Thompson Central Park New York

New York City is jam packed with luxurious 4 and 5 star hotels on practically every corner. The Thompson Central Park has been at the top of my wish list of properties to review since it opened in 2021, and offers some very good sized rooms for Manhattan hotels. If you recall, the Thompson Central Park was once the Parker Meridien until it was sold and underwent a $100m renovation prior to joining the Thompson brand of Hyatt hotels in November of 2021.

The location is incredible just across the street from Carnegie Hall on 56th between 6th and 7th avenues just a stones throw from Central Park, and if you’d like to use the subway, the Yellow NRTQ subway line is half a block away.

New York hotel prices are skyrocketing faster than odds of getting pickpocketed, and lucky for me, I’m flush with Bilt Rewards, and decided to transfer them to Hyatt to try out both the Thompson Central Park and the Park Hyatt Central Park on back to back nights. I’ve been eager to give both hotels a full review, and I seized that opportunity last week using 25k points to stay at the Thompson and 40k points to stay at the Park Hyatt New York.

Long story, short: The Thompson Central is at the top of the heap when it comes to hotels I’ll certainly visit again, and is attractively priced as a Category 6 hotel with rates cracking $1000 at peak.

Stay Details:

• When: November 2022
• Where: New York City
• Price: World of Hyatt Category 6 property
  • Rates range from 21k to 29k
  • I paid 25k
• World of Hyatt Status: Globalist
  • Upgrade to Studio Suite
  • Late 4 pm check out
  • Free Breakfast for 2
• Pet Friendly – yes no fee
• Parking
  • $75 for cars
  • $90 for SUVs

Other New York Hotels Reviews

In case you’re wondering my frame of reference for NYC hotels…here’s a list of properties I’ve stayed at in NYC over the past few years. I’d argue that the Conrad Midtown is the closest property to compare the Thompson to in style, location, and room size.

IHG

• Intercontinental New York Times Square
• The Intercontinental Barclay

Marriott

• The New York Edition
• St Regis New York
• The Lexington New York

Hyatt

• Andaz 5th Avenue New York
• Park Hyatt New York 

Hilton

• The Conrad Midtown New York

Other

• The Lotte New York Palace
• The Plaza Hotel New York
• The Peninsula New York

Next to the Le Meridien, on 57th street, you can enter the park of the Thompson straight into their restaurant. This pic was taken practically at the entrance of the Park Hyatt.

Booking

My Hyatt account was empty after I redeemed all of my World of Hyatt points to stay at the Thompson Savannah earlier this summer, so I had a decision to make: Do I transfer over Chase Ultimate Rewards or Bilt Rewards? I ended up using my Bilt Rewards since I’m earning those much faster via card referrals and have a pretty healthy balance.

Here are the Bilt Rewards transfer partners

Transferring Bilt Rewards to Hyatt

The transfer was quick and easy and populated my account within about 10 mins.

Location

I absolutely love this location in the city, and have stayed at several properties that all stake claim to easy Central Park access: The Conrad Midtown, The Plaza Hotel, The Peninsula, The St Regis, and The Park Hyatt New York.

• Easy Central Park access – check
• Subway nearby – check
  • ( NRTQ ) is less than a block
  • ( 123 + FB ) are both at Columbus Circle

Check-In

I arrived via Lyft, was promptly greeted by the valet, and proceeded to carry my own bags into the hotels. Just carry on and my back pack. The entrance is set back from the street on 56th, and the lobby was always well staffed. I chose not to take pictures of it since it was always quite full of people wanted to respect their privacy.

My globalist status was acknowledged and I was given an upgrade to a Studio Suite

The Room

I love the Thompson style which marries luxury with an industrial, modern twist. The hardware is bronzed, the lighting chic, and they splash dynamic color with the art and furniture. I’d argue that Thompson has surpassed Andaz when it comes to cool factor.

The Studio Suite measures between 400 and 500 square feet and they have almost entirely dedicated that to the living space. It really feels like a quasi Studio apartment with the large desk and seating area. I loved it.

The Bathroom

You can see from the pictures that they have removed the bathtub in exchange for a walk in shower with communal bath products. Single vanity, and quite a tight fit to put any of you own bath products around it.

Dining

There are three restaurants at the Thompson Central Park: Indian Accent, Burger Joint, and Parkers. I only had the pleasure of eating at Parkers during my one night stay at the hotel, but any and everyone I’ve spoken to says Burger Joint is a must try. Sadly, the day I checked in there was an hour wait just to get in the door with the line trailing out into the lobby.

Parkers

Breakfast

I only had one meal at Parkers which consisted of coffee, juice, and one of my favorite treats, smoked salmon with cream cheese on a toasted bagel. Sadly, the spices they chose were quite strong and not to my taste. The service was great, the vibe was fantastic, but I’d choose something else on a return visit.

The Gym

Currently the hotel is still completing some renovation work and the hotel entrance to the gym is one of projects currently underway. As such, you’ll need to leave the hotel onto 56th, and enter from the street, take the elevator down a level to where Drybar is, and enter the gym from there.

The hotel gym is open to all guests; however, there is a small Peloton room that is reserved solely for Upper Stories guests seen below

Overall

The service at the hotel was on par with any 4 or 5 star hotel, but the Thompson excels in providing guests with the cool factor, in a great location, for a spot on price. The Park Hyatt is wonderful, but I wouldn’t spend the extra points to stay there over the Thompson as long as the pricing difference was category 6 to 8. Just look at January and Feb of 2023…2 full months when you could stay for just 21k points per night. What a steal when the city is often covered in snow, swathed in Christmas or Valentine’s spirit, and I’d argue that the Thompson is the best use of Hyatt points in the whole of NYC.