We experienced two sides (literally) of the Hotel Carter: after booking a room for 4 nights, we decided to come a day early and so made a separate reservation for the first, added-on night. The room we were given on the 7th floor west wing was incredibly shabby, possibly clean but hard to tell. There may have been mold on the ceiling, but the room was so dingy that I can't be sure. After that first night, we checked out at the desk, checked back in (insisting on a different room), and landed on the 9th floor east wing. The room had been freshly painted, there was daylight coming in the wondow, and while not rising above the basics (no lamp, just an overhead light, no washcloths, no hairdryer unless you borrow one from the desk) it was clean and comfortable with a modern and clean bathroom. We had hot water in the shower every time, though a few times it took about 15 minutes to get warm.
We're academics on a budget, and staying at the Carter for 5 nights freed up more than half a grand for theater tickets and nice restaurants, compared to what even a chain "budget" hotel goes for in Times Square. We would rather pack a washcloth and forego a few amenities in order to be as close to everything as the Carter is. The hotel is a block from both the 42nd St. Subway station to the east and the Port Authority station to the west, so virtually every place in the city is accessible from the hotel. For example, one day we left the hotel at 11:30, took the subway to Brooklyn, ate pizza at Grimaldi's and walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge, then took a subway back to Times Square and were back at the hotel at 2:15. Add in the 42nd St. bus to take you to Grand Central, the U.N. or the NYC library, and there's no where you can't get to easily from the Carter.
Although the desk staff seems abrupt, the housekeeping staff is helpful, and even left a sweet note saying "enjoy your stay" handwritten on a scrap of notebook paper. They only clean each room every other day, but left us 6-7 towels (but, again, no washcloths!) so we had plenty of clean ones.
I would stay there again, and will ask for our room, #932, or a similar one. I love NYC and am thrilled to find a place that makes staying in the city affordable yet is still safe.43rd St. is surprisingly quiet, and we did not hear any rowdy groups in the hotel as others have complained about--even though our stay included St. Patrick's Day!
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