Overpriced For The Average Couple/Family
The hotel is ideally placed if you want to be in the centre of things; which is a double-edged sword. Good if you have a few days to spend and want to see the majority of the tourist attractions or near transit links to see them. However, for that same reason, all the bars etc are very expensive for many blocks around. The average beer price is between $5 - £9, even more expensive than the UK by some margin. Food, except junk food, is also every overpriced, likewise in the hotel bar/restaurant. Presumably due to the historic status of the hotel, the windows are on the thin side and obviously no double glazing or noise abatement. Therefore, it is fairly noisy, unless you are quite high up.
It has a nice entrance. Unfortunetly, interesting architecture does not make a great hotel. Although the bag handlers and security were pleasant and helpful, the staff behind the counter in reception were fairly unsmiling and officious with that false politeness and brusqueness that the service sector is famous for in America; especially in NYC. My girlfriend was in floods of tears within 10 minutes fo arrival, partly due to rudeness and also a mix up with then hotel that may or may not have been the hotels fault. The duty Manager, in the end, when she dropped the aforesaid atttitude and actually started smiling and acting like a real person - treating us like people/customers - tried her best to sort out the situation, which was done a few days later. To me, this should be the default attitude of all staff, not something you eventually get to when staff drop that defensiveness that they have. To be fair, this was attitude we experienced throughout the city...Small towns in PA & NJ were a welcome relief from this......
The room was was clean and the cleaners did a good job. The view was good too. However, it was an odd shape and fairly uninspiring and I have stayed in bigger/more personal/welcoming three-star hotels and B & Bs throughout the UK. On this basis and having seen the bill, I would say the rooms were quite over-priced, if not very overpriced. The room was not four-star by any stretch of the imagination. There is better value, but more welcoming hotel rooms/B & Bs to be had in NYC. For example, in the second half of the weekend we rented a welcoming, airy and warm appartment in the suburbs via AirB&B. If you want your own space and better value - especially if you are a couple or small family/group of friends, I would recomend doing this instead. In essence, this is a three-star hotel pretending to be a four-star hotel, seemingly because of the architecture/lobby