Simple, contemporary, clean hotel in awesome location
I selected this hotel mostly because of location--to be in easy walking distance of NoLita, Soho, Chinatown, East Village--followed by a "reasonable" price meaning under $300/night. At first, upon arrival, I thought we had entered a glorified hostel. It was nighttime and dark. The hallways are stark and there's lots of concrete. BUT, by the next morning I was pretty much enamored with our hotel. The designers did their best to make good use of the space and keep the rooms feeling as airy as possible considering how tiny most NYC hotel rooms are in general. I believe all rooms have large glass windows facing into the city. The shower has a wall of glass that looks into the room to keep light flowing, but there are curtains on both sides of the glass wall for privacy. We had a room with a balcony, which we really enjoyed. It was nice in the a.m. to open it and hear the street sounds, let in more light and have air circulating, even if it's city air. My husband and I both really liked the contemporary and minimalist styling. We found it quite comfortable for sleeping and we did not experience any noise issues that some other guests have complained about. Each night we were left with a different snack or sweet, which we liked because it was not the typical cookie cutter mint chocolate. In the mornings, complimentary tea, coffee and continental breakfast is served, not that we every ate it-- (go to Oro around the corner). With that said, the cons: the desk space is not generous so I couldn't imagine having to work for any duration in this room. And, there's not a lot of storage for clothes, bags, etc. Hard to completely unpack, especially if there's more than one person in the room. However, there is a lot of comfortable public space in the lobby that lends itself to working on a laptop and possibly hanging out. An added plus is the rooftop with 360 city views. Right now it's not functioning as anything other than a hotel rooftop--no public bar, etc-- so it's quiet and basically uninhabited. We had a nice picnic lunch one afternoon overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge. The staff is young and incredibly friendly as well as helpful. I would recommend this for a couple or friends who are not going to spend a lot of time in the room lounging around but need a clean, safe, comfortable place to stay that's in a fabulous location. FYI, the wine bar next door serves great Spanish wines at good prices. I would definitely go back as long as I can get a rate at around $200-$250.