Worst hotel I have ever stayed at in NYC
I usually stay in Kimpton hotels while in NYC, but this time opted for Affinia due to its proximity to the Penn station. Having read a few alarming reviews here regarding noise level and elevators being painfully slow, I dismissed them as coming from people who probably complain a lot. Now I regret not taking those reviews into consideration more carefully.
I booked a deluxe room through United.com and requested two beds (costing me more than $320/night). Upon arrival, I was informed that the rooms with two beds were not available, but there was a pullout couch in our room. This was not ideal, but satisfactory. The room we were given was on the 3rd floor and upon entering it, I knew exactly what the poor reviews of this hotel were about as the noise level was excruciating. I felt like we were outside, that's how loud it was! I believe one of the problems is poorly installed windows as they leaked both noise and air. Then I noticed small hairs on the bathroom floor - not the cleanliness level I expect for more than $300/night. 
Having barely survived the first night due to constant earsplitting noise from the outside and loud A/C unit inside, we went to take an elevator downstairs to eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant the next day. There were a few people already waiting for an elevator for more than 10 minutes at that point. A few minutes later, a man came down by stairs from the 20th floor because he was tired of waiting for an elevator. However, he had to exit the staircase on the third floor because there was no exit to the lobby from the stairs. I didn't believe him and took the stairs on the other end of the building trying to find the way out. The door to the lobby was locked there too. We returned to the third floor and I called the front desk for suggestions as to how we could get out since two elevators that stopped during the 20-minute wait period were full. The employee said that we could not get down through stairs (which is a violation of a fire code) and our only option was to wait for an elevator (which was not option at all since they would not stop on our floor or arrive fully crowded). In the end, we had to take an elevator that was going upstairs (to the 27th floor) and then slowly come down wasting at least 30-40 minutes on the whole process. The same scenario repeated two days later. On several occasions, the elevator would not even stop on the 3rd floor when going up, thus again adding more time and painful frustration to our trip. 
Now I would like to comment on the quality at the hotel restaurant - it is mediocre at best. I had scallops for dinner the first night and they still had sand on them (i.e. not thoroughly washed) and breakfast dishes the next day were tasteless. Now I understand why hotel guests are offered 20% off at the restaurant. Do not eat there as there are plenty of superb restaurant options within walking distance on the 8th avenue and 46th Street.
But this is not the final list of my complaints. When the temperature outside dropped, we could not get the heating system in our room to work. An engineer came by and tried to fix it to no avail, and then he brought a cover for the window AC unit because he saw how much air that window was leaking and also brought us a space heater. I have to say he was the only staff member who displayed a concern for the situation we were in.
Upon checkout, I expressed all the complaints stated here to the front desk and was offered to deduct $70 off my bill. I thought this was a poor attempt to compensate for truly dreadful experience during our stay as it definitely spoilt what was supposed to be a fun weekend.