peteropny

Generally true. However, GH NYC is certainly not as luxurious as any other property in cat 6 either - I would even claim that that property is way overrated. I don't think that it is a controversial position to take that the Andaz 5th Ave is more luxurious than the GH NYC. While on the subject of GH properties, the GH SEA is only a cat 4 - I don't think anyone here would make the argument that the GH NYC is more luxurious than the GH SEA.

While Hyatt will not acknowledge it (and I hope they never do publicly), part of the categorization of properties is based upon some sort of rates achieved by the property during a year along with some sort of "ranking" that the property competes within the local market.

Yes, there are some issues with the property which will hopefully be corrected over time such as the lighting (probably in conjunction with the designer etc) and room service issues.

Cheerfulflyer

I totally agree with you on GH NYC being inflated. Briefly, I am not saying at all that I agree with Hyatt's ratings...seriously I don't. However, if Hyatt is going to market Andaz 5th Avenue for x value of points/cash then folks are certainly justified in expecting a product commensurate with that value.

I also agree with your position that Andaz 5th Ave is (in some ways) more luxurious than GH NYC. Yet, I haven't had issues in the latter property of the very disappointing sort that I did at Andaz. If my travel plans call for a stay in midtown, I am not (certainly not any time soon anyway) going back to Andaz 5th Avenue. And this is not because the concept of Andaz is inconsistent with my style (how could that be for a property that brands itself to fit my style?), but simply because Andaz 5th Avenue has been a failure by its own standards. Setting up high expectations, promising a great product but falling to deliver is bad.

nnn

The number of points required for a room obviously should be commensurate with, more than anything else, how much it would cost to pay for that same room. And, obviously, the location of a property is an important factor in the cost; hence, dumpy NYC hotels charging an arm and a leg.

Now, if you think this Andaz is simply overpriced (factoring in the location), that's obviously a reasonable opinion. But clearly market forces will dictate the prices. And a significant change in average prices will probably also eventually cause a commensurate change in the number of points required for an award.

stevens397

I am surprised and disappointed at where this thread has been going.

I believe that most of the people on this board consider themselves stakeholders with Hyatt. Most of us have shown significant loyalty to the brand, have achieved high "status" with them, and are among the most knowledgable of travelers.

So here we have a master thread about what is, to be sure, a relatively new hotel. Unlike almost any other hotel I have seen on the Hyatt or Starwood threads, the brands I feel most connected to and follow the most, here we have a GM who has shown some level of dedication to the FT crowd.

So let me not talk about the rest of you but rather myself. The GH is NOT my kind of place - I like more intimate hotels where the service is more personal. I don't like the "mega" hotels. Hyatt took a chance and built something in midtown - Bravo. It's a beautiful hotel. Yes - I too was astounded at how hard it was to find the friggin place but it is clearly meant to be special.

But the true test is always when the doors open and the customers begin to come in. So I get it - room service and some of the service at the restaurant are not up to what we expect and, to be sure, what Hyatt and the GM expect. But everything I have seen shows me that we have a GM who cares and a chain that has starred at treating elites well. Yet people are reviewing this place as tho it had been here for years. Fine, there is nothing wrong with pointing out the areas where it falls short - they need the feedback because I'm convinced they want it to be the best it can be. But some of the dialogue is like - it stinks and will always stink. I simply don't believe it.

It is certainly fair to say that it is not living up to what we hoped for but let's all agree that seeing corrections, longing for them, wanting them - well,that's in ALL of our best interests. Maybe it can be upsetting that the cost in cash and in points is at what they aspire to be, but I truly believe that given some time, they will get there.

To me, it is no accident that we have not heard from Jonathan, the GM, in a few days. I feel that many of us have spit in his face. He is trying and he is committed to his guests and, especially, his FT guests, having a great experience. Does ANYONE not want him back on this board, interacting with us, contacting us and working to assure that our individual stays are as wonderful as they can be?

I ask that we all think about what we want, what our objectives are and what they should be and that we post accordingly. This is not Trip Advisor - it is the Hyatt thread on FT. I want nothing more than for the Andaz 5th Avenue to be my new home in NYC. I live in NJ and love going to the city. I hope to be at this hotel 10-15 days a year. I've seen the place, I'm going back next week, and I truly believe that we have a good hard product and a new management team committed to us and to making it right. I'm not suggesting we not be critical when it falls short, but let's get our priorities straight. NY needs this hotel desperately. The only Starwood I would stay at is the Parker Meridien and this hotel beats it by a mile. Add the free breakfasts (in NYC!!!) and it's not even close. I suggest we work with the GM to make it all it can be and that we appreciate it is still young and that it will only get better in the months ahead.

