Thompson Central Park New York [In-depth Review]

When I was planning a recent trip to New York City, I knew I wanted to choose a hotel located nearby Central Park South.

My plans were to see a Broadway show and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and I knew a prime location was to be within walking distance of both of those activities. Plus, it’s just a great area of the city.

Hyatt is my go-to hotel brand, so I narrowed down the choices to the Park Hyatt New York or Thompson Central Park New York. I was traveling in early December, so both hotels were at peak pricing.

I had heard good things about both locations from friends, so I opted for the slightly less expensive Thompson Central Park New York. Even better, one of my friends offered to make a World of Hyatt Guest of Honor award booking for me, so that I could take advantage of benefits like free breakfast (which saved me a ton of money) — more on this in a bit.

In this review, I’ll show you all around this beautiful hotel including the rooms, dining, and amenities, and show you how I booked it with World of Hyatt points. Let’s get to it!

Location and History

Thompson Central Park New York opened in 2021 after extensive renovations during the pandemic. It was formerly Le Parker Meridien for almost 4 decades before briefly changing ownership and being renamed The Parker in 2019. To confuse things even more, there’s a Le Meridien Hotel that opened next door in 2019.

One of the main reasons I chose Thompson Central Park New York was its excellent location. Situated just 2 blocks from Central Park, this hotel is within walking distance of popular New York City attractions including Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, and the Theater District.

I flew into LaGuardia International Airport (LGA) and flew out of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). JFK is a little further away than LGA but the time it takes to get to Thompson Central Park can vary widely based on traffic. I ordered an Uber to/from the airports and it took us well over an hour to get to the hotel on a busy evening from LGA, while about 45 minutes to get to JFK on a Saturday afternoon.

I paid for part of my rides using Uber Cash from The Platinum Card^® from American Express and my American Express^® Gold Card. The cost can be very different based on the time of day, and unfortunately, my Uber Cash didn’t cover the whole fare. For my longer trip from LGA, I paid $66 total including tip, and my shorter ride to JFK cost $107 in an Uber XL.

Hot Tip: If you’re going to use Uber to travel to Thompson Central Park New York, it will show up on the app as The Parker New York, which is the previous name of the hotel.

Booking

I used World of Hyatt points to book this stay at Thompson Central Park New York. It’s a category 6 hotel and was at peak pricing during my stay in early December, so I paid 29,000 points per night for a room with 2 double beds.

While I don’t love paying peak pricing, the cash cost of this room was $775 per night (before taxes and fees) and I wasn’t about to pay that price.

If you were to pay cash for a stay here, I would suggest using The World of Hyatt Credit Card to earn up to 9x total points for Hyatt stays — 4x points per $1 spent at Hyatt hotels and 5x points per $1 for being a World of Hyatt member.

Once you added in all of the taxes and fees, the cost of my room jumped to $969 per night. That means I got 3.3 cents per point in value by using World of Hyatt points instead of paying cash. That’s an awesome redemption since we value Hyatt points at ~1.5 cents each.

Bottom Line: Thompson Central Park New York offers tremendous value when booking with World of Hyatt points and is considered one of the best hotels in New York to book with points, as well as one of the best Thompson hotels to book with points. An award night at this Category 6 hotel costs between 21,000 and 29,000 points. Even though I paid 29,000 points per night, the cash cost was very high as well, resulting in 3.3 cents per point in value — over double what Hyatt points are typically worth.

Guest of Honor

I booked this stay as a Globalist Guest of Honor. This is a fun benefit offered to Hyatt Globalist members that allows them to share their benefits with friends and family. The Globalist member just needs to call to book a Guest of Honor stay and they must pay with World of Hyatt points. Then the Guest of Honor (me, in this case) gets all of the perks of Hyatt Globalist status without actually holding that status.

To make this booking, I just transferred the required number of points to pay for my stay to a friend who has Globalist status and she made the booking for me.

I was really excited to try out top-tier Globalist status since I only have World of Hyatt Explorist status.

