chauming

If the destination fee is waived for elite members for award nights, do we still get the benefits listed even if we didn't have to pay it? I may want to ride them cute little bikes.

tjbrooks

Yes.

chauming

Thanks.

Central90210

Not sure if Discoverist is considered “elite” or not, but as a Discoverist, I wasn’t charged any destination fees for my free night awards (both points and Cat 1-4 cert), which is much appreciated.

Most of the staff were friendly, genuine and well intentioned, but I did find a few of them overly causal and a tad brisk, perhaps that’s a FiDi thing. But most importantly, I arrived in JFK from YVR on CX’s red eye and arrived at the hotel at 7ish am, and they were very very kind enough to offer me a room at that hour.

The standard king room I received was however tiny (knew that going in) and there was literally zero sound proofing, it literally felt like there was no door between the room and the corridor - heard everything in the corridor and next door. HVAC system was also loud (mentioned up thread) and incapable of keeping the room reasonably warm when it is only -2C outside. Can’t imagine what it will be like when it’s -18C outside.

Paid breakfast at the restaurant was very delicious but dinner left a bit to be desired, surprisingly. Oh and no WOH point accrual for F&B spendings.

cvseuy

Any award booking will waive those destination fees.

bostonpilot

I'm sitting in a King Suite (room #100 ) on my 3rd and last night at Gild Hall for a long weekend NYC leisure stay. I came into it with fairly low expectations based on the reviews above, but its honestly been terrific.

My priority this weekend was a confirmed comfortable suite and I liked the 15k/night rate, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I've stayed at most of the Hyatt branded properties in Manhattan multiple times and did a one night stay at HGU a few months ago and have my favorites and pro/cons for most, but the rate and a confirmed TSU upgrade made the choice for me to try something new. None of the other properties on the island had confirmable suites other than the GHNY and I've made it a point to not stay there for years.

I was also in NYC last weekend with my wife for a two night stay in a suite at the PHNY and with the benefit of a comparison within a few days, this was better all around. I know many have issue with PHNY, but I've always had great stays there in my previous 4 stays, always getting a nice upgrade without a TSU. Ironically, those stays were always solo so it wasn't the best way to enjoy it, so for last weekend I pushed the Globalist phone agent to call and try and get them to confirm a TSU for my anniversary, which they did, but it was the smallest and least nice suite I've had there, and for 30k/night. Plus, I've always found the service polite, but cold and a bit "judgmental" if that makes sense. I left that stay feeling that it was fine, but not sure it was worth the 60k points it cost me.

At Gild Hall, its a nice, casual one bedroom suite with a mini kitchenette (sink, mini-fridge, microwave) in it, clean, updated and comfortable and a decent bathroom and shower (nothing like the PHNY bathroom, but much bigger than most in NYC). Yes, the hall ways and elevators are showing their age, and the lobby is small and feels a lot more like a cool ski lodge than a high end hotel, but that works well for me. Its felt like I was in a decent, comfortable ~600 sq ft apartment for the weekend which is exactly what I was looking for after being on the road almost non stop for work since New Years Day.

I have no reason to spend my time in FiDi, and didn't other than to sleep, but with Fulton St. Station <5 min walk from the hotel, its easy to get anywhere fast. We spent most of the weekend either in the W. Village or the UWS and with the A/C and 2/3 express trains it was extremely convenient, and when we got take out from Chinatown and I wasn't in the mood for walking in a snow storm to the subway, it was an easy ~$12 Uber ride back to the hotel. To/From Penn was a really short trip as well.

The staff has been great. Yes, laid back, but again that works for me in the way they go about it. Polite and non-pretentious and they have been very proactive via text message making sure everything was up to expectation before and during the stay. As a comparison, I'm fairly allergic to the Andaz (or W) "we are too cool to act like this is a hotel" check in and lobby vibe. It feels way to contrived and annoying for me, but I also don't need super formal. I simply am looking for a basic level of professionalism, welcoming, and being pleasant. For a nice long weekend vacation trip to NYC, their approach and friendliness worked great for me. The way my brain works with mental notes - every morning when we walked by the Gild Hall front desk I got a "Good morning, how are you?" and a smile vs. the front desk at the PHNY or the person standing by the elevator never uttered a word any time we walked by other than checking in/out. Not a big deal, but it send a message to me regardless and left an impression.

The globalist breakfast is decent, but limited to a continental, american breakfast, or yogurt so we only ate here one morning and went to some of my favorite NYC spots on the other days. As a comparison, the PHNY breakfast while flexible now and tastes great, the $125 for two price tag, even when I'm getting it comped as a Globalist I find laughably arrogant. The Gild Hall restaurant and bar was hopping every night, but we didn't try it so I'm not sure how it is.

All in all, if they keep this at 15k/night, I'll definitely be back, especially if I can confirm the suite again. The only downside is that when I originally tried to book, the king suite wasn't available and only some of their other suites and there was no flexibility to bend the rules and let me book into it as there is at many other Hyatts. But, thanks to a cancellation, it opened up and has made for a terrific stay.

Enjoy.

Kacee

Sounds similar to service at the Beekman, the other Thompson hotel downtown. Friendly and unpretentious, while also competent. I much prefer it to stuffy and formal. I will have to check out Gild Hall.

chauming

I thought the smallest room here is 300 square feet. Am I incorrect? If not, 300 square feet is huge for NYC.

skj

I don't know what area is claimed or how it is measured, but as several have reported, the standard king room is tiny.

Central90210

The base room, standard king, is 280 square feet as per their website and it certainly feels much smaller than that. The room will be better served with a queen bed and an extra chair, in addition to the lone desk chair in the room.

We were on a 2.5 week trip so we had three suitcases, and it was tough to maneuver around the room when the suitcases are open.

Aventine

That does looks small. Seen hotel bathrooms bigger than that.

Kacee

Thanks for the pic. That's super small. Looks to me like they're playing games with the measurement, as I'd be very surprised if that measured at 280 square feet.Also, there's no separation at all between the door and the room, which is a total no-go for me.

Runner123

I am here on a 2 night award stay. The hotel contacted me ahead of time, which doesn't happen to me very often. I arrived at 10am and they had a room for me on the 15th floor that was an upgrade-they didn't mention it, but it is at least 300 square feet and is a corner room at the end of a hall. I am allowed the big $9 water bottle each day for free, and they have already given me 2pm late checkout. The staff has been super nice. The shower has plenty of hot water and plenty of pressure. The bed is super comfortable, too! If I wanted to nit pit, they only have ice on two floors, and no vending machines, but that is not a major deal breaker. The subway station is very close as are a number of tourist sites. It's much quite here than uptown and that's a good thing!!

Runner123

Had a wonderful stay here at Gild Hall, and Id come back if the rate is low enough to make up for the resort fee. The staff is very friendly, and the area easy to get around. Loved having a quiet place to sleep at night!!

Runner123

Even got the 1500 bonus points for a weekend stay at a Hyatt which was totally unexpected for an award stay!!