Conrad New York Midtown – good value for points?

[Tubbs]

I am planning 5 nights in New York, probably first 2 weeks of October. Conrad Midtown looks like a good, relatively upscale, option for a first (and probably last) stay in NY. I have Hilton Gold status through AMEX Plat.

My plan is –

1. Buy 80,000 Hilton points (with 80,000 bonus) on my account and Mrs T’s account. Transfer Mrs T’s points to my account so I have total of 320,000 points.
2. Wait for another Hilton buy points promotion (if they increase the annual limit to over 80,000) and top up with another 60,000 total.
3. If not possible to buy more points from Hilton then convert 30,000 MR points to 60,000 Hilton points so I have total of 380,000 points (I value MR points at 1000 = £8).
4. When I have flights booked and dates determined, book 5 nights at Conrad Midtown using ‘5 nights for 4’ offer for 95,000 x 4 = 380,000 points.

This would give us 5 nights for approx $1925 at current FX rate so $385 per night with no extra fees or taxes. We would also get $50 per day F&B credit with Hilton Gold.

There are obviously plenty of cheaper hotels and a good number of more expensive places. Value for money, rather than actual price, is most important to us and $385 for Conrad seems like decent value.

So…does this seem like a reasonable plan? Any obvious pitfalls or key pieces of information I am missing? Any obvious good value alternative I should be considering (I took a long look at IC Times Square but the price comparison suggests Conrad is better value for money). Thanks.

• This topic was modified 54 years, 3 months ago by .

[Rob]

Conrad is ‘all suite’ so you can’t really compare to the IC. I doubt anywhere else in NY will give you a suite for that.

Here’s a Michele review – BA used this hotel for the media at the New York relaunch event, whereas Rhys was on the Virgin flight and was put in The Pendry – https://www.turningleftforless.com/the-new-conrad-new-york-midtown-hotel-review-the-best-new-york-hilton-redemption/

[Tubbs]

Rob Burgess wrote:

Conrad is ‘all suite’ so you can’t really compare to the IC. I doubt anywhere else in NY will give you a suite for that.

Here’s a Michele review – BA used this hotel for the media at the New York relaunch event, whereas Rhys was on the Virgin flight and was put in The Pendry – https://www.turningleftforless.com/the-new-conrad-new-york-midtown-hotel-review-the-best-new-york-hilton-redemption/

Thanks Rob. Anyone else care to critique my cunning plan?

[Phatbear]

We are heading to the conrad midtown end of march, this is our third attempt to visit this hotel but covid got in the way each time.

One quick point re the $50 credit for breakfast its pretty useless when you look at the price of room service for example an order of pancakes plus a small coffee is $34 +17% gratuity + $10 service charge, which will take you close to $50 for one basic breakfast.

[paul.l]

Rob Burgess wrote:

Conrad is ‘all suite’ so you can’t really compare to the IC. I doubt anywhere else in NY will give you a suite for that.

Is this still the case?
We are also looking at the Conrad NY Midtown on points for May, and for 95k points/night Standard Room Reward we are being offered either “City View Deluxe Room 1 King”, “City View Deluxe Room 2 Queen” or “City View Junior Suite”. The other categories starting with “1 Bedroom Suite – 1 King Bed” are all priced at 214k+ and upwards premium room rewards

[Tracy]

My daughter booked Hilton midtown for a week in July 2022 in the recent BA sale including flights from Glasgow for 2 people for sub £1500 total…she has no Hilton status so didn’t care about benefits etc. She will still have to pay resort fees though 🙁
I know it’s not a Conrad but price was decent and as BA holidays only deposit needed…

[JohnTh]

Also looking at New York for October – either Hilton Midtown or Hilton Brooklyn as only 2 showing Exec lounge (as Diamond). Or else the new Embassy Suites Times Sq (with breakfast and drinks reception instead of Exec lounge) – all 70-80k points or between $320 and $400 per night – so not super redemption value.

[Mirp]

I’ve stayed on Hilton Brooklyn as Gold so no lounge it was fine. The breakfast was very nice with omelette station but servers did expect nice tip. You may know that in the US Hilton only providing paltry sum for breakfast and even in Brooklyn there is a “resort fee” that can be used on one priced drinks and food. Reviews indicate people are annoyed.

[Phatbear]

Me and the other half stayed in the NY midtown Conrad end of March this year for 5 nights, im a long term diamond and spend a minimum of 100nights a year in hiltons.

Got an upgrade to a “park view” room the view was a sliver between two buildings and unless you were looking for it you probably wouldnt notice its there.

Rooms are tired but sizeable, beds mega comfy, only ever had one robe despite there being two of us and asking for another robe, no room in the fridge for your own items as its full of chargeable items.

Breakfast was meh, the new credit system really doesnt work as it only covers enough for a basic continental breakfast but not tax and tip and they charge $12 for a filter coffee, this is not included with breakfast.

In conclusion i would save your points and look elsewhere.

[The real Swiss Tony]

Without wanting to go too far off piste, the point about crazy breakfast prices is warranted, but you also need to put that in the context of what you’ll pay outside the hotel.

I was in NY at Easter. Stayed at the Conrad downtown. Owing to a bit of a cock up, they gave us a $75 breakfast credit (for 3), which took no effort to work through at all. The next day we went out to a diner type place for breakfast, not in a touristy part of the city. The bill wasn’t far short of what we notched up in the Conrad for a similar quantity of food, in a slightly less glamorous setting.

Other cities might be different.

As for the original question, I think if you can get a good hotel in NY for £300 a night – including a coffee & croissant to get you going in the morning – then you’re doing OK. However, many years back I stayed at an independent place called The Lucerne on the upper West side. It was remarkably good and a quick look on the web shows it at £216 a night and plenty of positive reviews. It also rates around 100 places higher than the Conrad on tripadvisor. So something *like* that might be worth investing the time to find. The £500 you save would cover a couple of decent dinners in NY…

[NorthernLass]

We stayed at the Hilton UN Millennium 3 years ago, it was about £250 pn. As gold we got a double upgrade to a huge (for NYC) corner room plus access to the lounge for breakfast and evening drinks and nibbles. The lounge was on about the 40th floor with great views of the Chrysler building on one side and the East river on the other. Breakfast was a cold buffet but excellent with fruit, cheese, smoked salmon, bagels and much more. Looking back it feels like we good really good value, especially as it was at the end of May which is not the cheapest time to visit.

*We had robes, slippers, a dressing area, plus a proper mini fridge for the fresh milk I require in my coffee!

• This reply was modified 54 years, 3 months ago by .