I have lots of Hyatt cat 1-4 free night certs to burn and I had never stayed at a Thompson brand hotel before, so I thought trying Gild Hall would kill two birds with one stone because it’s one of the few Hyatt properties in NYC which is cat 4 and I would tick off that brand to make progress to earn another cat 1-4 free night.  I was under the impression that Thompson was somewhat of a premium brand but after my stay I am not sure Gild Hall was very different from a DoubleTree or a Four Points.

Check In

I booked two separate reservations and for some reason I did not realize I selected two different room types for each night: one with two beds and one with a king.  Not only did I not get any upgrade on the first night, but also they told me I would have to change rooms for the second night, more on that below.  

Room

The color tone of the room was dark and because the building in front was very close there was almost no natural light coming into the room, not to mention that if the blinds were not closed there was limited privacy from the room because there were no sheer curtains.  The room also had carpet, the bathroom had the dreaded shower in the bathtub, the toilet was leaking and the tub was not the cleanest with some signs of mold.  The air conditioning was not central and instead was an old-style unit on the wall, but thankfully it was strong and the room was cool.  There were no convenient power plugs near the bed and soundproofing was absolutely terrible, I could frequently hear noise either from the street or from the hallway, even modest noises.  Near the free Fiji water provided as a welcome gift, there was some kind of bowl with crumbs in it.  I thought perhaps they normally give cookies or a snack and forgot to refill and clean, but I was told this was just meant to be for ice.

On the positive side, the bed and bed sheets were very comfortable and probably the strongest aspect of this hotel.  There was good water pressure in the shower and bathroom toiletries were nice, a sub-brand of La Bottega.

My second room looked almost the same as the first except for having only one bed, and I did not observe the same problems in the bathroom thankfully.

Service

Service was hit and miss.  Before arrival I informed them that I was going to NYC specifically for covid vaccine and I needed some help and information but their response was the bare minimum and only halfway helpful, when I asked for clarification they did not bother to answer which is questionable for a hotel which wants to be an upscale brand.  Once at the hotel, I suspect it would not have been very hard to plan the room assignments to ensure a Globalist member does not need to change rooms in the middle of a 2-night stay simply because two free night reservations have different bed types.  I did not care because I thought I would get a clean room for the second night so I did not protest, but some other guests might not appreciate being requested to move.  It’s not the first time that I book separate reservations with different room types and I am rarely asked to change.  Hotel staff also knocked on my door for mini-bar service when I had the do not disturb sign on, and charged me for consumptions I did not take.  Service was not universally weak, at reception on day 2 it was better than the day I arrived; also the hotel has a doorman which gave a bit of luxury flavor to the hotel relative to select service hotels.

There are no amenities available in the room, they sold toothbrushes for $5 which raised eyebrows, and there was no bathrobe or slippers; since they advertise on their website having Frette bathrobes, I am assuming they have been temporarily discontinued due to covid although I am not sure there is a strong link with virus transmission via bathrobes.

Dining

For breakfast they use an external vendor (butlermenu.com); guests can order the Globalist breakfast with a QR code but the menu was slim pickings and limited to one beverage and one breakfast item.  Globalist solo travelers may want to consider booking their reservation as two adults to get two vouchers otherwise they will still be hungry.  It’s not directly the hotel’s fault other than choosing to do business with this vendor, but on the first day they did not have my choice of drink, and on the second day they were 1.5 hours late relative to my chosen delivery time.  For people paying for that breakfast, a modest avocado toast and drip coffee for $20 not counting tip and/or delivery and not arriving on time - not exactly a screaming deal.  Food was good though.

Wifi

Wifi was ok but below average speeds of 5-10 Mbps.

Overall

I guess the fact that Gild Hall is cat 4 whereas most other Hyatt hotels in NYC are cat 5-7 it should be a sign; you get what you pay for.  It’s a decent use of free night certs but there is no way I would pay cash for this hotel (over 250 USD for my dates) with low chances of suite upgrade, a dark room not all of them being clean, uneven service and an unimpressive breakfast benefit.