OK, but it wasn't all that...
I stayed at the Alex Feb. 18-21, 2012 room 504
THE GOOD:
Location: One can walk to the UN Building and Grand Central Station as each is just a couple of blocks away. A bit further out, but still walkable are Times Square/Broadway, Rockerfeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Chrysler Building, and much more. 
The Price (via Priceline): I booked via Priceline after researching a bidding strategy via a priceline bidding strategy messageboard so I know I got the lowest possible Priceline price. For this hotel it was a steal possible only because the UN was not in session. However, I wouldn't want to pay rack rate or rates offered on other websites. 
Room Size: Excellent by NYC standards. (Standard room)
The Lobby Staff: The bellmen, doormen, porters, etc. were excellent. I feel bad that didn't always get a chance to tip them, etc. Nice people and very helpful. Desk staff mostly ok.
THE AVERAGE:
Decor: It is average for a 4* hotel. Interesting but nice. The room could use an update. It shows a fair amount of wear. Some chipped tile/tub in the bathroom. Tub is nice and deep but narrow. And you have to have some muscles in your fingers to flush the toilet. Does not look nearly as nice as the photos online. We had a view of 45th and the building across the street. Boring and a little noisy.
Beds: Comfortable, but nothing special. I requested 2 beds but did not get them (not guaranteed by priceline but it would have been nice.) 
Consierge: We asked for suggestions on a restaurant that would be entertaining and for two teens and 3 40somethings. He was challenged by this. In NYC with 1000s of restaurants, a consierge should be able to name numerous restaurants to choose from. One of his first offerings was Bubba Gumps. Unfortunately, 2 of us were from Louisiana and Bubba Gump's does not fly with our expert knowledge of such southern/gulf cuisine. We settled for Brother Jimmy's BBQ (ok even tho, again, 2 of us were from the south). He said it would be lively. Well, lively apparently meant really really loud music with happy hour with tons of 20somethings in the bar area. So, not appropriate when we wanted something "lively" for teens. However, the food very good. 
THE BAD: 
Room Temperature: It is winter and the heat is ON. The room was generally too warm for us (72'-75'F) when healthy sleep temp is 65'F. The only way to cool the room is open the window but then there is the street noise. 
Housekeeping: Generally clean, but... I did the "I'm in NYC so I need to check for bed bugs check when I arrived (I found NONE an probably no evidence of any.) and noticed some small blood stains (?) on the underneath side of the white comforter/duvet. I did not complain as I always take it off the bed immediately anyway because I don't trust hotels to change them between guests. The Alex might, but I do this at all hotels. Seriously, how often do you see them on the housekeeping carts? Housekeeping didn't leave enough toiletries or replenish when needed, in my opinion. After the first day, I didn't bother to tip because of this and an incident (read below).
THE WORST:
Housekeeping: On my final day there, I had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. I did not have the inside locks enaged because my friend just left the room within the last half hour or so. I was in the room getting dressed after a shower. So, I was in a towel. Guess what happens? I am a female, and a male housekeeper knocks on the door and walks in unannounced before I have a chance to see who it was through the peep hole (I thought it might be my friend returning with Starbucks or something). And yes, there I am barely in a towel. COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE. COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. Had he said "housekeeping" or waited a minute before opening the door or READ THE DO NOT FRIKIN DISTURB SIGN the situation could have been avoided. NOT happy at all about this. When I checked out, the desk agent didn't ask how was my stay, otherwise I would have reported this incident. But, I knew I had this public forum to speak.
OVERALL:
The Alex Hotel isn't bad and if you chose to stay there you will probably be perfectly fine. In my case, it was simply not as positive as I hoped for or expected given the mostly positive reviews. I had a mostly ok stay for a decent price. But, I left a bit disappointed because I had higher expectations.