I’ve wanted to stay at The Chatwall for 13 years. When Starwood Preferred Guest revamped its elite program in 2012, they hosted a number of people to share the news in advance. They put the group up at The Chatwal.

My practice isn’t to take any perks from the programs that I cover. If I receive something of value (beyond, say, a sandwich in a conference room) I make a donation to charity to offset it. So I didn’t stay at the hotel, or attend the fine dining event the evening following the briefing. But I’ve been curious about the property ever since.

The hotel became part of Marriott when Starwood was acquired, and then moved over to Hyatt in early 2023. That was a boon to elite members, because the breakfast benefit was upgraded to Hyatt standard and suites became confirmable at the time of booking. Late checkout is proactively offered, not just honored.

It’s an Art Deco hotel with 76 rooms and plenty of suites. What’s special for Hyatt Globalists is that confirmed suite upgrade certificates book into true one-bedroom suites, not junior suites. These are separate living rooms and bedrooms which is unique in New York. That makes it a great option at the premium end for families with small children.

The Chatwal is located right by Times Square, but on a quiet side street. At the hotel you’d never know you were in the midst of the insanity, but it can take a bit of extra time to get in and out of the area. The location is certainly convenient for theater-goers, easily walkable to many Broadway shows, but that’s almost never where I need to be. I usually choose hotels in Manhattan based on proximity.

I needed to be in New York and a number of hotels were pricing especially expensively. It was a work stay so not a time I was going to redeem points. And for some reason The Chatwal had very reasonable prices for New York, and in its competitive set. Somehow I stumbled onto a room rate of about $400 per night, with $45 destination fee per night waived as a Hyatt Globalist.

This is a category 8 hotel, which seems high since corporate rates frequently run about what I was paying though retail rates do hover in the $800 – $900 range. It means a category 1-7 free night award isn’t valid here. And for the points many would prefer to stay at the Park Hyatt. The Park Hyatt’s rooms are gorgeous, but I found The Chatwal quite charming and the staff uniformly very friendly.

Check-in was friendly and they let me know that I’d been further upgraded from my one-bedroom suite to the Garden Suite which has a large outdoor terrace. That was a nice treat. My garden sute was about 550 square feet inside plus a 320 square foot terrace. The terrace was large with outdoor furniture, a heat lamp and scultpure.

The room is “701 and 702” right off the elevator. It’s a bedroom with bathroom and a living room with bathroom, and each has a door out onto the balcony which spans the length of both.

Hidden in the living room is a small wet bar and cook top and also a refrigerator and coffee area.

The bed was exceptionally comfortable. I had no complaints about the room, and I slept well. Hidden in the bedroom is a closet and safe. There’s also a standing wardrobe.

The bedroom had a separate, similar bath.

The bathrooms are nice and spacious for Manhattan. The room shows a bit of wear, with scuffs and scrathes on furniture, but it’s lovingly cared for. It reminds me of very old New York, which is a contrast with the flashier lobby. I liked it a lot and found it comfortable.

The terrace is comfortably furnished, and accessible from both the bedroom and living room. There is plenty of seating as well as a table for outdoor dining. There’s a heat lamp to extend the seasons where it’s functional.

The hotel’s restaurant is The Lambs Club. It’s a $60 all-in breakfast per person that’s comped for Globalists. One thing to note is that breakfast service ends at 10:30 a.m. even on weekends. Room service breakfast used to be allowed for Globalists, but I asked at check-in and was told this is no longer the case.

Many guests report welcome amenities, ubut that this can be inconsistent. My room had four pieces of fruit, two of which were apples.

The hotel has a small spa area with resistance pool and hot tub and a small gym.

I was informed at check-in about butler service, that they’d happily press two items and provide a shoe shine on request. I was wearing a suit the next day so had it pressed and my shoes shined, which is really appreciated. It’s actually tough to get a shoe shine these days, at least living in Austin. I don’t want to take shoes in to a shop and leave them for a week, returning to the shop to pick them up. I used to get my shoes shined in airports but so many shoe shine stands at airports are gone. So my shoes often aren’t as sharp as they should be.

The hotel isn’t universally considered true luxury hotel although it prices as such. But if luxury is a feeling, I certainly got it from my large (for New York) suite with terrace, nice bathrooms with dual shower heads that worked simultaneously and with strong pressure, and ample quality breakfast – plus free pressing service. There’s no question it’s better than other Hyatts in the area, and I prefer it over the EDITION.

This is a quiet, calm, premium hotel that’s a lovely respite from Times Square. I really liked the hotel a lot, though many find it too expensive for what it is. I’d look to return with my family because of the ‘large for New York’ confirmable suites, at least if I could find a similar rate (I’m not sure I’d book this on points as a category 8 hotel).