It was hard to believe, as a Hyatt Globalist who spends over 90 nights a year in Hyatt hotels, that I hadn’t stayed at an Andaz property since a trip to London a few years back. I had the Andaz Wall Street stored away in the back of my mind on an “if I had the chance” list for some time.
I was planning a trip to NYC and needed to stay near Wall Street, it was the perfect time to give the Andaz Wall Street New York a visit and write a review.
Unfortunately, I encountered a bunch of problems during my stay.
Main entrance of the Andaz. Easy to find!
Using public transportation and coming into the city from New Jersey, I easily found the hotel and was glad it was only a short walk from the Wall Street subway stop.
During my stay, cash rates hovered around $417 per night. In the winter rates do go down to $260 a night. If you’re lucky and can find open points and cash rates the Andaz is 12,500 points and $150.
Using just points, the rooms here are 25,000 World of Hyatt points. After looking at my options for my nights, I went with the cash rate and used my Citi Prestige 4th night free benefit. Remember, if you’re paying cash for a hotel stay, do what I do and let Pruvo monitor your rate for price drops!
Check-in
Let me say upfront that my stay at the Andaz Wall Street was mostly a disappointing experience.
Check-in went smoothly, the front desk staff was friendly, and my Globalist status was recognized. I was assigned a room with a large bedroom but not a suite upgrade. I might have used one of my suite upgrades for this property if it were allowed, however you cannot use suite upgrades at the Andaz.
A standard room at the Andaz Wall Street. Image by Andaz.
Using my Hotel Room Scorecard I broke down the individual elements of my standard room at the Andaz Wall Street, which scored a 24 of 40 points.
Location (5/5)
I love the location of the Andaz Wall Street, and it’s by far the best feature of the hotel.
Many people think the hotel is somewhat isolated being down by Wall Street; it does get quiet there when day turns to night. I don’t mind that, and in fact, didn’t really find that to be the case. Many restaurants and shops were open in the evenings and it seemed to me many of the people who work in that area stay there after work to eat and drink.
Given that my goal on this particular visit to NYC was to explore Manhattan below 14th Street, and also try a hotel I hadn’t stayed at before, this location was perfect. The access to Battery Park and being able to walk along the park paths on the west side of NYC superseded any warnings I had been given about how quiet it might get after dark. Even if I had wanted to head uptown, it would have been easy to hop on the subway as the Andaz is at most a few blocks from many of the subway lines.
NYC–Statue of Liberty view from Battery Park
Lighting (2/5)
The lighting in the room is way too dim. The standing lamp in the corner does not have a dimmer switch so it can’t be turned up any higher than the small wattage bulb allowed. The room could use other standing lamps in the corners. That would make a huge difference.
This photo during the day makes the room seem well lit. But at night it was the only lamp in the room.
Window Access (2/5)
The Andaz is located on a very busy street with cars and general street noise. Because of the hotel’s location, I would imagine that most of the rooms have a city view.
Early morning city view from the sixth floor.
The window did open for “fresh” air and the air conditioning worked well. The black-out shades were broken so they could only go all up or all down. At first, I thought this was my user error but I checked with the front desk and yes, they can only go all up or all down.
Not very customizable to the amount of light a guest wants to have in the room! The curtains had problems as well. On one side the lever to move them right or left was broken and the lever on the other side only moved them one way. They couldn’t be rolled up. When the window was open the wind made the curtains blow so much that they clanked against the window sill. I will say that although the hotel is right in the thick of it, with the windows closed it was surprisingly quiet from my sixth-floor room.
Bed Comfort (3/5)
The bed was too hard for me. I did sleep well, though, because of all the walking along the river and through lower Manhattan!
West End Park along the river.
Bathroom (2/5)
Ok, bear with me here as I go on a rant. Let’s start with the shower. From the shower, water splashed all over the bathroom. There was no way not to splash water given that the overhead shower was placed not in the center of the ceiling over the shower, but off to one side.
The whole bathroom area for the shower and tub, in my opinion, was trying to be too fancy. It has dark tile and is a very dark space. It has a glass door to shut it off from the hallway. Let’s just say when the glass door to the shower is shut, the area becomes very dark so watch out because you can easily not see it and walk head-on into it 🙁
Bathroom–Andaz Wall Street
Besides the shades being broken, the bathroom sink was very slow to drain. This might just be the only hotel bathroom I’ve seen where there is no close-up mirror that pulls out from the wall.
