This Andaz 5th Avenue NYC 2020 Review is from two recent stays at the hotel, both of them reserved with Hyatt Prive benefits, which are available to TravelSort Clients:
- Complimentary breakfast for two
- Upgrade at time of booking, except for periods of high projected occupancy
- $100 hotel credit for use once during stay
- Early check-in and late check-out subject to availability
.
Andaz 5th Avenue New York Location and Check-In
As its name implies, the Andaz 5th Avenue is located on 5th Avenue, at the intersection of 5th Avenue and 41st Street. 41st Street is also known as Library Way on that stretch, since the flagship NYC Public Library is located on 5th Avenue at 41st Street, with stone lions flanking the entrance and reflecting the NYC Library's icon.
The hotel entrance is off of 41st Street, opening into a smallish lobby, where associates check guests in with computers–as is typical for Hyatt's Andaz brand, there's no front desk.
.
We arrive just after 4pm, which is regular check-in time. The good news was that we'd been upgraded to a 2BR Suite. The bad news was that it wasn't quite ready. I wasn't happy about having to wait until 4:45pm to check-in, since I'd counted on changing in the room, and it meant being late for an appointment.
While on that occasion we didn't have time for the 6-8pm wine hour, which is offered to guests in the seating area of the lobby, on another occasion my husband and I did have decent glasses of red wine (a white wine is also offered; an associate pours it for you, it's not self serve.
.
Andaz 5th Avenue: Two Bedroom Andaz Suite
We were in a Two Bedroom Andaz Suite on the 14th floor, with a corner exposure in the living room, so facing both 5th Avenue and 41st Street. This suite type is 930-1537 square feet, and a great choice for a family.
.
The Balcony is off of the living room and faces 5th Avenue; we especially enjoyed the view of the New York Public Library.
.
Both bedrooms have king beds and doors closing them off from the living room; the Master Bedroom faces 5th Avenue. The bedroom itself wasn't that big, but had a large flat screen TV facing it.
.
Both bathrooms were similar, with convenient double sinks and a rain shower, although it was a little haphazard in terms of the foot bath; our bathroom had one, our son's did not. And there's no bath tub, so forget enjoying a bubble bath at this hotel.
.
What I didn't like at all was that there's no separate toilet chamber–there's no door separating the toilet from the rest of the bathroom, it's just an alcove. Very poor design.
Here's our Andaz 5th Avenue YouTube Video Review:
.
Andaz 5th Avenue Breakfast and Dining
The Hyatt Prive complimentary breakfast is served in the Bar Downstairs and Kitchen. It used to be served in the corner restaurant, called The Shop, but that closed in 2018, and the space is now used for private events. It's a shame, because there was great natural light there, whereas the Bar Downstairs is dark and cavernous–fine if you're going for a speakeasy vibe, but downright depressing for breakfast. I'll review it separately, but the best things we had for breakfast were the lemon souffle pancake and the strawberry orange juice.
.
The Verdict
We liked but didn't love both of our stays at the Andaz 5th Avenue. It's a good 4 star hotel, but lacks the touches needed to be a true 5 star property. Highlights for us were the central location, the complimentary 6pm wine hour, complimentary non-alcoholic mini bar, the convenient kitchenette, and the delicious lemon souffle pancakes for breakfast, along with the shishito peppers, salmon, and lobster roll from room service.
But significant detractors were the too firm mattress (we ended up using our thermarest mattress pads to make it more comfortable), the lack of a door to the toilet, the lack of soaking tub, no swimming pool, the forgotten (on one occasion) and very underwhelming welcome amenity, and on one occasion, the failure to honor regular 4pm check-in time.
Recommended Posts
Hyatt Prive Travel Agency Benefits
Hyatt New Hotels: Earn Bonus Points
Andaz Maui at Wailea Suite Review
If you enjoyed this, join 200,000+ readers: follow TravelSort on Twitter or like us on Facebook to be alerted to new posts.
Subscribe to TravelSort on YouTube and TravelSort on Instagram for travel inspiration.
Become a TravelSort Client and Book 5-Star Hotels with Virtuoso or Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits