On our holiday trip to New York City, we spent $0 for two wonderful nights at the Park Hyatt New York near Central Park.
We actually were in New York City for four nights to take in a lot of the holiday sights but we split up our trip.
Read about our entire NYC trip here.
We spent two nights at this flagship Park Hyatt property and two nights at the Hyatt Andaz Fifth Avenue.
Instead of the Park Hyatt New York charging over $2800 for 2 nights, we had a remarkable 2 night stay at this expensive NYC hotel for free.
This was our first trip to New York City to do any of the tourist attractions. I’ve been to the city a couple times for business but that was years and years ago. Sandra (aka Zuzu) had never been to New York City and was really excited about seeing a Broadway play and the holiday attractions.
New York City did not disappoint. We had a great time and hope to return soon.
It’s a cheap and quick flight for us from Nashville. We flew Southwest nonstop from Nashville to LaGuardia airport practically for free. I booked my ticket with SWA points and Zuzu’s round trip was $5.60 each way on her Southwest Companion Pass.
Booking the Park Hyatt NYC
The Park Hyatt New York City is one of the most expensive Hyatt properties in the United States. At only 30,000 points per night, we got an excellent return on our points.
I value Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each. That means 30,000 points should be worth at least $450. In this situation, my 30k Hyatt points were worth over $1300. That’s an excellent value of 4.3 cents per point!
Read our Complete Guide to Earning & Redeeming Hyatt Points!
Redeeming Points
I didn’t have enough Hyatt points in my account but I did have plenty of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Chase UR points transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio into my linked Hyatt account so I moved those points and booked my room.
There’s one other piece of math that I considered. I value Chase points at 2 cents each. But since I already knew that I’d be getting over 4 cents of value per point, I was happy to convert Chase points into Hyatt points.
Location
Stay at the Park Hyatt NYC if you want to be… right in the very heart of it, New York, New York.
Across the street from Carnegie Hall and just 2 blocks from Central Park, the Park Hyatt NYC may be the exact geographic center of Manhattan.
The address for the Park Hyatt New York is 153 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019.
This is definitely the high rent district. Our Lyft driver described the area as the most “Bougie” in the City.
Park Hyatt NYC Lobby
If you don’t frequent hotels in large cities like New York, it might be surprising to walk in the front entrance and not see a registration desk.
At the Park Hyatt NYC, the main entrance is on 57th Street at street level and leads into a small lobby. On the ground floor lobby, you’ll find a bellman, some luggage storage, and not much more than the elevators.
Once in the front doors on the ground floor, take an immediate left to a bank of three elevators. Take the elevators to the third floor for the registration desk and restaurant.
The elevators open facing The Park Hyatt restaurant. Take a right and loop around the small but comfortable looking lobby lounge and you’ll see the registration desk.
Front Desk and Checkin
Registration area is small with only three stations and no dedicated line for World of Hyatt elite members.
The Hyatt staff member who checked us in was very polite, professional and welcoming.
She thanked me for my Hyatt Globalist status and apologized that there was no suite available as an upgrade. She did put us in a high floor room (a City View King room) that was a slight upgrade from the standard.
She also reviewed our breakfast options. Globalists receive free breakfast with a beverage for each person in the room. We had the choice of breakfast in the restaurant or room service.
We received two physical keys to our nineteenth floor room. Digital keys through the Hyatt app were not available.
Continue past the registration desk and there are desks for two concierges. Just beyond those desks are the three elevators up to the hotel rooms.
It was a good start to our stay in Hyatt’s US flagship Park Hyatt property.
City View King Room
The hallways leading to our 19th floor room were about what you expect from a very expensive hotel. Lots of beautiful wood, mirrors and metal accents with low lighting. It was almost on the edge of being too dark.
Entryway
We let ourselves into room 1913 with a key card and stepped into our grand entryway. It’s separated from the bedroom by an artistic metal wall that tied in with similar décor in the lobby.
In the entryway, there were mirrors as well as a full size steamer trunk which held our rooms safe, an umbrella, a Park Hyatt shopping bag, and our slippers. More on the slippers later.
Next up was the fanciest mini bar I have experienced in a hotel.
Fancy Minibar
Opening the two beautiful wooden doors revealed a mirrored compartment with liquor, fine China, wine and champagne glasses, and high end snacks.
