SELENA VAN DER WOODSEN

HYATT GRAND CENTRAL NEW YORK

Grand Central Terminal

109E 42^nd St. New York, NY

Nothing’s more iconic that the Grand Central Terminal and that was exactly what was in my mind when I booked a room in Hyatt Grand Central NY. I thought the New York City experience wouldn’t be complete without watching the comings and goings in this landmark station.

We left the Financial District to stay in midtown Manhattan via Uber, marking the change when we crossed the bridge from the languid side to the frenetically paced side of the city.

The hotel is adjacent to the Grand Central Terminal, and it has a door that leads right to the terminal. The Grand Central Terminal was built in 1871 and was named the Grand Central Depot. It is said that more than 750,000 people go through the terminal every single day. The largest train station in the world, 49 acres huge, no trains pass there. It’s just the final station and people just pass through.

We saw the Oyster Bar when we walked from the station back to the hotel and made a mental note to dine there but for some reason, we never did. Near the Oyster Bar is what they call a Whispering Gallery. My sister said that if you whisper from one of the arched entryways near the Oyster Bar, a person standing on the opposite entryway can hear you loud and clear. The voices carry from one end to the other end. I wish we tried it, but we were so overwhelmed with the number of people.

The Hyatt in this side of town is also a walking distance to 5^th Avenue where most of the posh shopping is being done but we just looked and marveled at all the brands available! It’s also a stone’s throw away from the 42^nd St. but with all the walking we did, we ended up taking an Uber to go around.

The Hyatt as we all know is a chain hotel and that is its strength. When we booked, we knew that the rooms would be cleaned, and the towels replaced every day and that the staff would be courteous and attentive. It was the consistency that we were after and we were not disappointed.

Their rooms were bigger than the others we had seen, all 45 square meters maximized for comfort. My son and I got a room with two beds, and we felt we had enough room for our personal bubbles, with a little bit extra to spare for a visiting sister and a nephew.

It was an incredibly pleasant stay sprinkled with magic. We saw a wedding happening just outside of the hotel, with the signature NY yellow cab as its main theme. The bride’s veil swayed with the breeze in a sunshiny day there was nothing more we could ask.

I heart NY.