I expected better
I was quite looking forward to staying at the Washington Square Hotel. However, I found it to be a disappointment.
The location is very pleasant – on tree-lined Waverly Place, just a few yards from Washington Square in Greenwich Village. It may very possibly be the same hotel that Joan Baez mentioned in her song “Diamonds and Rust.” The hotel notes coyly that “Bob and Joan” stayed there. It is also right across the street from Babbo Restaurant, but if you don’t have dinner reservations there by now you are unlikely to get them in your lifetime.
Although the lobby was chaos when we arrived in mid afternoon, check-in was smooth. Unfortunately, the woman who checked us in was as pleasant as the desk staff got during our one-day stay. By the time I checked out they were close to surly. The one exception was the bellmen who were uniformly pleasant and very helpful with both luggage and directions.
The room was small – this is Manhattan, after all – but only adequate and not worth the price. It was on the first floor and the window faced MacDougal Street. The street noise kept us both up all night. It sounded like every street sweeper, garbage truck, moving van, and motorized vehicle of any stripe was driving right through the room. And it also sounded like passing pedestrians were expecting to be asked in for coffee. When coupled with the heavy duvets, which were completely inappropriate for temperatures in the 90’s despite excellent air conditioning, it was a sleepless night. Whoever coined the term “The City That Never Sleeps” must have been staying at the Washington Square. The room had a Keurig coffee maker, however, which was a nice touch, and much appreciated the following morning.
The bathroom was old in a kind of a quaint way: small tiles in need of updating. It was tiny and, again, acceptable, but only just. Towels and amenities were nothing special, but the bathroom did have a tub, which is somewhat unusual in Manhattan.
I was puzzled by the fact that the hotel lounge was closed when we came in after the theater, which meant that we ventured across the street to the bar at Babbo for a nightcap, but when we came back half an hour later the lounge was inexplicably open. Perhaps it was something we said.
The hotel does offer a simple complimentary breakfast, which I also found unusual in New York. It was basic – cereal, coffee, bagels, etc., - but it was enough to get one started in the morning.
On the whole, though, I don’t plan to go back. In my experience, there are many other hotels in New York that are better and more deserving of the tariff.