My boyfriend came to visit me for a weekend in January and wanted to catch a Broadway show in New York before returning back to school. In looking for the right hotel, our top concerns were location, cleanliness and price-to-value. We chose Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriot in Chelsea because of all the positive reviews on TripAdvisor and the reputation of the Marriot brand. As a native New Yorker, I knew when booking the hotel that $200/night was inexpensive by Manhattan standards and was looking forward to our stay.
On January 15th, we arrived a couple hours before the afternoon check-in time. Although we had informed the hotel of an early check-in during reservation, we didn’t expect to get a room until the afternoon and was looking to drop off our luggage before exploring NYC. However, unlike the warm and friendly welcome other customers raved about online, the lady working the front desk was a bit rude and condescending. She did not acknowledge I was standing there until after a 5-minute conversation with another employee about her night and when she finally did address me, I was told to wait since no rooms were available. I asked to store our luggage in the meantime and she told the concierge to bring our suitcases to the backroom, which we found out later was an outdoor breakfast area where guests can go in and out. For a hotel that can demand rates up to $400/night, which is roughly in the same price range as some of the nicer boutique hotels, there should be a delegated storage area to ensure belongings are secure.
The hotel itself is new, modern and nicely decorated. In terms of the room, it was decently sized and very clean. Sheets were crisp and the king size bed was extremely comfortable. The bathroom, however, was not designed for ease-of-use as you will find yourself struggling to close the door without hitting against the toilet. My boyfriend and I have been to several Marriot locations both in the United States and in Europe and this bathroom was definitely the smallest one. Also, when we booked several months ago, we requested a high floor since we heard lower floors experience loud traffic noise and a less beautiful view of the city. I was disappointed to have been given a low floor room but we were still able to see the Empire State Building from our window.
The central location of the hotel was a definite plus as we were able to walk four blocks to the nearest N/R metro station and some tourist attractions, such as the largest Macy’s and Koreatown. The complimentary breakfast and WiFi were also great additions to the hotel package. I think if the hotel focuses more on customer service from the moment you walk into the hotel and have a better/safer process of storing luggage for guests, it has the potential to be a great bang for your buck.
hotel reviews