Bed Bug Warning - Don't let it happen to you
I never usually write reviews for hotels but I feel an obligation to warn other travelers about the bed bug situation I experienced at Hotel Alexander during May-June 2012.
I initially paid for a 2.5 month stay which began in late May 2012. Immediately after moving in, I received a series of red, inflammed bites on my neck, shoulders, arms and face. Having previously lived in NYC for many years, I shrugged off the problem as mosquito bites since I had never had experience with bed bugs before. It wasn't until the second, severe round of bites roughly 2 weeks later which I began suspecting bed bugs. I had bites in threes characteristic of beg bug bites called "breakfast, lunch, dinner". The bites became unbearably itchy, very unsightly and I feared getting into bed each night.
I contacted hotel management regarding the issue and they sent someone to examine the problem same-day. They did indeed find an issue and offered to exterminate my room within the next couple of days; however, I was not interested in taking any chances (as bed bugs are notoriously difficult to exterminate) and opted to move out immediately. Hotel management was reasonable enough to give me a refund for the unused nights but I did not receive any sort of refund for the few weeks I had already stayed. In hindsight, with bed bugs being a serious health hazard, management should have offered to do a bit more.
Overall, management dealt with the situation in a speedy manner but it doesn't change the fact that this hotel is dirty and bed bug infested. I spoke with a staff member from security/front desk who even admit that I was not the first guest to report such a problem and this has occurred with other rooms roughly 10% of the time. From my understanding, they are continuing business as usual with knowldge of the problem which is very worrisome to me -- I hope this information prevents someone else from dealing with the nightmare situation I had here.