As part of my review trip, I ended up having two nights in New York, after arriving from Paris and before departing for London. Now, any sane person would go into the city… but that’s not what I did. Instead I decided to stay at the Hyatt Regency JFK at Resorts World New York.
Continue reading: Review: Hyatt Regency JFK At Resorts World New York
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Hi Ben. Nice review. I'd add that, while I'm not sure how much and Uber would cost from JFK, folks could take the JFK Airtrain to the A train at Howard Beach/JFK and take the train 2 stops north to the Aqueduct stop which is connected by a bridge to the casino/hotel. On the way out, its slightly more difficult since there is no southbound stop at Aqueduct, but you can take the casino shuttle to the North Conduit stop and then 1 stop to Howard Beach/JFK and the Airtrain. Airtrain is now $8.25 and the subway is 2.75.
Ben: “In an Uber or Lyft, the drive costs around $20-25 one-way.”
Not only didn’t you read what Ben wrote, your alternative makes sense only for the most penny pinching of solo travelers.
My wife and I stayed there for a night midweek last May. We didn't get bumped up to a suite (same toiletries though) but really liked the place. The room was comfortable, the Grab N Go food was surprisingly good quality and the club lounge food was good restaurant level. Even paying for a cab each way, we were very impressed.
Considering the Category of the hotel just went up to C4, I suppose the hotel is not that empty.
For the higher quality room and F&B than usual, the owner being an Asian company must helped - Genting’s Resort World hotels in Vegas are above average too.
I am a Hyatt fan and a Discoverist . This is the worst Hyatt anywhere. No restaurant, no bar, and in the middle of nowhere. We will never stay there again. How dare they call this a "Hyatt Regency. "
Hi Ben, I'm just thinking about that "Hyatt front desk associate at a property I [you] frequented", where about 10 years ago the front desk associate in question added to your World of Hyatt profile that you liked Diet Coke and sparkling water. Was the Hyatt Hotel in question the Hyatt Olive 8 Seattle by any chance? I remember you mentioning in passing about 5 years ago that you were on particularly good terms with the general manager there.
And what's wrong with penny pinching?
And there are other benefits such as, just to name one, supporting sustainable public transportation vs. the exploitative gig economy.
Hyatt dropping the ball on a corporate level. Brand standard should be that an airport code or the word "Airport" in the hotel title means there is free transportation (exclusive only of an optional gratuity) between the airport and the hotel.
When I stayed at this hotel last month, the Sugar Factory was closed, so everything sold to Hotel guests at the Market was made 50% off.
As a Globalist, they also gave me $10 daily credit at the Market, which turned out to be worth $20 with the discount.
When heading into Manhattan from JFK, the A Subway train stops at the Aqueduct-N Conduit Ave platform and then the Aqueduct Racetrack platform, which is the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Casino. But when coming from Manhattan, the A Subway train only stops at the Aqueduct-N Conduit Ave platform, bypassing the Aqueduct Racetrack platform. There is a casino shuttle available from the Aqueduct-N Conduit Ave subway stop during casino hours. Otherwise, it's a 10 to 15 minute walk to the Hotel.
It was helpful information, so yes, “cool story.” Your comment wasn’t particularly high standard though.
Stayed here in October 2021, when the hotel was relatively “new”. They were offering suites back then for $89 + 9000 Hyatt points. Hotel security is high because of its proximity to the casino (and the casino is the owner of the hotel, though Hyatt runs the branding). The idea is that guests will be staying at the casino, and the casino comps some rooms on occasion.
The casino betrays the conventional idea of New York, as its far from Manhattan, has a wide open parking lot that’s free (but you have to move your car each night), but it was a great stay and definitely would consider going back if I had a good reason.
Also be aware it is going up in category value so book before the end of the month to avoid having to pay more points.
There is not a lot of choice at JFK among hotels. The TWA Hotel is fabulous, but it is extremely expensive for what it is. The rest of the offerings in and around JFK are subpar, so this look and feels like a good addition, even if it is in close proximity, but not quite at JFK. Airline crews and others stay as far as the Marriott in Uniondale, next to the stadium. No problem here. If you don't want canned wine, then head to a Manhattan luxury property. What this Hyatt should do is have better food options given that it likely has trapped guests (crews, overnighters, etc...)
What this Hyatt should do is have better food options
Or just a DoorDash delivery area in the lobby...
Nice review of a good option for the JFK area. I don’t get their business model either, but if the price is good or the points redemption is favorable I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here during one of my many trips to or through JFK.
@ Dave The Wave -- As mentioned in the review, generally Regency Clubs don't have complimentary wine. And the one that can typically be purchased with the "honor bar" is even lower quality than this.
@ Alex Conway -- Hah, thanks for reading for such a long time (based on the observation). While I spent a lot of time at the Hyatt Olive 8, this was actually at the Grand Hyatt Tampa, which was my "home base" for quite some time, and is the Hyatt I've most frequented over the years (though it has been a long time since I've stayed there).
