Andaz 5th Avenue — Hotel Review

The Andaz 5th Avenue occupies a 1916 Beaux Arts building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 41st Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. Originally constructed as the last and largest Rogers, Peet & Co. department store, the building later served as the global headquarters for Tommy Hilfiger before Hyatt converted it to a hotel in 2010. Designed by Tony Chi, it is one of the Andaz brand’s flagship properties: 184 rooms across a boutique-scale 14-storey building with 12-foot ceilings, oversized factory sash windows, and interiors that evoke the pre-war loft architecture of the surrounding Midtown neighbourhood. The building’s light fixtures are styled after vintage subway lanterns; the lobby forgoes a traditional check-in desk in favour of a standing welcome area with a lending library maintained in rotation by New York Public Library staff. It is an emphatically Manhattan hotel, self-consciously rooted in its specific location in a way that most chain properties are not.

Within World of Hyatt, the Andaz 5th Avenue sits at Category 7, one tier below the Park Hyatt New York. It carries full Globalist benefits: complimentary breakfast, guaranteed 4pm late checkout, and space-available suite upgrades. There is no club lounge — Andaz hotels do not operate traditional club lounges as a brand. The property is a longstanding favourite for Globalists visiting Manhattan, primarily because of the combination of location, suite upgrade availability (the hotel has a high proportion of standard suites), and the free parking benefit on award stays — which carries real monetary value in a city where valet rates run above $85 per night. Note that World of Hyatt’s new five-tier pricing structure takes effect in May 2026: the Category 7 Top rate rises from 35,000 to 55,000 points per night. Bookings made before May 2026 are locked at current rates.

Location

The Andaz 5th Avenue occupies one of the most convenient positions in all of Midtown: Fifth Avenue and 41st Street, directly opposite the main facade of the New York Public Library and its flanking Bryant Park. The immediate streetscape is a practical pleasure — Bryant Park’s green space, open-air events, and winter ice rink are immediately accessible, while Grand Central Terminal is a five-minute walk east along 42nd Street, offering connections to Metro-North rail, the 4, 5, 6, 7, and S subway lines, and the Long Island Rail Road via Grand Central Madison. The B, D, F, and M lines stop directly across the street at 42nd St—Bryant Park, giving fast access to lower Manhattan, the West Village, and uptown without needing to walk to Lexington Avenue.

Times Square is approximately ten minutes on foot; the Theatre District, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and the main Fifth Avenue shopping corridor are all within comfortable walking distance. The location works particularly well for readers combining business in Midtown with leisure — the hotel sits at the intersection of the midtown office core and the major tourist circuit, without being embedded in the congestion of Times Square itself. Airport transfers: JFK is reachable in 50–60 minutes via the AirTrain and the 7 or E subway line; LaGuardia is 35–45 minutes by taxi or rideshare and has no direct subway connection.

Rooms

The Andaz 5th Avenue’s 184 rooms were designed by Tony Chi to evoke New York’s pre-war loft aesthetic: 12-foot ceilings, large windows, travertine stone bathrooms with walk-in rain showers (no bathtubs in standard rooms — a notable omission worth knowing in advance), and porcelain foot baths as a distinctive design feature. Standard rooms begin at approximately 320 square feet, which reads small on paper but feels more generous in practice due to the ceiling height and the separation of sleeping and working areas. Views from lower floors face the hotel’s internal courtyard or building frontage; rooms above the middle floors facing Fifth Avenue offer sightlines toward the New York Public Library facade and Bryant Park beyond — the most in-demand view category at this property.

Of the 184 rooms, 54 are designated suites. The standard suite tier is the Andaz Suite, which functions as the upgrade target for Globalists using suite upgrade awards or space-available requests. A well-documented feature of this property is that Andaz Suites vary considerably in layout and size between floors — guests who have stayed multiple times note that no two upgrades necessarily produce the same floor plan. Balcony Suites and Terrace Suites offer private outdoor space with views toward the Library and Bryant Park; the Empire Terrace Suite is the property’s flagship, a corner room with a wraparound terrace and views toward the Empire State Building. Two-bedroom suites with kitchenettes are available and represent one of the better large-group or family options in the Hyatt Midtown portfolio at a points price short of Category 8. One recurring criticism from experienced reviewers is the shower design in some room categories: the open-plan bathroom layout can allow cold air into the shower area. Worth requesting a higher floor with a Library-facing room, where the bathroom configurations tend to be more generous.

Dining and Bars

The Bar Downstairs & Kitchen occupies the cellar level in a deliberately speakeasy-style space — from the street, the hotel’s exterior reads simply as a Fifth Avenue address with no obvious restaurant signage, which gives the venue something of a locals-bar feel despite being in a major chain hotel. The menu is Contemporary American with a clear emphasis on locally sourced New York State produce — farms and purveyors are credited on the menu. It serves breakfast daily, a prix-fixe power lunch Monday to Friday, and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. The kitchen closes on Sunday evenings, which is worth noting for late arrivals at the weekend.

Separately, the Lobby Lounge provides complimentary morning coffee and tea for all guests, and a complimentary evening wine hour. Both are Andaz brand-standard inclusions, not benefits restricted to elite members, and represent a genuine quality-of-stay differentiator over most comparable Midtown properties. Globalists receiving complimentary breakfast may take it at The Bar Downstairs; in-room dining is also available.

Pool and Facilities

There is no pool at the Andaz 5th Avenue — a genuine gap relative to the Park Hyatt and some competing Midtown properties, and worth factoring in for guests for whom that amenity matters. The 24-hour fitness centre covers cardio and weights adequately for a city hotel. The property has approximately 6,400 square feet of event space under the name Apartment 2E, which functions as a flexible meeting and private event venue. Beyond the hotel itself, Bryant Park’s green space directly opposite provides an unusual outdoor amenity for a property of this type, with seasonal programming including summer film screenings and the winter market.

World of Hyatt — Earning and Elite Benefits