Tummy

I stayed at the Wind Watch on Friday night this weekend.

We arrived around 8pm and the check in person was busy on the phone. After a few minutes we he started looking at my reservation. It wasn't setup in advance and I had to ask about breakfast certificates and welcome amenity. He threw the pen at me to sign the check in form.

The room was small with a "golf course" view and small windows. No balcony. The bathroom faucet was loose, so that you could jiggle it in the opening. The heater was very noisy when it was running and woke us up several times. We had to get up at night to turn it off. Otherwise, the room was ok, but not a fabulous upgrade as we have come to appreciate with Hyatt.

We went down with our Diamond breakfast coupons. They said that we could not order off the menu and pay the difference and it was a new policy. I said that I wanted to order something from the menu anyways, so the waitress handed back our coupons. I told her to keep it since we would never be coming back anyways. That apparently threw her for a loop. I didn't mean it like we were disappointed with the hotel, but merely that we would probably never be passing by there again.

After we finished our meal and asked for the check, the waitress told us that the manager has comped our orders.

At checkout, I used two gift cards from the previous promotion. It took a while for them to figure out how much money was left on the cards.

We found the other guests at check in / check out to be rather loud. One guest was very demanding of the concierge in the lobby and wanted them to figure out where her husband took a wrong turn. I wanted to yell at her to use her indoor voice. I was happy to leave. Overall it was a mediocre stay.

abezebabe

I am glad to know it was not just me. I talked to several people at the front desk who just couldn't seem to get it "right" with multiple bonuses. I wasn't holding my breath that they would get it right. I figured that to be the case and now you have verified it. Thanks.

All in all I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. The front desk person who checked me in was nothing if not friendly and customer focused.

On the other hand, I went downstairs to the restaurant, and had the absolutely worst waitress I have likely ever had. She kept disappearing for long periods of time, then she would reappear, however was very inattentive to me. I was too tired to complain. Otherwise, I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. Used breakfast coupons for buffet, which was pretty standard buffet fare, not bad, though. I'd stay here again. (Just won't eat dinner in the restaurant)

Dr. D

I made a couple of stays here recently and it was an OK experience. Diamond members are pre-booked so when you arrive at the desk they have your breakfast coupons filled out and your room assigned and keys ready. Breakfast was in the Nu Lounge next to the elevators- standard continental plus hot items (french toast, bacon/sausage, eggs, potatoes...) On one visit they said that the breakfast included an omellete if you wanted the kitchen to cook one for you.

This was not originally a Hyatt and the rooms are a bit small. Older tube TV's and the bathroom had new sinks but old tubs. Both rooms I had were quiet, which was nice because they seemed very busy and there was a lot of noise in the hallways. Forest Labs seems to co-own the property (they have signs for their offices and even assigned parking spaces), and each morning I saw many of their sales reps in the lobby and at breakfast.

This hotel is out by itself on Motor Parkway and at least a couple of miles from any restaurant or even fast food. Many more options if you drive into nearby Hauppague about 5 minutes away. It should be noted this is not close to NYC at all- even without any traffic it would be an hour into the city. But it is a decent choice if you're looking to stay mid-island.

thc

I stayed here recently too and don't really have much to add. My Diamond amenity was a choice of beverage and a snack. I chose a bottle of wine and some chocolate truffles.

The breakfast was ok. They kind of cooked the life out of the scrambled eggs.

westers

Has anyone played golf at the Hamlet golf course? Need to round off a FFN and play golf, so thinking this is the best option near NYC?

Thanks
Westers

jayer

With apologies if there is already a master thread for this hotel. I'm sure there must be one, but my search queries are coming up empty.

Is there any reasonably close way to get to this hotel on public transportation from LGA? Will want a car once we get there, but can't say I want to try and work my way out of Queens behind the wheel. I suppose the alternative question is how close can I get on public transportation from LGA where I can rent a car and then drive to the hotel?

GUWonder

Buses and or buses and trains to Jamaica station; then from Jamaica grab the Long Island Railroad to Ronkonkoma; and from Ronkokoma take a taxi. Perhaps there is some bus service in Long Island that gets you close enough that the taxi would be cheaper or even perhaps nearly avoidable, but I think for most people a car rental from LGA straight to the hotel is probably cheaper and certainly faster at almost all times.

Josephmay

Rent the car at the Airport. Even best scenario with public transportation to Hauppauge is a nightmare. .

MW147

As a Long Islander I totally agree. Traffic sucks, but the public transportation is going to be worse. And I am not sure about renting a car once you are out there. I don't know where any of the big rental agencies have offices.

Have you considered flying into Islip?

jayer

Good question and actually yes. I have have access to discounted fares through business and fly them almost exclusively. But don't have access to anything into Islip. Changing planes to a short-hop from somewhere to ISP is cost prohibitive and appears to be as much or more than booking the entire flight retail into ISP. But I suppose a full cost-benefit review might mean the discount isn't worth it.

How long does it take to get out of the LGA stop-and-honk zone? My commute is 50 miles but against the flow, all freeway, and usually cranking 70. Driving out on the island is one thing but I would feel so far out of my element in NYC. Am I making it worse than it is?

GUWonder

You may be making it worse than it is, but everyone's comfort level is different.

