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Hotel Review: Hyatt 48 Lex Penthouse Suite

When I was in New York I did two stops one in a Holiday Inn on my first night, and then I booked two nights in the Hyatt 48 Lex as the price was right and there was another promotion I wanted to apply for.

The price was very reasonable for a pretty busy New York weekend, coming to $200 for the night. After I booked, I received e-standby upgrade for the room which was only $250 for the Penthouse suite or $68 for a Corner suite. The corner suite didn’t show as available at the time of booking as I wanted to book it with a suite certificate and when I requested one they said the hotel was fully booked.

Hyatt 48 Lex is located just off Lexington Avenue and close to almost everything in New York. There is a 24/7 market/dining place open and of course, Starbucks is next door.

I was very much looking forward to a pleasant stay, and I was curious about the upgrade.

Check-in

When we arrived we were informed that the penthouse suite was available and it will be $450 for the night and which seemed very reasonable, especially for New York.  I felt that the check-in was however a little rushed. There was no mention of my points or a welcome kit and the room wasn’t ready by 3 pm. I know the hotel was pretty fully booked, and the staff might have been busy, but it did lack a little friendliness. I was asked to wait for the room in the lounge on the second floor.

Lounge:

The lounge is actually a nice touch. It is located on the hotel’s second floor and offers free coffee and evening snacks. There is also a small breakfast and a happy hour in the evening. So even if you don’t have breakfast it is a nice start to the day with a bagel and a coffee.

It is a little small and it can get busy in the morning and afternoon when everyone is back from touring the city. They also have a space where you can surf the internet and print your boarding pass which always comes in handy, and I did use it.

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Room

After about 30 minutes I was brought the key to my room on the 24th floor which is the penthouse floor where they have two suites. I was given the key and left to my own device waiting for the elevator which does take ages. I don’t know, but the customer care seemed a little off on that day.

Our room was very nice, though a little dark it was nicely decorated, and we did have a lovely balcony and a nice view. I am sure we had the nicest balcony as the suite next door seemed to have a more constricted view whereas ours was on the corner with amazing views.  I can say it was worth the price we paid for a New York hotel, however, I am not sure I would pay the advertised price.

The Penthouse suite had a balcony, kitchen, living room, dining table, desk, a king bed and a big bathroom with a gorgeous bathtub.

I did call to order some toiletries and slippers as the floor is wooden and gets cold. How long would it take for the things? Well, I actually had to wait 2 hours plus 4 rounds for the staff to bring everything I had asked for because they kept forgetting.

I seriously didn’t have a massive list. I think there were six items which included an extra bathrobe and a clean one.  The bathrobe in the room was dirty with a massive black stain. This is the Penthouse suite which costs $2000 for the night on their website and should be in pristine condition.

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review of the Hotel 48LEX New York
a beautiful night view from our balcony

Bathroom

The bathroom was beautiful. It has a shower cabin and a separate nice bathtub. There wasn’t much pressure, but it was the last floor, so it is understandable. I was looking forward to a nice relaxing bath after sightseeing all day. Once I started filling the bathtub it became obvious it was dirty. There was hair and other things floating around. Which totally put me off even though I called and they promptly came to clean it I still didn’t use the gorgeous bathtub. 🙁

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I did feel quite disappointed because I really didn’t think I would have to call every time with a problem. There were a few minor issues, but I was fed up with calling so decided to just let it go. I didn’t want to spend my day in a hotel room complaining when there are so many things to see in New York. Though I was totally disappointed in the service as I don’t think it is on par with the European Hyatt standards.

Night sleep

During the day I could hear a noise in the room from the air conditioning unit but didn’t pay attention. We came back to the hotel, and by 10 pm I think I was asleep as I was so tired from all the miles I had walked.

I woke up at 4 am from the noise of the air conditioning unit, which was right next to my bed. Seriously the aircon was next to my bed and in the living room, and the noise was too much. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn’t as I can clearly hear it and even turned off it was noisy from the air ventilation system they had in place to circulate fresh air.

The bed was definitely comfortable, but that noise really bothered me. This is when my patience ran out, and I emailed the front desk director and the Gold passport people with a long complaint list.  I don’t expect to pay $500 or even worse $2000 per night for a room with such noise and such service. Because I was tired and hadn’t slept I was ready to just leave or move rooms.

Breakfast:

We went for breakfast at 7 am as we had been awake for ages. I passed by the lounge on my way to the brasserie, where guests can have breakfast. As a Diamond member, I did receive two vouchers for $25 each per day towards my breakfast bill. The lounge breakfast has some croissants, bagels, muffins and fresh juice. Definitely nice for a free snack before you are out of the door.

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Lounge free breakfast for all guests

The proper breakfast is served in the brasserie, which is located in the hotel. The $25 vouchers we received can be used for breakfast or at any other time which is very convenient as you can snack on the complimentary breakfast in the morning and have lunch or dinner downstairs later on. We ordered poached eggs which were OK but nothing special in my opinion. The total cost for two portions of poached eggs and a tea was $50, so within our budget.

After breakfast, the hotel’s front desk director called me, and I asked him to come and listen to the noise for himself. The manager was polite and acknowledged the noise, even though he said he never received any complaints. I beg to differ because when I spoke with the staff at 4 am, they did seem to know where the problem was, which makes me think there were complaints before. He did say he would move us to another room and will remove the charge for the night. I was totally happy with it and went out to continue my sightseeing.

Overall I didn’t have the most enjoyable time in this room. I was really tired, and I didn’t have that much energy, and when I haven’t slept, I can’t even function and can on occasion become grouchy. I think if these issues came separately, they wouldn’t be a problem, but they just mounted all together, and I was just annoyed. I find that the number one thing that will make me go into a hotel again is their customer service. People that really care for you and want you to have a good time. In places like this, I can forgive everything, and there is only one place that has made me feel this way.

They eventually moved me to a corner suite which I will review tomorrow with some final remarks on the Hyatt 48 Lex.

The hotel has rebranded since this review was posted and it is now called Hotel 48LEX New York

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