The mirrors over the bathroom sink were odd. The lighting was bright on one side and dull on the other end of the mirror. The end with the dull lighting created a dark mirror and the side with the bright lights was actually a close-up mirror. This made no sense because it was odd seeing yourself going from a dark mirror to a lit one where you had a close-up view of yourself.
If this close-up side of the mirror was meant to replace a mirror that pulls out from the wall, it didn’t work. If you needed a close-up of yourself, perhaps to shave or to put on make-up, you would have to lean over the sink. This whole set-up seemed strange and just didn’t work.
Interior Appointments and Furnishings (2/5)
I found the design and furnishings in the room strange. Here’s why. There was no couch, but rather two chairs. Both of them were quite uncomfortable and the desk chair was uneven and wobbled. Speaking of strange, there was a four-sided furniture unit in between the bedroom and the bathroom.
One side is a closet, one side is a mirror, one side is a snack area and one side has nothing on it but a hook. It revolves! I guess they mean for you to place whichever side you want wherever you want it. But watch out because if you forget it’s not stationary and you lean on it, the whole thing revolves.
Crazy revolving closet!
There was only one piece of artwork on the wall opposite the bed. It had a saying by Thomas Hardy written on it, but it was mostly illegible. I didn’t care for the piece and have no idea what it was meant to express. I did, however, like the wood floors throughout the room and do prefer when there is very little artwork on the walls.
Thomas Hardy writing as artwork.
Electronics (5/5)
Plugs and outlets were plentiful and well-placed throughout the room. There were outlets near the beds and universal plugs and USB charging ports at the large desk surface.
Snack and Minibar (3/5)
The Andaz provided a Keurig coffee machine with pods. I don’t like Keurig or their pods, so I’d like to see the Andaz use Nespresso if they are going to continue to provide in-room coffee. After asking, the staff did provide me with some extra water and a few pieces of fruit. As a Hyatt Globalist these items should be provided without my asking, so that was a miss.
Hotel Service
There is no lounge at the Andaz Wall Street so I was given complimentary breakfast in their restaurant. The menu offerings were rather limited and boring. Perhaps they keep the menu limited because there is a breakfast buffet.
I had an issue with one of the male servers asking me too many what I consider to be personal questions, and I spoke with the hotel manager about this. The manager did speak with the server, but after this, I decided each morning to take away some fruit and yogurt. That worked better for me.
The front desk staff was friendly and helpful when I spoke with them. Only one of them had worked at the Andaz property for more than a year or two. Housekeeping was attentive and was generous with the ice after that bathroom glass door bump on the head!
The Upshot
I don’t understand why major things in a hotel room don’t work. Is it because when people check out they don’t tell anyone? Doesn’t housekeeping notice these things? Aren’t rooms periodically inspected?
In general, I felt this room had the most wasted space of maybe any hotel room I’d ever been in. The desk and TV area was about three feet from the back wall and that space was totally wasted.
Lots of wasted space in this hotel room!
The room had plenty of space for a couch and could have a really nice feel and design decor to it, but for me, the room was a total miss. I enjoy hip and trendy when it’s done well and the rooms are functional. I left the Andaz Wall Street disappointed. My expectations in reviewing the hotel and room fell way short. The next time I’m in NYC and want to enjoy the sites below 14th Street, I’ll have to choose a different hotel.
Shelli Stein is a health and fitness entrepreneur who travels the world in search of culture, food, and fun! Besides contributing to PointMeToThePlane, you can find her at Joy in Movement.
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6 comments
your score is much lower than 31/40 as printed. If you add up all the scores, it’s a 24/40. Please update.
Great catch, thank you. Now it’s even a more disappointing hotel stay 🙂
You can absolutely use upgrade certificates to a suite at Andaz hotels. I regularly stay at this hotel and have done so. I agree that the bed is too hard and the rooms have issues. My biggest pet peeve is that many of the rooms have crumbling walls around the bathroom where the showers are because the doors leak. The hotel never fully recovered from Superstorm Sandy and continues to decline. It needs a full renovation but the owners haven’t authorized it per management.
Ekrem, Thanks for letting me know about the suite upgrades. I was told I wasn’t allowed to use my suite upgrades here. I’ll have to investigate that further. A full renovation is in order for sure. Hope to hear they approve it ASAP.
“I might have used one of my suite upgrades for this property if it were allowed, however you cannot use suite upgrades at the Andaz.”
Why is that? And is it true?
Hi Chris, I was told no but apparently, per commenter Ekrem, I was misinformed when I asked about using my suite upgrades. Thanks for reading!