Exceptional service
Tried my luck and won on a Priceline bet… bargain shot at a Manhattan room - ended up with the Hudson, super cheap. In the past we enjoyed the club and lounge in the Hudson's sister hotel, the Mondrian in Soho. That hotel was fun, so we looked forward to our Hudson stay. Having read some of the reviews about the Hudson, I had slight reservations with smallish rooms. We've stayed at The Pod on 51st Street a few years ago (paid double than this Priceline deal). So we've experienced "boutique" refurb hotels in the past. To compare, in the past year, we've stayed at the Andaz (5th Ave), Marriott (Times Sq), and Dream (Downtown). The first two are "thumbs up". The Grand Hyatt has been nice in the past too. 
As we kicked off a milestone anniversary year, the staff delighted us with not one upgrade but two. Guest relations moved us up from a standard room with a full sized bed to a renovated queen room. Then, for the last half of our stay, the front desk moved us to a suite on the top floor. What a bonus! 
The standard queen room is small, but adequate… aside from having enough bedspace (wink-wink), who needs much space whilst in NYC??? My lady and I were out and about most of time any way. 
The suite was a good size for NYC. The room was on the 23rd floor and had very good views. With a tub, the bathroom was slightly bigger than the standard room. In both rooms, the compact bathrooms were a miss. 
Also, the room decor is indeed a little on the dark side but the hardwood floors were a nice welcome - cleaner than carpet. The rooms were quite clean and the beds very comfy. The bed in the suite was (thankfully) firmer than in the standard room.
We were so busy enjoying other hotspots in town that we missed trying the food or drinks on the terrace. That was a shame. Though a few (incl. Renzo, our usual driver) have told us they enjoyed the lounge and terrace at the Hudson before. 
As mentioned in many of the previous reviews, the location is excellent. There is so much to do and see nearby. A Hudson guest could have an extensive NYC visit without taxi nor transit. 
Exceptional was the service. From the a pre-stay queries, check-in thru check-out, staff were extremely friendly, engaging, and helpful. Email communication was excellent. The doormen, bellmen were very good. Housekeeping was friendly. 
Thank you Hudson! And special thanks to Ginelle, Avalon, Melissa, and Xander.