Hyatt Grand Central New York REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Nov 5, 2016, 7:03 pm
Nov 5, 2016, 7:13 pm
I did see water bottle handed to someone that requested for it in the lounge.
But what you need to do is ask for one of those cards for free water/coffee at the FD to use at the Market Place. With that card, you can go back as many times before your checkout date on the card.
Back to the lounge - they have a problem with fruit flies. You can see it flying around the food. They tried several times to spray the lounge after hours but with no luck.
And speaking of the new crappy WOH - the FD person had no idea this was coming and she even mention why would Diamonds vote in a survey to do away the check in amenity. I totally agree. Same reaction at the Hyatt Tsq.
Dec 16, 2016, 8:50 pm
The problem with that is that any time we wanted water we had to wait on the line for the cashier, and at one point on Saturday night, even though there were two people working behind the counter, both were stopping to make sandwiches and what-not for people waiting on line for the 2nd cashier. So I just gave up at that point rather than waiting 20+ minutes for some water.
They need a better system there. If they have two people working behind the counter, why wouldn't one be dedicated to making sandwiches and prepared foods and the other checking people out quickly at the cashier?
The other thing they did ... I always ask for a quiet room, and I asked again at checkin, and the FDC inisisted it was a quiet room, but it was a corner room close enough to 42nd St that it was a problem because they were doing some sort of nightime excavation until around 2AM and had all lanes but 2 (1 in each direction) closed on 42nd St. Apparently NYC ESU did not get the message that 42nd St would be closed off like that because for hours and hours emergency vehicles would just sit on 42nd Street with their sirens blasting non-stop. We moved to an actual quiet room the next day by emailing the person that emailed us ahead of our stay, who took care of everything and helped us move. Usually I get a quiet room this way to begin with, but this time I think FDC just told me what I wanted to hear or they really had no idea. Either way it was a bad result for us.
The lounge was the usual overcrowded mess.
Next time will try to save our empty water bottles and just fill them in the lounge when we can to avoid dealing with the marketplace mess.
Or just stay elsewhere .. the problem is if you want/need Hyatt credits. I guess that won't be as much of an issue going forward either.
I have to say that usually my (somewhat reduced) expectations for this property are met, I generally ask for and get an upgraded (larger, non-suite), quiet room away from the street and loading docks (especially where the commercial garbage trucks load up in the wee hours). This time they managed to screw it up a bit. The lack of bottled water in the lounge is the new thing for me this time.
Also got billed for 2 days of premium internet, taken card of adroitly by private line agent. Also had points issues, but probably was not GHNY's fault. Also handled expertly by PL agent. (Apparently it's fairly easy for a property to accidentally change your points earning preference to miles without your knowledge .. again, this was not done by GHNY, but by the hotel I stayed at previously.)
We were fortunate (that it wasn't us) to arrive back at the hotel Saturday afternoon to see people getting out of a packed elevator that had gotten stuck. I asked one of the guys how long they were stuck, he said 30 minutes. They were taking people around the corner to use the service elevator to offload some of the people waiting. Another one of the elevators that also serviced the higher floors was out of service for normal maintenance, so the 2nd one being down was a bit of problem at that point, but didn't seem to be a problem later.
-David
Last edited by LIH Prem; Dec 16, 2016 at 9:05 pm
Jun 24, 2017, 7:36 pm
• Enjoy complimentary parking on free night awards (available where parking can be charged to your room)
Oct 24, 2017, 3:28 pm
Grand Hyatt New York
109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal New York, NY US 10017
7 Things I Hate About You, Grand Hyatt NYC (2 Photos)
Grand Hyatt New York
1. The Club: it’s jam-packed for breakfast and happy hour, with no seats, screaming families, and more people than a subway car at rush hour. The food sucks. The drinks at happy hour are $6 minimum for a beer (which they charge sales tax on!), and up from there.
2. Elite treatment: as a Globalist stay, there are little real benefits. The hotel refused to let us have breakfast in the room or at a restaurant… so we just gave up on breakfast for the last 3 nights of our stay. (The Club was a net negative experience).
3. Fails at basic services: things like water in the room, like providing printing facilities, like providing free luggage storage or mailing services. Computers and printers in the club are broken.
4. Horribly slow wifi: was almost impossible to get work done; had work calls drop on me, etc.
5. Food & Beverage, bad and overpriced.
6. Way too big: feels like a giant convention hall. Not a relaxing place to come home to at all. Walking into the lobby at night, you’re not greeted; you’re accosted by a security guard demanding you prove you’re staying here.
7. Nickel & Diming: everything here costs money. Basic things that every other hotel I typically stay at does for free… like printing ($0.50c per page), like mailing, like receiving a package, like storing your bags for the afternoon. Oh… and the club’s overpriced Budweiser. Also, told me they’d be charging me for water when I asked about it the first night.
Things I liked:
- Location—right above Grand Central.
- Room was large enough (thought the bathroom was uncomfortably small)
- Recovery—they made an good effort to rectify the situation when things went wrong.
Eventually, I did get some water for free—they bought 10 bottles as a way of apologizing, which was much appreciated.
Room
The room was large and comfortable. I believe I received a small upgrade. There was a couch and table area on the one end, a small semi-walk-in closet, and a large King bed. Unfortunately, my biggest complaint with the room is the rather tiny bathroom—it was especially uncomfortable when it came time to shower. I would constantly bump into the sides. Also, the water pressure was weak and it would often take 5min+ for the water temperature to stabilize.
Overall
I would not stay here again if there were better options for the prince and quality. The Grand Hyatt is priced like a 5-star hotel, but feels like a 4-star conference hotel. The Andaz nearby is much much much much better value; with similar prices but a boutique feel, with friendly staff and good policies. In the future, the GH will be at the bootom of the list, only to be booked if it were much cheaper than the alternatives.
Location
Ultimately, this GH is all about the location, being right on top of Grand Central Terminal.
Oct 24, 2017, 4:34 pm
5 stars in NYC cost $1000+ per night.
Oct 24, 2017, 4:56 pm
I’m no fan of GH New York. It’s a prime example of an ugly, Trump construction that should be torn down. Food is indeed ghastly.
Oct 24, 2017, 6:09 pm
Oct 24, 2017, 7:18 pm
Still, the lobby feels like a train station and there can be long lines to check in, check out, or speak with a concierge. It is a large convention hotel in a location that can be convenient. Many rooms are small. It's unlikely to be the best value in NYC.
Oct 24, 2017, 7:32 pm
The club is hit or miss. If it is not too crowded I find it to be pretty pleasant with a decent yet simple breakfast.
What I did not like about a recent stay was I was "upgraded" to an over-sized standard room but they didn't do anything different to make use of the space, so it just had extra space. Missing in it was things like a desk and an office chair, which could have easily fit. Instead there was a giant arching floor lamp that lit up unused carpet space.
Oct 24, 2017, 11:19 pm
Oct 24, 2017, 11:54 pm