I recently spent one night at a Wyndham property in New York City, and it might just make me re-think booking Hyatt properties in New York in the future. No, this wasn’t fancy. And there’s no breakfast or free parking. But a 1 bedroom apartment in Manhattan with a living room, bedroom, and kitchen for 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points (27K for Wyndham Earner cardholders)? That’s hard to beat.
Beekman Tower, Trademark Collection by Wyndham: Bottom line review
Not to be confused with Hyatt’s The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel located downtown, Beekman Tower, Trademark Collection by Wyndham is located in Midtown East about a block from the United Nations.
This is clearly an extended-stay property given that it is entirely suites, whether studio or 1 bedroom (I believe there may also be some 2-bedroom suites). The most notable thing about this property is that either studio suites or true 1-bedroom apartments cost the same 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points per night (or 27,000 points per night after the 10% discount for Wyndham Earner credit card holders). That’s a great deal as compared to full cash rates after you include the cleaning fee and all taxes (note that you do not pay that fee or taxes on an award stay).
The hotel isn’t luxurious — the desk was made of plastic and the pull-out sofa didn’t feel high-end, but in a city where space is a precious commodity, the 1-bedroom apartment at this price point really delivered for us. There is room service, but no on-site restaurant, so you’ll probably want to explore the area for breakfast or get doordash/uber eats (or go grocery shopping with Instacart credits and make use of your kitchen). We’ve talked before about trying to spend a week or two in New York City and I could totally see doing that in one of these apartments.
That said, housekeeping is once every 8 days, so this won’t be your pick if you are looking for full service. And it isn’t smack in the middle of the action — in fact, the walk to the subway might be a bit rough in winter months. Still, it isn’t terribly far from Grand Central, Rockefeller Center, or even Central Park on a nice day. And it’s easy to get on the FDR and make it to LaGuardia in 15 or 20 minutes by car when traffic is light.
The online check-in process offered a plethora of buy-up options, including early check-in and “very early check-in” (11am for $149), but we were checked in when we arrived around 12:30pm without a fee. You can add elite member late checkout for free during that online check-in flow. A rollaway or pack and play comes at an additional cost, so I wouldn’t recommend this for travelers who need amenities like those. Still, I’ll probably be back at this price point given that it’s not terribly far from places I like to visit and it’s hard to beat the award price.
- Price: 30K Wyndham Rewards points for either a 1 queen studio or a 1 queen 1-bedroom apartment. Wyndham Earner cardholders get a 10% discount, so I paid 27,000 points for a night.
- Value: The cash rate for the room we booked was $524.16 per night for the night that we booked, which translates to about 1.94c per Wyndham point. That’s well over our Reasonable Redemption Value of 1.01c per point. Keep in mind though that value can vary considerably with the cash rate.
- Location: While Midtown East probably isn’t the hottest spot in town, the location can certainly be good enough for tourists given the proximity to the United Nations (a block away) and an easy 15-minute walk from either Rockefeller Center or the Chrysler Building. It’s also an easy 15-minute walk from Grand Central and an Uber to LaGuardia only took about 20 minutes during early morning hours. The biggest location drawback is that the subway stations you’re most likely to use are a 10+-minute walk away, which is closer than the tourist spots I just mentioned but on a hot day I was sweaty before I got to the train.
- Room: Note that you can book a studio or a 1bdrm apartment. We booked the apartment with a pull-out sofa. It isn’t huge — this is New York City — but it was much bigger than your typical New York City hotel room. The kitchen had utensils, a stove, a full fridge, etc. The living room had a pull-out sofa, a small desk, and a table for two. The furniture was obviously not high-end, but it was completely functional and as a family traveler, space is a commodity I love to have despite it being in short supply in NYC.
- Parking: None. If you’re driving, try SpotHero or ParkWhiz to find nearby lots.
- Resort/Destination Fee: There is a $69 cleaning fee for cash stays, but no fee for an award stay.
