Need help with Marriott (SPG) hotels in NYC for Christmas trip

[Quilter]

Our daughter would like us to meet them in NYC for Christmas. I've been looking at different brand hotels because we're members of several loyalty groups but for this thread I'll confine my questions to Bonvoy hotels.

Personally, I'd like to be near Central Park. We have to find something pet friendly because little Rocky will be joining us. I've been looking at the options on the website and there's many.

Does parking fee ever get waived? I'm seeing daily parking from $50-$70/day.

I've had great service at the Westin's in Europe. Does anyone have experience with NYC Westin?

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[Luanne]

The closest to Central Park, that is part of Marriott and pet friendly is Le Meridien New York, Central Park. I know nothing about it. We always stay in a service apartment between Rockefeller Plaza and Times Square.

 

[kds4]

I generally stay at either the Marriott Marquis Times Square or Sheraton New York Times Square. The Marriott Marquis allows pets with a $100 pet fee. Not sure about the Sheraton. Marquis is smack in the middle of Time Square while the Sheraton is a few blocks North closer to Central Park. I don't drive when I visit NYC (so I can't comment on parking fees). When I'm there I use Uber or the Subway to get around Manhattan.

 

[Davidr]

My office is near the "Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan Central Park" I stayed there once recently. It's nice but the rooms are tiny and it's not really that close to Central Park. Its in the hinterlands on the far Westside 2 blocks from the Hudson River. The coffee was pretty good. I don't know if they are pet friendly.
Parking anywhere in Manhattan is expensive.

 

[Fasttr]

Can’t beat the jaydub Essex House if close to Central Park is your desire....

JW Marriott Essex House welcomes two dogs up to 25 lbs for an additional fee of $150 per stay. ... Dog bowls, treats and toys are available, and there is a pet relief area located across the street from property.

 

[Quilter]

Thanks everyone.

The Le Meridien looked good until I read the reviews. Too many bad ones.

JW didn't show up on available list for cash or points.

Sheraton looks very good. At first the phone rep said no pets. I said the website said they do. She then said $75 fee. Most of the hotels are showing $50 - $100 for Rocky. I like that it has a lounge for morning and evening.

Marquis is no go. Too emotional. Stayed there once with daughter and son (who we lost in 2013). It was a great memory but I can't return without him.

All of these, even the Fairfield which is the lowest with points, are much higher (double and triple) than a Hyatt I found.

Truthfully, I'm not keen on going to NYC at Christmas. I'd rather go to Williamsburg or HHI. But daughter wants to go and we want to be with daughter.

 

[csalter2]

It is really hard to tell with reviews. People have different tastes and/or different or ridiculaous expectations. This summer I went to NY. I was looking for hotels that near Times Square. I saw the Element which is a Marriott hotel. The reviews were awful. I was staying at the Pulse and decided to go take a look. It did not seem bad in the checkout area. I made a reservation and stayed there for three nights. The room was a nice size. I was upgraded and the location to Times Square was excellent, four blocks away. So be careful following the reviews especially if they are mixed. The Element has mixed reviews but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[controller1]

There is also the Ritz-Carlton Central Park. You'll need a nice amount of points (Category 8) or dollars but the property is very very nice and pet friendly.

 

[pianodinosaur]

Thanks everyone.

The Le Meridien looked good until I read the reviews. Too many bad ones.

JW didn't show up on available list for cash or points.

Sheraton looks very good. At first the phone rep said no pets. I said the website said they do. She then said $75 fee. Most of the hotels are showing $50 - $100 for Rocky. I like that it has a lounge for morning and evening.

Marquis is no go. Too emotional. Stayed there once with daughter and son (who we lost in 2013). It was a great memory but I can't return without him.

All of these, even the Fairfield which is the lowest with points, are much higher (double and triple) than a Hyatt I found.

Truthfully, I'm not keen on going to NYC at Christmas. I'd rather go to Williamsburg or HHI. But daughter wants to go and we want to be with daughter.

Sorry about the loss of your son. A major tragedy to bury a child, it is. Celebrate his life and have a great time with your daughter. I would prefer Williamsburg or HHI to NYC as well.

 

[kds4]

Thanks everyone.

The Le Meridien looked good until I read the reviews. Too many bad ones.

JW didn't show up on available list for cash or points.

Sheraton looks very good. At first the phone rep said no pets. I said the website said they do. She then said $75 fee. Most of the hotels are showing $50 - $100 for Rocky. I like that it has a lounge for morning and evening.

Marquis is no go. Too emotional. Stayed there once with daughter and son (who we lost in 2013). It was a great memory but I can't return without him.

All of these, even the Fairfield which is the lowest with points, are much higher (double and triple) than a Hyatt I found.

Truthfully, I'm not keen on going to NYC at Christmas. I'd rather go to Williamsburg or HHI. But daughter wants to go and we want to be with daughter.

Very sorry to hear of your loss. If the Sheraton at 7th and 53rd is the property you are considering, I think the rooms are smaller than the Marquis (but still very nice) and the lounge is actually on the first floor and much larger than the Marquis. Both morning and evening eats/drinks were very good with plenty of seating (50-75 in varying configurations). I actually prefer the Sheraton lounge to the Marquis and it's not a bad walk to Radio City Music Hall or Rockefeller Center (3-4 blocks or so).

 

[Quilter]

I looked into using our Chase Ultimate rewards points. I found that the Sheraton comes out as a very good deal. Only 124,098 UR points. If I had moved those to Marriott I would have needed 200K points.

