We loved this hotel. You enter the lobby and it feels like a destination (much more than other hotels in this price range)--it's decorated in a fun, eclectic way. Check-in was quick and efficient, and we were upgraded from a double to a queen, which was nice. They even have a concierge, which was pretty surprising in this price range.
Our room was great. It is small, yes, but frankly we've stayed in smaller rooms in New York that were not advertised as "pods," so really I found it roughly normal for this price range. And it was in much better condition than other hotels we'd stayed in. Everything was super clean, new, in good repair, etc. The room's design was sleek and functional. And it's the first room we stayed in in New York that didn't just have a view of a wall, as our room looked out on the street (though I am sure they have wall-facing rooms too, that is a New York special :) )
I also loved the location. I may be biased as it's in our old neighborhood, but it's easy to walk to anywhere in Midtown, as well as the lower reaches of the Upper East Side. It's a residential neighborhood in East Midtown, so there are plenty of restaurants, casual bars, and shops serving the community. We also had a late-night dinner at the French bistro attached to the hotel (they serve food until 4am), which was delightful after a night out. It was tasty and authentic and the place was filled with French people.
The only complaint we had was while we didn't hear a lot of street noise (though as former New Yorkers, we are probably less likely to feel bothered by it), the doors were thin and we heard a fair amount of noise from the hallway--not an issue when everyone was asleep late at night, but it definitely interrupted our afternoon nap. And of course, nothing in New York ever feels like that great a value, especially if you're used to traveling in Asia, but I did feel like this was the best hotel room I could have gotten for $200 in central Manhattan. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
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