Hotel Review: Hotel 50 Bowery – JDV by Hyatt

I had to go to New York for a day of meetings and decided to try a different hotel. I had seen Hotel 50 Bowery listed on Hyatt’s site since shortly after it acquired Joie de Vivre hotels in 2019. The hotel is located in New York’s Chinatown (basically across the street from the Manhattan Bridge). I love Chinatown and it was the perfect spot for a one-night stay.

Anthony’s Take: The hotel is convenient if you’re planning on spending time in lower Manhattan. It’s located in Chinatown and provides easy access for both business near Wall Street and sightseeing. The hotel was comfortable and offered everything you’d expect or want from a city hotel including a fitness center with Peloton bikes, a restaurant, and a rooftop bar. I’d consider staying here again when visiting my NYC office.

Booking

I booked a “Standard Rate” through my company’s Concur reservation system, but the rate was the same as what could be booked on Hyatt.com. Rates at this hotel are reasonable compared to others in the Financial District and many nights can be booked for around $300. I booked a 1 King Bed room. If not paying cash, you can expect a range of 17,000-23,000 per night when redeeming World of Hyatt points.

Transportation to/from the Hotel

I flew in and out of LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The hotel is located around 10 miles from the airport. I took an Uber Black from the airport. It took around 38 minutes and cost $78. Going back to the airport took around an hour and cost $92.

Location

The hotel is located in Chinatown at the base of the Manhattan Bridge. It’s convenient to all points in lower Manhattan and sits near Canal and Bowery.

Check-in

I arrived at the hotel around 10:00 PM. The room was ready (as expected). The agent was friendly and told me that I had been upgraded to a 1 King Bed with City View Room. Suites were sold out. He explained that breakfast was served on the second floor and that I could order delivery to the lobby if I preferred. Later that night I received an email with a code for a $50 credit towards a breakfast delivery. He asked if I needed a late checkout (I did not) and also went over the inclusions for the $35 including tax daily destination fee. This is waived for Globalists and was not on my folio at checkout.

Destination Fee

I hate resort and destination fees. As noted above, it’s $35 including tax daily at Hotel 50 Bowery. I’m happy that I’m a Globalist and don’t have to pay this fee. Anyone booking a points reservation is also exempt. The inclusions are above.

The second floor is known as the living room. It provides space to work and relax as well as coffee throughout the day.

The lobby has limited seating near the doors.

This desk was near the elevators. I’m not sure if this is where a concierge sits normally or it’s an open place to work.

There are playful accents throughout the hotel that give it a sense of place in Chinatown. The elevator lobby was painted bright red, which is the color of power, celebration, fertility, prosperity, and repelling evil in Chinese culture. The elevators are a bit slow and car number three stuck when I was in it.

Near the elevators was a phone booth with a pay phone.

The hallways leading to the rooms are a bit dark and the layout twists a bit with rooms tucked in small corner nooks.

1 King Bed with City View (1024)

There are 229 rooms and suites at the hotel.

The room opens with a closet on the left and the bathroom on the right. There is a full-length mirror and luggage rack next to the closet.

Inside the closet was a robe, garment steamer, an umbrella, and a safe.

The bathroom was tiny, but functional.

The vanity had a single sink, shelves for towels, and a blowdryer in the drawer.

Toiletries were REVOLVE brand. The container on the counter looked like it should have Q-tips or cotton balls, but it was empty.

The toilet was tightly tucked between the vanity and shower.

The glassed-in shower was a decent size with good water pressure.

Individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were in the shower.

A few steps from the bathroom was the bedroom. It had a king-sized bed, two nightstands, and a good number of outlets.

Across from the bed was a vanity with an ice bucket, glasses, a refrigerator, and the TV.

The refrigerator was empty aside from two bottles of water. If you want to stay hydrated, come to this hotel. I was offered two bottles at check in, two more bottles were in the fridge, and two more bottles were hanging from my door when I woke up.

Breakfast

Globalists are offered breakfast as outlined above. I did not have the chance to eat on the second floor or order something to take with me. I did take a peek at the menu and there are tons of choices both American and with a Middle Eastern flair. The $50 daily credit could go far here. A few screenshots from the ordering site are above.

Public Areas & Amenities

The hotel has a fitness center, a rooftop bar, the living room above, and a restaurant affiliated with the hotel next door. I did not make it up to the rooftop, but it seems like they have activities up there every night. The fitness center scores big points with me since it includes two Peloton bikes.

There was some additional equipment and treadmills but I didn’t take pictures as they were in use.

Overall Impression:

The Hotel 50 Bowery offers a comfortable refuge from the bustle of NYC outside its doors. The room was clean and comfortable and the hotel treats Globalists well.