I stayed in the one bed suite with my best friend, sister and step-daughter for what should have been a four night stop, but which was extended to 9 nights due to Hurricane Sandy. I can not rate this lovely hotel enough. Firstly the location is excellent. It is situated on the edge of a residential area, but is only a five minute stroll to Grand Central Station which had tonnes of eateries with little Cafes along the route. It was also only about 25 minutes waking to Times Sq or a $10 yellow cab ride the the bright lights area. The 2 room suite was lovely and roomy and the twin Queen sized beds in the master bedroom and the bed settee were all extremely comfortable. The pillow menu and free walking pack were a bonus. The bathroom was large enough with a fantastic walk in shower. The Lobby area always had seats available even when packed with guests trying to catch up with the storm news. NYC was thrown into disarray due to the storm but we were so lucky that the hotel was mid town and not down town which suffered the worst devastation. Mid town did lose power and was still not on when we left last night. However, unlike some hotels, the Affinia Shelburne had fantastic generators to use on stand by. Although all rooms had no power, hence no drinks, tv, light, plugs, the corridors did gave power, as did the lifts and the Lobby where a TV was on 24/7 updating us on storm news. We had lashings of hot water and the hotel provided flash lights and glow sticks to help in the rooms. Despite the difficulties, the staff were brilliant. We asked for reduced room service to help them due to staff shortages but our lady still came and asked daily. The reception staff were fabulous despite having to deal with some very grumpy guests who just didn't get that a hurricane had caused loss of life but would still winge about lack of power! The concierge desk and doormen were also exceptional, particularly Craig. We ate in the restaurant the night of the storm before we lost power and it was lovely. The bar also had a great atmosphere. Unfortunately the storm closed it down. The cost of the hotel was reasonable
compared to many. I did hope they'd reduce the room price a bit more due to the lack of services and they did reduce my $420 suite to $334 for the first 3 nights after the storm and then down to $199 for the next two nights. They never suggested we down grade our room or try to cheat us. I know some guests went looking for cheaper hotels but found none unless they were really seedy. This hotel is not the Waldorf Astoria. It is a basic, smart, modern, clean hotel ideally located with good sized rooms. It was excellent value for money when compared to similar hotels. The lifts were fast, the amenities good and I send my heartfelt thanks to all the staffs who worked so hard under dreadful circumstances. I was so relieved I'd booked this hotel as NYC was great but under the circumstances it could have fern a real nightmare and it wasn't thanks to the hotel.
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