Destination Fee

Destination fees make me crazy. They are basically resort fees at non-resort hotels. It’s a way for the hotel to charge you more than the advertised price, and they have become increasingly prevalent. I’ve seen many hotels offering things like faxing services or long-distance telephone calls as a benefit of a destination fee. In 2022, these so-called benefits are simply ridiculous.

The destination fee at Thompson Central Park New York is $40 per night (including tax). According to the website, here’s what’s included in the fee:

• 1 bottled water per guest at check-in
• 1-hour free bike rental (with 1-hour paid rental)
• 6% off The New York Pass
• 8% off classic hop-on hop-off Big Bus New York tours
• 8% off Go New York card
• 10% off in the Carnegie Hall store
• 20% off admission to the Central Park Zoo, Bronx Zoo, and New York Aquarium
• 20% off Fit Tours (5k or Yoga in the Park)
• Access to the fitness center
• Concierge business services
• Newspapers on request
• Premium internet access
• Unlimited local/domestic and long-distance calls

None of these “benefits” were mentioned to me at check-in with the exception of the free bottle of water, which is also a World of Hyatt elite member benefit.

The good news is that when you book a Hyatt hotel with points (like I did here) any resort fee or destination fee will be waived. This adds up to a lot of additional savings and is another great reason to use points for your hotel stays.

Hot Tip: Thompson Central Park New York charges a destination fee of $40 per night, but it is waived if you book with World of Hyatt points.

Check-in and Elite Benefits

After a long, slow Uber ride from LaGuardia Airport, we finally arrived at Thompson Central Park New York. The first thing I noticed about the lobby was that it had a definite mood. It was very dimly lit, giving it a bit of a swanky uptown hipster vibe.

A bellman took our luggage and waited while I checked in. The front desk agent acknowledged my Globalist Guest of Honor stay and explained the free breakfast benefit to me. He didn’t mention any other Globalist benefits and an upgrade wasn’t offered.

Honestly, I was pretty disappointed that we weren’t upgraded. It kind of caught me off-guard so I didn’t say anything at check-in. Once I got to our room, I checked the website and could see that better rooms were available, but it was getting late and my daughter was starving, so we settled in and ordered room service instead of calling the front desk and pursuing an upgrade.

After checking in, the bellman took our luggage up and accompanied us to our room, explaining a few things about the hotel along the way. Once we got to the room, he mentioned a few points of interest outside our window and got the Thompson-branded robes and slippers out for us.

He also gave my daughter some New York maps and some extra bars of soap. I thought it was a sweet gesture. A bit odd, but sweet, nonetheless.

Later on during the stay, I requested a late checkout. The man working at the front desk offered a 2 p.m. late checkout. When I requested a 4 p.m. late checkout, he said he would have to charge me for it, stating I only had Explorist status. I had to explain that I was on a Guest of Honor booking and after some digging, he was able to honor a 4 p.m. late checkout.

This ended up being a really nice benefit of Globalist status since we weren’t flying home until later that evening.

Amenities

Fitness Center

There’s a fitness center at Thompson Central Park New York … but it was weird. It’s located in the basement and the connection was under construction at the time of my visit, so I had to go outside to access it. I’ve never needed so many directions to find a hotel gym in my life.

To access the gym, I had to exit the hotel and go next door to an entrance for a Drybar salon. Once there, I was instructed to take the elevator downstairs but once there, I didn’t see any signs for the fitness center. I ended up asking a Drybar employee where the fitness center and ended up being located way in the back.

The gym itself, which is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, didn’t have any doors, so anyone could walk in without being a hotel guest (not that anyone could find it). There was an unmanned front desk area with towels and water bottles.

The really weird thing was that the dimly-lit, moody vibe of the hotel continued to the fitness center — it was so dark! I don’t know about you, but mood lighting isn’t what I want when I am working out.

The facility itself was spacious and well-appointed with cardio equipment, weight machines, and free weights.

The cardio equipment included treadmills, elliptical machines, and a Peloton bike.