Sorry for the rant - I feel strongly about this.

peteropny

ENOUGH PEOPLE - I'm done giving on thread warnings - the next step will be suspensions!!!

peteropny - co-moderator - Hyatt

I agree with what stevens397 just posted - thank you!!

bmw303

I agree.

CopperSteve

Just did a one-night stay, my first at an Andaz. Really didn't know what to expect and, to be honest, I did not read this thread at all (or do any other research) before I booked it. I still do not have time to read this thread, although from the last few posts, it appears there have been some unflattering reviews.

Anyway, here are my observations:

- Walked around aimlessly trying to find the place. Even started dialing the Diamond CS line for help when I figured it out. I must be dense if I can't find an entrance to a hotel (it must be that I am dense, as a hotel wouldn't intentionally make it difficult to find the main entrance, right?)
- Check-in process was OK, staff offered to set me up with a drink while I waited (I declined as I needed to just drop my bags, freshen-up and head to dinner)
- Found it curious that the check-in agent escorted me to the room, and I even said that wouldn't be necessary. At first, I thought she was being nice since I am a Diamond. Turns out, it was to orient me with the features of the room. Glad she did or I would have been completely lost (as opposed to partially lost, which I was)
- Took me way too long to find a place to plug-in my laptop
- Good old-fashioned light switches would have been just fine by me
- Pillows were awful, nothing like what I am used to at a Hyatt (I normally sleep very well on Hyatt's bedding - not so here)
- I am glad I wear such stylish clothes since I needed to put them on display
- I couldn't get cell phone coverage in my room, which was frustrating as I had a call to make (I was forced to go to the hallway to make the call)

Some good points:
- Room size and layout were excellent.
- Love the high ceilings
- Sound isolation for me was very good (I was on the 9th floor)

I can't comment on the restaurant, room service or any other features as I didn't use anything.

Now for the really bad: the water did not get any hotter than only VERY slightly warmed. This after fiddling with the controls for several minutes. Really, all I needed from this hotel was a comfortable place to sleep and a hot shower in the morning before checkout. I have 3 nights already booked (and prepaid for a better rate) in December. I do hope I will have hot water. Also, a shower door would be nice. I really do not care for wiping the floor when I am away from home. On the plus side, I could have had 3 or 4 friends over for a group shower, but I do not know anyone who enjoys cold showers.

Cheers!

ldsant

At the Andaz at the conclusion of my 2nd night stay here. A friend and I met in NYC for the weekend. I have to say that this is one of the most comical stays at this point because of how poor everything has been. I am going to briefly outline what has happened in the last two days and am only laughing at this point because otherwise I would not be a happy camper and I'm here on a short weekend getaway. I would advise people to NOT stay here at this point. The customer service is SORELY lacking in 99% of the ways. Briefly:

Came to check-in (had stayed at the Grand Hyatt down the street the first night). Was going to my friend's room and was stopped by 3 people telling me I couldn't go upstairs to her room because of "security." I explained that I knew I was eaerly and my room probably wasn't ready so I wanted to drop my stuff in her room. The three people said that they couldn't allow that due to "security." Now - here's the kicker. . .they took my bags and everything (including my laptop, etc.) was kept out in the "open" where when I came back 7 hours later I just reached into the open space and took my bags. However; NOBODY was watching the bags, nobody stopped me when I was trying to get my bags out through other people's bags, etc. So much for security. Additionally, when my friend came in at 1:30 AM the night before, nobody was around and she walked right into the elevator without anybody stopping/asking her if she was a guest. Finally, there isn't any security on any of their dishes, etc. that they have in the hallway - all of the doors are unlocked and open so that anybody can take any dish they want.

A friend gave some Hyatt certs to the host in preparation of it taking a bit of time to process. The host left them lying on the table where anybody could have picked them up and taken them. My friend sat and watched the entire time and finally went up to her to say that these were like cash and shouldn't just be lying around. The host didn't seem to understand this at all.

Rooms - I am a techie. However; you need to be an ENGINEER to operate these rooms! Insane. So many buttons that you can't have even lighting, temperature, etc. The shower (lovely walk-in shower) is just stupid! Takes over 10 minutes to figure out that the large "bowl" in the shower is not a water bowl for a dog (which I thought it was), but is, instead, a foot bath bowl. I shoved it under the bench. Why it needs a separate faucet is beyond my imagination.

