Decent Room - Service Stinks (and other things).
So here's the nitty gritty:
-The hotel rooms are clean and spacious by NYC standards. I had a nice view of central park. No qualms there. The TV is an old tubeTV - not a big deal as I rarely watch it. If you just want a place to lay your head down thats clean and has a comfortable bed, this works.
Here's where things go sour:
-This hotel will typically cost you between $400 - $700 depending on the season and the night... more or less... (I paid around $450)... I get there and I'm ready to get a swim in at the pool before my meetings - they inform me that they now charge $15 to swim in the pool (that was free 3 months ago).
-Then I decide, ok fine - maybe I'll go hit the gym... well, there's a $10 or $15 charge for the gym in the hotel... this is getting silly.
-So I call downstairs that evening as I'd run out of toothpaste in my travel kit... yep, you guessed it... they said "Sorry sir, we have toothpaste in the gift shop that you can come down and purchase...." ... the motel 6 will help me out if I forget my toothpaste...
-The next morning I wake up and realize I forgot my razor and needed a shave - I call downstairs, yup, same thing.. "Sorry sir, you can come down to the gift shop and purchase a razor...." you're getting the point here.
-During check out, a colleague had to fax a document to me - she kept getting the run around as to what number to fax to, and who to fax it to... long story short, after about 45 minutes... no document - the staff was confused... so I left and went to Kinkos.
-Then, they said to save paper they would send me an electronic bill... I've called them twice, and on the third time I finally got it.
Here's the point. If you're going to brand yourself as a premium hotel, take care of your customers. Don't nickel and dime people to use amenities like your gym (or pool - which WAS a draw to staying here). When customers request toothpaste or a 25 cent razor... don't nickel and dime them. Send it to their room with a smile.
I usually stay at the W - and their service is impeccable compared to this place.