There was a pull out drawer for the refrigerated section. It was not as functional as it was fancy. And I never found a way to turn the temperature down below the existing current temperature which was not much lower than room temperature.
There wasn’t room inside the refrigerated section for water so the Park Hyatt branded water bottles were inside the compartment with the dishes and liquor. The problem was that the inside compartment was hot from the refrigerators exhaust.
I would estimate that the water bottles were at a not-very-refreshing 80°.
On a related note, there is no ice machine or other vending on the floors.
We ordered a bucket of ice which came up quickly but the bucket was uninsulated so we only had ice for about half a day. And I didn’t feel like calling room service twice a day just so that I could have a cold drink in my room.
As you come out of the entryway, there are two closets.
Fully Stocked Closets
One closet with built-in drawers on the bottom and the other for your long hanging items. We found an iron and ironing board in sealed containers inside one of the closets. It was nice to see full size, sturdy hangers in the closet.
King Bed Area
The bedroom had a comfortable king size bed with two well appointed nightstands.
Each nightstand had reading lamps as well as two outlets. There was a wireless house phone on one night stand and a dead analog clock on the other.
At the foot of the bed was a desk with a 42 inch TV, a tablet, a notepad, and another house phone. There was a high end Bluetooth speaker which worked very well and produced great sound when we used it.
The Park Hyatt NYC also provided a small bottle of hand sanitizer and pair of disposable facemasks.
Problems with our room
Two minor items we noticed as soon as we moved in were an analog clock which didn’t work and the room’s tablet. While on its charging station, the tablet provided information about the hotel’s amenities. Unfortunately, the battery in the tablet lasted less than a minute when I removed it from the charging station.
It doesn’t really qualify as a problem but it was a little disappointing that a $1300 per night hotel would provide us with 2 sets of small slippers.
Both the bedroom and bathroom featured floor to ceiling windows with motorized blackout shades as well as a privacy shade. We were facing north west so our view was of other buildings.
The Hyatt only has the first 25 floors of the building so none of the hotel rooms are high enough to have a view of Central Park, even though that’s only one block away.
Bathroom
Our bathroom at the Park Hyatt NYC was pretty impressive. From the heated floors, to the TV screen built into the mirror, this was definitely the type of bathroom you expect if you’re paying north of $1000 per night.
The dual sinks worked well and there was plenty of counter space for our toiletries.
Speaking of which, we’ve not traveled to enough high end hotels to be accustomed to having our toiletries straightened up and nicely arranged every day by housekeeping. Maybe we’ll get used to that but it was a little weird to think about someone touching al of our personal items.
Bathroom Shower and Toilet
There are glass doors for the toilet and the walk in shower. The large shower featured a rain shower head in the ceiling and a handheld sprayer as well as a lighted mirror. They also included a stool which can come in handy in the shower.
Bathroom Amenities
The shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hand soap and body lotion were Bergamont 22 by Le Labo, a high end NYC line of products. We also had Tubereuse 40 bath salts.
These were all replenished daily without us having to ask.
Fabulous Bathtub
The focal point of the bathroom was the soaking tub next to the floor to ceiling windows. While the view wasn’t Central Park, it was still pretty impressive.
The light switches in the bathroom, as well as in the bedroom, were push button and labeled for different options.
Light switches like this are fairly common in the hotels we’ve been at recently but are still not as intuitive as I would like.
Water pressure in the sinks, bathtub and shower was strong.
View of NYC from our Room
The floor to ceiling windows let in plenty of light but we didn’t have the best view. As I mentioned before, none of the Park Hyatt rooms are high enough to have a view of Central Park to the north.
I do have to admit that the view seemed very New York City-ish with the water towers and small rooftop areas all around us.
Hyatt Globalist
While it’s not easy to reach, Globalist status comes with quite few perks that can provide alot of value at high end properties like the Park Hyatt New York.
Breakfast by Room Service
As a world of Hyatt Globalist, we received free breakfast both mornings. On the first morning, we elected to have room service. We placed our order via the house phone and our breakfast arrived as promised in just under 30 minutes.
Our very pleasant server set up the room service cart at the foot of our bed. I asked if there was an ice machine on the floor. He said no, but offered to bring up a bucket of ice which also arrived quickly.