Mini-bar. Supposed to be restocked every day according to the Andaz literature. Never restocked during the entire stay (wanted another iced tea - when asked, room service brought one glass of iced tea that ended up costing me $7+). Never received a new water nor the bottled iced tea.

Restaurant. This had to be the stand-out as part of the worst service. Both days I went for breakfast in the restaurant. Poor service first day; horrible service second (realize that they were busy but not jammed on either day).

Waited 25 minutes for my order to be taken. Only taken since I said something to the waitress who was taking an order at the table next to us (and who had arrived 10 minutes after us). Asked 4 people for lemon for my iced tea. Never received it. I finally went into the kitchen to get it. Nobody ever checked on us to see if we needed anything during the 60 minutes we were sitting at breakfast. At the end, a server comes up and says "glad to see you got your lemon. . ." *rolleyes* Then another person comes up and says "we've comped your breakfast." That's nice, but as a Diamond, I get free breakfast is what I wanted to say. Said nothing, left a tip, and finally got out of there (never received one refill on any of our drinks during the 60 minutes btw). No thank you, no apologies for the poor service.

Hosts. Seriously - are these people just hired because they look good in black? Nobody seems to be able to do anything except pass a guest off to somebody else. I get the impression that they are all at this hotel to do their internship semester for college and there are not any grown ups supervising. Called down 3 times and each time was told "Oh, I'm a customer service host; I need to get you to somebody who can answer that question. . ." The lack of eye contact, any personalization, any semblance of customer service just isn't here. The impression is that the tablet they have is the cool thing; the customer is an imposition.

This hotel is 3 months old (approximately) and has gouges in the wood, stains on the floors, and uneven seams in the elevators. The customer service is non-existent and comical at how poor it is. New York has many hotels - I am really disappointed with my stay here - especially since I was excited about the opportunity to get to stay here. I would reiterate that for the amount of points or cash required to stay here, look elsewhere until they get these issues resolved.

Gold Passport Concierge

Dear ldsant:

Could you please DM me the details of your reservation so I may look into the issues you experienced?

Sincerely,

Nick B.

stevens397

Well that's depressing.

While I certainly have many stories about how wonderful a hotel room or suite was, most of the times I regale folks about travel experiences, it's all about extraordinary service.

I would like to think that these problems will ebb as the hotel matures. I wish that at some point you had asked to speak to the manager, Jonathan, to tell him directly about your experiences and be able to gauge his answers. While he has not posted on this board in a few weeks, my guess is that he still reads the postings. I simply cannot imagine that these comments would not be part of the feedback he shares with his employees.

My sense is that they can have a flow of committed Hyatt members, especially using points or free stays. But there are many, many wonderful hotels in NYC and the experience you describe simply can't float for long. As I said in an earlier post, I think we all want this hotel to right the things people are complaining about so we can look forward to staying there.

I am curious how people who have stayed at the other Andaz in NY feel it compares, how the opening was in terms of these same issues, etc. I have no desire to stay in Battery Park so that is really not an option for me but I have always received a lovely Junior Suite on award stays at Le Parker Meridien. As I said, I hoped and still hope that the Andaz will be our new home in NYC.

banzani

just so to provide a different perspective:

During our recent stay we had no problem whatsoever to find the place. If you read this then you know it is on 41st (Library Way), about 25 yards in from 5th Avenue. I live in Europe, and my last visit to NY has been some years ago, but no problems, really. We also had no problem operating the light switch. No, I am not an engineer, and not a techie, either. We also had no problem whatsoever to tell that a host was a host and not a guest. The hosts are the people that hang around the square table in the middle of the foyer working on laptops. We found this quite obvious.

I don't want to step on anybodies toes, but I think it is only fair that people who read this thread get a balanced set of opinions and reviews. In my opinion it really comes down to whether you are an Andaz-liking type of guest or not. And, if you are willing to tolerate a few shortcomings of a (still) new hotel that is trying out a different concept.

