Originally Posted by
synthzero
Back with our review of the Thompson Upper Stories suite we got with an SUA a number of months back. Overall review: meh.
I'm going to say EVERY room in this hotel is rather underwhelming, especially when compared with the Park Hyatt next door. All PH rooms we've ever stayed in, including the base king, are to me superior to every room I've stayed in at the Thompson Central Park, which includes a regular king (very narrow and cramped with no view to speak of), the "studio suite" (I guess it's called a Thompson Suite now), which is nothing special, basically a large studio with a divider, and now an "Upper Stories" 1 BR suite (despite being an actual 1BR suite, feels smaller than a PH base king room and certainly FAR less luxurious.
The breakfast was, however, excellent as always.
Honestly the Hyatt Place LIC rooms feel nicer than this hotel, and aside from the excellent breakfast and quite pleasant service I just don't find much to brag about with this hotel. It's just OK.
We did get to use the "Upper Stories lounge" which is ironically on the 3rd floor. Not very well stocked, very tiny bites of snacks when there is food. Otherwise an OK place to relax but absolutely not worth going out of your way to try to book an "Upper Stories" room.
Just in general the overall experience was sub-par relative to other Hyatt brands. I think in future we probably won't put all that much effort into staying here, despite the fact that there was nothing objectionable about the stay, at all.
Of course the PH is better. It’s a luxury brand with excellent hardware and high end design. There is no question PH is better. But that’s not always the question people ask when choosing a hotel. I would argue the Thompson is a much better value, often at less than half the price. Would people pay double the price for the difference between the two? I suspect many would say no, the PH is not that much nicer.
I think the Studio Suite which they have many and upgrade often, is one of the nicest rooms you can get in NYC. I have never stayed at HP LIC but I have stayed at plenty of HPs and have a hard time imagining how it’s better.