Somewhere Over the Atlantic

Or perhaps somewhere in the vicinity of Penn. Station?

DCBob

Huh? My room had THREE round knobs at eye level to hang wet towels. Did you notice those? Or maybe they were missing from your room. I don't know. But my room had one in the shower, one across from the sinks, and one across from the toilet. A bathrobe was already hanging from one of them.

Maybe your room was different, but the only lighting in my bathroom was at the very top of the 12-foot ceiling. By the time that light streams down behind the mirrors, it is too dim for tasks like shaving (or for women, applying makeup).

IndyJeffrey

Glad you had hooks, but there was not a single hook anywhere Believe me I looked. They must not be in all the rooms because when i brought it up while checking out, the staff person I spoke to said it was being addressed once the right hooks could be determined.

My two robes were hung in the glass closet, folded in half on the hangar. it was visually pleasing but the combined bulk took up half the hanging space.

Quasiconvexity

We had a pleasant four night stay here over Christmas weekend - was originally booked for 3 nights but had to extend it to a fourth because of Snowmageddon. A few highlights (and lowlights!) from our stay:

- We were upgraded into an Andaz Large Loft using one of my suite upgrade certificates. The room was spacious, and bright with lovely tall ceilings and large windows. Not much of a view - could only see an office building opposite, and a view of Fifth avenue if one craned their neck outside the living room window - but really lovely room overall (see pics below).

- The minibar was restocked every day (without having to make any requests)...the variety of items available was not as good as the Andaz WeHo, though.

- The lighting system was kind of funky but we quickly got used to it. Roomlinx also seemed a little complicated at first but we quickly got the hang of it and subscribed to the internet option (we stayed in a couple of nights and streamed movies from Netflix). There is an unlimited movie package but that doesnt offer too much choice.

- The hosts were friendly and gracious (for the most part - exception coming up below), and we made full use of the "lounge" area downstairs...free lattes and glasses of wine all day were a great plus!

- Breakfast at The Shop was excellent (the Avocado toast was especially good!). Dinner was quite good, although we felt the menu was a little lacking in variety (esp for vegetarians).

Now to some of the not-so-great aspects of our stay:

- We had to end up extending our stay because our flight was canceled on Sunday (12/26). When I went down to talk to the manager on duty on Sunday morning about extending our stay, I was told that we would have to move to a different room. She went on to say that that they were sold out of that room type and they "cannot extend our stay in the suite for free for one more night". Now I had checked rates online for rates for Sunday night, and all room types were showing up as available - when I pointed it out to her, she just said the website is probably in error, and that she had no more Large Lofts available. However, if I wanted to continue in the same room for another night, she said we can do it for an upcharge fee of $200 (in addition to the regular room rate of ~$300 for a regular King). At this point, we were tired of debating, and just decided to move for the day...it wasnt really an inconvenience because we were mostly packed and the new room was right across the hall (the new room was the regular king, which was the room type we booked - so no Diamond upgrades to an Andaz large king or a View King). Now, as I said before, it wasnt an inconvenience and we found the new room perfectly nice and spacious...however, the whole experience left a bad taste in our mouths and we simply did not feel valued as loyal Diamond customers.

- Next day, we finally managed to get on a flight out of NY and were booked on the 7pm flight. Since the Diamond checkout was 2 PM, I requested if we could have it extended until 3PM instead because we were planning to leave for the airport then. I was told (politely but firmly) that if we wanted to stay in the room beyond 2, we would have to pay half a day's room charge. Now, I realize those are the rules and did not really feel entitled to an exception but I felt the hotel really lost an opportunity to step up and display excellent customer service. A small gesture towards loyal customers in exceptional circumstances (such as Snowmaggedon) would have gone a long way.

Overall, we really liked the hotel, the location and the Diamond perks but felt like the staff didnt really believe in doing much beyond the minimum required.

Quasiconvexity

Andaz Large Loft:
http://img508.imageshack.us/i/dsc1263hc.jpg/
http://img211.imageshack.us/i/dsc1264.jpg/
http://img545.imageshack.us/i/dsc1265v.jpg/
http://img573.imageshack.us/i/dsc1266y.jpg/
http://img203.imageshack.us/i/dsc1269p.jpg/
http://img217.imageshack.us/i/dsc1270k.jpg/

Public Areas of the hotel:

http://img508.imageshack.us/i/dsc1275j.jpg/
http://img254.imageshack.us/i/dsc1276g.jpg/
http://img524.imageshack.us/i/dsc1277g.jpg/
http://img407.imageshack.us/i/dsc1341.jpg/
http://img812.imageshack.us/i/dsc1342s.jpg/
http://img708.imageshack.us/i/dsc1340d.jpg/

LilZeppelin

Kingsbubu, sorry for your experiences. They don't know how to run the place.

