Rude staff and don't care attitude to complaints
I have delayed posting this review despite the fact that we stayed at the New Yorker at the beginning of June 2012 because I thought it was fair to allow the hotel to address our various complaints first. We only finally achieved a vaguely satisfactory settlement on 11th September 2012 and only then after the tour operators had become directly involved so I do not feel it at all unreasonable that I should set out in detail the problems we encountered to warn others.
We travelled as a family with two teenage children and stayed there for five nights. My husband is very seriously disabled and we had gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that the room would be suitable for us and would accommodate the hoist he needs to be able to be put into bed and to use the bathroom.
The first problem was that, despite having been assured before we booked that there was a three inch gap between the bottom of our bed and the floor to allow the hoist to be used there wasn’t. In other words he was potentially stuck in his wheelchair until we went home. As he can’t move and is at risk of pressure sores this was a very serious issue. All the beds in the hotel are apparently the same and it has not been totally clear whether the fault lay with Kuoni, the tour operators, or the hotel but the New Yorker has not exactly behaved proactively about making amends since we got back. 
I eventually suggested a rollaway bed which was provided quickly and efficiently by the head of housekeeping and duty manager who were both charming and prompt. But this was not a great start and it was only my suggestion which gave us a solution to what would otherwise have been an appalling problem. It also meant that we were not able to sleep together whilst we were away and the space to move around in the room was much restricted by the rollaway bed.
The wheel in shower room smelled of damp and the hotel itself looks shabby in parts. I woke up with a number of bites every morning and I notice that another reviewer made the same complaint about a stay at about the same time. Subsequently the hotel produced a bed bug report showing no infestation but it begs the question of what was biting me.
There are no safety/security boxes in the rooms meaning a wait at the front desk every time I wanted to access the box.
There is a major issue also with the front desk and the staff there. There was nearly always a queue at Reception to check in/access security boxes. I waited up to ten minutes to get access to my box and another ten minutes to return my passport. The behaviour of some of the front desk staff was curt and surly although some were very pleasant. One however by the name of Samira (as I subsequently discovered) was the rudest person I have ever met in a public service position. She was offhand and brusque with me telling me to “Get in line” if I wanted to access my security box. Whilst I was waiting (ten minutes) I saw her wave back a group waiting to check in as they were coming forward, barking “Get back I’ll call you when I’m ready”. No please or pleasantry. An elderly Japanese lady was trying to get some attention and she shouted at her to get back to the end of the line nearly yelling “Nobody is going to help you. Wait your turn!”
I was eventually assisted by another member of the front desk and when I was alone with her I asked if this person always behaved like that. I was told – amidst nervous giggling- “I don’t want to comment” but I did establish what her name was which I wouldn’t otherwise have known because she wasn’t wearing a name badge.
I saw the Duty Manager and complained and he said he would attend to it or words to that effect. As I was leaving speaking to him Samira gazed at me in a disrespectful and hostile manner. She did this again when I saw her the next day when she was again not wearing her name badge. In fact I never saw her wear the badge.
I set out all of the above complaints in a letter to Mrs. Lima the owner and operator of the hotel with my feedback form. I included my contact details but it was only when I took it up through Ramada that I was contacted by the hotel. It was however confirmed that Mrs. Lima had had my original letter but nothing had been done about it. Emails about all of this went forward and back for a long time resulting in the hotel offering - to start with - some free of charge accomodation "on our next stay". I pointed out we were not going to be visting them again even if we returned to New York so this was changed to one night's refund for rudeness and inconvenience but with a denial of any blame in respect of the bed problem. I was however told some time ago by the Guest Services Manager that Samira is one of their most highly decorated staff members!! I note that unflattering comments have also been made about her by other recent reviewers.
Our very helpful travel agent then did her best to help and as a result of this a further offer appeared to have been made by the front of house manager Matt Slippoy.I emailed him about the offer on 4th September 2012 The email was not even acknowledged let alone answered. A final settlement has now been reached but via Kuoni with no direct word from the hotel.
Good things are the location and Coopers Tavern which is excellent but if you have any kind of special needs or just want consistently courteous service from the front staff, let alone if you expect legitimate complaints to be resolved quickly then avoid this place like the plague