Hotel Overview

Last month I spent a week on the East Coast and stayed at several hotels, while also burning through a free night certificate.

There are two Conrad hotels in New York. This Conrad New York Downtown is close to the new World Trade Center and is less than a ten-minute walk away. It has 463 all-suite rooms.

The other one, Conrad New York Midtown, used to be The London NYC and was just rebranded. It is close to Central Park and Times Square.

Redemption

For this stay I used the weekend free night from the AMEX Aspire card. If redeemed with points, it would cost 80,000 points, while weekend cash rates are usually around $200 to $300.

Check-in

LD handled the check-in because I went to park the car at a nearby parking garage. The hotel’s valet service costs $65, which was too expensive for me, so I found a $35 valet option on SpotHero.

The bell staff comes outside to help with luggage, and they deliver bags to the room very quickly. We had not even made it to the room yet, and all three suitcases were already there.

The route to the front desk looks like a long staircase in the center with an escalator on the right, but there is also a straight elevator in the hallway on the left, which also goes to the guest room floors.

The lobby lighting at night is actually quite nice. You can tell right away that this is not your average roadside motel.

Room

We stayed in the hotel’s base room type, a Deluxe Suite with One King Bed, which is 430 sq ft—a very luxurious size for New York. I really like the layout: three separate zones, living room - vanity/bathroom - bedroom. Each functional area has the right amount of space, does not interfere with the others, and the bedroom even has a sliding door. The floor plan on the official website is the clearest and most intuitive.

The hallway is also very clean, with none of that closed-in, damp feeling.

Right when you enter, you’re in the living room. A handwritten welcome card and chocolates were also left on the table. It may have been batch-written by staff, but it still felt thoughtful.

The mini bar and vanity. I made a point of photographing the prices for everyone, hahaha.

The bathroom and shower both have plenty of space.

Hotels in the U.S. that proactively provide toothbrushes, slippers, and bathrobes at the same time are also not that common. The bath amenities are from Shanghai Tang.

Now let’s look at the bedroom. The bed was still very comfortable, there was lots of closet space, chocolates were placed on the bed, and bottled water was also set by the bedside.

When the bedroom sliding door is closed:

Breakfast / Member Benefits

Gold and higher members can get complimentary continental breakfast for two, served at the ATRIO restaurant on the check-in floor.

Restaurant interior

The section in the upper-right corner of the menu is the free breakfast selection. You can choose one item plus one drink.

I ordered two sunny side up eggs & breakfast potatoes & orange juice, while LD had Eggs Benedict. In the end, the server comped my entire bill, which effectively used the value of the free breakfast to offset the price of the Eggs Benedict. Remember to leave a separate tip; you can charge it to the room.

The food tasted good, and you can also watch the chef cooking on site. But I think breakfast would be better if they included some toast.

Gym

The gym is not very big, and it cannot be compared with the Midtown property...

Rooftop Bar

LOOP DOOPY is the hotel’s rooftop bar, but it was closed when I visited because of the season. I’ll borrow a photo from the official website to show you.

Conclusion

The hotel has a great location, and both the interior decor and service are excellent. It is a very worthwhile U.S. redemption for a free night certificate.

If the cash rate is below $200, then paying cash is still recommended. After all, compared with the rather stingy Marriott, Hilton’s rebate value is very generous.