We chose the hotel because of all of the good reviews on Tripadvisor. It is true that the location is excellent and that the staff is quite nice. And, there is a certain quaintness staying in a 99 room hotel in NY. But, for $425 per night for a basic room, the value is not there. Let me explain.
No disrespect to our European friends who review on this site, but American expectations for a proper hotel room are quite different: The room must be quiet, the bed superb, and the room spacious.
First, why not a coffee maker in the room? The continental breakfast is free in the library, so it's not as if they are trying to force you to pay for the product. It is so darn inconvenient to have to get dressed, go down to the library and fill up a cup and hoof it back to your room with cup in hand.
Whatever happened to a free morning paper at your door? Is 50 cents too much for the hotel to spend for a NY times? Or am I one of the last dinosaurs that likes to read a paper in the morning?
Because the hotel is old, you will have to listen to the air conditioning unit under the window starting up and shutting down all night long (just like at a Motel 6). (Up to date hotels have units that are vented into the rooms overhead and the compressors are located elsewhere.)
Our room was in the back, overlooking an air shaft. I was not interested in a view, just quiet. However, there was a 24 hour low roar from some rooftop mechanical units below us. If the windows had been proper, double-glaze soundproof windows, this would not have been a problem. But, they were not.
Our room 92 had no full length mirror (my wife likes that kind if thing), no peephole in the door (to see who is buzzing outside), and, no counter space in the bathroom. If I had stayed at a hotel like this in Europe, I would have thought, "how charming". But at $425 per night in one of the most competitive hotel markets in the world, it just doesn't meet New York standards for that price level.
hotel reviews