Breakfast was delicious. From the omelette to the thick cut bacon, to the extra large glass of pomegranate juice, everything was great.
On the next day, we had our free Globalist breakfast in the Park Hyatt NYC restaurant.
Breakfast in the Restaurant
The restaurant is on the third floor of the hotel with the registration desk. It’s immediately outside the elevators which you would have taken up from the ground floor.
There’s a small host station at the entrance and then several tables with low back chairs just passed that. To the right and down a few steps, is the bar area with great views of 57th St.
In the morning, there was a large serving tray which displayed all of the ready-made breakfast options which were available.
The menu is practically identical to room service and we tried a couple of different options.
The pancakes were good but not great. I was disappointed in the avocado toast. I’m not sure what the bread was, probably something homemade with lots of grains. It was just too substantial for my taste.
I was also surprised that we had more of a selection of jams and jellies with our room service breakfast then we did in the restaurant.
It was nice to experience the restaurant, but if we had stayed additional nights, we would’ve opted for room service again.
Other Hyatt Globalist Benefits
Room Upgrade
As I mentioned earlier, the Park Hyatt was completely full so the only Globalist room upgrade we got was to a high floor.
In reading other Park Hyatt New York reviews, this sounds pretty typical. Don’t expect a significant upgrade but Globlalists do occasio0nally get lucky.
Late Checkout
As we were heading to the Andaz 5th Avenue after our stay at the Park Hyatt, we asked for a late checkout. They didn’t offer 4pm late checkout but we got a 2pm late checkout, which was fine.
There is no Club Lounge at the Park Hyatt NYC to enjoy. No one is charged a Resort & Destination Fee but it would have been waived if they did.
We didn’t have a car but Globalists get Free Parking on Award Stays. Both valet and self-parking was $65/night when we stayed at the Park Hyatt NYC. It looks like the current parking price is $80/night.
It was disappointing to not get any Globalist Welcome Amenity at the Park Hyatt.
Hotel Services and Amenities
As a luxury, full service hotel near Central Park, the Park Hyatt has an impressive array of services and amenities. Everything was very impressive looking from the pool to the salon to the gym and locker rooms.
Pool
On the 25th floor, The Park Hyatt NYC has the most impressive indoor swimming pool that I’ve ever seen.
Between the three-story windows and the soaring ceiling with beautiful light fixtures, the Park hyatt New York city pool is simply stunning.
Even though the hotel was at 100% occupancy, we practically had the pool to ourselves for the 45 minutes that we were there.
The lifeguard was very pleasant. She chatted nicely with us as we walked past her to our lounge chairs and then she left us alone to enjoy what felt like our private pool room.
There’s also an accessible pool lift, a hot tub and a steam room. The hot tub was great but we didn’t last long in the steam room.
Locker Rooms
Next to the pool room was a locker room with bathroom, shower, and lockers. There were also toiletries to freshen up without having to go to your hotel room. Was also impressed to see a swimsuit drying machine in the locker room.
Gym
The Park Hyatt NYC gym overlooks the pool and is accessible by a beautiful staircase.
The well-equipped gym includes free weights, Peloton bikes and treadmills.
Even though it’s only the 25th floor, some of the windows from the gym have a view of Central Park.
Spa and salon
Also on the 25th floor with the pool and gym is the Park Hyatt spa and salon.
While I wasn’t able to get in to the spa, one of the colorists gave me a quick tour of the new Rossano Ferretti Hairspa.
Having been in over 1000 hair salons (my previous company was in the hair industry), I can tell you this was absolutely one of the most beautiful salons I’ve seen.
While the entire salon was gorgeous, you can take it to any entirely new level in the private VIP room with a balcony and view of Central Park.
Their published menu of services lists a women’s haircut starting at $200 and color services starting around $200.
I didn’t ask but you should expect to pay significantly more for the VIP room.
Parking
We didn’t have a car while staying here but the Park Hyatt New York does offer both valet parking and self parking for the same price. The cost was $65 per day for parking during our vacation here. It does not include in and out privileges but I assume that won’t matter if you get free parking as a Globalist on award stays.
Things to do Near Park Hyatt NYC
It’s New York City so there is plenty of things to do near the Park Hyatt New York.
