Elegant hotel, mediocre accommodation and other New York City, NY Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

The old dame of New York lives up to its name as one of the most celebrated classical hotel in the city. The lobby and tea room with its grand piano is a must if you are traveling to NYC.
Sir Harry's bar is also a favourite of mine for late night martini's.

However, I wasn't impressed by the quality of the accommodation. First of all, I understand that this is an old building. However, when you are charging me $310/night I care about the small things.
My first complaint was that the shower pressure was not good; then the cleaning staff always forget to replenish my mouthwash and shampoo; I was also unlucky that during my stay, the fire alarm constantly went off (like 5-6 times / night); but what really upset me was how rude the cleaning staff was.
I was sick for 2 days of my trip, so I needed to stay in during the day to sleep and put my 'do not disturb' note on my door. The cleaning lady had the nerve to call and barked at me asking what time I was planning to leave the room so she can come and clean it. I'm sorry but in my mind 'do not disturb' means clearly that one doesn't want to be disturb.

When you are in NYC, come visit the Waldorf for tea, or a martini, or the Sunday brunch. But take your money and sleep elsewhere.

Unique Qualities: This hotel is a historic landmark, the setting of Al Pacino's famous movie "Scent of a woman" and is located on what in my opinion is the most beautiful street in Manhattan, the Park Avenue.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 1.800.WALDORF
Address: 301 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022
Directions: Park Avenue / East 49th (Midtown East)
Website: www.waldorf.com

Let me get one thing out of the way - Affinia Manhattan is not about luxury. Rather, it caters more to business travellers who need to stay over extended period in Manhattan.
However, I like it since having a full kitchen means I can save hundreds of dollars in a week from not having to eat out 3 times a day. There's a whole foods about 10 blocks South in Chelsea.

It is located on 7th Ave & 30th, accross the street from Madison Square Garden, which means you have easy access to the subway and you can walk to Times Square.

The amenities are good and the rooms are spacious. Overall it offers very good value for your money. The cheapest type of room (studio) is about 350sqft and comes with a full kitchen (with stove, oven and microwave).

The only downside about this hotel is you might not want to stay here during the middle of summer - the rooms have the old-school window air conditioner units that make a lot of noise.

Unique Qualities: The best feature about this hotel is its central location in mid-town Manhattan

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 212.563.1800
Address: 371 Seventh Avenue
Directions: Accross the street from Madison Square Garden
Website: http://www.affinia.com/New-York-City-Hotel.aspx?name=Affinia-Manhattan

Stayed at this property for 5 nights for Christmas 2007:

Room - poor
It was too small for my taste. It was probably between 220-250sqft. Amenities were good, there was a desk where you can work at, coffee maker in the room and all the required toiletries. The furnitures look rather worn but not a big issue.
Another problem is the thin door, you can hear people in the hallway all the time, and this was a major issue in the morning when the cleaning staff are doing their rounds.

Price - good
for the period Dec 20-26 I paid $199 before tax (came to like $230 after tax) which was the best I could find in Midtown west

Service - ok
It's a large hotel so they have whatever it is you need. Business center, bar, restaurant, etc. I only had a minor issue with checking in. I had back-to-back reservations for two rooms and the lady couldn't understand what I was talking about for a while. When she finally got it she tried for 5-10 minutes checking me in for the same rooms and she couldn't. In the end she asked for help from a colleague. Not a major issue but a bit annoying nevertheless.

Overall - ok
This hotel offers a good value for money when you are considering its location and amenities. However the size of the room is below my requirement for me to be comfortable. I will most likely stay elsewhere during my next visit to New York


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: (212) 621-8500
Address: 811 Seventh Avenue New York (at 7th Ave)
Website: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=421