The JW Essex wasn't a great deal but better than straight Bonvoy points. 214,826 for 4 nights instead of 280K. 66K point difference which almost washes with the 5 night free (Bonvoy). Dog fee and Destination fee were both high at JW.

The Hyatt Andaz is only 100K Hyatt points for 4 nights which I could get from UR but the transfer had a glitch. Chase said it could take 7-10 days to find out why. Booking directly with Chase travel it would be 131,520 UR points. The Sheraton is a better discount.

I like the thought of the Sheraton lounge. Reviews say hotel is big and staff has trouble keeping up. I'd appreciate more Sheraton feedback.

There's so many options. . .

 

[normab]

We never stayed by Central Park but we did stay three times at the Residence inn across from Bryant Park. It’s across the street from the BDFM subway stop. All four lines go to 47th st, Rockefeller center, and the F line goes to central Park. We found it to be a great location. It allows pets. Don’t recall how parking is...

Mind you, all rooms are small in NYC, but the RI has a wonderful breakfast and a kitchenette in the room.

If your heart is set on Central Park, you can pass on this one.

Other info...

If we were driving in, we always used to find a parking garage on Iconparking.com and get a good rate. We would leave the car there while in the city. Sometimes parking garages are cheaper at the holidays because the locals have left....There also is the port authority parking garage but it’s a hike from Central park. We don’t use a car while in the city, it’s best to walk or use the public transport or Uber.

Enjoy the city. I love it at Christmas ...we are in Florida now so we don’t get there so often anymore...palm trees with Christmas lights are the norm..

Norma

PS, High Tea at the Plaza is wonderful, especially so at Christmas time. Right there in Central Park south. Reservations are a must. Also nice is the high tea at St Regis.

 

[mpizza]

There is a Residence Inn near Central Park on Broadway and 55th. Pet friendly too!

Maria

 

[Quilter]

I made 2 reservations.

First is at the Andaz on 5th Avenue (Hyatt property) using Chase UR points. I was able to talk to a front desk manager today and she helped me decide what type of room to get. The rooms have a minimalist decor but look nice. Reviews are good. I reserved City view rooms. Manager said if I did that she could get us relatively close together. Dogs aren't confined to certain rooms. All rooms can be pet friendly. Destination fee of $35 a night. Chase was actually more points per night than if I booked with Hyatt points. However, with Chase I was able to pick the type of room I wanted to purchase with points and wasn't stuck with the standard. For this trip I don't want to count on an upgrade even though the Manager did say my Discoverist status would be added to the reservation at check-in. She also said the property had a limited amount of various upgraded rooms.

The other reservation is at RI Central Park. I couldn't get a cancellable rate for this through Chase UR so I booked with Bonvoy points. I was able to reserve City view rooms with points. Hubby has 20 upgrade requests so I asked to be upgraded to park view. This cost more points than the Andaz but the Marriott website didn't have any language saying there's a destination fee. Plus there's free breakfast.

Using Chase UR points for travel can be a good deal but it isn't the easiest way to search for rooms. I had to get familiar with how it works. Chase doesn't reserve anything, they partner with Expedia. You get transferred to someone on the other side of the world. I also did searching through the Chase UR website. I had to beware to find cancellable reservations. Many times there would be a glitch and the pages would get caught in a loop of loading and reloading. I'd have to log out and start again.

We'll let the kids decide which property. It's their 5th anniversary.

 

[kds4]

I looked into using our Chase Ultimate rewards points. I found that the Sheraton comes out as a very good deal. Only 124,098 UR points. If I had moved those to Marriott I would have needed 200K points.

The JW Essex wasn't a great deal but better than straight Bonvoy points. 214,826 for 4 nights instead of 280K. 66K point difference which almost washes with the 5 night free (Bonvoy). Dog fee and Destination fee were both high at JW.

The Hyatt Andaz is only 100K Hyatt points for 4 nights which I could get from UR but the transfer had a glitch. Chase said it could take 7-10 days to find out why. Booking directly with Chase travel it would be 131,520 UR points. The Sheraton is a better discount.

I like the thought of the Sheraton lounge. Reviews say hotel is big and staff has trouble keeping up. I'd appreciate more Sheraton feedback.

There's so many options. . .

The Sheraton is big (but not as big as the Marriott Marquis). When I was last there, it was filled with several large visiting student groups (which made being able to access the lounge for 'quiet-time' very enjoyable). I found the room floors quiet and did not notice any noises outside my room door (even the customary 'bang' of other room doors closing). If there's a negative, it would be that you won't have the type of views you would enjoy from the Marquis. If that's not an issue for you, I think you will like the Sheraton.

 

[Quilter]

Yay! The kids chose the Central Park RI. Both rooms are booked through hubby’s account so I’ve requested park view rooms. Asked the phone rep to put family reunion and anniversary in the notes. I’ll probably also call the front desk and beg.

If I get the view I may just stay in my room and watch dog and baby.

 

[jme]

We adore the Renaissance Times Square, but that may not be close enough to Central Park for you.
Nevertheless, we would opt to stay there again and again.
We've stayed there twice now, and it is not only well located (easy walk to most anywhere) but has the feel of a boutique hotel.
Too many positives to overlook. Just putting my plug in.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=e...hUKEwjE2Ov02PLkAhVwk-AKHb8NC8UQoiowC3oECBAQBg