Great room....but that's about it
The only thing good about our stay at The Empire was how nice and clean the room and hotel was in general. Unfortunately that is the only thing that was pleasant about our stay. 
When we checked in we were supposed to be given a waiver explaining that we would be charged an extra hundred dollars per night for insurance purposes and after check out the money would be given back. We were given that waiver on day TWO of our stay, after we asked why our account was charged an extra two hundred dollars. The hotel charged my card three times before they told me that my card was declining. I showed them my bank statement showing the charge FOR the hotel as a pending charge and they basically called me a liar. How could I post a fake charge to my account? To further prove that they did in fact charge me i called my bank and we had a conference call with my accountant and he thorouly explained to the rude manager that the account was on hold because the amount was charged more than once at the same hotel, when I called to approve the charge, it was approved and would be posted to my account at 3 PM that day. The only response from the manager was "so are gonna get the money?" 
The staff was not attentive, at all, i had to explain this situation to 3 different front desk members because no one communicates. the manager was rude and not understanding, all he cared about was getting his money NOW, not caring that he charged my account three times without my notification, and the amount charged to my account was not the amount that I was quoted. I was never given a waiver to sign when I checked in, there is no organization. when we finally figured out the situation with my card the manager said he'd charge the card one last time and give me a call when it goes through. An hour goes by and he doesn't call so I called and he said they got the payment. I am positive that they wouldve called immediately if the card didn't go through, however. 
This was a horrible ending to what could have been a perfect trip to this beautiful city. The rates are way to high and create high expectations that are not fulfilled by the staff. I would never recommend this place to friends or family despite the nice overall appearance of the hotel. I wouldn't even recommend this place to someone I didn't like.