TravellerFrequently

Thanks suspire and edcho.

I had a further response from [email protected] advising that the hotel does not have an email address (provided me with a 'phone/fax number), whilst ignoring my request for a manager to contact me or advising whether I could check out and check in again during my stay so that my new status will register. He provided some interenet costs, but I think these are available on the website

I have written back advising that I will consider other options for my colleagues and I for our c.90 nights - not large for a hotel of this size.

I will, however, look into the Diamond Challenge and see if I hear anything further.

Any comments regarding the quality/size of the standard rooms and service in general? Thanks.

Edited to add:

I have found some information regarding the Diamond Challenge, which looks very interesting! Will the benefits apply to Corporate rates?

TravellerFrequently

I think that only US citizens are eligible for the Hyatt Visa?

MikeFromTokyo

This should be irrelevant as you can definitely get at least Platinum by calling US customer service and requesting to be upgraded to Platinum prior to the stay (through a so-called challenge / 'trial' offer or otherwise).

I would suggest explaining the situation, and the 80+ room nights you will be giving to Hyatt, and asking for Diamond status rather than platinum. You should have a good chance.

The GH is a huge hotel and the service is not usually personalized, especially for guests with no status. Because you are giving Hyatt a substantial amount of business you should A) Ask for Diamond status and B) Contact management at the hotel directly to ensure that you are well taken care of. Since you have the ability to give the hotel 80+ room nights, you should have some bargaining power.

edcho

Yes -- Diamond benefits will apply to most corporate rates (there are a few exceptions).

peteropny

Diamond status perks (even during the challenge period) apply to all stays without exception - even award, third party booked (even Priceline / Hotwire) stays. Only exception is the confirmed Diamond Suite Upgrades - these only apply on revenue stays that are eligible (mostly booked directly with Hyatt).

Andaz5

This was my first stay here and most likely the last. I have stayed at all the Hyatt’s in the NYC area and this is the worst. First off this is the old Commodore Hotel built in 1919, the hotel was completely gutted and horribly reskinned in the 80s. The façade of the building now is just plain UGLY with discolored and dirty glass that needs to be replaced. As you walk around the hotel there are hints of the old grand Commodore, the foyer to the Grand Ballroom is just beautiful… unfortunately it seems the hotel plumbing is the original installed in 1919.

When I arrived the front desk greeting was nice and professional. I asked what type of room was I getting, the front desk replied, “we are in short supply of king rooms tonight and management has put a special blocked on one of the few beautiful outstanding kings rooms… just for you, a loyal Hyatt Guest"…

As I opened the door to my room I was greeted by this god awful smell coming from the bathroom… it smelled like the bathroom had not been cleaned since 1919!!! I called down and was told they would move me to a larger room. When at the front desk to retrieve my new keys there were 3 other guest who were greeted by the same smell from hell I had encountered. My first impressions of this hotel was going downhill real fast… I started to ask myself WHY AM I HERE!!! Why did I cancel my reservation at the ANDAZ?

Before I move on, I like to point out I think they did a wonderful job on the room renovation, the lighting and décor in the is very nice… the lobby is a bit odd, great concept, weird statues that look better in the South Pacific, that out of place here, the lobby is oddly designed, it just does not fall together quite well. It looks amazing on the Hyatt website, but in person the overall lobby seems strange.

MY ROOM
My new room was nice, about twice the size of the smelly room, it had a large bathroom and closet and a toilet that I had to continually flush multiple times to get a clean bowl…. I had no view, just the wall of an unattractive building across the street, the room was dark, for any decent lighting I had to turn on the lights during the middle of day. Noise… there was lots of noise!!! I could hear people walking in the hall and every word and cry for joy the couple in the neighboring room made. There were plenty of outlets to plug in my MacBook Pro, iPad, and iPhone … but the Internet service was so 1990s.

WIFI - INTERNET
The hotel advises you that if your stay comes with free wifi that only the standard wifi is complimentary, if you upgrade you have to pay the difference. I purchased the upgraded package because I love fast reliable Internet service but… to my horror I constantly got messages that no Internet connection was available, downloads of PDFs took forever!!! I know NYC is no Silicon Valley but this was unacceptable and frustrating, I receive faster more reliable wifi at 35,000 feet on gogo.

THE GRAND CLUB:
The new club is beautiful with a nice outdoor patio seating area, nice selection of hour d oeuvres and beverages. BE WARNED… do not purchased alcohol here, they charge you $9.00 for a 3 – 4 ounce pour of that cheap disgusting Canvas wine and $12 for a 3 – 4 ounce pour for Columbia Crest which cost $7 - $12 a bottle at your local Trader Joes. TECHNOLOGY: There was no wifi and the outlets on the patio that did not work…. Again I had to remind myself I was not in Silicon Valley…. this is New York all talk no tech!

THE LOUNGE AT NEW YORK CENTRAL
They should rename this “The Lounge at RIP OFF Central”. I ordered the hamburger, which comes with 5 – 6 pieces of streak fries, cost $20, you can get a better burger and a large order of fires at the famous Shake Shack for half the price... I also ordered a 3 – 4 ounce glass of Ferrari-Carano Fume blanc at $12, which is the cost of the bottle at your local market. I have dined all over NYC from “The Dutch” in Soho, Bouley in Tribeca, Bell Brook and Candle in the Village, Otto, Jean Georges etc. etc. but have never felt so ripped off after a meal. I don’t mind paying money to eat or drink as long as it is memorable and GOOD! THIS WAS NOT.


