Hotel Trip Report: Thompson Central Park New York

Quick Take

We booked a two-night stay at the Thompson Central Park, and it exceeded every expectation. We booked the hotel for 29,000 Hyatt points per night, and between the incredible location, exceptional service, and valuable Globalist benefits through a Guest of Honor (GOH) booking, this ended up being one of our favorite city hotel stays. The free breakfast (included with GOH for 2 adults and 2 kids) was incredible and well over $200 each morning. We were even upgraded to a King Suite, and to make our son's birthday even more special, the hotel left a thoughtful birthday treat in our room. We also got free valet parking... where else in NYC can you park for free?!

Booking

• Hotel: Thompson Central Park New York

• Length of stay: 2 nights

• Points: 29,000 Hyatt points per night

• Room booked: Two Double Beds

• Room received: King Suite (complimentary upgrade with Guest of Honor - I also emailed ahead of time using my Free Upgrade Template)

• Guest of Honor/Globalist benefits: Free valet parking, complimentary breakfast, late checkout, and room upgrade

  
  

I booked our reservation and then attached a Hyatt Guest of Honor before our stay. I also sent a quick email using my Free Upgrade Template before arrival. Whether it was the template, a little luck, or both, we were thrilled to be upgraded from a standard two-double room to a spacious King Suite. Since there were 4 of us, my kids and I shared the king bed and my husband slept on the pull-out couch. It was a little tight for sleeping, but the extra space in the room made it well worth it. We happily gave up the two double beds for more space.

First Impressions

From the moment we arrived, the service stood out. Every single staff member we encountered was genuinely friendly, welcoming, and eager to help. Great service can completely change a hotel stay, and the team at the Thompson absolutely delivered.

The hotel's location couldn't have been better. It made exploring Manhattan incredibly easy, and we were able to walk to many of the attractions we had planned. The hotel is a hop, skip and a jump away from Central Park.

A Special Birthday Surprise

Before we arrived, I mentioned in an email that we were celebrating my son's birthday. Later that day, the hotel surprised us with a handwritten birthday card and a few special treats. It was such a thoughtful gesture that made him feel incredibly special and is something we all enjoyed.

How Points Made This Trip Possible

One of my favorite things about using points is that they let us spend more on experiences instead of accommodations. Hotels in New York City are generally very expensive, and if we had paid cash for our hotel, we likely would have cut back on some of the activities we wanted to do. Because our stay was covered with Hyatt points (transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards), we felt comfortable splurging on experiences throughout the weekend and those ended up being some of our favorite memories from the trip.  Some of our favorites included:

• Summit One Vanderbilt (booked through Viator via Rakuten) - we went after sunset but I'm sure it's incredible during sunset

• RiseNY (also booked through Viator via Rakuten) - a cool experience but I don't need to do it again

• Spy Games - my kids were begging to go back here next time!

• A Classic Harbor Line sailing cruise to the Statue of Liberty (this was amazing and I'd highly recommend!)

• A Broadway show - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (My personal favorite experience and I’m not even a big HP fan. We booked the front row of the Dress Circle and it was the most perfect spot to see all of the effects. Would I have ever spent almost $1k on these seats if we paid full price for a hotel... nope!)

  
  

Why I Love Using Hyatt Points

One of the biggest reasons Hyatt is my favorite hotel loyalty program is how straightforward award stays are.

When you book a Hyatt stay entirely with points, Hyatt doesn't charge resort fees on award nights. That means your reservation can literally cost $0 out of pocket (aside from any optional expenses like meals, spa treatments, or other purchases during your stay).

That's a huge difference compared to many other hotel programs. For example, with Marriott, you may still have certain charges (like resort fees) to pay even when you've covered the room with points, depending on the property and the type of fee.

Knowing that our room was completely covered by points made it so much easier to enjoy the weekend. Instead of spending our budget on the hotel itself, we could put that money toward memorable experiences, dining, and family activities.

It's one of the reasons I find Hyatt points to be some of the most valuable in the travel rewards world.

Thompson Central Park vs. Park Hyatt

Going into the trip, I was tempted to book the Park Hyatt. It's one of Hyatt's flagship properties and has long been on my wish list.

In the end, though, I'm so glad we saved the extra points and stayed at the Thompson Central Park instead. We still had an outstanding experience, enjoyed fantastic service, and kept more points available for future trips.

Final Verdict

Would I stay here again? Absolutely - we actually already have it booked again for this Fall!

The Thompson Central Park offers an unbeatable combination of location, excellent service, valuable Hyatt benefits, and solid points value. For our family, it was the perfect home base for exploring New York City.

Our Travel Pointers: Exactly How We Booked This

In order to book this hotel, I opened the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card. This card is currently offering an elevated welcome bonus of 100k Chase Ultimate Rewards. After meeting the minimum spend of $8,000 in the first 3 months, you'd earn a large stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards. Those points can then be transferred directly to Hyatt, which is exactly how we booked this stay. If you do open this card, I would also recommend creating a World of Hyatt account at the same time.

If you have a small business, a side hustle, sell anything online, freelance, or even earn occasional income outside of your regular job, you may qualify for a business credit card. Many people are surprised to learn they're eligible.

One of the reasons I love earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points is because they're so flexible. Instead of locking yourself into one hotel program, you can transfer them to Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest, United, and several other travel partners whenever you're ready to book. That flexibility makes them some of the most valuable points you can earn.

If you don’t think you’d qualify for a business credit card, my next suggestion would be the currently elevated Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The welcome offer on this card is also 100k Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you only need to spend $5,000 in the first three months to earn them. This limited time offer will be ending soon. These Chase Ultimate Rewards points can then be transferred to Hyatt to book your stay. This is not a business card, but does count towards your 5/24 with Chase. This means you can only open 5 personal Chase credit cards within a 24 month period.

Pro Tip: Instead of adding your partner as an authorized user, consider having each of you open your own card. Once you've been approved, refer your partner to the same card (as long as you can both meet the minimum spending requirement, or stagger the applications by a month or two if needed). This strategy allows you to earn two welcome bonuses instead of one, helping you build your points balance much faster for future trips. 

If you're thinking about applying for the Chase Ink Business Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Preferred, I'd really appreciate it if you'd use my referral link. You'll receive the same welcome offer available through Chase, and I'll earn referral points at no extra cost to you. Those referral points help us book more family trips so I can keep testing hotels, sharing honest reviews, and finding the best ways to maximize points for families like ours.