[Hotel Review] Overnight at the New NYC Hyatt Place Hotel in Long Island City

I have written no less than 4 posts concerning the highly anticipated new Hyatt Place in Long Island City, Queens. The location is literally across the East River from Manhattan, easily accessible by car or public transportation (one stop by subway!). It is also fairly close to JFK and LGA airports.

see:

New NYC HYATT Place is Cat 2 and MISTAKE – 1 Bedroom Suite 8,000 Points

That Was Fast! Hyatt Place Long Island City Removed from Category 2 List!

You Can Still Book Award Stays at Hyatt Place Long Island City

Hyatt Place Long Island City (NYC) Opens Ahead of Schedule!

Long Island City is a neighborhood in Queens (a borough of NYC). It was formerly filled with warehouses but now there are upscale glass high rises springing up all over. There is a lot to explore from museums to street art to funky restaurants. My experience with Long Island City is minimal – I ran through it 17 times when running the NYC Marathon. Other than that, I mainly passed by it in a car going over the 59th Street Bridge or on a subway on my way somewhere else. But from everything I’ve heard, I’m kind of am sure it’s my kind of place.

So, ever since the hotel opened in mid-October, I’ve been looking forward to visiting. We finally went Sunday night on a points and cash rate that I booked before the hotel category changed from a category 2 to a category 3 (I predicted the category change would happen quickly!)

The lobby is more than just a front desk. It is a bar, a gathering place and a restaurant. There is also a table with a computer for guests to use. All of the employees at the hotel had a can-do attitude. They were immensely proud of the new hotel and each  wanted to share his or her excitement with us and thanked us for our visit.

At check-in, we were each given a little bag with a bottle of water, a Quaker granola bar and a few Hershey’s kisses.

My room was on the ninth floor. This is the hallway.

The hotel room was not the usual Hyatt Place long room with a divider, it was a square. After all, this is New York City and space is at a premium. The room though was well-designed and I never felt cramped. In addition to the King Bed, there was also a closet, a dresser, a desk, two night tables, and a sofa bed. In terms of amenities, there was also a safe and refrigerator in the room. There was also a coffee machine, but since coffee is complimentary with breakfast, I saw no reason to use it (also, there is a Starbucks down the block).

The view from our window:

The bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower – and towel racks (thank you!). It was spotless.

Breakfast was served from 6:30 to 9:30 or 10:00.

Dave leaves for work at 6 so he missed the breakfast. I worked out in the hotel gym (separate post coming soon), and then had breakfast.

The selection was better than I recall at prior Hyatt Places. There were fresh scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes rather than microwaved egg sandwiches. There was also fruit, yogurts, oatmeal, cottage cheese, cereals, breads and bagels, etc. And, they had almond milk too!

I checked out early, walked to the subway and went from there to work.

My thoughts:

Many people are afraid to visit New York City because of the prohibitive cost of Manhattan hotels. This hotel adds a high-quality, but affordable option. The area is safe and there is a subway one block away.

My stay was during the cold snap post-bomb cyclone of a week ago. As such, I didn’t explore the neighborhood as much I would have liked. I’ll leave that for the next visit. And there will be a next visit!