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Review: Andaz 5th Avenue 1 bedroom balcony suite
I have a love/hate relationship with the entire Andaz line of hotels within the Hyatt brand. I love that they are “cool” and I also hate that they’re a bit “too cool” for school. My lovely lady and I flew to New York for a surprise Valentine’s day trip. I love surprises. In fact, you’re reading this while I’m on a surprise trip for my mom’s birthday. Anyways…I wanted something sexy and romantic and I also wanted to make use of a Diamond Suite Upgrade that would be expiring. I ended up finding a solid deal at the Andaz 5th Avenue and could use an upgrade to a 1 bedroom balcony suite. It’s primely located and I must admit…sexy as hell. Join me, if you will, in reliving the Andaz 5th Avenue 1 bedroom balcony suite.
Exterior. Right across from the New York Public library. Gosh, I feel historic and sexy 😉
It’s still sexy to say Gosh, right? K, just checking.
The Deets:
- When: Valentine’s 2017
- Where: New York City
- Loyalty: Hyatt Gold Passport
- Status: Diamond
- Upgrade: Diamond Suite Upgrade
- Benefits: Faster internet and free breakfast.
The thing I hate most about Andaz…check-in.
Am I that old? I just want a desk with an agent and a line to get in. I invariably feel like I’m looking around for a sales clerk at Macy’s when I arrive at an Andaz. If you haven’t stayed at an Andaz before there isn’t a distinct place to check-in or check-out. The worst I’ve seen is in LA….just random ipads and lots of steeped anger and twiddled thumbs.
Admittedly, the staff was very nice and we didn’t have to wait at all. In fact, check-in is much more clear.
My Andaz angst was a little misdirected as it was pretty seamless.
Our 1 bedroom balcony suite’s spirit animal is a black stallion. Ride it hard & put it away wet.
It’s modern and masculine. I loved the bathroom. Find the moon and howl at it.
It shows well at night and during the day.
And the Balcony…small, but outside. That’s huge in NYC.
Andaz has a free mini bar, except for booze. This one had a small kitchenette.
Wait…where is it?
Here it is. Even a dishwasher!
In the morning you can enjoy free room service…if you’re top tier.
We were diamond…those were the days. Now we’re something called Explorist.
Or you can have free breakfast in the restaurant. Couples who caffeinate together, stay together.
Each guest can order a main, hot, and cold beverage.
Looking to sweat it out? Head to the basement. The gym and the bar are there.
I’m pretty sure the bar is this way
Turn around…you’ll find the gym. Hope you like mirrors.
Overall:
Not going to lie…I loved it. Check-in and out worked. It’s probably because it was Valentine’s day and Miles ironed out all the details…thanks little guy. Miles fancies himself Brad Pitt in this Fight/Club alterego relationship situation we have going on, which isn’t too bad because that means I’m still Edward Norton. I digress. If you’re looking for something that is sleek, modern, and sexy I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the Andaz 5th Avenue. Wait. We paid $248 a night and had a great suite. In Manhattan that’s pretty good for a base room at a decent hotel. I’ve seen rates hit $500/600 at the Andaz…not sure it’s THAT nice, but if you can hit a good rate it’s pretty solid.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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