Review: Park Hyatt New York

Review: Andaz 5th Avenue
Review: Park Hyatt New York
​Review: Andaz Wall Street

As a Hyatt loyalist, Manhattan offers quite a few options for Hyatt stays, but since it's Manhattan, you'll usually end up paying an arm and a leg. We've accepted this fact and since we are usually traveling over the weekend and only have one night in a hotel, it's a bit easier to deal with the hotel prices. Our favorite Hyatt brands are Andaz and Park Hyatt and New York City offers two Andaz properties and a Park Hyatt, all of which we've stayed at on different visits. 

The Park Hyatt is Hyatt's newest property in New York City and it's absolutely stunning. Like the Andaz 5th Avenue, the location is excellent and it's right by Central Park and also convenient to several subway lines, etc. The Park Hyatt is located on W 57th St between 6th and 7th Avenues. 

The Park Hyatt New York is a category 7 property, which is the highest category designation Hyatt has. As such, a standard room can be booked for 30,000 Hyatt points (if there is points availability to be found) and will usually set you back between $600 and $700 a night. I had a free Hyatt night available after being approved for the Hyatt Visa earlier in the year, so we decided to use that for this stay, which was an excellent value.

As usual on our New York trips, we arrived at the hotel early Saturday morning after taking a red-eye from San Francisco. We took an Uber from JFK and arrived at the hotel around 7:15 AM. The bellmen who greeted us were friendly and offered to take our bags. We were directed inside where we were met by another employee who asked for the name on our reservation and directed us upstairs to the main lobby for check-in. 

Park Hyatt New York Entry

Park Hyatt New York Entry

The elevator to the hotel lobby is to the left when entering the building and the lobby is located on the third floor. You'll pass the hotel's restaurant and bar on the way to the front desk and I loved the modern and artistic decor throughout the common areas of the hotel. 

The Living Room, Park Hyatt New York

Park Hyatt New York Lobby Seating

Park Hyatt New York Reception Desk

We proceeded up to the lobby where we were promptly checked in by a friendly associate and given the keys to our room, which was such a wonderful thing to hear after our prior experience at the Andaz 5th Avenue a few months prior. We were also proactively offered late check out, which is one of my favorite perks of Diamond status given that we take a lot of weekend trips where we land Saturday morning and fly home on Sunday night. 

Our room was located on the 15th floor of the hotel, so we grabbed our bags and headed upstairs to get settled in. True to Park Hyatt's style, the hallways were full of wood paneling and were somewhat dark, but still very comfortable and rich looking. 

Park Hyatt New York Hallway

Park Hyatt New York Hallway

We had heard so many good things about this hotel and were so excited to finally be checking it out. Park Hyatt is our favorite of Hyatt's brands and we love the minimal but comfortable design of most properties. The Park Hyatt New York definitely did not disappoint. The room was large by New York standards and offered a wonderfully large bathroom. Immediately upon entering the room, you'll notice a very nice cabinet directly across from the door, which houses the minibar and coffee/tea setup. The minibar has a huge selection of snacks and drinks and the attention to detail is incredible. You can find everything from Krug champagne to fancy sweets and chips and the water bottles throughout the room are even Park Hyatt branded with wonderful NYC vignettes.  There are closets to the right of the door and next to the minibar and the bedroom was on the right side. The bathroom is to the left. 

The bedroom had a king bed, a chair (which I really wanted to take home with me) and a desk. I loved the personalized details throughout the room (which Park Hyatt usually does very well), such as the welcome message on the television and on the iPad, which can be used to control things throughout the room and do things like ordering room service if needed. As with many of Hyatt's higher end properties, controls for all aspects of the room, such as drapes and lighting were located next to the bed. 

Park Hyatt New York Room Entryway

Minibar

Minibar

Minibar

Park Hyatt New York Branded Water Bottle

Closet

Closet

Park Hyatt New York King Room

Park Hyatt New York King Room

Television Welcome Screen

Park Hyatt New York In Room iPad

Room Controls

As I mentioned, the bathroom was quite large and it was also incredibly beautiful. Every last touch of the decor in the Park Hyatt was very obviously well thought-out and the end result was amazing. The high-end finishes and materials make the idea that you might be spending $600+ per night a bit easier to stomach, I guess. ;)

The entire bathroom could be closed off from the main room, which is how it should always be as far as I'm concerned, but sometimes hotels like to do weird things with bathrooms. There was a beautiful full sized free-standing bathtub in the main room with the shower and toilet each in separate areas with additional glass doors. The bathroom had double sinks and there was even a fresh flower in a vase on the vanity.

