New York City: Grand Hyatt New York (April 2014)

My spouse and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt New York for one night in mid-April 2014. We reserved our room on-line using the Hyatt website, and we paid our bill using multiple Hyatt gift cards.

This hotel is located in Midtown Manhattan and connects directly to Grand Central Terminal. Many bars, restaurants, and shops are located around the hotel, and additional facilities are inside Grand Central. In addition, Cipriani restaurant is located directly across the street from the Hyatt.

The hotel lobby is spacious, and contains multiple seating groups arranged in a chic, Zen atmosphere with a water feature and a giant Buddha head. Guests enter this hotel on the street level, but they access the second-floor lobby using an escalator or elevator. At the reception desk, several employees are available for check-in; however, one employee serves Hyatt Gold Passport executive members only. In addition, guests can use several self-serve kiosks to check in / check out, print a receipt, and return (recycle) room keys. One employee supervises the kiosk area.

A 24-hour market in the hotel lobby sells cold drinks, coffee, and snacks such as hot pretzels, bagels, and pastries, as well as Sugar and Plum confections. The hotel restaurant, New York Central, is located a few steps up from the lobby (a ramp for handicapped access is available), and its bar, the Lounge at New York Central, is adjacent to the restaurant.

This property has ten elevators arranged in two groups. The first bank of five elevators serves floors 1 through 24, and the second bank of five elevators serves floors 25 and higher, including the fitness center (FC) level. Although ten elevators seems like a reasonable number, with 1,300 total rooms at this property, guests always wait for an elevator.

The top floor of the hotel contains the fitness center, which features windows that overlook the city. The facility contains 12+ machines (such as treadmills, elliptical machines, bikes, and weights) in a somewhat cramped space. The hotel provides cold towels and headsets during your workout. It seems as if outdoor space exists on the fitness center level, but we could not access it.

This hotel offers rooms in several different categories: Standard (King, Two Doubles, or Queen), Hypoallergenic, Grand Club, Deluxe, Suite, and rooms with views. We booked a Standard Grand One King; however, we were placed in a corner unit (although still a Standard Room), which gave us more space. The foyer area was large (but it was essentially empty / wasted space), and it led to the main living / sleeping area that contained a king-size bed with two nightstands, a small lounging sofa with a table in front and chair aside, and a console table unit that held the empty mini-fridge and flat screen TV. (The mini-bars are empty, so guests can purchase their own drinks and snacks at one of the nearby shops.)

The Grand Hyatt New York is well located, well designed, and attractive. We will stay there again!