Trip Motivation
Our one night stay at the Park Hyatt was actually one of the main motivations for this trip. We had a free night to use at any Hyatt in the world and decided that a night at the flagship fancy hotel would be an awesome redemption. We’ve been to New York before (more here) and have friends in NJ that we love visiting when we’re in the area (more here). Later in our stay, we moved to another hotel in the financial district and detailed it below as well. Of course, we did more in NYC than just hang out at hotels. Read more about how we flew for practically free here, everything about our car and subway transportation logistics here, and our must-dos recommendations for our visit here.
Park Hyatt Redemption
We stayed one night at the Park Hyatt New York. This hotel is not cheap. Prices were going for $1200 a night when we stayed! We stayed here completely for free. Last year, we stayed over 30 nights at Hyatt hotels. With a combination of those stays, some double night promotions and credit card benefits, we were able to earn a bonus gift of a free hotel stay at any Hyatt in the world of any category. It was straightforward to use this award when booking and when we checked out, our folio balance was zero. You can also use points for this stay if you don’t have free nights. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here.
Location and Hotel Amenities
We’ve previously stayed at a Hyatt Regency in New Jersey. While that hotel was fantastic, the Park Hyatt location could not be beat. We were on 57th and 6th, 2 blocks off of central park, and walking distance to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and numerous trains. Read more about our transportation logistics in NYC at this post here.
The building itself was a beautiful skyscraper. We had a bellman who let us in the door and rang up to the main desk so they greeted us by name when we arrived to check in. A few times in the stay, staff addressed us by name, reminding us of our other fancy hotel visit to the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. Our stay was very luxurious without feeling stuffy. In contrast, our second hotel stay at the Gild Hall felt like it was trying too hard to be fancy and instead everything was just dark.
One of our favorite parts of all hotels is the pool. The pool at this hotel was definitely the fanciest indoor pool we’ve been to. They even had goggles to lend my kiddos since we forgot to pack them. Ben did some laps in the pool and the kids had a blast in the slightly heated pool. There was also a hot tub, sauna, and fitness center, with a spa that we didn’t get to experience on this trip.
Room
We were upgraded due to our status to a double room suite. Although the living room portion of the suite was tiny, any extra space is appreciated when finding sleeping spots for kids. Carter chose the couch, and Ellie spread out on one of the beds all by herself.
The room had electronic devices to control the shades and lights, a fancy mini-bar, and a separate beautiful bathroom. Seems weird to be excited about a bathroom, but oh boy, this bathroom. Ben and I traded off baths, the shower was giant with a rainfall shower option, the toilet was closed off with its own phone(!) and there was a TV in the mirror. Definitely a highlight for the kids!
Room Service and Nearby Restaurants
We knew from reading reviews that the room service at this hotel was top-notch and it did not disappoint. They wheeled in the table and set it up in the office area while the kids were still asleep. LOL. We had a lobster omelet, waffles, french toast, yogurt, sausage, and multiple jams with toast. It was fantastic. As a benefit of our status, our entire breakfast bill was comped. It came up to over $200!
In addition to our breakfast highlight, we ate other meals out and about nearby. Close to this area a few blocks away, we enjoyed grabbing some take-out food from the Turnstyle food hall and taking it to Central Park. On our last day, we had some decent non-NY style pizza from Pizza Shakes.
Gild Hall
For the second portion of our stay, we looked at the location of various Hyatt hotels and the prices and decided on the Gild Hall Thompson hotel.
We booked two rooms so our friends could stay with us. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here.
Hotel Review
Gild Hall is all about dark leather and wood. Very masculine feeling. We were fortunate to be upgraded to a suite with a queen sleeper sofa in the living room. One of the biggest tips I can give for you when staying at these kind of hotels is to email the concierge ahead of time and tell them you are. This room was great for hosting our friends who had a regular 300 square foot room.
The kitchen was a decent size with a small fridge, coffee maker, full-size alcohol bottles in the mini-bar and even some adult toys on offer. Oh boy lol!
As part of our status, we received free breakfast which was an omelet, yogurt, or granola. The main restaurant also converted to an Italian spot for dinner. We didn’t get to try it. There are a lot of food options walkable nearby. We mainly chose this hotel not for the hotel itself but because it was within walking distance or a quick subway stop to several south Manhattan highlights including the Southport, Wall street, 9/11, and Chinatown area.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend either hotel for future visits with kids. Squeezing all of us into a room in the future will be hard and I think it’s worth the savings to be a few subway stops farther away. I still think overall the Hyatt House or Regency in New Jersey would be my top rec for the balance of location/convenience/cost.
Read more about how we flew for practically free here, everything about our car and subway transportation logistics here, and our must-dos recommendations for our visit here.
