My wife and I have stayed in Manhattan on many occasions, but this time decided to try out the Broadway @ Times Square based on the favorable reviews in TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor is our bible when making hotel selections, but this time we feel that the rating was much too high.
Broadway @ Times Square does have some redeeming factors. Its location is awesome. If you turn right out of the lobby you are only 1/2 block away from Times Square. However, it is also situated right next door to a shelter, so you have to pass by homeless people sleeping in the streets. Although NYC is heavily patrolled by police officers, it is a bit of a concern. Also, the hotel is surrounded by many restaurants, so when they place their garbage out the next morning it does tend to reek, especially since we were there during a hot spell.
The rooms are exceptionally small, even by Manhattan standards. There was only one spot for a suitcase, so the other had to lie on the floor. The room was so small that the TV had to be placed on the wall to the left of the bed, so watching TV was uncomfortable. The wall in front of the bed had a spot that was not wide enough to place a flat screen TV because the air conditioner was one side and the door to the washroom was on the other.
The cleaning staff were very good. They changed the sheets and provided towels every day. The one and only elevator is microsized and tends to take a long time to serve 9 floors. The stairwells are equally narrow. There is only one ice machine in the hotel, and it is located in the lower level. The breakfast room is right off the main lobby. It too is tiny. The breakfast fare includes cereal, donuts, hard boiled eggs, over easy eggs and sausages, as well bread, fruits, coffee, tea and juices. The sausages were horrid, the over easy eggs are pre-made and are chewy to eat. We bit into an apple and found it soft and brown.
The hotel staff were nice, but their nerves were getting a little frayed since the air conditioning in the lobby had malfunctioned the whole time we were there.
Don't get us wrong ..... the hotel is clean and situated close to Broadway. That alone makes it a suitable choice. We just don't agree that it is rated properly. We have stayed at much better places with lower ratings.
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