The worst, for over a decade
Being Starwood loyal, I have stayed at pretty much every Starwood property in Manhattan (except the Aloft in Harlem). 
I gave up staying here almost 10 years ago -- at the time, the Manhattan and the Sheraton Towers were pretty comparable. However, the Sheraton was upgrading its towers one-by-one, so I decided then that if I ever had to stay between the two, I'd go with the Towers.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was looking for a reservation in NYC and the Manhattan had a reasonable rate. I thought that perhaps, a decade later it's got to have changed and I thought it would be a good option.
I was more than disappointed, I was pretty disgusted. I'm Starwood Gold and they gave me a choice between a king room by the elevators or a small queen corner room. I was checking in late at night, so took the king and figured I could deal with the noise. I was in that room for about 25 minutes and the sounds from the elevator were just unbearable, even with ear plugs in.
Unknowing what I was getting into, I switched to the corner queen. On the 5th floor, I walked past the hotel offices and storage rooms to a tiny room. I felt as if I stepped into a motel 6. It had an external radiator, a really tiny bathroom and facing the alley. It was terribly cold and dank.
The next day, the staff did switch me to another room. Slightly better, but was an accessible room. Not sure if they thought they were doing me a favor by putting me in that room. They also offered to comp me 1,000 points for the inconvenience.
Either way, it was too little, too late. I had reserved to stay again at the Manhattan a few weeks later, but after my first night stay, I cancelled the reservation.
Never again!