Hilton or Grand Hyatt?
 

I am going to New York in August and I must choose between the Hilton New York and the Grand Hyatt New York. I'm going on a theatre trip so I need to find out which is closest to the theatre district, also.

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Well, the Grand Hyatt gets its name from being next-door to Grand Central Station -- not from being a grand hotel.<BR><BR>You might get more useful resplies if you listed the addresses or nearest intersection (that's the New York City way to give a location) for each hotel.

Actually, Jen, "Grand Hyatt" is a brand name just like Hyatt Regency or Park Hyatt. There's also a Grand Hyatt in San Francisco and it's not near any train station! FYI.

Hiltons, both the original on Ave. of Americas and the new one on 42nd Street are both closer to the theater district than the Grand Hyatt.<BR><BR>Dan and Jen you are both right, I believe the one in New York was the first "Grand Hyatt" over 20 years ago and probably got the name from Grand Central.

Ding, ding, ding! And the winner is....Dan. The name has nothing to do with Grand Central. As Dan said, it is a description of a type of Hyatt...there are Grand Hyatts, Park Hyatts, Hyatt Regencies, and just plain Hyatts. Each name designates a certain type of hotel and I'd have to wait for my husband to get more specific than that with the Grands. Park Hyatts are small luxury hotels. In this country all Grand Hyatts are quite large, but that is not necessarily the case with Grand Hyatts overseas, where several fall into the 300-500 room range.<BR><BR>Now, as to where to stay, Hilton or Hyatt for the theater, lol, I dunno. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt, but I think you can probably figure out why...

Nick, We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on last visit to NYC, and went to the theater every night - no problem. From hotel to the theaters we hopped on the 42nd street cross-town bus (not glamorous, but hey, it got us there) when we left the theater each night the weather was decent so we went for coffee and then walked back to our hotel. I always felt safe and we had no problems as far as distance, but we do a lot of walking anyway . . .If you can, pick up a NYC street map, like "Streetwise Manhattan" (available at Borders Books & Barnes & Nobel etc.) and check out the locations of your 2 hotel choices - this may help you compare. If you choose the Grand Hyatt, go to their website and sign up for the free Gold Passport; this will get you a free coffee & newspaper each morning and an express check-in. We were satisifed with the hotel, very clean, large king-size room, & nice bath products!

As far as how close to theatres I'd say it is a toss-up depending upon specific theatres, but not worth making the decision over that.<BR>I have stayed at the Hilton but not the Grand Hyatt. The Grand Hyatt is actually in more of a business and commercial center than the Hilton in my opinion. If you like lots of restaurants later at night -- like after theatre, I think the Hilton would be a better choice. It seems a little less "remote" late at night if you are walking from the theatres, although there are still plenty of places there -- including within Grand Central itself.<BR><BR>My biggest complaint about the Hilton is the soundproofing. Friends tell me about the night she woke up to hear her husband choking and coughing. She asked if he was alright -- no answer. She asked again and he continued to choke --no answer. She turned on the light and saw he was sound asleep. Then she realized the coughing and choking was coming from the room next to them.

OliveOyl: You peaked my curiosity.<BR><BR>From the Hyatt website:<BR><BR>"Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt brands were introduced in 1980 to further identify and market the diverse types of Hyatt properties worldwide."<BR><BR>Pretty much confirms that the "Grand" name started with the Hotel at Grand Central which opened in 1980 and ultimately became a brand name, not the other way around.

So, in 1980 did they open the original Park Hyatt on a park?

Ellen: Probably so!

Frank, It is only coincidence that it was located across from Grand Central. The name was to indicate a level of expectation higher than the standard Hyatt Regency. I haven't been in that Grand Hyatt in some time so don't know whether that goal has been maintained. It was Trump owned and decorated initially, so "Grand" wasn't even to be a question. Of course it would be “Grand”, as was everything else he touched for a while.<BR><BR>I did err in saying that all stateside Grands were large, however, having omitted the Grand Hyatt Atlanta, a smaller hotel, from my calculations, which my husband pointed out as we discussed the difficulty in distinguishing between levels of hotels last night. He is also working to get this one re-classified as a Grand. Although it's just shy of 500 rooms, it’s more luxurious than the average Hyatt Regency, yet not as posh a Park Hyatt (which also must be in a Gateway City). I guess in a nutshell, that's the most accurate description of a Grand Hyatt, not size.<BR>