t accept someone NOT taking my bags at a 5* hotel. I barely accept it at a 4* hotel, unless I desire to carry them myself.
I definitely agree that it isn’t a consistent brand, but of course it is the loyalty program that draws me in since I can stay at other brands for business and splurge on nicer properties with my family. You are absolutely right about Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons being better. With that said, this is their flagship property and a 5 diamond rated hotel. It was a lot of little misses that eventually added up to something. That shouldn’t happen at a hotel of this caliber and you are right that it probably wouldn’t happen at Mandarin Oriental.
Mandarin Oriental is in another stratosphere when it comes to service. When my wife and I went to the MO in Hong Kong we took the train in from the airport which drops you at a mall. The MO is a couple of 100 yards from the mall and we were schlepping our bags there when it began to rain heavily. The MO doorman spotted us from a distance and ran, in full doorman regalia, with a large umbrella and insisted on taking all our bags—2 large suitcases and three carry ons—giving us the umbrella to share while he got soaked in the tropical downpour. We’re not even in the hotel yet and we’re feeling like the King and Queen of Sheba. Awesome service. Wish I could use my Chase URs for Mandarin Oriental stays.
I just completed a stay at the MO in Boston. FHR, buy 2 nights get 1 free, $200+$100 FHR credit, breakfast credit every day, good for room service ($70 credit), triple upgrade (I book the cheapest room, because I am “cheap.”) Impeccable service throughout. Most impressive was the room service, housekeeping (I mean, sheesh, I stepped into the room while she was cleaning… everything was stripped down… it’s like the cleaning person was taking the room apart… a full 20-30 minutes of cleaning… knew this, since I was working in the hotel that day), lobby restaurant (which also does room service) one the the best in Boston…. impeccable concierge (send documents to her while I’m working… they appear under my door in a full size envelope within minutes)… excellent “keen” advice on where to go to smoke… Just perfection. And, for the USA this is quite rare. I’m totally sold on MO; especially with the buy 2 get 1 FHR program. Totally feel it’s a “get what you paid for scenario.” Oh, and you can use the spa even if you don’t have a spa treatment, every day (and a really nice gym).
You summed it up perfectly. 3 star service at a
5 star hotel. I have stayed several times since they have opened and it has remained at 3 stars. I complained about the 18% tip at breakfast Despite
The fact that I dined alone. Of course I was given a
Variety of excuses. The last time I stayed the mgt had to move me in the middle of th night because of a very noisy party. Despite the noise I was the one inconvenienced, I had to ask for Compensation. Mgmt was not happy about my request. So yes it’s a gorgeous hotel but I’ve had far more Rewarding stays at properties with increíble customer service.