Grand Hyatt New York, New York City

...around to staying at the Grand Hyatt.

PRICE
We booked our holiday with Virgin which included the flights, transfers and hotel so I cannot give a complete accurate guide to price but I would say from looking at their website and the amount we paid its safe to say its about £130 a night for two on a weekend and about £90 a night on a weeknight for two.

LOCATION
The Grand Hyatt is in an excellent location ...
...is situated next door to Grand Central Station but not so great if you are only there for the shopping as were we. It wasn't as much the distance to get to places it was the volume of people you would have to battle to get to the places you wanted to be. To get to Times Square you would be looking at a 30 minute walk at night but early in the morning about 15 minutes when there were less people. To get to attractions such as the Empire State building ... more

I had never been to New York until the 29th December, so I had no idea were to stay and how much I would need to be paying. Lucky for me I was travelling with some relatives who booked the holiday so I didn't have to spend forever trawling the Internet. I would not have had a clue what hotel to book, as I didn't know were the best places were and how much I should be paying.
I thought my family knew this sort of thing but turns out they went to this hotel when they were lost to have a drink and thought it would be a nice hotel to stay in and that's how we came around to staying at the Grand Hyatt.

PRICE
We booked our holiday with Virgin which included the flights, transfers and hotel so I cannot give a complete accurate guide to price but I would say from looking at their website and the amount we paid its safe to say its about £130 a night for two on a weekend and about £90 a night on a weeknight for two.

LOCATION
The Grand Hyatt is in an excellent location if you wish to explore the whole of New York as it is situated next door to Grand Central Station but not so great if you are only there for the shopping as were we. It wasn't as much the distance to get to places it was the volume of people you would have to battle to get to the places you wanted to be. To get to Times Square you would be looking at a 30 minute walk at night but early in the morning about 15 minutes when there were less people. To get to attractions such as the Empire State building and 5Th Avenue it wouldn't take as long or be so hectic as you could walk across a block and down were there were a lot less people so it didn't take half as long if you were doing it on the main drag.
Being next door to Grand Central Station had its perks for us to though because if was raining really bad you could get to anywere in the city even just a couple of blocks up you could get the tube for $2 which is amazing value for money. If it is raining it is great as you just come out of the station and you can run right into your hotel.
When staying at The Grand Hyatt you find the areas around very interesting to the sides you are surrounded by huge offices and on the main road you are about 5 minutes away from a local market and the famous library featured on Ghostbusters.
The hotel looks out on to a main road which has some pretty spectacular views as you can see all the yellow taxis going up and down and its just like a picture you expect to see.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
From the outside you can see the hotel from the top of the street it looks really tall and looks like it is all made from glass as it shines very brightly and is very noticeable as you can see the large Hyatt sign about 2 miles away.
When you walk through the large revolving doors you are met with a large open carpeted space and an escalator up to the reception area.
Once you are in the reception area you are met with a large reception desk to your left were you check in a bar on the next level next to the reception and a huge open seated area were anyone can sit and believe me anyone does! I sat waiting for my transfer home and some Americans were having a book club meeting! The reception area was big but it didn't have the wow factor for me sure it had large pots of flowers and a huge fountain but the atmosphere to me resembled that in a shopping arcade it had no natural light and was very much for show. On the right hand side of the room there was a huge Piano with table and chairs, which I think were for special occasions but sitting in a reception area to me is not very special.
Straight ahead are about 6 lifts to take you to your room. These were a little more sophisticated with a large mirror behind you and a monitor with an image of concierge on talking you through all the floors. The lifts had a red carpet and golden features very plush.

CHECKING IN
This is a very painful experience to say the least when they are busy. As we travelled at Christmas time I suppose it was a lot more congested but the staff just weren't up to the volume of customers. When we arrived there was a lot of argy bargy going on with some Americans who did not have the right room booked and were arguing with the staff and amongst themselves, you then had others trying to push to the front and people who were just wondering around like they didn't have a care in the world. We as British people must have looked liked headless chickens because we did not have a clue what to do there was no help and if you stood around too close to the stairs the staff got annoyed and told us to move not very pleasant.
Once we arrived at check in we were told we had 3 rooms between 8 of us which was fine but they were all doubles no three bedded rooms! You tell me how 8 people fit in 3 beds it just wasn't going to happen. However we couldn't be too annoyed as there were people being told they had been overbooked and they didn't actually have a room after all on the 29th December to say tempers were frayed was an understatement. Once we had checked in I was not in the mood for letting one of the bell boys take my case for $5 not that mattered because we were not even asked they were too busy running around fussing over everybody else. So we hauled our cases into the lift and headed for the 18th floor.

