Here’s part three of my trip to NYC. Part one was my United flight from LAX to Newark (EWR). Part two was taking Uber Shuttle from EWR to Manhattan. And this is my quick hotel review of the Hyatt Place Times Square.
The Hyatt Place Times Square is located at 350 West 39th Street (Tel: +1 212 904 1811).
Check-in is at 3 p.m. and check-out is at 11 a.m. I was originally supposed to arrive the day before, but since I postponed by a day, I called the hotel to let them know. Unfortunately, they didn’t answer my first two calls. On one attempt, I let it ring for more than 12 minutes, which is unacceptable.
When I finally reached someone a few hours later, they said this is the largest Hyatt Place in the world, so they don’t always have time to answer the phone. Not exactly a great excuse if you ask me.
One big plus: the hotel is just 0.3 miles from the Javits Center, where my conference was taking place.
I arrived around 6 p.m. and had no wait at check-in. I was assigned room 526.
The hotel has four elevators, but between 6 and 6:30 p.m. the waits were crazy long. On one trip back down to the lobby, I waited about five minutes only to find a completely packed elevator, so I took the stairs instead. Tip: If possible, request a lower floor.
Inside the elevator, there’s a sign listing the best breakfast times: 6:30–7:30 a.m. on weekdays and 7–8 a.m. on weekends.
Breakfast is free, but it gets so busy that they use stanchions, making it feel like you’re waiting for a theme park ride or airport security.
I only tried the French toast, and it was good.
My Room Notes
Room is tiny (glad my family wasn’t with me)
Bathroom sink is very small
Shower toiletries have large print (nice touch)
Room was cold even with heater set to 80°F (it was 22°F outside)
Room is loud (I needed earplugs)
Blackout shades don’t go all the way down (leave about a foot of light)
TV is hard to see from the right side of the bed
Pillows and bedding are comfortable
Non-smoking hotel, but my room and floor sometimes smelled like marijuana
Bottom line: The location is excellent if you’re attending a conference at the Javits Center and the price can be right, but between the noise, tiny rooms and elevator congestion, I didn’t sleep well and wouldn’t rush back.