FANTASTIC HOTEL AND FANTASTIC STAFF!!!
I stayed at Sactuary hotel with my wife from 27th February until 4th March (6 nights). I was aware of the excellent location because we had stayed at a nearby hotel last year on the same street as Sanctary, but chose to stay here because of some great reviews. It was my wifes 30th birthday during our stay in NYC and prior to us travelling from the UK I emailed the hotel's S.T.A.R experience staff to see about having a birthday cake and a bottle in the room as a surprise for my wife for when we arrived. I received a number of replies from Freddie Floyd who is one of the hotel's concierge staff and my request was promptly organised without any hassle or fuss. Freddie kept me upto date with how things were progressing and emailed me on the day of arrival to confirm that the cake would be in our room after 1pm. I got the impression that whatever I wanted, Freddie could probably get me. The hotel itself is located under a one minutes walk before you get onto times square and right in thr heart of the action so if thats what you want then the location simply cannot be beaten. On our arrival at the hotel (around 430pm) we had our bags carried in by the door staff who were very friendly and accomodating. We were checked into the hotel by Kimberley who was again friendly and efficient and we were allocated room 408 which is on the fourth floor and this is a Queen superior room, our luggage was carried up by the front of house staff (Richard I think was his name) There are two lifts at the hotel although one of these was out of order during our stay but that wasn't a problem. The interior of the hotel is superb, there is low lighting in the lobby and bar areas but this for me just adds to the overall atomosphere of the hotel and indeed its name. You feel so relaxed in there away from the busy streets of Times Square, everywhere is so clean and tidy (and I mean everywhere) and it is all very stylish inside. The warmth you get on arrival from staff and the surroundings just cannot be beaten and I was overwelmed by this. At the rear of the hotel is a bar area, the staff we had the most interactions with were Rudy who is an absolute top man and great bartender, he's very witty and funny but also professional. We had a lot of good laughs with Rudy who if he reads this will know who we are I'm sure when I say we got lost in Brooklyn but thats another story. He has time for everyone and was chatting to all hotel guests and making them feel warm and very welcome. Patty again is really welcoming and always is friendly and she is a very efficient bartender. My wife and I had some very good nights sat talking to Rudy and Patty when they were working the bar. We also met Olga who is the newest member of bar staff but again from the dealings we had with her we can have no complaints at all. All of the bar staff are top class and the hotel should be proud to have people like them working there. Rudy was on the last night before we left and we do miss the late night chats we had with him and the other bar staff so keep up the good work. The bar stays open to around 11pm although this depends on how busy it is. There is a happy hour between 4pm-7pm. The hotel also offers hot and cold snacks and from what we sampled these are very nice too. Our hotel room was large enough for ourselves, I had read people saying rooms were small but certainly the queen superior is more than ample and very very comfortable. The isn't a separate bathroom but a dividing curtain which pulls across the large shower, the toilet is separate and privacy is in the form of a sliding door, this doesn't have a lock on (at least ours didn't) but again this wasn't any concern for us. There is a small wardrobe space with some drawers, a safe, iron/ironing board and a hairdryer also in the room. There is a flat screen tv on the wall (32" I believe) and this comes with a variety of tv channels, also there are some snacks and a refridgerator in the room if required. As stated earlier the birthday cake I had organised through Freddie was in the room along with a bottle of sparkling wine and a birthday card signed by some of the staff and this just made our arrival extra special and it made us feel special which I know that the hotel aims to give each guest that star treatment hence their S.T.A.R experience managers, so my advice is please use them. The hotel has free wi-fi which I used on a regular basis and you also get a free breakfast which consists of a choice of cereals, juices, tea, fruit, toast, bagels, a variety of pastries, hard boiled eggs amongst other things but for someone who last time I was in New York I ate breakfast out each day as I fancied the fried breakfast, at Sanctuary I ate in each day apart from the last day but breakfast was very nice and there was a good choice of things to eat. The staff just seem to genuinely care about the guests, and I have read one review recently which said they believed that the staff were false, I don't believe that at all, from what I saw and experienced the staff at this hotel are totally genuine with guests and they are providing a service from the heart and really show how things should be done. You are greeted each time you come into the hotel, and acknowledged as you leave and I can say that happened each an everytime and thats good, nothing wrong with that, it makes you feel special and welcome. One night we were sat at the bar and Jacob who is a S.T.A.R experience manager came over and started talking to us, giving us ideas what we wanted to do, asked if there was anything at all he could do for us to let him know, now that for me is service and its how things should be done. 
I hadn't actually spoken to Freddie in person until the last day of our stay but I wanted to thank him for organising the cake etc, he remembered my name and my wifes name and bearing in mind how many guests he would have spoken to and dealt with over the period of our stay I was really impressed, he is really infectious and is such a likeable chap and I wish we had spoken with him before the last day.
I am aware that a rooftop bar is in the process of being built at the hotel aswell as having a restaurant (I have based my restaurant score on the breakfast) on site and this can only enhance the experience further, I don't know when these are due to be open or at what stage they are at and I didn't see any obvious work going on that was visible to guests as has been commented on by other reviewers but keep checking the website for details of these.
Overall I really cannot fault or say anything negative about the hotel and the vast majority of the reviews speak for themselves. Staff - fantastic. Hotel - fantastic. Need I really say more?
I do hope that comments do get passed onto the individual members of staff who we personally came into contact with during our stay because people are sometime quick to be critical but praise should be given where praise is due. Thanks again.
Jason & Caroline Quye