This hotel should not be worthy of the Intercontinental brand name. I came to stay here for 2 nights for New Years Eve after staying 4 nights at The James and let me tell you - it was like going from The James to a Motel 6. From the outside and the lobby, I thought it was going to blow me away. But besides those two areas of the hotel, there was nothing else worth raving about for this hotel. When I pulled up in my car, the doorman rushed to me and asked me if I wanted to valet my car (with NYE all parking rules were suspended so why would I pay $55 per night to valet when I can park literally across the street for free - which is what I did) - when I replied no to him, he just walked away. Did not ask if I needed help with my bags, did not ask if he could get someone to help bring my bags up to my room. Nothing. Just walked away. He was more worried about getting people to valet and getting taxi's. When I entered the lobby, the guy checking us in seemed "entitled". He was very mono-toned, did not really seem excited at the fact that I was spending $250 a night for his hotel. I did not feel welcomed - like I did literally 12 hours ago at The James. After taking the elevators up to get to my room, I realized how much this hotel needs to be renovated. The elevator is worn out, the little servicing door inside the elevator on the bottom right was broken. After I entered my room, I did not feel like I was in a luxury hotel. The decor was old and boring. The room was quite large for Manhattan standards but the bathroom was probably as small as a cubicle. The toilet seat needed to be changed as it had cracks in it and chips. The bathtub was clean but again, very old. The only good thing is that if you really want a true New York resident experience of a normal room plus bathroom, this is the place to be. But considering I was paying $250 per night, I did not want that experience. I booked the hotel through priceline and I was praying I didn't get the Barclay because of the terrible reviews and they are true. The location is also the only other thing that is great. It is located off Park Avenue so very quiet and safe.
I've stayed at many hotels and I can tell you that besides the Wyndham Hawthorne suites in Orlando, this was the 2nd worst stay I've ever had. If you are used to being in a luxury hotel and getting supreme customer service and being pampered, then you would hate this hotel. Would not stay here again and I think The ICH Group should drop this hotel from their brand list.
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