Originally Posted by todorovic

Just completed my stay (2 rooms) over the weekend and here are my 2 cents (well, a bit more than that).

We got to the hotel around 2:30 pm expecting to use the valet parking that is advertised on the hotel's web site but were informed that the service hasn't started yet as the contracts haven't been signed. I called a week in advance and was informed (rather confidently) that the valet service is up and running and that the charge is $60. After some scrambling I was offered 2 options - drive to GH a couple of blocks away and use their valet parking or park in the 38th (?) St. garage. I wasn't very happy with the options but decided to use the GH parking. It would have been nice if I were told that the service wasn't running when I called a week out. There should be a disclaimer on the official web site informing the guests that they will have to plan ahead for the place to park.

Reservation was made about a month ago with my PL agent and at the time the request was placed for one room to have the roll-away bed. Fast forward to check-in time, our host didn't seem to be aware of the request although I have confirmed it with the hotel about a week out (the same time the erroneous parking info was given). The result was that they couldn't fit a roll-away in either of the 2 rooms that were pre-booked for us due to their size. She tried to explain that the hotel was fully booked (not all rooms operational) and that they can't upgrade me although they are trying hard to accommodate diamond GP members. However, the next sentence was an offer to use my points or cash for a third room!!! So which way is it - I don't expect rooms for sale (and especially for points) if the hotel is fully booked. After some back-and-forth with her manager our host got the authorization to upgrade us into one of the lofts - basically a jr. suite as it turned out to be. I just wish the hotel proactively called me a day or two in advance to tell me that they will be unable to put us in the room that can fit a roll-away so I could arrange a stay in one of the other Hyatts in the city. I understand that the roll-away is subject to availability but it was my impression that it is the availability of the bed and not the room large enough for a bed to be put in.

After we finally got to our rooms the first impressions were very positive. The decor is very nice and the lack of floor space is visually offset by the high ceilings. The rooms are smaller than in the other NYC Andaz down on Wall St. but are still fairly large for the City standards. The bathrooms are all the rage and justly so. The combination shower/rain shower/foot waterfall (for the lack of a better term) is huge for the NYC. I loved the toiletries. Per Andaz concept almost everything is included in the price of the room and the selection of beverages and snacks was good. A small advice to the hotel - please stock at least 2 bottles of still and sparkling water per room. It is very awkward to have to share a 400ml bottle of water.

We had both the dinner and the breakfast in the ground floor restaurant. Food was OK but nothing to write home about. It took a long time to get everything. All of this is expected since the hotel just opened and it takes time for the team to gel together. Probably my biggest complaint was the very limited menu - only a few things compared to the sister property on Wall St. I hope that the menu will be expanded in a few months.

We were granted a 1 pm check-out upon request and the check-out itself was uneventful. Everything was correct, the breakfast charge was taken off automatically and we were offered a small "good by" gift.

To summarize, there are still kinks that need to ironed out but the hotel will probably turn into a solid performer in a few months. We will give it another try later but for now Andaz Wall St. remains our NYC Hyatt destination.