Decent Enough
This was an adequate stay for a reasonable price.
The hotel is well situated on E 50th; across the street are both the Benjamin and Affinia 50, so others might want to try them for comparison.
There's nothing special about the property. The reception lounge is relatively small yet efficient. The executive room I took was ok, decent space, comfortable sofa and chairs, workable kitchen facilities - but not of a quality of a place like the Alex. Bathroom was small yet functional - ok water pressure and Aveda giveaways. Bed quality was fine.
Two gripes were the towels and the continental breakfast. The towels were so worn and thin that I thought their sandpaper-like quality might exfoliate my entire body without ever really drying it. Really, it was like a bad summer camp experience. And the continental breakfast was bland, cheap in quality and tasteless. The hotel management must have someone specifically picking up months supplies of huge quantities of nourishment at BJs or Walmart.
So, if you want that location (50th and 3rd) for a decent night's sleep, grab a discounted rate and avoid the breakfast. It's a decent enough place for a night or two (p.s. go get a breakfast bagel at Ess-A-Bagel and coffee across the street and don't even try to justify the embedded continental breakfast cost).