Under construction!
When we booked this hotel (just a couple of months ago) there was no mention of refurbishment. Yet upon arrival at the hotel we were greeted with scaffolding covering the entire bar/reception area - although in an an attempt to soften the blow they had dressed the scaffolding as candy canes! In the elevators there were pictures of the beautiful new rooms. However, the rooms have NOT begun refurbishment. The pictures you see on Expedia are of the 'handicapped rooms' which have been decorated first. The other photos show the regular rooms in a much more glamorous light. Smashed bathroom tiles, grouting the colour of the Hudson, fixtures that's don't work and carpets that looked like they had not been cleaned in years.... Nothing about this hotel resembled the description on Expedia. 
When I asked reception to check we were definitely in the right room after explaining the state it was in she laughed at me and said the hotel would not be refurbished till 2013. 'All of our rooms are the same'. Needless to say I left unimpressed. 
Some may say you don't spend much time in your room anyway however you expect to get what you pay for. This hotel certainly does not live up to the price, and I certainly won't be paying for it again. 
Staff dither and faff, and service is poor and unfriendly.
The only saving grace was location, but you can get much nicer hotels for your money just a few blocks over on Madison as we so sorely found out when visiting a friend in the Wellington. Also rooms are NOT sound proofed although they are ad vitiated as so.
Disappointing part to an otherwise gorgeous holiday in Christmas time NYC!