joecool1885

Someone literally just posted some video from this terrace today on the Facebook WOH group, fyi.

DELee

When you're haute, you're haute.

David

Dr Jabadski

I’ve lived in the NYC area for many years, stayed at this hotel and visited the roof-top bar to see the view a few months ago (post #276 above).

January and February are usually cold and windy but occasionally could be 70 degrees and sunny with no wind. I remember a few years New Year’s Day was 70 degrees and I went running outside in shorts and a t-shirt instead of my usual wintertime 2-3-4 layers of sweatshirts, sweatpants and ear muffs.

Regarding a tripod, I would definitely “go for it” especially if it’s cold and windy (when few others will be outside). Presuming you’re not going to set up for 2 hours, there are many amateur photographers who use tripods, I have 2 in my closet. IMO better choice than spending $500 or more for a bed and a shower. The worst they can do is ask you to leave, they’re not going to call the police.

It’s invariably easier to seek forgiveness than to get permission.

(BTW, the spectacular views are facing Southeast, South and Southwest. In the winter when the sun is low in the sky, most of what you’d be photographing will be backlit and/or in the shade. Sun from the left side after sunrise and right side before sunset, never at your back.)

Doppy

Got upgraded as a Globalist from base room to next category up, maybe a minor view difference?

I asked at check-in about a better upgrade (the website is showing several categories of rooms higher available for booking, including standard suites on points) and the agent said "let me check," then didn't even pretend to check anything, and said "no sorry." One night stay so it's not like I'd be taking anything out of inventory for a long time.

Hotels like this I cross off my list for future stays.

jbandy10

The list of Hyatts in NY that upgrade Globes seems to be shrinking. At PH, it's a nonstarter. At least Thompson and Andaz seem to be alive.

BananaFusion

Had a 5 night points stay here for Christmas with family. Used a SUA to get upgraded to a King Suite.

Pluses:
• Location is excellent for touristy Christmas stuff. Most everything is walkable and useful major subway lines are a 5 minute walk away. Being a 1 minute walk from the middle of Times Square was really cool. I stayed at the Andaz 5th Ave last year and definitely preferred this location-wise even more though of course the Andaz had much nicer rooms.
• King Suite was pretty spacious for a NYC hotel room and a family of 4. Didn't mind the carpetless room. Bedroom is separated from the living room with two pocket doors. Not too sound proof but having some separation from the kids while they slept was so nice. The sofa itself is uncomfortable but the kids had no complaints about the sofa bed.
• Housekeeping was excellent and staff was friendly.
• The room-service-only breakfast was tasty and quite quick (always under 15 minutes). But pricey if you're not a Globalist and not a lot of options (and no pancakes/waffles). Would have been nice if had better seating arrangement to eat it, but we made it work.
• Bar 54 has some good views and very tasty but very expensive ($23+) cocktails. Also did the family friendly 10:30am daytime viewing. Seems like high floors would actually get decent Times Square views.

Negatives
• I found the bed really firm and honestly it was probably the worst nights sleep I've ever had in a hotel. My spouse and kids thought it was fine though so YMMV. I do prefer soft beds.
• Outside noise (on 12th floor) could sometimes be extremely loud with insane honking, blaring music from cars, and emergency vehicle sirens. I have no idea what possesses multiple people over multiple nights to decide it's a good idea to blare a car horn for 20 seconds straight at 3 in the morning but that's a thing that happens. I'm a very deep sleeper who has lived and visited downtown in other cities (including NYC in previous trips) without an issue, but this was a whole new level! So that combined with the hard bed meant I was woken up multiple times over our stay which never otherwise happens to me. I'd then fall back asleep fast but if you're a light sleeper just forget about this place.
• I absolutely despise the additional resort fees hotels add on as a surprise and $30 a night is absolutely ridiculous for literally nothing useful. It was of course waived as a Globalist but for everyone else it's just complete ........ that should just be added to the base price.

Overall it was pretty good, mostly due to the size of the room and the excellent location. If it was a couples trip I'd probably go back to the Andaz or try the Thompson but for a family trip it worked out well thanks to the suite.

jbandy10

Oh no. You're killing me with the firm bed. Now, granted, I found the Andaz beds to be just a bit soft, so maybe I'm somewhere in the middle.

Have you ever stayed at Park Hyatt to compare beds? Don't stay at Thompson. They supposedly are firmer than anywhere.

ElevatorEnthusiast

The beds here are old, so they feel springy and firm. The Thompson beds are so much better.

jbandy10

Wow, really? I have read people say the Thompson are ever harder than the PH which is already way too firm for me. I always have to get a topper if I stay at PH.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Both the HC and PH have springy and firm beds that are not good. The HC is better than the PH because the covers are thicker than the paper thin covers at the PH. The Thompson is firm but not springy, and I always sleep well. I vastly prefer the beds at the Andaz and Thompson over the other options.

Pingtung

It's a shame the restaurant that was in the lobby closed during the pandemic. I really enjoyed taking breakfast down there.

To help with noise, I gladly give up the Times Square view and always ask for a room facing the backside, 46th street. It was actually one of the reasons I kept coming back here because it got me a quiet room in a convenient location close to the theatre scene.

I haven't been back since 2020 as prices have gotten pretty high that I've ended up elsewhere instead. Thanks for your report!

joecool1885

Worried me for a sec with the firm bed talk, but I guess since we were fine at PH a few years ago, this should be fine too. Off to see the ball drop from Bar54 in a couple days, and before you ask, I didn't book Southwest. ;-)

jbandy10

For what it's worth... I emailed their main email and asked if they could provide any kind of topper such as the ones other Hyatts sometimes offer.

Got back:
Not exactly super descriptive but at least it's something.

777 global mile hound

The problem with this kind of wishy washy reply is it leaves the hotel in a position to say all we have is an extra sheet
or mattress protector that will do nothing to make the guest more comfortable.
One may be stuck counting sheep with a sleepless night.
It’s sad that many hotels have gone to cheap ironing boards they call beds
including many Marriott properties which no question some love.

When I was younger I thought hard as a rock was better but also didn’t know any better till I bought a Duxiana and the quality
of my life got much better with health and deep REM sleep quality
Best Kept Secret Hyatt Grand Central New York has some of these exceptional luxury beds in their vip suites 👍

Hotels that matter should have foam toppers or like the Park Hyatt Vienna have some nice fluffy thick feather duvets
Go figure the Hyatt Centric in Philly has a very comfortable bed that’s medium very good.
So much for consistency 🙄

joecool1885

So..... we paid the premium for Bar54 access to watch the Ball drop. Unfortunately this has... for me... created a very tough bias. This was undoubtedly among our top 10 Hyatt experiences. Obviously this isn't a top 10 Hyatt property.
Breakfast was subpar, our drink at the bar the first night took 20 minutes, and two different servers did not properly process that we wanted a drink to go. I also agree with above feedback that bed was too hard. We were able to go to sleep easily enough, but might've slept longer if not for the firmness. Also, fire alarm went off at 10ish for no reason, and we were still trying to sleep off the effects of the party.

We did pay for what we wanted... a suite with a large Terrace that overlooked Times Square, and that was pretty nice to have.

The check-in staff was awesome and friendly, and the bar staff, despite the issues the first night (maybe they were understaffed), were frigging amazing during the party.

So ultimately, I wouldnt seek this hotel out on a visit to NY, but I wouldn't hesitate to spend NYE here again... if I wanted to do another giant splurge.

(View from room terrace)