Get what you pay for - and less!
It should have been no surprise to us that a hotel still available at one of the busiest times of year, at a lesser price than most in the run up to Christmas - would be too good to be true. Neither the online description or the promise of this place lived up to expectation and I wish we had done some further research instead of simply booking because it was available (most places were fully booked for Thanksgiving/Xmas shopping etc) and cheap compared to those few with rooms left.
We found it easier enough. A slog via Airtrain/metro from JFK airport with several changes, but as a base for Manhattan, it works well with 1-2-3 red lines to 79th Street or 72nd with a short walk. Our 'welcome' was very disappointing - after leaving home 18 hours earlier and endured a taxi->train->two planes->train->three tubes to get to our destination, you would expect a warm, attentive greeting at very least.... but the young man on Reception could hardly take his eyes from the role playing game he was playing on his laptop, even making selections to continue battling the zombies while passing us the check-in slips and credit card machine and mumbling the odd request or instruction. Jaw-dropping customer service, but we were tired and just wished to get to the room and have some rest so played along (with the charade, not the RPG!!).
We managed to squeeze the two of us and luggage into the tiny, slow lift and eventually made it to Floor 6. The doors shook open and we were met with a dark, characterless corridor with a number of seemingly previously damaged room doors. Alarm bells rang before we even got the shock of the rooms...
Now, we had booked what we thought would be a "two bedroomed suite/apartment" and selected one double and one single bed. What met us on entering the 'main' door number allocated to us, was a tired old shoe box sized room with some sort of fold out bed (intact as a single), a battered old drawer unit with a chunky old television on top, a shaky old table with a chair in the corner, and randomly positioned before the next door was a refrigerator and microwave!! To the right of the room was a small alcove which housed a filthy old sink the size of my hand. Through the 'adjoining' door and there was a toilet with a shower area opposite. This area in particular had seen better days and we joked throughout that we were in Alcatraz when using this (I cannot call it a room!). There was damage to open pipework and masonry, and the tiny window behind the toilet would not close properly, so let in the draft and noise from outside. Then through to the next room, where the bed had been folded out to a double - and , therefore filling the majority of the room. Immediately behind the pillow end of the bed was the drawer unit, with another old television above. It was hilarious - you couldn't use the drawers without pulling the bed forward, and that meant the bed was up against the low level window... And aside a similar sink area to the first room, we discovered that both rooms had a 'closet' area to hang things up. Later, having risked a hernia by moving the drawer unit, I discovered that the external door in this room was in fact another usual room door - so instead of a 'studio' or 'apartment', we had two tiny single rooms made up as one room by only giving us one key access. One massive plus for our rooms on floor six was the view out of the window, looking over the Hudson River and New Jersey opposite. Although, they had no barrier or window frame stopper of any kind so could be an accident or suicide trip waiting to happen...
The antique televisions humoured us too. One managed to tune into about six channels. The other faded in and out of the two they picked up. I thought America was digital. Not if using sets from the 1990's it seemed!!
One last thing in relation to the room which contradicts some comments about being safe I have read on TripAdvisor - we had no security box but had laptop, cameras, passports, documents, money etc. I asked Receptionist number two about security options the following morning but they could not help! Receptionist number three later the first day offered the us of the one and only 'safe' in the hotel, if we could keep our items wrapped concisely! I have traveled the Americas, Asia and Africa and even in the most basic accommodation have found security options. Alas, not the Riverside. We chose to make use of the damaged drawer unit in the bedroom and hide everything in there and hope for dumb burglars...
A plus for the hotel was the communal room on the ground floor. This is where we conversed with fellow mugs - sorry, I mean residents! This was a comfortable area with free wi-fi. And that was the plus!
We stayed for the first four of our five nights and basically grew used to the decor and surroundings. A number of different people working on Reception (when there) and nobody ever challenged us as we went straight to the lift - and after the one occasion we had handed our key in, they gave us the wrong one back; I only noticed on the way up the lift and thought again about the lapse security of the rooms.
The Riverside is in a great location. Plenty of eateries and bars in the area. The metro close by. And, although locals seem to raise their eyebrows when you mention walking any of Manhattan, we walked 40-odd streets on a few occasions to and from the hotel and it took less than an hour to the touristy bits of Times Square etc.
We left the Riverside a day early to take up the offer of some luxury in a friends apartment on the final night and it was the best night's sleep I have had in a long time!!
So, New York? Loved it! The Riverside Tower Hotel? A run-down, tired building, cheap and less than cheerful - but like might title suggests, perhaps you get what you pay for. Pay cheap, get cheap and be disappointed. But I look forward to my return to Manhattan. Similar price, far better central hotel, simply a different time of year...