Similar to real estate: location, location, location. Some people like the location (some hate it) and for me, being above the Krispy Kreme store, it’s the PERFECT location .

I still have interest in this hotel for occasional NYC stays or staycations or mattress runs, particularly during NYC Fleet Week when I stay in the city for 3-4 nights due to more frequent Intrepid Museum volunteering and attending other Navy and/or USO functions. Midtown Manhattan is 30-120 minutes from home depending on traffic and a mile walk from Intrepid Museum, a little shorter than other Hyatt properties that I’ve stayed at.

I volunteered yesterday (Friday) until closing at 5:00pm, Google maps indicated 90 minutes to drive home (my “cutoff” is 45 minutes), decided to walk to Times Square for “good exercise” and to get a free Hershey bar at the Hershey Store and a Chocolate Iced Doughnut with Kreme™ Filling donut at the Krispy Kreme store. During the walk remembered that I had previously visited hotels (usually a new hotel to ask to be shown a “typical” room) while staying at a nearby hotel in a locale I expected to visit again, perhaps multiple times.

I did it years ago for the new H Hotel/Homewood Suites LAX while staying at Hyatt Regency LAX a block away, Hyatt Place/Hyatt House during a different stay at Hyatt Regency LAX, and London Hilton Metropole while staying at Paddington Hilton 7 minute walk away and 1 or 2 others I cannot recall. Every time hotel staff were more than gracious and spent more time with me than expected, showing me multiple rooms.

Despite imagining a typical NYC welcome , I decided to do the same at Hyatt Regency Times Square, fully expecting to be told where to go .

6:00pm Friday night, only 2 agents at front desk, 5-6 people in line, 3rd agent appeared after 10-15 minutes when I was first in line. Asked front desk agent if I could speak with a manager of some sort, Guest Experience or Front Desk. Was asked why, said I'm thinking about future stays here, would like to discuss the hotel. Front desk agent knocked on a door near the front desk, went inside for a moment, told me to have a seat in a small seating area just outside that door. A minute later, young man walks out of office and introduces himself. I explained that I’m a Globalist with stays at Hyatt Place Times Square and Hyatt Centric Times Square and Thompson Central Park and that I much prefer your hotel’s location and I've been interested in the hotel since the renovation was announced and that in all honesty the recent reviews of the hotel are not so good and could he tell me a little bit about what's going on and what his title is.

He (Director of Operations) immediately said that they're aware of air conditioning complaints and lack of restaurant complaints. He said they opened in the middle of a summer heat wave and the air conditioning was unable to keep up, expected that to be solved. He said restaurant (next to check-in lobby) was due to open within the next month or two, wasn't certain but thought breakfast would be à la carte only. No pool, no lounge. No key needed to enter lobby, key needed for elevator. Separate driving/valet parking entrance under the building in the middle of the block.

I asked if he could show me a typical room and a typical suite, he said sure, went back inside his office for a few minutes, returned and said “I can't show you a suite because suites are fully booked, let's go take a look at some rooms.” He showed me 3-4 different rooms on floors 42 or 44. He said that in addition to 1 King rooms, they have rooms with 2 Double beds and also rooms with 2 Queen beds, he said European (families) are particularly attuned bed sizes, to the point of measuring them.

Every room he showed me had an amazing view, corner room in 2 directions, very different than many other NYC hotels which only have a view of the adjacent building. Every room was more spacious with much better lighting than expected. Every room had a dresser and a small (width of 1-2 doors) open closet and a well-lit medium size bathroom with a walk-in shower.

I asked about his experience, he seemed too young to have so much experience, especially with being a high school teacher before transitioning to hospitality. I asked his recommendation in general for a first stay at a new hotel, he said he would give it at least six months “to work the kinks out”.

(Among my many 😉 pet peeves are GIGANTIC photos posted on these forums which make scrolling more challenging. Photos here can easily be opened in a separate tab and then enlarged as desired. By the time we got to the room with a view of the Hudson River (and Intrepid Museum) it was after sunset so the photo lighting was less than ideal and the reflection of the bed in the window completely obscured the river and the ship. Hyatt Regency logo circled in red.)