crimson12

I have to book a block of rooms for a longish stretch of time for work. The rooms will be used for sleeping but also some work (maybe a suite with a separate sitting area would be one of the rooms). Because of the 'work' aspect, I'd probably want some light catering (coffee service) etc. on a semi-regular basis.

I'll need rooms for weeks, and will have various far-flung business associates in and out over time. They won't care so much about "luxury" but will care about generally being taken care of well, and having the work-related amenities that they need (internet, etc.)

Has anyone hosted any events/conferences/business meetings at the Andaz Wall St.? Are they good at this kind of thing? Good service? Willing to cut a few breaks if we spend a lot of money?

MSPeconomist

IME virtually any hotel can deliver a wheeled table with coffee service for X people, usually meaning a big urn of brewed coffee with a sterno can to keep it hot, cups/saucers for X, and an excess of cream, sugar etc. You can add something like pastries if you want a very light breakfast or morning snack. The room service fees for this can sound expensive, but the charges seem in line with what would be charged for the same morning break service in a function room in the hotel. For afternoon, you can arrange iced tea, lemonade, etc. and cookies or mini desserts in place of coffee. This doesn't require much advanced notice unless the hotel's morning room service is so backlogged that breakfast is being served with long delays.

However, depending on the nature of the business meetings and how well the participants know each other, I would question whether rental of one or more small function rooms might work better, perhaps as part of a small meeting package including WiFi as well as the morning and afternoon light snack service. The person who is staying in the room (assuming that someone is and you're not renting an extra suite) might not appreciate everyone using his/her bathroom, going into the bedroom to make phone calls, etc. Having housekeeping service the room without disturbing a meeting can also become a problem. The suite option could be more convenient if everyone in the group is staying on that floor, but can be a nuisance in hotels that require key cards in the elevator to access sleeping rooms.

For the Andaz Wall Street, depending on the business, the location can be great and super convenient or bad and far from everything. In early evening and somewhat at other times, the lobby has the atmosphere of a bar, not a business or luxury hotel lobby. The Andaz brand features hosts not identified by uniforms rather than front desk and concierge staff, so business visitors can feel at a loss if they need to ask questions about how to find your meeting. In the same neighborhood are a W (same party atmosphere vibe, but at least there's a clearly identified front desk) and at least one Guest Quarters location (tiny rooms with minimal service, somewhat of a private club that might require membership to book rooms). There's a RC at Battery Park.

Finally, what is your time frame? Are there going to be post-Sandy power and heat issues and will the neighborhood be dark and empty?

peteropny

This is cross-posted at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/new-y...ferrerid=14479 which is probably the more appropriate place for the question. I'm going to lock this thread - please continue discussions in the referenced thread.

peteropny - co-mod - Hyatt