I have stayed at the Wellington on many occasions, and until October of this year, my experience with this hotel has always been a positive one. This time a friend and I rented a non-smoking room with two beds and the rate was substantially more than I've paid during past visits. The rate increase would have been all right had it been justified by a room of quality. Our stay was for 3 nights beginning October 28.
We arrived early and had opera tickets for a performance to begin at 1 p.m. The receptionist took our names and credit information, but could not give us a room number until later in the day so we left our luggage and left for the opera. When we returned, we were allocated the worst room I've ever had in NYC, and certainly the worst one I've ever had at the Wellington.
The room was tiny with two twin beds on the 13th floor. Entering the room on the left is a small closet with a door opening onto the entrance way across from the small bathroom. If the closet door were left open, you could not open the bathroom without bumping it against the closet door. The carpets were stained. The room desperately needed painting. The woodwork was chipped. It was possible to open the window a crack in a lopsided fashion. This was important for ventilation because the air conditioning/heating unit was installed such that the lid could not be lifted to access the controls.
There was in the closet an iron and a small ironing board. There was a hair dryer, but it was in bad shape and the pieces were loose. The vent in the bathroom was affixed to the wall with, I kid you not, gray duct tape. There was no counter space on which to place toiletries. There was no provision for coffee or tea, no cups. And, one night, there were no towels, an oversight not recongnized until stepping into the shower because the rod from which the towels are suspended is placed over the tub, behind the pulled shower curtain.
As my roommate napped, I went into the bathroom and closed, but did not lock the door. My need for bathroom privacy turned out to be a big mistake because I could not open the door to get out despite all efforts. Fortunately, I did have a roommate, and I was able to bang and yell loudly enough to awaken her, and she called the front desk and a maintenance man came up and removed the entire door knob/lock assembly and replaced it with another. How long I would have been there had I checked into the hotel alone, I have no idea. I'm sure I would have missed the evening theatre production.
Before catching our shuttle to the airport, I asked to speak to the manager. I asked if the hotel were under new management or had been purchased by some conglomerate, and I gave him my tale of woe. He was gracious and polite and assured me that he would see to it that the problems with the room were addressed, and he took $100 off the bill, which made the third night $211 instead of $311.
For the things I like to do in the city, the Wellington is in a good location. I can walk to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the City Center, the theaters, and because of my past good experiences I will give it one more chance, but I will not recommend the hotel to friends and family anymore until I'm sure I can guarantee them a positive experience. (I had even recommended this hotel to friends who had reservations at the beginning of November.)
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