I am a Presidential Owner of Club Wyndham and thus the following review is based solely on my experience from that side of things. I was booked into a two bedroom/two bathroom presidential in the Wyndham Midtown 45 in Manhattan in New York City. We arrived early and pre-registered and our bags were held for us so that we could leave and tour the city.
The hotel location is centrally located. Many things are within walking distance including Grand Central Station, Times Square, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance, a Walgreens, and a small market for incidentals you might have forgotten or for a late night snack.
The desk staff was courteous and Elvis the man on luggage and door duty was tremendous. Once we got our keys we were moved to the next desk where the fun always begins. As an owner you are rarely safe from the host staff whose job it is to get you to the sales people so that you can purchase more points in Club Wyndham. I get it, I really do, but if you are not interested in partaking that should be the end of it. Unfortunately, the host crew gets paid to get you upstairs and so they keep right on working you despite the no, no, no thank yous you utter time and time again. Wyndham is really good about offering money for your time and I was offered $100, but I was going to be in Orlando at another Wyndham three days after my return from New York and preferred to deal with the sales people there.
As soon as I got upstairs and showered and changed for our Broadway show, my downstairs hostess was on the phone telling me that all I had to do the following morning was eat breakfast and fill out a survey. For this I would receive 3,000 points toward a hotel stay in Wyndham Rewards. Like an idiot, because I was tired and because my husband thought it a fine idea, I gave in and said yes. It was not my smartest moment.
The breakfast was good. I'll give them that. Most of the time the breakfasts consist of bagged muffins and pastries and poor coffee. This breakfast included eggs, bacon, potatoes and fruit and flavored coffee with flavored creamer, a plus with me. It was good food despite eating it at a little round table with our salesman breathing down our necks. I enjoyed my salesman. He asked if I had signed up for the 30 minute or the 1 hour spiel and when I said neither I was to fill out a survey he sighed and shook his head because there was no such thing. Strike against my hostess who I attempted to ignore the rest of the vacation, but didn't quite manage because she was just too darn kind.
I should have just taken the thirty minute spiel, but I again opened my trap and the next thing I knew I had gone through two other salespeople who were not as kind as my main man and we ended up spending three and a half hours in the salesroom. I don't know about you, but I have got to believe there are better ways to do this. I'm on vacation. I have a limited amount of vacation time and spending it sitting with salespeople is not how I choose to spend it. Plus, I don't like having to make a decision right then and there about spending an exorbitant amount of money. On the other hand, I do have questions regarding my ownership and would love to sit down with someone to discuss this WHEN I'M NOT ON VACATION. Yet, I can't seem to find anyone willing to do that with me. I live in Florida so to drive over to the Orlando area to accomplish this is doable for me, but no one seems to want to help me on this issue. I received 3,000 points in Wyndham rewards which amounts to a big bunch of nothing for three and a half hours of my time. That was the worst thing about the experience.
We were told that the rooftop lounge was for owner's only, but it is advertised on the hotel's website and is accessible to anyone. Some Wyndham resorts have these lounges that are only available by using your room key. This one was wide open to whomever appeared to wander off the elevator on to the 33rd floor.
On a more positive note, the lounge was clean and nice. I went to the lounge around eleven o'clock and there was quite a bit of leftover alcoholic beverage containers and wine glasses inside and outside, but within five minutes of arriving someone was cleaning that up. I was told that there was a morning bagel tray and coffee offerings in the morning, and Tom did see that the last day. I've written earlier about my "pancake" breakfast and that isn't anything I would tout. The view, however, from the rooftop was nice.
The suite itself was quite large by New York standards, clean and very comfortable. Since Wyndham took over from Fairfield they have done many upgrades that I find delightful including the comfortable beds and duvet covers. Darcy slept on the pull out sofa bed and she said it was the best she had ever slept in as she was unable to feel springs and bars. The views from the suite were incredible and we were very happy with the accommodations. Although there were no instructions for using the dishwasher, we figured it out and found the hidden microwave oven. I've always said that Wyndham really needs to have a framed instruction sheet for all guests, but so far they have not taken me up on that idea.
Things that I thought they did above and beyond then some of the Wyndham resorts I have stayed in included choosing a welcome package - mine was chocolates, nuts, and a bottle of wine -, and extra toilet paper and Kleenex in the closet. Little things that go a long way.
We also enjoyed the iced water and Arnold Palmer iced tea that was in the lobby every day. That was nice to come back to after walking in the heat around the city. Madison and I had Arnold Palmer teas daily. There is a twenty four hour exercise room, but it was under construction and guests were rerouted to a fitness gym around the corner. We didn't visit this having little time, but the option was nice. We did use the computer and the printer station in the lobby to print our boarding tickets on the last day and they were Apple computers with large monitors and very nice.
I would highly recommend this Wyndham. While it wasn't as large and spacious as the one in San Francisco it is a comfortable higher end resort in the heart of the city that meets the needs of tourists and travelers. I would give it an 8 out of 10, taking away the points for the sales debacle. If you have a stronger backbone than I do and can avoid that then the resort would be a 10.
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