This was only maybe my sixth stay of the year at the Andaz 5th Avenue. I’ve been trying out a variety of hotels this year in New York — sometimes due to location (like the Conrad New York when I was attending an event there, or the Renaissance Newark for the Freddie Awards), sometimes due to getting simply too good a deal to pass up (the couple of times I stayed at the Andaz Wall Street), and sometimes because the 5th Avenue Andaz was full and I don’t have deep enough pockets to cover a Diamond guaranteed availability stay (so I took refuge at the Grand Hyatt and the Parker Meridien). Every time I stay in New York and it’s not at the Andaz 5th Avenue, I’m disappointed. It’s not the single best hotel in…
Hotel Report 2012
Tag Archives for Hotel Report 2012.
Returning to Le Parker Meridien New York
Le Parker Meridien in New York didn’t participate in Starwood Preferred Guest until December 2008, when it entered the program as a category 6 hotel. In February 2009, with the annual re-categorization of hotels, it dropped to category 5 — making it a great value for points stays in New York. Most of the year it was just 12,000 Starwood points, which considering that New York hotel rates can often be high (and most chains have most of their decent hotels in the top redemption tier or close to it) was a pretty good value. That, and that Starwood’s Platinum members could usually rely on getting a junior suite, made it truly recommendable. Sadly with the February 2012 recategorizations it jumped back up to category 6, most of the year 20,000 points per night, and…
Grand Hyatt New York: Excellent Renovation, Great Club Lounge, Way Too Busy to Get the Little Things Right
My favorite hotel in New York, and my favorite big city hotel in the United States, is the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York. My love of breakfast there is something readers of this blog know well, I’m told by two different people that it even became a subject of a journalist’s interview with a Hyatt Vice President. Hyatt has several good options in New York, I’ve stayed several times at the Andaz Wall Street which is a good hotel, with a confusing breakfast benefit, and a very different location. If I need to be down in the financial district I never hesitate to stay there. I’m less a fan of the Hyatt 48 Lex but they’ve improved the breakfast benefit for Diamonds since I stayed there (now allowing a dollar credit in the restaurant…
‘Keeping Austin Weird’ at the Hyatt Regency on the River
I spent much of Labor Day weekend in Austin, and decided to stay at the Hyatt Regency there. Rates were on the high side, perhaps largely due to a Longhorns football game that everyone on property seemed to be going to, so I used my annual free night from the Hyatt Visa. (While the card comes with two free nights at any Hyatt as a signup bonus, each year cardmembers are credited with one free night valid at a ‘category 4’ hotel or lower, the best value category 4 is often considered to be the Hyatt 48Lex in New York but the Hyatt Regency Austin is a category 4 hotel as well). You can’t make an award reservation and a paid reservation together online, but offline there’s no problem in doing so. I created one…
A Cheap Stay at the Recently Redone Renaissance Boca Raton
From 2004-2006 the Renaissance Boca Raton was probably the hotel I stayed at most often. Once upon a time it was actually a Sheraton, it’s on 19th street but you turn off Glades Road onto Renaissance Way which brings you a block down to the property. I remember driving past Sheraton Way years back. It happens to be the closest decent place to where I was traveling. And it was a hidden treasure. Service used to be incredible. Some of the friendliest, most engaging people I had come across at a hotel, I thought the place was flagged with the wrong Marriott brand or at least they had sent the staff over from the Palm Beach Ritz. An oasis of a suburban hotel, the pool area was more akin to a resort. Without a resort…
A Superior Suite and Inferior Service at the Intercontinental Boston
I walked into the hotel and straight up to the checkin desk. I was asked for my name and I handed over my credit card. They asked for my drivers license. I know that internationally I’m frequently asked for a passport but I wish hotels would not card their elite members, they should at least feign knowing who I am and welcoming me rather than asking me to prove that I am who I say I am. This is hardly an issue I have with the Intercontinental Boston as such, just an observation. When I first became a Royal Ambassador member, one of the benefits that was explained was that they keep my credit card on file, I would never have to do the usual check-in formalities. That never turned out to be the case,…
Checking Out the New Conrad New York
I was prepared not to like the Conrad New York. It’s the old Embassy Suites, given a facelift, and which re-opened in March. I remember staying there for the Freddie Awards in 2004 and paying 35,000 HHonors points for my room, it was my second hotel redemption ever and most of the points were earned changing my email address every quarter. The property is owned by Goldman Sachs and it’s across the street from their offices. The scuttlebutt I had heard was that their partners wouldn’t stay at the property while it was an Embassy Suites. Back before the financial crisis they would stay down at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park. But now with austerity they want their people nearby at their own property, so it needed to be re-branded. How accurate that is I don’t…
Starwood’s The Nines Hotel, Portland Offers Great Food, Friendly Staff, and a Room Downgrade
I booked a room a ‘Deluxe Corner Room King’ at The Nines in Portland for this past weekend. It was a cheap rate, and coupled with the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program I’d get a late checkout (duplicated by my Starwood status which is, alas, only Gold — and which I also wouldn’t need), daily Continental breakfast (which the hotel offers as a $34 per room credit each day for rom service as well), and a $100 food and beverage credit in addition — as well as an upgrade to the next room category subject to availability on arrival. Wireless internet is free for all guests, though that too comes with status. All in all, it was a pretty good deal for a hotel that’s supposed to be the nicest offering in Portland.…
When Life Gives You a Force Majeure Event, Earn Stay Credit
This was supposed to be my first weekend at home in over a month, and a 10-day stretch without any travel. Weather had somewhat different plans for me. Last night around 10:45pm, I lost power. A major, brief storm took down power for millions of households on top of 100 degree heat. I went to bed, woke up in the morning around 6:30am, and still had no power. An hour later I started planning. I had no internet at home, but my Verizon MiFI was functioning (of course it has limited battery life, and I had no power to recharge it). Power was out at my offices. My phone was fully charged, and I rang up Hyatt — the nearby Arlington and Crystal City properties had no power. I rang up Starwood, there was a…
My Best Upgrade Yet at My Favorite Hotel in New York
Monday morning, Million Mile Secrets tweeted: As good as @garyleff says they are! http://ow.ly/i/IMrJ He was referring to the lemon poppyseed pancakes at the Andaz 5th Avenue. I read this tweet just as I was walking out the front door of that same hotel. I had checked in late Sunday night for a one-night stay. As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a regular guest at that hotel, it’s my favorite place to stay in Manhattan. The rooms, and the bathrooms, are large by New York standards. All guests receive complimentary internet and non-alcoholic beverages from the minibar (I’m just grateful for the 3 bottles of water, replenished daily). There’s of course a refrigerator in the ‘library’ portion of the lobby to get free coffee, water, and whatnot as well. And there’s free snacks…
