Just got back from this Renaissance Hotel and was very pleasantly surprised by it. From the moment we entered and Daniel, the bellman, gave us his huge smile to the time we left to the sound of the concierge wishing us a great day, we felt at home and welcome here. The hotel is not for those who want the experience of a large, opulent environment. This hotel is definitely a boutique hotel. It was small and cozy inside, with rooms that were generous by New York City standards. The concierge service was excellent. He recommended a wonderful ethnic Russian restaurant close to the hotel -- Uncle Vanya's -- that was a terrific find with reasonable prices and excellent food. The concierge not only explained how what we needed to do to get tickets to the 9/11 Memorial, but he was ordering them while he explained the process to us. The only complaint I had with the hotel was that our free breakfast in the restaurant on Saturday took much longer than we would have expected. It appeared that the restaurant was short on wait staff. They also did not explain the delay. But this was a small matter to us, since we were not in a hurry. (I am sure others were annoyed, though.) I also have to mention that the location is outstanding if you want to play or do business in midtown Manhattan. We were just steps from 5th Avenue and the shops; a few blocks from Central Park and the subways; and an easy walk to Times Square or the Broadway theaters. There were plenty of wonderful restaurants close by also. Altogether, not a perfect hotel, but close.
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