Summary: A few things about this hotel were acceptable, but most of our stay was nightmarish. Tiny room, dirty, broken bathroom, treated like a criminal at check-in for using Priceline. I've never received service this bad, even from the DMV or homeland security. If they promise you something (like a room) over the phone, make sure you keep a recording.
Background ( Summary: we got the hotel room for a few hours on a Saturday morning. The booking was for the night before. I called them to ensure that this would be acceptable. I should have recorded the call.)
We had a rough red-eye coming into JFK at 6AM on a Saturday (the weekend before memorial day weekend), and I wanted to give my in-laws a chance to take a nap. Our hotel didn't have check-in until 4pm, so I went on priceline to get a hotel room for a couple of hours. I got the Empire Hotel, with a reservation for the day before (which would, of course, include that Saturday morning, until checkout). I called upon receiving the reservation to confirm that we could check-in 12 hours late, on Saturday morning, and was told that of course I could, though the person I spoke to seemed to think my couple-of-hour stay was a little weird. I also confirmed that we would have non-smoking rooms (I have an allergy). I thought I was all set, and had assured a few hours of rest...
We arrived, totally exhausted, around 9 AM that Saturday (flight delay + traffic). Upon arrival, we were informed that our rooms were no longer available, since we hadn't checked in the day before. When I told them that I had called and made arrangements, the front desk worker asked who I spoke to. I told her that I didn't have the person's name, and from that point forward, was treated like I was trying to pull one over on them, although they had our reservation in their systems. After being told that the worker would have to check with her manager, I asked to speak with that manager. The manager was even less respectful than the clerk, demanding that I produce my priceline confirmation email (again, they had our original reservation still in their system), and proceeding to read through the 3-page terms and conditions on my phone, as though looking for a way out of their committment. Failing that, they put us in a converted broom closet whose floor plan had no more than half a foot between the wall and the bed at any point, save a desk and the bathroom (for reference, the JFK Airport LaQuinta inn's cheapest room was easily double the space). This was after an hour (or 1/3 of our stay, by the time we got there) spend arguing at the front desk.
It's acceptable for them to use Priceline to assure occupancy. It's also acceptable for them to treat Priceline customers as second-class citizens. It's totally unacceptable for them to do both at the same time.
As for the room itself:
I've already mentioned the size. The furnishing were about what you'd expect at this price point, and had clearly been updated within the last decade. My room didn't have a dresser / drawers, but yours probably will. My room had a comibnation half-closet and mini-bar, hopefully yours would have a full closet.
The bathroom was pretty dirty (tip to the maids: Sometimes you have to actually scrub the toilet to remove excrement - it didn't take us very long (though it was pretty gross)). The shower was done up to look like a sauna, which was a little weird. The shower apparatus itself was basically broken (It had a lot of sliding parts designed to allow you to adjust it, but it had been broken to the point where it only worked if you turned it away from the person being showered, and held it up in one hand. Combined with low water pressure, this was a tricky manuever (watch out for sharp edges on broken shower parts, too!). The poor bathroom, wooden floor, and sleep deprivation reminded me of the morning after the last night of summer camp, although the bed was nicer (and we didn't have a minibar at camp).
We used their valet service, and kept our car there until the next morning. It was pretty efficient and convenient, although if you've got the time, you can some money by just going to a parking garage.
Our next hotel had a 30-person check-in line when we arrived, and it still took less than half the time to check in, and no one even implied that I was scamming them.
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