Busy, busy hotel
The best thing with Crowne Plaza is that it is close to the great midtown spots that you'd like to go to if you want to soak in the city -- Times Square, Broadway, MOMA, good shopping, and restaurants - they are just a few short blocks really. This explains why the hotel attracts many tourists, and why the hotel feels quite busy all the time. The hotel has quite a number of rooms, making the place feel much less exclusive. It is not necessarily a quiet haven amidst the buzz of New York. 
The hotel boasts of good views in every room. I got a room that had a good-enough view of the Hudson, which I think I got because of my gold standing with Priority Club. If I were a current Ambassador Cub member, or waited for a supposedly much better room to be ready (more on this in a bit) I think I would have gotten a more spectacular view. I do believe though that the hotel has plenty of rooms with great views, so you can be spoilt for choice. 
I arrived early in the day so my room was not ready. The counter staff said that this was supposed to be a high (30 plus, I remember) floor with a river view (I'd rather not have the Times Square view, although that works for some), and was told to come back after "about thirty minutes." I came back after about an hour, and was told that it wasn't ready yet. I waited a bit more and was told after yet another 30 minutes that nope, it wasn't ready. Third time, and another front desk staff (not even making a reference to the good room that was supposed to be for me) just said that the room was ready - but I knew then that this was at a much lower floor. I would have been fussed if I was planning to stay for many days at the hotel. Not this time. 
The room is clean enough and the bathroom looks like it was scrubbed really clean. Smelled like Lysol. Fresh shower curtain, good shower. No complaints with the room. 
With regard to service, there is definitely room for improvement. I felt that the concierge and front desk folks were too inundated with guests (tourists) that they probably just go through the motions, and have to sacrifice quality of service for speed in dealing with requests. The front desk staff seemed to be trainees, and still had a few more days to go to learn good, personal service. Example- it was raining that day and I asked if the concierge had umbrellas. I was told by the bellman at the ground level that the concierge had them. I went up and was all too curtly told that they had run out. Also, the concierge is not 24 hours (reopens at 8 AM) - thought New York was the city that never sleeps.
Other good things going for the hotel is a supposedly good gym. Didn't get to try it out. Maybe next time.
Overall, I feel that this hotel would be great for families visiting New York who just want a good location, a pleasant enough place to stay, and who do not require much service. Will probably keep this in my list if I'd be traveling with family next time, but would probably also find out if there are other hotels in the area that have a bit more than good location to offer.