Bottom Line: The fitness center at Thompson Central Park New York, which is located in the basement, is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. When I visited in December 2022, the connector was still under construction so I had to go outside to get to the elevator to access it. 

Pet-friendly

Thompson Central Park New York is a pet-friendly hotel and even offers walking, sitting, or grooming services upon request. There’s even a pets section on the in-room dining menu.

Guests can have a maximum of 2 pets with a combined weight of 50 pounds or 1 pet with a maximum weight of 25 pounds. The cost is $50 per night and there’s a $250 damage fee.

Hot Tip: Check out our guide to traveling with pets if you’re planning on bringing your fur babies on your next trip.

Guest Room — 2 Double Beds

I booked a basic room with 2 double beds and that’s exactly what I got. While I was disappointed to not get any type of upgrade, the room was very nice. It had an art deco vibe that fit the hotel’s New York City location perfectly.

Upon entering the room, there was an open-concept closet to the left. It had a few drawers, a safe, a small area for hanging clothes, an iron and ironing board, and extra bedding.

Plus there was a full-length mirror and a bit of space to store shoes and luggage.

To the right of the door was a sitting area featuring a very cool pale emerald-colored crushed velvet loveseat and a small table. The music-inspired photograph echoed the New York jazz-themed restaurant downstairs.

Our room had 2 double beds separated by a single nightstand. The beds were very comfy but felt small (I find that most hotel rooms have king or queen beds these days).

The nightstand had a phone and a retro-looking clock, plus there was a plug and 2 USB outlets for each bed.

Across from the beds were a desk and minibar area. There was a nice Nespresso machine with a selection of coffees, but instead of actual coffee creamer, the hotel provided packets of powdered creamer, which is nauseating in my opinion.

I’ve also encountered this at other Hyatt hotels where they offer packets of “coffee whitener” in lieu of creamer (see my reviews of Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco and Hyatt Regency Deerfield).

I don’t understand how such a pricey hotel that offers a nice espresso machine (not to mention about 5 different types of sweeteners) doesn’t provide guests with coffee creamer.

The minibar area included bottled water but there was no complimentary tea provided (another surprise for a luxury hotel). Below the coffee maker was a minifridge. On our last night when we went to use it, we discovered it wasn’t working.

Next to the coffee maker and fridge were a TV and desk area.

The desk displayed artwork and coffee table books as well as a unique dimmable globe light.

The view from my room looked directly into other buildings (not unexpected in New York City), but some rooms on the opposite side of the hotel had views of Central Park. There was a window by the elevators that gave me an idea of the view that I didn’t have in my room.

Bathroom

The bathroom at Thompson Central Park New York was small but very nicely appointed, except for one thing — it had a tub with a shower curtain. I am not a fan of tubs and shower curtains and it’s not something I expect in a hotel room that costs almost $1,000 per night.

The sink area was modern, and although the sink itself was small, there was a large amount of counter space.

There was a tray with soap and lotion as well as a note about how to request sheet and towel changes.

The most disappointing part of the bathroom was the shower. I know I can be a bit of a hotel snob (especially when it comes to showers), so this might not bother you as much as it bothered me, but when I am staying in such a pricey room, I don’t want to see a tub and shower curtain.

The tub wasn’t in great shape either. It had a hard plastic cover that had separated from the actual tub so it made a popping sound every time you stepped in a couple of areas.

The shower head unit was upgraded but the rest of the shower (including the tiles) looked dated and out of place in such a luxury hotel. The water pressure and amount of hot water were excellent, but unfortunately, the pipes made a foghorn type of sound most of the time the water was running, so showering was less-than-pleasant.

On the positive side, there were nice large containers of D.S. & Durga Bowmakers bath products in the shower.

The little shelf that the shower products were sitting on looked like it was attached with silly putty — just another reason to believe that this shower was a mere afterthought in this hotel’s renovations.

Food and Beverage

According to the hotel’s website, there are 3 restaurants onsite — Parker’s, Burger Joint, and Indian Accent. At check-in, I was told about Burger Joint and Parker’s but there was no mention of Indian Accent. I saw no evidence of Indian Accent, other than a menu on the hotel’s dining linktr.ee, so if it does exist, it’s a secret that I wasn’t privy to.

