James Luckard

Yep, a 102-year-old hotel set for demolition, reopening for 18 months, under a downgraded brand, with a skeleton staff and minimal facilities, only in order to avoid having to pay severance to its employees. Doesn't scream "premium" to me.

The press release also makes no mention of reopening the massive convention/banquet facilities. I'll bet one way to reopen with only 25% of staff is to leave those shuttered.

James Luckard

Or they could just put masking tape over the word "GRAND" on all the signs

As one website pointed out, reopening in the quiet days of winter like this shows this is only happening to avoid that severance requirement.

James Luckard

Meeting facilities are clearly not reopening, all mention of them has been scrubbed from the website. They're just reopening the guest rooms (who knows how many of them will actually reopen) and the convenience store:

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/ne...new-york/nycgh

Strange that the Hotel Pennsylvania and Hotel Commodore, after surviving for 100 years, will both likely be demolished simultaneously.

At least it'll be interesting to see what remains of the Commodore under the glass facade as they remove it. Honestly, both had been so ruined over the years, there wasn't much to save.

I just hope the shuttered Roosevelt Hotel survives, the only unscathed grand railway hotel remaining in the city, since these two were preceded by the late Biltmore Hotel, stripped to its skeleton and rebuilt as an office building in 1981.

Aventine

Probably going to be a very premium 500 points breakfast.

futuramadramallama

Mhm... gluten-free [vegan, sustainably-sourced, organic] points... very filling!

coleslaw

I've noticed the property is still charging a $34 per night Destination Fee. Seems a bit much for a hotel that's reopening with massively cut down services/amenities and a skeleton staff.

drod

Thanks for the heads up. I locked up 2 weeks in January and upgraded to a suite. It's not that I'm particularly looking forward to staying here but my office in CT is tentatively reopening in Jan and the location can't be beat for the commute.
Let me know if anyone spots rates dipping down below $100 for any other months. I only see the super low rates for early to mid-Jan.

strickerj

IMHO, this is an even bigger scam than resort fees. I mean, at least the resort amenities are provided by the property (even if the ones they claim to be charging for are a joke). A "Destination Fee" seems to literally just be an extra charge for being in a city with amenities around it. If I refuse to pay the destination fee, will my room be in New Jersey or something?

mmgm

I have a reservation here next week. Would appreciate hearing any experiences this week now that it is finally open. And of course I will report after my stay.

UA_Flyer

I gather Grand Club is not going to open, but hope the gym is open.

Destination fee is waived for Globalists, so at least that scam is taken care of.

Just wondering what kind of Globalist benefits in terms breakfast options now that Grand Club is not going to open.

I have a 9-night stay in December, so appreciate any update on facilities and services. I booked Hyatt Centric on 5th Ave as a backup for now.

mmgm

From what I read the gym is open. The restaurant is closed. The Market in the lobby will be open. No idea how Globalist breakfast will work from the Market.

mmgm

I tried calling the hotel to find out about the Globalist breakfast benefit. After going through the automated menu I requested information about something other than a reservation. Unfortunately I was still transferred to Hyatt reservations. When I explained my question and what I wanted to know I was transferred back to the hotel to start the main menu again. I gave up

jayer

Will be interesting to see. My guess is. . . . .nothing, since it seems to be just a loss minimization move to reopen the doors. If they don't have a club and don't have a restaurant. . . . . maybe we can hope for some food in the bar. They are bound to have a bar cater to people who want to get all liquored up. Now there is a place with a profit margin.

To whomever decides to book themselves in as a trial balloon to see what happens: we salute you.

UA_Flyer

For anyone that is interested, there are two reviews posted in TripAdvisor this week on this property, and the Hyatt Grand Central received pretty negative reviews.

Jordyn77

I stayed here for 2 nights starting on Nov. 1. About 3 days before I was scheduled to check in, I received a call asking what time I would arrive. My room (corner suite) was ready around 2pm, which is when I told them I would arrive. For the two times I needed to speak to the front desk, I never had to wait including check in. The room itself was quite big with multiple seating/working areas with a large walk in closet. The room felt generally clean although it is definitely dated and the finishes had definite wear and tear. My biggest issue was that the water temperature barely hit the warm level and that was even after letting it run awhile.

Globalist breakfast was at the marketplace. Upon check-in, I was told an entree and a drink, but when I went to the marketplace in the morning, I was told whatever I wanted and it would be deducted. I ordered a breakfast wrap (meh), a croissant and a latte and it never appeared on the bill. The second day I had brunch plans so I only ordered a coffee and a pastry.

I did have to stop by at the front desk on the way out to have them waive the destination fee from my bill. They handled it quickly and I was able to check out via the app with the correct bill. For my purposes, the rate (sub $200 all in/night) and the location made it a fine stay for me.