It would be very cool if the property were to offer an on-demand complimentary shuttle to/from the Lefferts Blvd Airtrain station. There's a fairly direct road that avoids highways, so a single vehicle/driver could provide sufficient service. I had bad experience trying to call an Uber there. If you start at a JFK terminal the Uber ride approaches $30, so it's not inexpensive.
Good luck getting some decent food through DoorDash in that area. There is nothing around.
I suspect this hotel is primarily geared towards the casino people. It's really far from the city, it takes a long time via the subway to get there and the drive is not fun either / very expensive through cab or car service. So a lot of people who want to gamble for a weekend or all night / get drunk etc, also knowing there are often some shows/concerts, would probably prefer to stay on site? And then they probably figured they might market it as a JFK hotel to get additional business from a different crowd (especially given the dire lack of decent hotels around JFK).
Wow, people are riding their horses high today. Understandable since the solar energy is raging from the sun.
I wonder if there is no restaurant in the hotel section because they want to encourage guests to check out the casino. I would bet there are restaurants over there?.
Sounds like no one ventured next door to the casino?
I stayed here on an overnight last September and thought it was a great option. The lack of a shuttle doesn't really bother me since I've had terrible luck with airport shuttles in general just not being around/taking forever once I land.
I originally had the TWA hotel booked but as the date drew nearer I couldn't justify the sky high cost when this was available for 12,000 points. Also if the weather is nice and you have some time to kill the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is a short(ish) walk and a bus ride away.
Thanks Ben for your review. I have stayed here several times and it has been fine for an overnight prior to an international trip from JFK. Yes it would be nice to have a shuttle but I have had mixed experiences with those at other JFK hotels. I make good use of cat 1-4 free night certificates as well as award bookings so I'm happy. When talking to the front desk associate last fall he mentioned they plan to redevelop the whole area and the racetrack is going to be razed. So this is supposedly the early part of major changes in the area.
People have complained about the food options but there are some choices in the casino and easy to get to. The lounge has rotating options for breakfast so sometimes they don't have exactly what one would like but that's part of the package. Often i am leaving early morning for the airport anyway and I can eat at the airport lounge so the food choices in the morning don't usually bother me.
It is a clean and pleasant hotel and while it has its quirks, it could be a lot worse.
Since we moved 100 miles outside of Manhattan in the pandemic this is our go to hotel when we have an early morning. With 2 kids getting the suite upgrade as a Globalist is awesome. We are usually driving so the lack of shuttle does not bother me. I found the lounge to nice but the F&B was "meh" when we were last there. I think aspirationally this is a casino hotel. With the exception of the TWA hotel ($$$) this seems to be the nicest hotel at JFK. Wish JFK had a better option.
We stayed last summer and were pleasantly surprised. We also received an upgrade to a suite, and were impressed by the club lounge. When we were there, there must have been dozens of flight crews checking in and out, so I'm guessing the hotel caters to them (although no shutttle so, I dunno), and alot of people were clearly staying there after a night of overdoing it at the casino.
FWIW, one of the best Italian restaurants is less than 5 minutes away (at Lefferts Blvd and Conduit Blvd). A well know institution in certain circles in New York.
Quite shocking that a nice suite like that would have a Keurig machine. It seems so common in hotels in the states, but it makes such poor coffee. Surely a Nespresso machine wouldn't be too much more expensive.
Also, I can’t understand with that giant parking lot why they don’t run a Park/Sleep/Fly offer. We asked about it, and the manager reported that is wasn’t possible, even for additional fee.
Aww, that makes me sad; I love the TWA!
But it is what it is- there were definitely some odd oversights in design. Plus, you're not getting out of the restaurant for anything less than $50 a person, and considering the decent rooms easily crest $450 a night... It's a birthday special treat for me, rather than a routine stay.
But I love the building so much I can't help it. And the Paris Cafe. Don't love the nude homeless dude, though.
I don't understand how you can repeatedly say this property doesn't have a restaurant when it's in the same building as a casino that has multiple restaurants?
Another reader reported that Uber was $30. Perhaps the rate depends on the time of day and traffic. $60 round trip is 25% of the cash rate for the room. That seems like a hefty premium.
I've stayed there 4 times in the last 18 months. It's kind of convenient to JFK, not at all to the city.
It always seems empty. The hotel. The casino. The parking lot.
But on a redemption basis it's a good deal. If you need to stay close before an early flight it's a good option.
I've stayed in the suite mentioned in this article and it's great.
There is a food court and they have popeye's. That's a plus.
My one real beef? There are all kinds of Lutron light devices and when you turn off the lights in the room, there are seemingly dozens of green, red, and blue LEDs for all the tech. Blackout curtains don't do the trick when you are getting lasered by the light fixtures.
Thanks for this - I was looking everywhere to see if this was something they offered, but nobody had any information
As a WoH globalist I have stayed here maybe 6 times. I have never gotten any sort of welcome amenity in my room !