Stayed there a Saturday night a couple of weeks ago using 30K points, while the paid rate was close to $900. I've stayed at many hotels in NYC, but favor Hyatt for the obvious lock-in reasons of Lifetime Globulist. Considering the Andaz was asking for $500+ or 25K and even the ever-miserable GHNY was going for $400, I figured 30K would be a relative bargain. And besides, I had never stayed at the PHNY and was curious what the fuss is all about.

Overall, it was a decent stay, but nowhere near the caliber of other PH in Asia, Europe, or even the US (I much preferred the PH DC, for which I have a soft spot). And I would have been supremely torqued if I had actually paid for my room, it certainly wasn't worth $900 a night. Arrival was uneventful, the goon at the street level asked me for my name and it was relayed upstairs so that they knew who I was. They didn't even ask for ID, which I found refreshing and unusual. I was walked to a very nice corner suite, with a separate bedroom, a huge full bathroom with glass wall facing Carnegie Hall and 57th Street, and another half bathroom. There was a huge bowl of fruit, two large Voss water bottles, and a handwritten note from Peter Roth, the GM. So far so good.

And then I asked them for a 4 PM checkout, and it was as if I asked them if I could empty the minibar of $180 Krug bottles and not pay for it, and then take a dump on the sofa from the accumulated carbon dioxide. Nous sommes désolés monsieur was the reply, we are very full this weekend. First time in I don't know how many hundreds of stays where 4 PM checkout was denied, and one of the few times when I actually needed it. I gave the man a look that pretty much told him what I thought of him and his hotel. So I asked him if I changed rooms to a lesser room could I get 4 PM checkout, and he reluctantly agreed. So there I go, moving to a smaller room, also facing 57th Street, on a higher floor. Nice and quiet. Of course, I had the fruits and waters brought up, it was a nice spread, and the manager on duty offered to comp me a lunch for my troubles (which I didn't take him up on, as I had no time). In the end, not a major issue, but if you aren't going to honor a 4 PM checkout, be upfront about it and don't assume it's not needed. If I had been walked to the smaller room right away, I wouldn't have been the wiser.

Overall, my interactions with staff at the hotel were adequate, but I couldn't shake that feeling that there was something artificial about their way of interacting. It's something very New York at high-end hotels and restaurants. Can't put my finger on it, but it's a contradictory measure of politeness, eagerness to please, inflexibility, and condescension unique to New York. It doesn't have to be that way (even in New York) but it was. There was also just a certain lack of professionalism or attention to detail which should not be present in a hotel of this caliber and price point. For example, at the breakfast, the section with the marmalade jars had only one jar (luckily it was orange, what I wanted), when the other tables had two or three. Clearly, when the table turned, it wasn't re-set completely, overlooking the condiments. Not a big deal, but the kind of service drop endemic at this hotel.

The real clincher was the pool on the 25th floor. It was disgusting. It was overrun (at the two times I was there, on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon) with annoying children and their even more annoying parents, nannies, livery car drivers, masseuses, and who knows whom else in their entourages. Obviously the hotel can't really help the clientele, but the place was a mess. Every one of the lounge chairs and sofas in the pool area was covered in used towels, empty water bottles, and misaligned pillows, with nary a clean towel to be seen. Or a pool staffer, for that matter, except for the "lifeguard" who spent the whole time staring at her smartphone. The locker rooms were no better, looked like they had been used to dismember cattle carcasses and then rinsed down with a power spray hose. It was almost as bad as the 92nd Street Y pool locker rooms, and that's saying something. The only worse hotel pool I've seen (besides those at Florida roadside motels or at Israeli beach resorts) was at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong, and at least that one has a view and a great outdoor deck for hanging out.

So all-in, a very illuminating experience. For 30K points where the alternative was 25K or $500 at the Andaz, it was a decent deal. On a paid rate, and compared to what this hotel could be (and should be, actually) this place is a frustrating ripoff.