Parker’s

Parker’s is the main restaurant; it’s located right off of the lobby and serves food and cocktails all day long.

Named after Charlie Parker, its decor is inspired by New York City’s music history, from the artwork on the walls to the horn-shaped lights. The can’t-miss main feature of the restaurant is the faux greenery hung from the ceiling near the bar. It created a dramatic and unique atmosphere.

The T-shaped restaurant featured unique horn-shaped lights hung from the high ceilings.

There were lots of comfortable seating areas in this lounge-like restaurant.

Now let’s get into the most important aspect … the food!

In a nutshell, it was all delicious … and very expensive. Our bill each morning was around $160 to $180 for 3 entrees, coffee, juice, and 1 or 2 sides. Thankfully, I was on a Globalist Guest of Honor stay, so that’s not what I actually paid.

At check-in, I was informed that the Globalist breakfast benefit included 1 entree, 1 hot drink, and 1 cold drink per person. I loved that the benefit included both hot and cold beverages as they weren’t cheap (and there was no way I was paying $11 for a freshly squeezed juice without the Globalist benefit).

Every Hyatt hotel can be a little different in what they include in the Globalist breakfast benefit, however, I’ve encountered some properties that will often wipe out all of the charges from your bill even if you order more than what’s officially included.

Even though the extra drinks and sides we ordered weren’t supposed to be covered by the breakfast benefit, they were taken off of the bill, except for a mystery $2 charge on the last day. I didn’t ask about it because I didn’t want them to realize they took off more than they were supposed to, and I could live with a $2 charge for 3 mornings’ worth of expensive breakfasts.

We started each morning with fancy coffees for the adults and fresh squeezed orange juice for my daughter.

Our group of 5 ended up splitting multiple entrees because there was so much we wanted to try. A couple of our favorites were the avocado toast with poached eggs and the crispy French toast.

Bottom Line: Parker’s, the main restaurant at Thompson Central Park, is open Monday to Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 12 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Burger Joint

The Burger Joint is a small “hidden” restaurant located right off the Thompson Central Park lobby. The front desk told me about it when I checked in, but otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

It was small, windowless, and crowded and completely didn’t fit in with the rest of the vibe at the hotel (I later learned that this restaurant was left untouched during the pandemic-era renovations since it has a long-standing history and is considered an iconic dining spot).

Once we got to the front of the line, they had us order before we were seated and then asked us to wait for a table in the middle of the room. It was a bit odd and harried experience.

The menu is primarily burgers and fries, and while the food was fine, I didn’t get the hype of this place.

The Burger Joint is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In-room Dining

We ended up ordering room service twice during our stay at my daughter’s request (she definitely takes after me). The in-room dining menu had lots of options, including a kid’s menu and a menu for pets. As with the main restaurant, the prices weren’t cheap but the food was very good.

My daughter really liked the pizza, and I especially loved the french onion soup.

My mom tried a Beyond Burger which came from The Burger Joint and she said it was quite tasty.

Hot Tip: While Thompson Central Park New York is part of the World of Hyatt program, it doesn’t participate in the dining portion of the program. That means you won’t earn Hyatt points for any dining charges (restaurant or in-room dining) that you charge to your room.

Service

The service I received at Thompson Central Park New York was excellent. From the front desk to the housekeeping staff and everyone in between, all the staff I encountered were friendly and helpful.

While my stay at Thompson Central Park New York wasn’t perfect, one thing I can’t fault the hotel for was the staff.

Final Thoughts

Overall I really enjoyed my stay at Thompson Central Park New York. While I was disappointed I didn’t get a room upgrade, the room I got was comfortable and nicely decorated. The hotel’s excellent location is within walking distance of many popular spots like Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and the Theater District. And while the food was expensive, it was rather tasty.

While this hotel’s cash price was exorbitant, I got a great deal by booking our stay with World of Hyatt points. If you’re visiting New York City, it’s definitely a hotel to consider.