- Internet: Fast and fine.
- Service: Front desk staff were notably friendly.
- Turndown service: None. Note that there isn’t even housekeeping for stays of 1-7 nights.
- Dining:
- Room service: Available 7am to 10pm. We didn’t try it.
- Ophelia Rooftop Bar: Light bites and drinks 5pm-11pm. Sadly, I didn’t get to check this out either.
- Wyndham Diamond Benefits:
- Room Upgrade: None offered.
- Free Breakfast: Not offered.
- Late Checkout: Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Wyndham members can enjopy free late check-out up to 1pm, subject to availability and upon request, though note that you can add this during the online check-in flow (be sure to select the “complimentary” version and not the paid version).
- Welcome Amenity: None
- Would I stay again? Absolutely. This was a bare-bones experience from a hotel standpoint in that it is basically just a room, but the big advantage here is space. During warmer months, I think I would be happy to pay 27K Wyndham points here for a full 1bdrm apartment over around the same number of points plus a suite upgrade for a suite at a Hyatt. During winter months, the distance from Subway stops might be unappealing for me.
Pros
- Standard rooms include 1-bedroom apartments with kitchen and living room. Spacious by NYC standards.
- 10% discount for Wyndham Earner cardholders makes this a very good deal quite often at 27K points per night
- No cleaning fee or other taxes on an award stay
- Friendly front desk service. It was no problem getting housekeeping to make up our sofa bed and they made it clear that they were there to help if we needed anything.
- Despite the online check-in offering early check-in for a fee, our room was ready when we arrived (hours ahead of check-in time) and we were given access right away for no fee.
- 1pm late checkout for Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members
- Kitchen had dishes and flatware — plenty to enjoy a meal
Cons
- Not very close to the subway
- Not the most centrally-located, though also not terribly far from tourist sites
- Furniture felt kind of cheap (especially the plastic desk)
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Nick –
After I struggled through the post on how you adapted to Jetblue and changes in associated ground transportation . . . this post was exactly why you guys at Frequent Miler are number one. I have a bunch of Wyndham points that I didn’t think I would be able to use easily through Vacasa, but NYC is always an option and the Beekman might fit the bill. Thanks!
shocked u were able to redeem 30k points for a $524.16 stay. i thought the hard cutoff was $500.01
It is not vacasa. It is a Wyndham property.
^This. It’s a Wyndham. Trademark Collection is one of their many hotel brands.
Sad you didn’t get to try out Ophelia! I used to live down the street, loved going there. Very underrated rooftop!
Nick – it would be great if you could add the max occupancy to your summary bullet template. It would also be great if you guys could write an in depth article on family travel considerations. For example, when a suite says max occupancy is 3, does a baby younger than 1 count? I just cancelled a Rez at a park Hyatt when I was told the answer is yes.
Nick thanks for sharing – I stayed there last year and agree with your assessment. I just want to mention there is also a self-laundry room here they make available to guests (something very hard to find any NYC hotel).
I live pretty close. Say hello next time.
That kitchen is easily 4 times the size of my one bedroom apartment in New York City in the late 1980s. That one was a converted closet, My bedroom & living room were much larger, but I’m shocked you can get that space for $500 a night in New York these days.
Good luck with JetBlue, Nick! Like I said, in an earlier comment in a different thread, I would’ve given it a try too- if I wasn’t afraid of all the problems that have arisen almost every time I’ve flown JetBlue! So far you really haven’t had a JetBlue problem so, continued good luck
Great find Nick
Thanks for posting this Nick. I had no idea something like this was available as an award stay.
What an interesting option in NYC.
There is a tapas restaurant on the rooftop called Ophelia’s that’s pricey but good and it’s a Bilt neighborhood partner. Also there’s a 24 hour deli right next door.
@ Greg — Seems like a great deal! Maybe I need to look into that WE card after all…