Great location, great staff, but beware of drunks and bedbugs.
I decided to stay at the Jane because of the excellent location/price and because a friend had recommended the location to me. I stayed for six nights. Hands down, it's hard to find a better deal in Manhattan. Before I stayed, I called the hotel and spoke with the staff. Both times, they were very professional and friendly. The decor is vintage and cool, and although some people have complained about the SRO-era residents, I did not find any of them to be creepy or sketch during my stay. They pretty much mind their own business The problem isn't so much with the hotel or its staff, but really with some of the GUESTS who stay there, particularly on the weekends. During the weeknights, it was pretty quiet. I didn't think the halls reeked of cigarettes or anything like that. I stayed on the 4th floor and one of the bathrooms was great with the hot/cold water, the other was unreliable. Housekeeping was constantly cleaning the bathrooms, so they were pretty clean even though there are some disgusting people who leave a mess of the place when they're done. My dorms in college had more respectful people. Once again, not the hotel's fault - if you have low rates, you're going to attract certain types of travelers, some of whom are just not going to be respectful or considerate of the property or of fellow guests.
In addition, because of the reduced rate during late nights, you get a lot of the drunk partiers from the bar downstairs. On a Friday night, someone literally took a dump in one of the shower stalls. On Saturday, someone puked in the toilet and missed. Maybe some of the floors are better than others, but this was my experience on the fourth floor. The hotel does its best to keep the bathrooms clean and are very accommodating whenever you call the front desk for anything, but it's just the reality of the situation.
The room I stayed in (bunk) was really small, but the hotel does not disguise that fact. There are photos on their website and they give the dimensions. They don't surprise you about it. There are efforts to maximize the space as much as possible - there are hooks on the opposite wall and behind the door to hang your stuff and spacious drawers underneath the bed with a safe. I thought it was sufficient. Free wi-fi was fairly reliable and fast. Room was very clean. Cafe Gitane was great for brunch and had a full bar for the evenings, most of the items on the menu were reasonably priced and they were open late, which is nice. Pricy, but excellent coffee.
Unfortunately, a couple days into my stay, I noticed some streaks of blood on my mattress. I wasn't sure what that was about and ignored it. About two-thirds into my stay, I found a bright red, plump bedbug crawling across my pillow. The next day came the itchy red bites on my hands and feet, which were not pleasant. I later discovered that the 4th floor in particular is infested with bedbugs. The people in the room next to us moved suddenly, and had their room fumigated. The people two doors down from ours had the same problem, and it finally happened to us.
The upside is that the hotel staff was incredibly responsive and professional. They believed us right away, had our things dry cleaned and heat-treated to kill any possible infestation (going to far as to wipe down our electronics), upgraded us to the Captain's Suite (which was quite nice and had a beautiful view of the Hudson River) at no additional charge and refunded the cost of one night's stay for our inconvenience without my having to put up a huge fight. Everyone I dealt with was really amazing and helpful. Claussen, Ashley, and especially, Robert were just too awesome. It was a potentially awful situation that was handled very well by the staff and I was impressed. I've heard about what a nightmare bedbugs can be and how hard it is to get rid of them, but I've been home for a little while and so far so good. They did a good job killing the things.
I wish I could give the Jane a higher score just because of how awesome the whole staff was during my stay, but unfortunately the random drunks making a mess in the bathroom and the discomfort of being bitten numerous times by bedbugs as well as the inconvenience of having to move my belongings and switch rooms at 4 in the morning forces me to dock the place. I might stay at the Jane the next time I go to NYC, but I'd definitely check to make sure the bedbug problem is no longer an issue and I'd probably opt for one of the captain's suites instead. In my view, the hotel management should probably close down the entire fourth floor and fumigate it before letting guests stay in them again. Until they go all out to exterminate the bedbugs, they're going to continue being a problem. Overall though, I DID like the hotel and I hope they can find a way to fix this problem soon because I'd like to go back.