Lots and Lots of Old Space
My family of four, including two teenage kids, stayed one week at the Eastgate Tower. We selected this hotel because we wanted to stay in Manhattan, and the location was fairly central to the sites we wanted to see. We also wanted to have a comfortable place to come back to at the end of each day's excursions.
In that respect, the hotel fit our needs. We got a two bedroom, three bed, two bath suite. The room appeared to be a converted apartment. It had a full kitchen that was small but functional. The refrigerator was new, but the other appliances were probably at least one to two decades old. We did not use the stove or oven, but they appeared to be clean. The microwave was small but worked. There was a toaster and four sets of dishes. For simple breakfast or other meals, it worked out just fine. I can't comment on how it would be for cooking large meals.
The living room was very sparse and moderately comfortable. The couch sagged and looked like it had seen better days. There were a few rolling chairs to provide additional seating. The TV was newer and functioned fine. The dining room was acceptable, though the furniture has not been updated in quite some time. The air conditioning functioned fine, with units in the living room and both bedrooms. The windows also opened, which was great because we had to open them each day to air out the old, musty smell of cigarette smoke. It wasn't overwhelming, but coming from California where smokers are exiled away from any public building, we weren't used to it anymore.
The bedrooms were sizeable and comfortable, and the linens appeared clean. The bathrooms were small but fully equipped. Having two bathrooms was wonderful to speed up time getting ready each morning. The bathrooms really need to be updated, though. The paint is chipping from the tubs, the tile needs to be regrouted, the counters need to be re-caulked, and the showerheads just need to find their way to a landfill or recycling center.
The Wi-Fi is the biggest issue I had. I have read that some folks don't like the exhorbitant cost. $50 for a week is not terrible in my opinion. Yes, many hotels offer it for free, and I believe that all should. But if you stay at a hotel geared for business travellers you will sometimes pay $15 per day. All that aside, the Wi-Fi never worked. I have a feeling it was my computer and not the fault of the hotel. However, I informed the front desk staff and they told me someone from tech support would call me. I waited three hours and no one called. I told the front desk. They apologized and made sure the charge was reversed (which I verified on the final bill).
The staff were friendly. The room was ready for us when we arrived, which was wonderful considering that we arrived at 10am after a long flight. The front desk staff always helped with questions, the concierge had great tips for getting around and seeing the city, and the bellhops were very courteous and helpful. One gentleman in particular (I didn't get his name) was so helpful on our departure date. After stowing our luggage (which was quite sizeable), he made sure that we had a special car that could fit all of us and our things and get us to the airport on time. The cab fee was more than buying another day's passes on the subway, but worth every penny. The bellhop told us the ride would be about an hour, but the cabbie got us there in about 40 minutes. And we didn't have to fight the crowds on the subway with massive rolling luggage.
The location of the hotel fit us just fine. We were just a few blocks from Grand Central, which does not service every train, but enough of them to easily get around. There are several restaurants, pharmacies, convenience stores and even a grocery store nearby. The hotel is within walking distance of Rockefeller Center and all the shops along 5th Avenue. We were able to see many of the major sites by walking or taking short subway rides.
Overall, the hotel fit most of our criteria and worked out just fine. I give it an average rating, because it was really just okay. There wasn't anything (except maybe a couple really helpful staff) that made it something to brag about. The cost was reasonable for what you got, especially the amount of space in the room compared to other rooms in Manhattan. The room was kept pretty clean, but the age of the furniture, decor, and the lack of stellar maintenance brings it all down to about average. I would stay there again, but would not recommend it to anyone that has incredibly high standards. For a family of four trying to stay within a reasonable budget it was just fine.