Somewhere Over the Atlantic

If I were GM of a property and saw the opening sentence of this review (not to mention the many similarly worded ones on this board), I would take five minutes to pause and reflect, then call a come-to-(fill in blank with your favorite prophet) with my lieutenants this afternoon to assess where this ship is headed.

A statement like this will be an instant turn off to any fairly serious traveller/prospective guest and poisonous to the property's still-nascent reputation.

As for those who claim that this is a matter of whether one "gets" the premise and tenets of an Andaz or not, this is a preposterous oversimplification: Do we see similar reviews of Andaz Fifth's sister property on Wall Street?

CopperSteve

Aside from the opening lines, a good review, although short of details about the room; perhaps a quirk-free room was arranged for the Times?

stevens397

My wife and I just completed our first stay - one night as a redemption of one of my free Visa nights in a suite (I'm Diamond elite). I have posted on these last few pages and was clearly a bit nervous after lsant's experience.

We were, in fact, warmly welcomed. As we were escorted upstairs, I asked what type of room he had for me and he told me it was a special View room. We entered the room and it was certainly not a suite. I inquired why and was told that everything was sold out.

I then told him that I was actually reserved in a Large Loft. He said I must have misunderstood so I showed him the confirmation which stated that while I may not be the sharpest tack, I was right about this.

He said he would look into it. We had to leave immediately for dinner and the theater. On the way in the taxi, I did an internet log-on to Hyatt and found, in fact, that all sorts of rooms and suites were being offered still for this night. I called the hotel and asked to speak to the host but they could not find him. So I told the host who answered what had happened. I further told her that there is no question that I was simply lied to and that I resented such treatment, especially when it is so easy to detect the lie. She started to apologize but I cut her off and said that I would return after the show between 10:30 and 11 PM and expected to have my belongings moved to an appropriate room.

When we returned, we were again greeted by the first host who took us up to a Spash Suite. He then went on and on about how he felt it was important that he find me a nice suite so he kept looking after we had left. This was when my wife got thoroughly disgusted - better he should have just given us the keys. He had already lied to us and gotten caught. At this point, the best thing to do is to shut up. I was actually astounded that they did not ask a different host to accompany us.

Now the room. Really a beautiful suite that reminded us of the suites at the Park Hyatt in Washington DC. Yes, the lights are a bit crazy but the only thing that really bothered me was that it is positively impossible to read at night in bed - the bed lights are simply too small and too dim. One gets the sense that Form over Function prevailed here. I really believe that Tony Chi never stays in the hotels he designs of he would see that style is great but not if you can't read a newspaper or magazine in bed.

Would I return - sure, I'll try again. And I'll know what rooms are available before check-in. I wrote to the GM to let him know how disappointed I was but have not heard back yet. What I said was that I left Starwood for Hyatt because of the way they treated elites. While they did not offer suite upgrades on basic award stays, what they DID promise, they delivered on - yet here I was not only not given what I was contractually deserving of, I was lied to in the process. I would hope that no client would be treated this way but it is even more offensive to treat a loyal customer this way.

That said, I still believe this will be a great hotel and a welcome addition to the Hyatt family in NYC - but I'll still look forward to the PH!

pclee

i thought diamond suite upgrade is 'large suite' or 'splash suite' not large loft.
last August, i got a large loft using BWB.
i wouldn't waste an e-cert or free suite nights on large loft.

bmw303

I think its worth noting that this is a new hotel with a new staff, and we should give them some time to work things out.

The hotel's location is perfect, the rooms are very nice and large by NY standards, the hotel has excellent amenities including a departure gift, so the hotel itself is a great hotel.

I think in time, especially with the exceptional GM that the hotel has, the staff will rise to the level we expect of a top Hyatt hotel and it will become truly one of the best Hyatt hotels.

stevens397

I think if you read the last few pages, you will see that I have been saying the same things.

There are experiences I have had at hotels that show a lack of training. Lying is not one of them. Being told a room I am entitled to cannot be had - do you really think some young, inexperienced employee thought this up on his own?

I have defended this hotel for the same reasons as BMW. As I said, I will try it again. But Hyatt won a major award this year because of the way it treats its elite guests. Telling an experienced traveler that a hotel is sold out when every single level of room is still available is not an example of award-winning behavior.

Cheerfulflyer

Departure gift? Is this new or another thing that my host forgot?

RichardInSF

They forgot it for me too. They also forgot they had suites.

imm2b

After the first few pages of this thread, this hotel looks so promising, especially with the proactive GM in Jonathon. Now I'm having second thought about my up coming stay.

I hope that Jonathon will come back and participate again, I would like to hear his side of the story.

londonienne

Hmm any chance that award bookings open up again at this property when rates are $600/night for the dates I'm looking at (early Dec)? Could also do the Element Times Square a little ways away for cash + points...

ldsant

Forgot mine too. Also, I never heard back from the GM either after my stay (it has been a week). As far as this being a "new property" and we should give them time - if you notice l'etoile's post he/she mentioned that he/she stayed there the first week and that many of the same issues exist now that it's been open over 3 months.

This isn't a Motel 6 - staff training shouldn't be an "experiment" with guests.

l etoile

I did get my parting gift on both stays - the first being the week the hotel opened - so it's not a new thing. The choices are also mentioned further upthread - there's a small brownie, some lip balm, and a few other little things.

The director of rooms told me in an email that it's only the lofts for diamonds on a suite upgrade. This is obviously different from what others were told. My "host" at check-in also said it's a loft and that Andaz Suites would be opening at some point and would also be available with the upgrade certs. Others have been told Splash Suites are for diamonds on a suite upgrade cert. Consistency is not a strong point at this property.

I was told by a staff member that very few of the hotel employees have ever worked at a hotel before, which explains these parts of the NYTimes review as well as my and some others' experiences:

I wish they'd have realized money would have been better spent not on using a comedy company to train staff, but a customer service-focused one. Although I guess they got what they asked for :

ma91pmh

if it's only a loft for confirmed suite upgraded then they will be losing my booking the weekend before christmas.

ldsant

I wouldn't cancel just because of the room- as many of us have reported this hotel is not ready for "prime time" at this point in time. I do find it interesting that the GM was involved on this board for awhile but as flaws were pointed out he has gone "quiet." Social networking isn't intended to just promo all of the "good" things; but to address customers who have legit concerns as well.

For the amount of $ (or points) there are many nicer and better service hotels in NYC.

ma91pmh

I've stayed here couple of times and loved the place... agree with comments about service but I stayed in first week or two and expected things would get better, sounds like they haven't. However traveling with kids so either need two rooms or a proper suite. Will see what can be done at Grand Hyatt. At SPG properties no guarantee of upgrade so would need two rooms, gets pricey