The toiletries were Le Labo Tubereuse 40, which are some of my favorites.

Park Hyatt New York Bathroom

Park Hyatt New York Bathroom

Park Hyatt New York Bathroom

Shower

Toilet

Soaking Tub

Park Hyatt New York Le Labo Toiletries

Overall, the room was absolutely gorgeous and really reminded you that you were in a high-end hotel. The decor throughout the hotel is stylish and understated and the rooms repeated some of the patterns used in the common areas, which tied everything together. 

When we checked in, we were offered the choice of points or a food or beverage amenity as my Diamond amenity and since we were on a fun weekend trip, we chose one of the food options. I can't remember how the option we chose was described, but to say we were disappointed when we received it would be an understatement. I gave up 1000 points and received three comically small truffles that were seriously the size of grapes. They were tasty of course, but I would absolutely advise that you don't take the food/beverage amenity and just take the points at this hotel. They did come in a fancy glass box with a nice card, but I couldn't help but laugh when I saw them. 

Park Hyatt New York Diamond Amenity

Later that night, when we came back to the hotel after having dinner and drinks with friends, we found a very nice and unexpected welcome amenity with another nice note. This one had wonderful (and beautiful) chocolate truffles in a Park Hyatt branded box and honestly was much better than the Diamond amenity we had received earlier in the day. 

Park Hyatt New York Welcome Amenity

Park Hyatt New York Welcome Amenity

The hotel features an extremely beautiful swimming pool located on the 25th floor along with a gym up the stairs from the pool. As with the rest of the hotel, the decor is on point and of the highest possible quality.

Park Hyatt New York Pool and Gym Area

Park Hyatt New York Pool

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, The Back Room at One57. One57 is located on the lobby level just beyond The Living Room. The Living Room is what you'll see right after getting off the elevator and offers a communal seating and bar area. The bar is stunning, just like the rest of the hotel, and has a very cool sculpture of sorts hanging overhead. 

The Living Room at Park Hyatt New York

The Back Room at One57

The Back Room at One57

Of course, One57 was a gorgeous restaurant and even the other patrons were impeccably dressed. Admittedly, I felt a bit scrubby and not quite adequate enough to be dining in such an establishment, but breakfast was included due to my Diamond status, so there you go. Once I had a look at the menu, I realized why everyone else was looking so fancy - they were about to drop quite a bit of money on their breakfast. I suppose the prices were on par with other hotel restaurants and also with what you'd expect in Manhattan, so there you go. If breakfast hadn't been included, I think I would have just gone to grab a NYC bagel. 

The Back Room at One57 Menu

The Back Room at One57 Menu

Chris and I both chose the 57th Street, which came with a lovely selection of pastries and was a solid choice. The 57th Street came with tea or coffee and I ordered tea. The service we received in the restaurant was pretty terrible and definitely wasn't what I'd expect for a 5 star hotel. It was clear that the waiter thought we were beneath him and he avoided us as much as possible. It's not like we were wearing sweatpants, but I got the feeling I often get in fancy places - that people assume I don't belong and are judging me for not being fancy enough. This is one of the things I adore about San Francisco - that guy in the hoodie over there is probably a billionaire and no one cares if you're wearing jeans in a fancy restaurant. Anyway, I was brought a tray with the sugar for the tea, etc, but I didn't end up actually getting a pot of water or a cup until well after our food had been dropped off.

Tea Tray (no tea)

57th Street Pastries (no tea)

57th Street with Bacon (no tea)

57th Street with Sausage (no tea)

The Park Hyatt New York is exquisite. It's new, it's beautiful, and the location really can't be beat. That being said, you're really getting what you pay for here and you're paying A LOT. I would never pay full price to stay at the Park Hyatt, but I would absolutely come back if I found a cash and points rate or if I had another (any category) free night to burn.