Once we arrived in our rooms a concierge dumped a fold away bed in our rooms with no bedding or even an apology. This made my aunty who booked the holiday very angry so they went to complain and we were told two proper beds would be brought in and we could all have breakfast for the 5 nights we were staying and considering there were 8 of us and it was $25 a head we were quite glad. Needless to say they did bring another put me up bed, which was exactly the same as hard as nails and about 20cm from the ground! We were quick to realise the hotel was full to the rafters and we were not going to get better beds until some of the other guests shipped out so we didn't bother mentioning it again.

THE ROOMS
These were nice enough they were of a good standard quite large at 250sq ft, but only what I would consider a business class room by this I mean a standard hotel you would stay in on business had gone enough facilities, was clean and had modern décor. It wasn't the sort of room I would call luxurious but what did I expect for the money I was paying? That's the problem I didn't know what to expect and I suppose I got what is average in most US hotels clean, modern and just a place to lay your head.
The rooms were quite large with a 3 door wardrobe, large desk with draw storage and a free computerised safe.
You then have your standard 25inch TV, iron and ironing board, radio/alarm clock hairdryer, telephone and complimentary toiletries.
In each room you can either have one king sized bed or two double beds in all rooms we had the standard king sized beds.
Each rooms has its own heat controller so you can have the air conditioning on when you want and the heating on whenever you want. Well that was the idea but you had to put it on at least an hour before you were going to get cold because it took that long to warm up but at least if you were too hot it took about 2 seconds to return to an ice box! I am a bit fussy when it comes to heat I love a nice warm room and this just wasn't it. The room had two large windows that opened which was nice if you wanted a quick blast of cold air but really something I didn't understand as air conditioning doesn't work when you have windows open and on the 18th floor you didn't have much to see unless you wanted to peer right into someone's office.

A nice feature was that all rooms got a copy of the New York Times free of charge ok we didn't ever read it but it was a nice touch.

The bathroom was a huge disappointment it was clean and had marble features a toilet, sink and regularly changed towels but the shower was terrible it was just a shower head and a horrible shower curtain. I think that sort of setup is far from 4* it is the sort of thing I expect in European 3* hotels but not American 4* hotels I would at least expect a decent shower or even shower over bath there was enough room for it but they just hadn't seemed to have bothered. The temperature of the water was also very hard to get right it was either freezing cold or boiling hot. On the first night we had to call the reception as the water was stone cold and we thought it wasn't going to heat up but after 20 minutes of being continuously on it finally heated up.

In all the Hyatt has 1,311 rooms. The rooms we stayed in were just the standard rooms which was the only choice given to us by Virgin but reading about the other rooms I don't think I would have bothered to pay any extra as none of the rooms seemed like they were any better they just had more seating areas. The choices were junior suites which were 450 sq ft and had a dining table, work area and parlour, VIP suites which were 600sq ft and had the same areas as the junior suites but with a view of the street and a marble and granite bath and now the Lexington suites which are a bit in the middle of the junior suite and the VIP suite as the rooms are 350 sq ft and have the same areas as the other to do but the Lexington also has the views.
The only upgrade I would have considered and obviously never would have afforded was the Regency club it definitely has the WOW factor if you stayed in one of these rooms you would be on the restricted area known as the 31st floor! This floor is only for the guests booked in as regency guest in the price you get a continental breakfast and evening meal in the exclusive private lounge known as Hors D'oeuvres. The floor also has it is own personal concierge and amazing views of New York City.

THE DÉCOR
In and around the hotel everything is quite traditional to look modern chic like the marble floors, cream carpets, leather and upholstered chairs. You then get your gold finishes and bright lighting to make up for the lack of natural light.
The rooms are mainly finished to a good standard which are lit with about 3 lamps to give an nice relaxed feel with the furniture being a dark brown wood and a nice white crisp bed with gold and brown accessories.

