I stayed at the Palace last week for three night - purely on the back of the amazing reviews here to be honest. It was fine - nothing more, nothing less.
We booked an executive room and got a fantastic view over St Patricks on the 39th floor - right next to the Exec suite. It was well worth paying the extra $30 a night for the exec room as we got the otherwise ludicrously expensive breakfast included and some nuts and crisps in the evening (don't expect swanky canapes!) and a drink. One of the problems though would appear to be that this great upsell deal is fairly well known and the exec room was often packed (especially at breakfast). This meant that tables were dirty, children were screaming impatiently and queues were forming. Not the end of the world, but were I am real executive looking for a tranquil haven this would very much not be it.
Reception was fine - very plesant chap checked us in and we got shown up to the room by a porter who mumbled pretty incoherently and we didn't really get much sense out of but he carried the bags and opened the door fine. The room was a fine size and had a TV and the usual amenities. There was absolutely nothing at all special about it but nothing bad either.
And that kind of sums the place up. Service was fine, housekeeping was fine but was this a 5 star hotel in the true sense of the word? Absolutely not. Having a turn-down service and a couple of chocolates on my pillow just doesn't really do it for me. It is nice but this place didn't exude either quality, charm or that certain you know what that a 5 star hotel would.
Of course, it was not priced like a real 5 star hotel so you get what you pays for I suppose.
We requested a late checkout (1pm) and got it no problem (despite the mention of a charge in the room). That was nice.
Next time I go back to New York I will try and find something a little less bland, a little more special. And you know what, if I can't get it I would think about going back to the Palace. It will be fine.
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