You’re waking distance to about a million of the best things to do in NYC including:
- Central Park
- Times Square
- Broadway Theaters
- Columbus Circle
- Lincoln Center
- 5th Avenue Shopping
- Rockefeller Center
- The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
Just across the street is Carnegie Hall and the Russian Tea Room. You’re one block away from Columbus Circle, Trump Tower, and the south end of Central Park.
While you can catch a cab or an Uber, we mostly walked everywhere around the hotel. That included walking to Times Square for a bus tour on The Ride, which I would not recommend.
OTOH, I’d highly recommend the NYC Skyline Dinner and Sightseeing Cruise by Skyline Princess Cruises. It was good enough that I really should write a full review on our NYC dinner cruise experience.
Where to Eat
We only had a chance to try one restaurant near the Park Hyatt NYC. But, wow, was it ever great. Just check out this unbelievable lasagna:
I know there are tons of restaurants near the Park Hyatt in New York, but Trattoria Dell’Arte is only a half block away and we were definitely happy with dinner there.
Park Hyatt NYC Review: 5 of 5
Just like I said that NYC didn’t disappoint, the Park Hyatt did not disappoint.
This was our first truly aspirational travel award redemption. By that, I mean there is no way that we would have stayed at the $1300 per night Park Hyatt NYC without the magic of credit card points.
But it sure was fun to experience some of the best that Hyatt has to offer in the US.
The Bottom Line: Would We Visit Again?
Let’s Go!
Seriously, yes, we’d really like to get back to the Park Hyatt NYC.
Even though we didn’t get a free upgrade to a suite, it was easy to see why so many people rave about the Park Hyatt New York.
Make sure to check out my other blog post about our holiday trip to NYC by clicking here.
How to Stay for Free at the Park Hyatt NYC
We got a 2 night stay at the Central Park Hyatt NYC worth $2,800 for free by redeeming 60,000 Hyatt points.
fyi, the Park Hyatt NYC jumped to 40,000 points per night after we booked so a 2 night stay would be 80k Hyatt points.
Let’s focus on earning enough points for a free 3 night stay at the Park Hyatt New York. That would take 120,000 Hyatt points.
There are 3 different ways that you can earn 120,000 Hyatt points to get a free luxury hotel in New York City like we did. Join the World of Hyatt loyalty program and earn Hyatt points by:
- Staying at Hyatt
- Getting a Hyatt Credit Card
- Getting a Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Card
For most people, the best approach is to get 2 credit cards and earn 120,000 points via signup bonuses in about 6 months.
First, the World of Hyatt credit card.
If the signup bonus is 60,000 points on a Hyatt card, you’ll earn 1.5 nights at the Park Hyatt NY for free after you’ve spent $3,000 on the card in 3 months.
For Zuzu & me, it was pretty easy to put at least $1000 of spending on a new credit card like this.
Don’t buy anything that you wouldn’t already purchase. Just put your normal spending on this new card.
Click here to learn more about the Hyatt credit card.
Second, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card.
If the Chase Sapphire Preferred signup bonus is 60,000 points, you’ll earn another 1.5 nights at the Park Hyatt NY for free after you’ve spent $4,000 on the card in 3 months.
Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
Once you earn the Chase points, just transfer them to your World of Hyatt account when you’re ready to book your free stay at the Central Park Hyatt NYC!
That’s what I did once I found dates that had award availability at the hotel and that we could travel to New York City!
A Quick Disclaimer
First things first, if you can’t pay off a credit card on-time, every single month, DO NOT get any credit card. The interest and fees will quickly outpace any benefit that you get from this credit card (or from any other credit card).
Second, if you click through my link and get a credit card, I will get a referral bonus. Recommending good deals like this is part of how WE GET TO TRAVEL now that we’re empty nesters.
More from We Get To Travel
Check out our posts about this holiday trip to NYC and our other travel adventures!
Wow, what an incredible review of the Park Hyatt NYC! I’m definitely adding this hotel to my bucket list. The photos you shared look stunning and the amenities sound top-notch. Can’t wait to read more of your travel reviews! 😍
Thanks! It was our 1st stay at a real luxury hotel so it made a BIG impression. It’s still one of the nicest properties we’ve stayed at which would include the Andaz Maui and Impression Moxche by Secrets.