Funky concept works, most of the time.
The thought that ran through my head throughout our stay at the NYC Yotel was that this is the kind of room I could expect if Apple, Ikea and WestJet collaborated and built a hotel. 
Wasn't sure what we were getting into. You read the reviews, do your research, make the reservation and kinda cross your fingers. Well, it worked out for us with Yotel. Found an online deal which made our 3 night stay in NYC a week before the US Thanksgiving affordable. 
We booked the basic room, but with a view which cost a little extra but was worth it. Being on the 24th floor we had a south view all the way down to the WTC site and on the left the Empire State bldg and the New Yorker. 
The room (Queen cabin) was tiny iPodish and Ikeaesque functional with the WestJetlike theme and friendliness. The bed was kinda like a sofa but at night you could flatten it out to sleep with a touch of a button. Works better than a Murphy bed. The shower (no tub) was a walk in with a wonderful overhead stream of water that was really nice. 
When we arrived, we checked in via a bank of computers on the main floor. With our key fobs in hand, we then took an elevator to the 4th floor which housed the concierge, more computers (for guest access), a restaurant area and other stuff we didn't explore. We then took another elevator to our room near the top. For most of the visit we didn't have an issue with the elevators with the exception of late Sunday afternoon. It seemed only one of the five elevators were working from the 4th floor to guest rooms creating a real back up and wait.
Each floor has a galley with a vending machine for bottled pop and juice ($2), a filtered water/ice/ice-water dispenser, and a complimentary coffee machine with reg and decaf pods to make espresso, latte, caps, mochas, americanos and hot water. No coffee machine in room, but no matter. The galley machine was great, except when it broke down. We did call and let them know and it was looked at real quick.
When we first walked into the room we were not disappointed with its size but with the cleanliness of it. The floor in the bathroom area was not properly sweeped, there were visible splatters (of coffee/drink) in several places and dark smudges around the bathroom light switch - yewww! The room was missing a controller for the t.v. but one was brought soon after we asked.
We didn't hear the city noises in the room and our sleeps were peaceful. The complementary coffee and muffins in the morning were a treat. The muffins were fresh, tasty and there was a good choice. 
We would stay again at this Yotel. The location was great, both close enough and far enough away from Times Square and only two easy blocks to the subway.