Last minute scramble for a room
We arrived in NYC to find ourselves scammed out of a rental apartment (an apartment we found on Tripadvisor, 'owned' by a woman who continues to rent another property on Tripadvisor! Do yourself a favour and avoid the risky rental business on the net), severely out of pocket financially because the scammer wouldn't return our money (and still hasn't) and with nowhere to stay with our 10 year old son we desperately needed a room and we found the Hotel Penn, we were brave and stayed for a week before moving to a much nicer place in Murray Hill. I was dubious when I read the reviews here, I wasn't expecting much and the hotel doesn't deliver much. First up this place is huge, the lobby is like a train station with people just hanging around (probably waiting to check in!) We arrived late morning with our bags, check in isn't until 3pm and we had to ask if there was a baggage room, there is for a cost and it's down in the bowels of the hotel (along with the public restrooms which you will need a key to get into by the way, yeah, very friendly and welcoming). Check-in is slow and arduous, the staff are under the pump and busy, but I can't say anyone was rude to us. Our room was small and looked like it need a lot of love, it was clean but not sparkling and very dark and gloomy, however no evidence of bed bugs or roaches like others have encountered. The bed were comfortable but I detest those nylon bedcovers, urrghh. The cold tap in the bathroom sink didn't work. It's close to major attractions but as a result it's noisy and crowded. We had a drunk guy carousing in the hallway one night, and noisy groups of people coming and going most nights. There was also street noise, but that's part of the charm of NY. At a pinch and needing a room at short notice it served a purpose but I probably wouldn't stay there again, having said that, I've stayed in worse places. A hotel in Chang Mai Thailand comes to mind, could only manage one night before finding somewhere else, do the flea pit backpackers of my youth really count? They were horrendous by my middle aged standards today. On a positive note, as a Melbourne coffee snob and in withdrawal from my usual daily espresso fix, I stumbled on the cafe at the back of the lobby in the Hotel Penn that does a passable espresso, who would have thought I would find it here? In my opinion that swill they call coffee that is served in most US cafes is probably good for something, but not for drinking.