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The hotel itself is really cool — definitely has a classic / old glamour feel if that’s what you’re after. Service was absolutely fantastic – notably so. The only NY hotel where I’ve had comparable service in the Park Hyatt, and the Algonquin felt considerably “warmer” whereas the Park Hyatt felt more polished. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly bags arrived and the bellman proactively asked if we needed a fridge (with a baby, it’s a necessity for milk), made a call, and it was there in less than 5 minutes. Same wait time on getting a crib. To me, that’s notable in a NY hotel with small elevators. I called for a toothbrush at a NYC hotel last year and it took like 40 minutes.

Things I didn’t like:

1) Destination fee. This is $25 per night. These ridiculous fees drive me nuts (and Marriott charges them on award nights). Soon they will charge a “linens” fee and the restaurant will charge a “pots and pans” fee. /rant. In exchange for the fee, you get a $25 per day food credit (can’t be combined – use it or lose it each day) and a $15 laundry credit (same thing – use it or lose it). Since breakfast isn’t included for anyone on the weekends, it would seem to be handy to have the credit. Pro tip: grab the free coffee that they put outside of the elevators from 6am to 2pm and carry that in to breakfast. Otherwise, a cup of coffee is $8. Pro tip #2: they also include a NYC hop on/hop off bus ticket with the destination fee. Greg discovered that it appears to be an open-ended ticket, so I grabbed a ticket for 2 to use on our next trip (“cash price” of $60pp according to the ticket…though I’m sure they regularly sell for much less).

2) No room service. I don’t often order room service, but would have on this trip. The restaurant is a really beautiful space. At night, it’s got great atmosphere. They had a piano player on Thurs night. People were well-dressed. Classy, old NY feel. We didn’t think the other patrons would appreciate our son screaming throughout dinner (since we arrived near bedtime), so I would have liked to have gotten room service that night. They said you could grab and go from the restaurant, ordering something to bring with you. I attempted to do that later in the evening to grab dessert (to use our $25 credit). The first person told me it wasn’t possible (despite the front desk saying it was). He got a second person who said yes, but I had to sit at a table and order it. They then bagged it up for me (and it took about 15min). A slice of cheesecake and a piece of flourless chocolate cake came to more than the $25 credit.

3) I got an awesome upgrade to a suite. It was so clutch for us given the situation (we’d been traveling for 3 weeks and had way too much stuff + baby + crib….I had work to do in the room at night and would have woken him up if we were in the same room). It was really, really good to get that upgrade. However, I will say that the layout of the suite was a little weird. There was a little entryway to the suite with a short (5 or 6 foot) hallway to the living room. In that short little hall space, there were 2 doors to adjoining rooms (one on either side). Those doors seemed very thin — I could hear the TV and a complete phone conversation someone had in one of those rooms very clearly. It wasn’t a problem for me, but it made me nervous for them during the times when the baby got fussy (he has a very strong set of lungs and likes to exercise them when he’s over-tired). Nobody complained, and our son sleeps through the night with no issue so it’s possible nobody was even there during the times when he cried. But the takeaway here is this: if you get a room with an adjoining door, privacy may be limited.

Otherwise, I have all good things to say about the place. If you want to stay in midtown, the location is great. I was surprised at how far I had to walk to get a decent slice of pizza, but there were plenty of cheap food options nearby (if you don’t want to pay $8 for a cup of coffee and $25 for a breakfast entree, I got a bagel w/ cream cheese one morning for $1.91 with tax at a deli nearby). The block it’s on is kind of cool (there is a place next door with gourmet Daniel Boulud burgers, the Harvard Club of NY is a few doors down, etc). You’re two blocks from Bryant Park / NY Public Library (good for the Shops @ Bryant Park during Christmastime) and about 2 blocks from Times Square. Right in the heart of things without having to fight through a crowd on the way in or out.

I definitely wouldn’t be disappointed to stay there again. That said, I’d be more likely to stay at a Hyatt property if I can get a Globalist to book me a Guest of Honor rez since there will then be no fees, parking would be included (w/ Globalist status), and I could get room service breakfast (at least at the Andaz and Park Hyatt). But I’d definitely be sacrificing on the “cool” factor. If you seek out more unique properties, you wouldn’t be disappointed in the Algonquin.