COMFORT FACTOR
In each room you get a high bed with nice fluffy pillows and quilt which feel really nice and comfortable when you get in especially when you get in from a long day. You also get a nice comfortable chair which doubles as a clothes rack every night if you are me and there is also a nice comfy twirly chair at the desk, which is nice also for draping all your clothes over!
The seating areas in the reception were also comfortable a little worn feeling but comfortable having to share the lobby with a bunch of people who aren't even staying in the hotel is a bit weird but you get used to it.

WERE TO EAT
Most hotels in the US are based on a room only price and for anything they mess up they offer a free breakfast so most people end up getting a free breakfast. So your ok there but when it comes to lunch and your evening meal it is really difficult to find somewere nice yet cheap as in my personal experience you cant get it. The immediate area around the hotel is not the best place to eat but when it is raining you don't really have a choice opposite the hotel you have a burger bar type place from the outside and when you get in there it is very different with a very formal sit down dinner area and for 5 soups and 5 soft drinks you are looking at around $80 and that wasn't because we were feeling tight we just wanted some thing warm in our bellies if we had gone for the full courses we would have been looking at about the same per head.
There is a nice large Mc Donald's 5 minutes down the road if you fancy it cheap and cheerful. The only place nearby that I found acceptable to eat was at Grand Central station n the lower floor they have a very large food mall with about 15 different food outlets selling all kinds foods that you could rake away or eat in the large seating area. You can get a Chinese meal in there for around $10 with a drink and you will get to sample 3 different dishes.

If you prefer to eat in the hotel you can make a visit to the
MANHATTAN SKY RESTAURANT BAR
This really is a very informal restaurant overlooking the busy New York road and is well known for having the best breakfast menu on 42nd street and I can't disagree.
The restaurant is set out very nice with the main buffet area at the front were you walk in and then up a couple of steps a large area full of large tables and comfortable chairs next to 3 very large ceiling to floor windows so you get an amazing soundless view.
The restaurant is open for breakfast everyday from 6:30am till 11:30am I would advise to go really early or really late as the restaurant gets rammed after 8am. When you arrive in the restaurant you will be seated by a waiter or waitress who will then get you any toast, hot and cold drinks. Now it is down to the buffet my favourite part once you have grabbed a plate the world is your oyster the food looks amazing and you always take far too much than you can eat! The first area is the hot area were you can choose from bacon, tomatoes, eggs and black pudding and if you don't fancy any of that there is a chef on hand to cook you a fresh omelettes, fried eggs and pancakes.
Next is the cold area, which was a selection of cheeses and different hams I always avoid these areas because I hate ham and not much of a cheese person especially in the early morning. Next to those you have a cereal area were you can pick any sort of cereal your heart desires even a bowl of hot porridge if you fancy it is all on hand.
The end part was my favourite part and was very much a weakness for me one table was covered in fresh fruit strawberries, melon, grapes, oranges, apples you name it they had it and I know your all thinking wow she is so healthy I couldn't help but feats my eyes over the next table filled with Danishes! Oh my god they were good croissants, apple Danishes, orange Danishes, muffins and blueberry buns. They were gorgeous a girls dream and you could eat as much as you want.
The food was excellent and I suppose if you were paying $25 a head you would expect that but the service was really good the staff couldn't do enough for you and the view is really amazing. Every other morning everyone would also get a small shot glass of a fruit smoothie, which I thought was a nice touch didn't always taste great, but a nice touch.
If you happened to be around the hotel at lunch time you could go back here and enjoy a selection of sandwiches and entrees unfortunately we never did this as we were out for most of the day and grabbed a bite in a subway or burger bar what ever was closest at the time. However I think if the food at lunch was as good as at breakfast it would have been delicious! The restaurant was open 11am till 2pm for lunch.

In the evening if you aren't out sampling New York's nightlife and too tired to drag yourself out you can make a reservation at
THE COMMODORE GRILL
This was a much more sophisticated atmosphere open 5pm till 11pm the commodore is a place you need to make a reservation at and this can be done at the hotel or online when we went it was Christmas time so we couldn't go and had to go to the Marriott in Times Square which was quite a bit more expensive but had a better view.
Once you have a table booked you can look forward to full waiter service and a wide American continental cuisine menu. The restaurant is obviously upmarket and you can expect to get a meal there for around $30-$50 a head which isn't bad as you can't get a really good meal in an upmarket restaurant for that.

ROOM SERVICE
If you don't fancy leaving your room for a bite to eat or your thirsty in the night you can order from the room service menu which is ok if your desperate but is very expensive and not really worth shelling out for, although a lot of people seemed to have as when they finished it sometimes took the staff a while to come and get the trolleys from outside the rooms.
You could choose a simple soup for about $8 a steak for $22 or a basic curry or lasagne for $16 a tea or coffee for $4 and the a %10 service charge and 12.5% room service charge on top.
It isn't bad as far as room service goes but if you were really that thirsty you could just nip to the end of the corridor and get a free glass of water from the water machine and a couple of ice cubes or you could feed the vending machine $2 and get a can of pop.

OTHER FACILITIES
The hotel is very big and has facilities for all different types of people on the first level you will find about 4 different gift shops selling over priced souvenirs and toiletries just in case of emergencies. Which unfortunately I had to purchase I wasn't expecting a period and ended up paying £6 for an average pack of always sanitary towels, which can be purchased here, in the UK for about £1.49 I was disgusted but when you are desperate you have no choice.
The concierge, theatre and tour desk which was open from about 9am till 5pm and was very helpful you could book any trips here and the staff were very helpful in helping you make decisions there was also a wide array of leaflets you could take to your room and make decisions over.

The Commodore Lounge which was open from 2pm till 1am and could be found opposite the Commodore Grill this is the best place to hang out in the hotel it is very comfortable and sophisticated. You can get light snacks, cocktails and a good selection of wines and beers that were priced reasonably ish after all you are on holiday but a beer usually sets you back about £3.50 and a glass of wine anything from £4 upwards.

Grand Café bar
This was a nice reasonable coffee bar, which mainly opened and closed whenever it was busy because when ever we seemed to go there it was closed. The coffee here was really nice and it is a very relaxed area despite being just above one of the busiest areas of the hotel.

For those who are interested here are the other facilities the hotel has that I did not take advantage of

• Valet Parking
• Business centre and conference facilities
• Internet access
• Large gym

CHECKING OUT
Thankfully for us and a lot of other checking out was pretty painless ish. We used a self check out machine which was very simple at the end of your stay you swipe your key card through the machine press on the names that are sharing that room and then confirm that there is no charges for room service or anything and you post your swipe card all done! However we were not getting picked up until 19:30 that evening so we had to check our luggage into the luggage room. This was pretty easy we just handed over our cases and were given a slip to collect our cases later there was no charge for this and they didn't even expect a tip.

Checking out was all well and good but it had to be done by 11:30am and there was no other option such as a day room or anything. I know you are in the middle of New York and must be plenty of things to do but when you have spent all of your money and it is chucking it down with rain you don't really feel like wandering around so by about 16:00 we thought we would go back to the hotel have a sit down and a bit of a rest before out flight. How wrong could we be the staff are so strict you can't get away with anything. I was very tired and closed my eyes for about 5 minutes when I was told to get up and sleep with my eyes open!!! I know I was in the middle of a hotel reception and am sure you guys are thinking what the hell was she doing but this reception was huge and more like a public area and was definitely not filled with a 4* standard snob. I then took my shoes off so I could fold my legs I mean 4 hours is a long time but obviously this was a big no no and was told if I didn't put my shoes on right now I would have to wait outside!! That is hospitable.

OVERALL
After a nice few days the treatment of staff really left a bad taste in my mouth I was a customer and had paid good money to stay in this hotel and they were going to throw me out!! To be honest given the choice I wouldn't stay here again I would go more up market and stay in a more luxurious hotel in a better location and that actually looked like a hotel and not a shopping arcade.
I would give this hotel about
Staff 1/10 (except the maids they did a good job 9/10 for them)
Facilities 4/10
Rooms 6/10
Food 8/10
Value for money 2/10
Location 7/10

 

...less