ldsant

We all have different experiences. This is my 4th Andaz experience in the last 6 months. I am a fan of the concept. Prior to checking out today I asked to speak with the GM. He was off-site. However; his assistant came down and with the front desk manager I explained the various issues that plagued this stay. None of them were "major;" per se - but all of the little issues just added up. His graciousness in listening was greatly appreciated. Never once interrupted what I discussed. BTW - when I asked for a late check-out this morning I was told that 11 AM was the checkout time. When I mentioned "As a Diamond I think I get a late check-out time, right?" She said "OK - 1 PM." When in fact, Diamond members can ask for a 2 PM checkout. I just think this has nothing to do with "if you're an Andaz-liking guest or not" but has to do with total lack of customer service on basic things. As I mentioned, I was impressed with the GM's assistant - he really did seem concerned about the issues that I raised with him and the front desk person.

l etoile

I stayed the week the hotel opened and cut it a lot of slack at that point. I didn't complain when men on a hoist were outside my window while I was undressed and I couldn't get the mechanized blinds down (no notice in the room prior to stating that workmen would be outside) or when engineers barged in when I had the DND sign out. Figuring the hotel would have things worked out quickly and that the staff was enthusiastic, I recommended the hotel to two friends who then stayed - one liked it, the other had several service issues.

After just staying a second time, I suspect I am now done with this Andaz.

I'm not very needy when it comes to service. All I really want is for staff to not make my stay more difficult, but that is what they did. Few members of the staff have ever worked in a hotel before and it shows. Among my issues with the hotel this time around:

- I went down the night before checkout and gave a staff member $950 in Hyatt checks. I said I realized they took time to process (although at some hotels it's fast) and I wouldn't have time to wait the following day. She said she would take care of it. A few minutes later I walked by and saw the checks unattended on a counter that was accessible to anyone passing through the hotel. No staff members were within 40'.

After the staff member returned, I approached and told her she essentially left $950 in cash out. She pointed to staff members 40' away who were pouring wine for other guests (and were blocked by a sculpture from seeing anything on that counter) and said they were watching. I said they were not watching and there had been no staff members in the area for 15 minutes. She insisted there had been until another guest, unknown to me, confirmed she'd been waiting for assistance for that period and no staff members were around.

I politely explained that had the checks disappeared I would have been out $950. The staff member told me she would have made good on it. Somehow I doubt that. She never counted the checks. She had no idea how much I'd given her. I then told her I had to leave and wanted her to write down that she received the checks. She said she "did not know how." Eventually, she wrote down that I gave her 20 checks. I had given her 19 checks and corrected her. To her credit, she applied them correctly to my bill while I was out. The bothersome part to this was the staff member never seemed to understand that she'd essentially left cash unattended.

On a more minor level:

- A female in a supervisory position told me I had to get to breakfast quickly as it would stop at 10:30 and it was then 10:15 a.m. I went to breakfast only to find out from the restaurant staff that it lasts until 4 p.m. on weekends. This was not the only example of the staff having little knowledge of the hotel they worked in. Another staff member said they did not offer wine in the lobby beyond 9 p.m. only to have another staff member come at 9:40 p.m. and pour wine for anyone who wanted some.

- Upon checking in, I was asked if I'd stayed before and I said I had. The check-in host said he would not escort me to the room then since I knew my way. The trouble was, had he looked up from his screen, he would have seen I had one hand on my rollaboard and the other filled with a glass of wine (nicely offered) and the room key. I needed assistance. I should have asked for help, but he also should have looked up from his screen and offered assistance seeing I clearly had my hands full.

- Breakfast was a long ordeal with me having to wait up to 25 minutes for my order to be taken. Never during either or my three meals did anyone check on the food quality or if I needed anything else.

- The baggage storage area is unsecured and unattended. Don't leave your laptops.

The hotel's interior, after three months, already shows wear and tear. The stone floors in public areas and in my loft bath were stained and spotted. The black paneling was spotted and/or chipped in the elevators and my bath. I hate to think what it's going to look like in a year.

For a property in Manhattan in this price range there are many wonderful options - Muse comes to mind - that provide stylish accommodations and excellent service. I wish I could say Andaz was another.

tinnub

I just completed a 3 night stay, and thought I would add my two cents. From reading the posts, I expected the querky room, and really had no problems, though it is querky. It takes a little while to get used to, but overall more than acceptable.
Service from the front was excellent from all we encountered. We needed a taxi on Sat. night, and the FD clerk went out to 5th Ave., flagged a cab, and rode around to the front of the hotel in the cab for us.
Housekeeping was fine, and everything was taken care of in the room. Location can"t be beat.
The restuarant was fine, not exceptional, but no real problems either. The staff in the entire hotel was better than most other hotels I have been to. Would stay again.

777 global mile hound

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/11/21...ravel&emc=tda3