GM at Andaz 5th Avenue

Thanks for updating us amgt123! I will follow up what happened here but generally we do not offer a complimentary car service. Jonathan

tfung

Staying at the Andaz 5th av right now.. checked in yesterday without any problems and got upgraded to a splash suite from the standard room category.. room is great, and service so far impeccable.. I usually stay at the Bryant Park Hotel in NY, and the Andaz is definitely a lot nicer.. If the room rates are a bit lower, it would definitely be my hotel of choice in NYC...

Somewhere Over the Atlantic

Courtesy Card ownership has its rewards!

dtm1

I have to say that I normally stay at the Grand Hyatt, and over the past few years have been more and more frustrated with the average service and poor standard of rooms. Many of my colleagues also complain, but no one has bothered to do anything about it.

I was thinking about booking another stay at the GH for the week before thanksgiving, but on the back of all of the fantastic reviews in this thread and the proactive responses from Andaz management, I have switched to this hotel. I'm really looking forward to my stay.

atakam

I am also a 10 year SPG Plat with many stays in NY, mainly St Regis (honeymoon), Westin TS, W TS, Sheraton. I have been a little bit disappointed in my last stays (mainly 2009), expensive rooms and poor service. That's why after looking for several options, I decided to switch to Andaz 5th Ave. Right now booked for January 17-22/2011 for a small anniversary celebration. Upgraded to a suite with Diamond certificate, so very excited. After reading the whole thread (YES all posts), I have great expectations and I see Jonathan very involved and proactive in improving every single detail also he seems to be an active FT member^^^
Will report properly in January.

Vuelos

Spent 9/11 at the hotel for my 2nd stay this year.

I stayed in the closer tower (direct elevator access from the lobby) on the same floor as last time.

The rooms in the closer tower are slightly differently laid out and a little smaller but I found them much more cozy. The walls weren't as bland and the wood pannels against the window added the splash of color the rooms were missing.

The hosts weren't as attentive as my last stay but they were so good last time there wasn't much room to improve.

However, I was able to directly negotiate with the hotel to break the 2 night minimum stay on a weekend. I spoke with Nadia, who was wonderful, and she agreed to book 1 night as a one time courtesy.

I would say that I find the minimum stays a bit but the Andaz Wall St also had them 9/11.

banzani

Quick Transport Question:

Coming into JFK T4 on an early Saturday afternoon, is #3 Bus connecting to F subway a decent idea to get to the hotel ? Will have some luggage, so willing to travel a bit longer if it helps avoid long walks or changing. Any hints much appreciated.

bostonpilot

There are a number of ways to get there, and it depends heavily on your preferences. For me, from JFK, I typically use the LIRR. Use the airtrain (interterminal monorail at JFK) to take you to Jamaica station, get on the LIRR to Penn Station. From Penn, either take a cab to the hotel, or the 1/2/3 subway to Times Sq and walk to the hotel.

You can certainly take the F subway as you suggest and it will bring you closer to the hotel (Bryant Park station), but there are no elevators in that station, so you will be lugging bags up the stairs. You're call obviously if that's an issue, but when we are in NYC with 2 strollers, I end up using either Grand Central or Times Sq. stations and walking a couple of blocks because of the availability of elevators to the street from the tracks. Alsio, the F platform is on the 6th Ave side of Bryant Park, so there is really only a one block difference between this station and Times Sq.

Alternatively, there are bus services that go from JFK to Grand Central (actually drop you at Park Ave & 42nd St, across from GCT).

banzani

Thanks a lot for the quick answer. Is this $5 for Airtrain, plus the fare for LIRR ? The MTA Website isn't quite clear on this...

HedgeFundie

$5 is for the Airtrain only. It does not include LIRR fare (or the Subway, for that matter).

bostonpilot

As HedgeFundie says, $5 metro card for the airtrain + LIRR fare, which I think is ballpark $8 or so + subway fare or cab from Penn to hotel. If you want to avoid the LIRR fare, you can take the A or C subway from the airtrain as well, but it takes longer.

Related to subway fare - if you are going to be in the city and using the subway, consider the unlimited "fun pass" hat the metro card machine sells. Its a bit buried in menus, but a good deal ('new metro card>unlimited>fun pass' I think are the menus steps). You can buy 1, 7 or 21 day passes that give you unlimited subway rides. Verify the math, but my recollection is that if you are going to do >3 subway rides, the 1 day pass pays for itself.

banzani

OK many thks - all clear now.

RichardInSF

Naw, cheapest and most straightforward is AirTrain to Jamaica/E subway, transfer at Lex/53st either to the V (same platform) to Bryant Park or the 4 to Grand Central. A few blocks walk then in either case. There is an elevator that is usually working at the Bryant Park station but it may be a bit hard to find.

stevens397

Am I the only one who is embarrassed that a guy from California had to be the one to answer that one?!

gooseman13

If it makes you feel better the true cheapest would be Q10 bus from T4 to Kew Gardens subway stop (which is the last stop on the bus), then transfer to the F train which will bring you to 42nd and 6 and then from there a quick walk across to Fifth Avenue.
Total cost is $2.25, however there you must have a metrocard to get the free transfer.
I wouldn't really recommend it with anything bigger than a carry-on though.