MikeFromTokyo

So obviously the "Large Loft" was in fact available for the additional night. Since the suite UG certificate is good for a stay of seven days, I say that your stay should have been extended in the same room at the same rate with no questions asked.

In my experience if a guest is already in residence, a good hotel will extend the stay at the same rate. I am disappointed to hear that you were treated this way at this property. Also, it really is disappointing that they would not give you a complimentary 3:00 pm checkout, even under the extreme weather conditions that caused your flight to be delayed.

This is an example of a situation in which the employee had an opportunity to step up to the plate and deliver good service, but instead decided to inconvenience a loyal guest with an unnecessary room change and by being inflexible regarding a simple 3:00 pm checkout request.

pclee

i am stunnnnn.
sorry for your bad experiences, kingsubbu.
i had a wonderful stay last August but it makes me worry to go back next month.
hopefully, jonathan is still monitoring this site to improve their services.

Quasiconvexity

My feelings exactly. The hosts did not even acknowledge our unusual travel circumstances (with numerous canceled flights, and uncertainty about when airports were going to reopen), leave alone show any concern or offer us any assistance to smooth our stay. It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise fine experience.

ldsant

I am firmly convinced that this property just likes hearing "good" things and don't want to deal with things that go "wrong." Their continuous inability to have any response to customers who may have an issue is just astounding. Perhaps they need to have retraining from the top down? The folks here just don't seem to understand what true customer service is all about.

sensei

deleted

MikeFromTokyo

I think it is ridiculous that the director of rooms would attempt to communicate with a resident guest by email, she should have met with you personally. Also, it sounds like her email was defensive, and that she was trying more to placate the issue than to actually be of assistance.

I think that I have heard all I need to never try this property. Some of the experiences recounted in this thread are really appalling. It sounds like the hard product has the potential to be acceptable, but for me service is what makes or breaks a stay.

Radiant Flyer

This has happen to me at several hotels. The hotel is sold out of a certain room type but it's still being sold online. I was told the following by a hotel I stay at frequently. A hotel is fully committed but when you check online rooms show as available. This is more of a problem with Hyatt Central Reservations than with the hotel directly. Central Reservations still tries to oversell to make up for possible no shows or cancellations. I think the practice is blah... but it's not just the Andaz 5th Avenue where this happens, it common though out the business.

jayer

I can vouch for Radiant's story. When you get to be a very regular at the same hotel and don't push your Diamondness around, the formality is dropped and you become privy to the hotel shop talk.

My friends in a Texas Hyatt I won't identify further for their benefit tell me they block the paid suites and confirmed upgrades and pre-assign most of the remainder to regulars and high-night Diamonds expected in. They hold back one or two for surprise mega-Diamonds and walk-ups willing to pay. They do oversell, and for money you can walk in and jump the comp line. But otherwise there is a pecking order, and the regular who has not had a suite in awhile is ahead of the unknown random Diamond. They sweat blood on tight nights that they won't give away the last suite just before the unexpected Courtesy Card holder who loves to complain arrives.

sensei

Remember though I had a "confirmed" suite upgrade and I was staying there during Thanksgiving week. Not only were pretty much all room categories bookable (and there are A LOT at this Andaz), but rates were quite low, including special rates such as AAA. I have noticed when I book a room at one of my regular Hyatts at short notice that oftentimes as rates go up the selection of room types dwindles and AAA rates etc disappear. Frankly, I usually don't check available rooms on the day of arrival, precisely because I know that Hyatt will take care of me and there is no need to ask for an upgrade. Whatever I get is the best available room. This was a very unusual check-in and if I understood the host correctly they had assigned me the best available room in my booked room category (which sounded like the Platinum benefit). Of course it is conceivable that there were a lot of regulars staying there, but I ended the year with a lot of Hyatt nights (close to 100 if not more), and I really hope it doesn't take 150 nights to make it closer to the top of the list there during a week where few travel for work. Others have posted in this thread about the lack of upgrades at this property, including one person who claimed to have stayed there pretty regularly.

My post wasn't really about upgrades, though. It seems that a few individuals at this Andaz don't reflect Hyatt's dedication to customer service that is so consistent across the brand. For example, it almost seemed as someone took away the late check-out that I had been granted as a courtesy when my admittedly crude indicator of hotel occupancy (Hyatt.com) indicated they could have easily accommodated it. I could have checked out online by simply clicking on the 2PM radio button. Mind you I would never challenge a hotel if a late check-out were declined (which by the way has yet to happen as I don't request these often) and I never mentioned my observations to the Andaz.

Once again, I think this is a property with a lot of potential and Diamond treatment goes above and beyond what is required (e.g., room service breakfast). Most of the staff I interacted with were extremely curteous and eager to assist. If it hadn't been for the confirmed upgrade mishap, I am sure I would have posted a glowing review. But as it is I am still a little annoyed by my experiences 5 weeks later and it seems others encountered similar treatment.