A huge fan of the Conrad brand, I chose Conrad New York for my recent four-night stay in the Big Apple. I got a decent price of $250 a night before tax through the stay 4, pay 3 nights promo (applying promo code PBBOG1).
Situated at the southern tip of Manhattan--just steps from the One World Center and the Hudson River--the location may not work for everyone.
Check-in was slow at 11pm. There was only one staff member at the front desk, who was having a lengthy conversation with another customer. When another receptionist finally appeared a good 10 minutes later, I was informed that no upgrades were available. Drawing attention to my Diamond status didn't help. The response I got was: 'We are fully committed unfortunately but we have managed to allocate you a room on a higher floor'. A quick look at the Hilton app showed that the hotel was still selling higher category rooms that evening. Having just stepped off a transatlantic flight, I let it go as I just wanted to sleep. But it was a disappointing start to an unimpressive stay overall.
The room itself--it is actually a suite-only hotel--was spacious and modern. Nothing wrong here, no complaints. The view of the apartment building opposite, however, was not my cup of tea. Anyone keen on seeing other people's bedrooms and bathrooms from your window? A box of four pralinés, along with a card thanking me for my loyalty as a Diamond member, were waiting in the room.
Things got confusing at breakfast. A mediocre buffet breakfast is available on weekends only. An A la carte menu is offered Monday to Friday. Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members receive one item per person from a limited 'Honors menu' free of charge. Granola, anyone? For cooked eggs--like Eggs Benedict--or an avocado toast, you need to fork out around $20-30 per dish. Gold and Diamond members get a $20 discount. New York is an expensive city, fine. But we were told something different each morning. One morning my partner and I were only allowed one free item from the Honors menu between the two of us. The next day we were told we could get actually a complimentary item each from the Honors menu and $20 discount per person (rather than $20 in total being taken off the bill) if ordering from the regular A la carte menu. The service was annoyingly slow too. It actually took them close to half-an-hour the second day to serve us the fruit platter from the Honors menu.
My request for a 4pm late check-out was denied with a familiar line: 'I am sorry but we are fully committed'. Annoying because the hotel was still selling rooms for that night. I mentioned all of this to the check-out agent, who simply shrugged off my comments.
The Conrad New York has a decent hard product; the soft product (service, elite status recognition) leaves much to be desired, however. If you are just after a clean, modern room, the Conrad New York is a good option. The lack of elite status recognition, along with confusion at breakfast over what's included for Gold and Diamond members and the slow service, made me leave with mixed feelings. I won't be staying here again in the near future. This is my least favourite property in the Conrad portfolio thus far, and a disappointment compared to the likes of Conrad Seoul and Conrad Algarve--where I thoroughly enjoyed all of my recent stays.
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