If you can manage to time your drive right from LGA (e.g., 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.), it's not that bad of a drive even for those used to only non-big-city driving. [That said, some of the main arteries in Long Island do get busy at lunch time too.]

traveling_again

I looked into it (more than a few years ago) since I didn't want to pay the excessive LGA rental car prices. Classic Shuttle ran a shared van service, which has been acquired by SuperShuttle. The Hyatt Regency Long Island shows up on their second page of hotel search if you put "Hyatt" in the search field. $57 one-way, but based on some recent SuperShuttle experiences elsewhere, I would plan on it being 2-3 hours transfer for the 1 hour trip.

I ended up renting one-way cars between LGA-ISP and ISP-LGA. Drive is fine, I dropped off my expensive one-day LGA car and walked into the ISP terminal to get a car for the rest of my stay for 1/3 the price. As others mentioned it depends on the time of day, but you can get stuck in traffic there all times of the day and night.

K79

Completed a one night stay at this property over the weekend. I was offered points or food/beverages for diamond amenity. I chose points. I had a king bed room reservation. I requested a double bed room at check in and it was granted immediately. However, no upgrade was offered nor did I requested one. They gave me a corner room; pretty small. I did enjoy the view from the 7th floor. They don't have a Club Lounge so I was given a breakfast buffett voucher. Breakfast is no longer in their Nu restaurant but in a nice room on the convention level. The convenion room was nice but breakfast items/choices were very limited and it didn't seem to be managed well. It took a long time for items on the buffet to be replenished. Also, the vouchers were only valid for the buffet- you couldn't order off the regular menu. Their fitness center is currently under renovation and was moved to a conference room. I did not use it. Their indoor pool and whirlpool were perhaps the highlights; pool is heated.

Overall, the stay was OK. The property has potential for a lot more.

amgt123

Just checking in here for a wedding after spending the fourth of July at the Andaz 5th ave in a splash suite. Hotel was sold out due to multiple weddings.

So far the experience has been sub-par. Front desk staff was poorly trained - did not recognize status or explain to me the features of the hotel even after mentioning it was my first visit here. The reply I received when I asked if there was a Regency Club was "I have no idea what that is."

Room furnishings are outdated, in fact I think I'd even prefer the rooms at the Hyatt Regency Irvine over the ones here. I don't think I'll be returning.

heatheresq

Very mixed experience.

The good:

Check-in with Michael was superb and he went above and beyond to explain the hotel and amenities and for Valentine's day provided us with both the diamond amenity and points. Breakfast staff was professional and courteous. The food at dinner and breakfast was varied and quite adequate. The hotel is wonderfully priced at $55 + 4000 points or ~$160 for our Friday night stay.

The Bad:

We used a diamond suite upgrade and were provided with a full one-bedroom suite. It was stylish and modern. Unfortunately, the cleaning was not 100%. Our comforter had a huge visible stand and the linens left on the sofa bed remained from a previous stay (they were a balled up mess) were visibly soiled. The walls are paper thin and suites connect on both sides to another room. Usually not a terrible thing for me, except the folks on the other side decided to smoke and the fumes wafted over into our room). A call to Michael got a quick response of housekeeping being called to our room and security to the adjoining room. We went to dinner assuming everything would be resolved. And it was. Until an hour after we returned and the smoking resumed. This time I called a "Joe" (I think) and he was far less helpful, going as far to say that upon investigation the smoke wasn't coming from next door, but rather from an earlier smoking incident at the other end of the hall. I think he sensed my anger at his dismissal of the issue, because when I asked to be transferred to another room, even a non-suite room, he promised a refund of the points portion of my cash and points stay. We'll see if that posts.

The dinner staff was off. The first thing out of my waiter's mouth upon arriving at our table was "what can I get you to drink". No hello. No my name is. Maybe that is a sufficient greeting, but it's not one I am used to. This go around, I decided to kill em with kindness and she got back on track with friendly service fairly quickly. Less important, the maitre d' did not seem in charge of the house. Their is a menu and host stand at the front of the restaurant, and, in all fairness it may not be the most defined spot. He asked how many in our party and right then a couple walked up behind us and he asked them table for 2, which they confirmed. He then requested a moment of both our party and theirs to prepare the respective tables. Well the couple, jumped in front of us and sat themselves at a desirable table while the maitre d' was clearing it. I know that the bad behavior was mostly the fault of the guests, I couldn't help but thinking, brother you need to manage this restaurant operation.

The restaurant incident was the tip of the iceberg on my last bad. The real bad, solely from my perspective, was the clientele. I just guess that I've stayed in a certain level of Hyatt recently, and not one that encourages bawdy or loud partying behavior. Well, this hotel was hosting a number of wedding and firefighter's ball guests, many of whom were carting in coolers and Bud Light by the suitcase. It was all just a bit odd for me. Like this is hotel is billed as a "country club". Call me a snob. It's ok, I can take it. I just want folks to know in advance of booking that certain weekends can be crazy. If you are looking for a quiet experience, I would think carefully about booking here. The smoking incident, the restaurant incident, and the general rowdy parting just marred the experience.

All this being said, I enjoyed the hotel's hard product, certain staff, and the food. I am going to return on a non-holiday weekend to see if my criticism are well-founded. Hopefully I will be able to update you soon.