We visited The Grand Hyatt as a family for a four night mini break over Easter.
We had a great stay but I felt that the hotel failed to live up to my expectations of a recently renovated top class city-centre property.
There were plenty of good points:
It is a fabulous mid town location and the proximity of Grand Central Station is useful from the point of view of convenience / food shopping as well as its obvious travel benefits.
The staff are friendly and helpful
When we arrived and the hotel were not able to offer exactly the bed configuration they had promised in advance they did their best to sort out a solution and then compensated us with complimentary breakfasts and wireless access throughout our stay. I estimate that this inspired piece of empowerment added $790 to the value of our stay.
The food was excellent
The elements of the hotel with which I was less happy were as follow:
It has a rather dark and gloomy 90s East European feel in its public areas. The lobby in particular is grim, enlivened only by two rather ethereal sculptured heads that look like the statues on Easter Island.
The corridors are unwelcoming, murky and lacking in character.
The artwork in the rooms is anachronistically seventies in style - rather Austin Powers.
The prices in the restaurants are alarming. Had we not been offered complimentary breakfast there is no way that we would have chosen to eat it in the hotel.
The fitness room is very down at heel. There is no pool nor spa facility and the exercise area is cramped and a bit claustrophobic.
On balance, the convenience of the hotel, the deal we were offered and the friendliness of the staff won the day and we had a great time. I just feel that the Grand Hyatt is a job half done. Hyatt could make so much more of it. It should be the jewel in their crown but it isn't yet.
hotel reviews