IN THE END
The Grand Hyatt just gave me the impression that it’s just a convention hotel that nickels and dimes you…. The hotel décor has been nicely renovated but it has the infrastructure of the hotel that is falling apart (rooms that smell like a septic tank)…. In NYC for the price there are much better hotels to enjoy, they should re-brand this hotel as “The Hyatt at Grand Central”. Grand location... not so GRAND Hotel.

RTW1

I guess you'd better stay in California since that's the only place you can get a decent internet connection....

I feel a lot of your comments are bordering on the ridiculous. What's to complain about the facade of the building and the dirty glass. You do realize you are in a big city and most buildings don't really look that attractive from the outside? And "complaining" that you feel the lobby is weird, grow up....

My last stay was only a few weeks ago and I had a near perfect wifi connection throughout the hotel. Both in the lobby and the lounge. The standard connection was even fast enough to stream YouTube.

And apparently there was something wrong with the plumbing in a few of the rooms. Not very nice, but quickly corrected by offering you a bigger room. What more did you expect, these thing can happen.

Complaining about the prices of the lobby restaurant... didn't you see those prices before ordering? And comparing a burger to a meal somewhere else... again kinda ridiculous.
The alcohol situation in the lounge is what you can normally expect in the US. Not very good compared to the international proposition, but it's not really a surprise.

Why did you book a hotel that's a refurbished old hotel that has 1300 rooms when expecting the Andaz treatment (although based on recent comments here those probably leave something to be desired as well)? Just take it for what it is, a big "convention" hotel in NY with a great location and mostly decent rooms. This just might not be what you are looking for... and at this price point the competition really isn't perfect either.

edcho

I had a smoking smell issue the last time I stayed here. I agree with some of the comments you mentioned but remember this area is tourist trap heaven. Shake Shack is not really close to there (unless if they opened up around there that I don't know about yet). There's a restaurant around there that charges $20 for a grilled cheese sandwich!!!! I always wondered if they sprinkled the cheese with gold or something. Compared to that, your prices are a bargain!

RichardInSF

I too had significant internet problems on my last stay, and it happened on multiple nights. Internet was very slow or didn't work at all, generally in the evenings. At the time I was in one of their larger suites, where I would have thought they'd have made an effort on things like this.

TravellerFrequently

Recently, I spent 17 nights at the hotel.

I will probably update this post, but some immediate observations:

1) As a Diamond GP member, I was upgraded to a Junior Suite on the 18th floor. Nice living room, smallish but comfortable bedroom but tiny shower room, which was disappointing. Strange, but no envelopes, amenity kit, limited glasses etc

2) Club Lounge - the staff at the entrance varied in quality, with one or two good ones and one lady who seemes asleep and more interested in surfing the internet and discussing her forthcoming leave plans which inluded a 'sick day'. Not sure I understand. The food is generally good as mentioned above, but I cannot get used to having to pay for drinks - I spend most of my time in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, where this does not happen.

3) Requested turn down and newspapers happened about 50% of the time.

4) The quality and friendliness of staff varies considerably. I was surprised at the lack of warmth from many staff members, including lounge staff (those who provide the food and clean), despite being polite and clearing up after myself.

5) TV reception is generally poor.

6) Internet connection was generally good.

7) The Market shop in the lobby is good and not too overpriced. The inroom fridge was appreciated.

8) My waste basket was often not emptied and a pile of dirty glasses and plates sat in the same place in the corridor for 3 days before being removed.

9) Gym was really large and good.

10) The free coffee/water vouchers to many guests is a nice gesture. My non Diamond colleagues appreciated this.

Conclusion - I will very probably return, although my next reservation in NYC is at the Times Square Crowne Plaza. The negative reviews on tripadvisor of this very busy hotel are probably over stated. It is a good but not excellent hotel.

hotelfanatic

I don't believe the lounge staff are Hyatt employees, they are contractors with a high turn over rate. GHNY used to have dedicated lounge staff and one day (a few years back) they were ALL let go and replaced by the contracted staff. That was a dark day at the GHNY lounge as I knew many of the staff, some over half a decade. My children grew up with some of them and we all missed them

So don't expect to see Miss vacation there the next time you visit the lounge.

LilZeppelin

Seems OP meant the serving staff who are GH employees, contract workers were for concierge position.

bigguyinpasadena

That is correct. The staff in the lounge are contracted(and very well paid ) employees. Why this should happen is beyond me

m0hamed

777 global mile hound

I agree with all your assessments the renovation was somewhat poorly executed. The club lounge looks great and the food quality,selection and taste went from some of the best of New York City to sub par below average.Even the Hyatt Century Plaza Club lounge in LA blows them out of the water.Its all show with no go at drastically higher prices for revenue or award.

The hotel is coasting on NYC demand where even youth hostels will sell out when the city has enough business.
Even if the hallways are still drab and the rooms somewhat improved I can think of no better place to start then restoring the Regency Club brand standards.We all have choices where to stay

That said they still take care of Diamonds pretty good as you experienced
If I were go back which isnt highly likely I'd ask to have no access to the Regency Club and ask for a breakfast coupon.They need to up their game
Off topic I doubt they lied as much as they are clueless.They have enough trouble just trying to run the hotel operations wise.

Though I know you to be one of the more experienced and aware frequent travelers I'll still add: Always ask for a front office manager who may be better informed whenever you run into such noise or similar issues.Unless that was the FO manager that informed you The Grand Hyatt needs to get Grand.The club is what always set this property apart from all others even if the rooms were shabby.At least the public areas are looking well