Good location and staff
My husband and I stayed at this hotel in September 2012. He was working and I was tagging along for the ride!
The location of the hotel is great, just two blocks over from 5th Ave and in walking distance of the Empire State, Grand Central Station, Central Park, The Highline etc. It's right next to 28th St subway and is just 4 stops from the great shops around Spring Street, Bleeker St and Broadway. Just around the corner from the hotel there's also a good deli called Bread & Butter where you can buy salads, wraps, burritos, soups, hot buffet food, beer, wine, cakes, stirfrys, fruit etc, etc! Great for a snack to keep you going whilst pounding the streets of NYC.
Our room was really big by American standards with a massive bed. The room was really clean and well decorated and had a big flatscreen tv, a fridge, an iron etc. The hairdryer wasn't great but not a deal breaker. The hotel itself was quiet but the noise from the road was a bit annoying...bin vans collecting glass bottles and rubbish at about 5am. There isn't much the hotel can do about that I guess and it's always wise to take earplugs to hotels I think!
I used the gym which has a runner, cross trainer, bike, weights and a swiss ball.It also has a tv. It's not massive or particularly flash but I think that's pretty standard for a hotel gym.
We didn't eat at the restaurant except when we had the complimentary breakfast which was fine. It was cereal, bagels, toast and ham and cheese every day which gets a bit dull...but when you're in NYC why would you want to eat at your hotel everyday anyway?
We were also given two free drink tokens for the bar and received very strong drinks in exchange! I thought that was a nice touch, it doesn't happen in many places. They also had a live jazz band playing a few nights which was really lovely. On the subject of free stuff, the hotel also has free wifi which is really useful.
The staff members at the hotel were really lovely, friendly and helpful and I really enjoyed chatting with them. They were always happy to help out with directions, travel advice and bookings etc. When they said they'd do something they just got it done, they couldn't have been more helpful.
This hotel did the job for me...comfy, clean, good location, nice people working there.. so I'd recommend it for a city break.