We stayed here for a week 13th - 20th Dec 2011; however due to the chaos/snow at Heathrow we ended up being here an extra 3 days! The staff were fantastic when we asked if we could keep our rooms, they contacted Virgin Holidays who agreed to foot the bill, so we didn't have to pay any extra for our extra 3 nights, we even kept the same room, so top marks to the hotel staff and Virgin Airways.
The rooms are large, we had a double room (with an extra sofa bed) on the 9th floor at the front of the hotel. The hotel is quiet but New York is NOT so expect street noise at all hours, you get used to this after the 1st night, if you want a peaceful city break you wont get it anywhere in NY. We expected street noise so weren't upset by this. Our only complaint about the room was that is was so hot, we used to leave the window open for an hour prior to going to bed to cool the room and we needed to even though it was bitterley cold outside as the room was like a sauna. We had a small but clean bathroom, I can't understand why people expect a 20ft square bathroom when staying in hotels - what do they do in there??!! We had a bath with shower above, WC and a sink, hairdryer, large mirror and a small window for ventilation, what else do you expect in a mid price hotel?
The inclusive breakfast is good but can get a little repetative, but you can purchase a very well pirced breakfast if you want. Virgin customers also get a 'welcome' breakfast on your first morning and it's great. The staff are constantly refreshing the free breakfsat items. If you want Waldorf standards pay Waldorf prices, we could have stayed at the Waldorf for 3 or 5 nights but instead decided to spend 7 days (10 in the end) at a mid price hotel and I'm glad we did as several other stranded passengers moved from the Waldorf to our hotel and said that the Waldorf treated some guests better than others!
Brendans Bar/Restaurant is SUPERB. The bar is an after work 'buzz' bar and is packed until about 8pm with executive city types, then it relaxes a little but the drinks are well priced for NY (please remember NO alcoholic drinks are cheap in NY) and the service is great, the bar staff are efficient and friendly. The food in the restaurant is GREAT, I recommend the Shrimp, it's to die for. Again great service, clean, crisp white table linen and a great atmosphere.
This hotel is in a fantastic location, the Empire State is at the back (if you get a room on the back you can the ESB). It is about 200 yds to Macey's and a 5 mins to Times Square. Overall this hotel is great and I would definately stay here again on my next visit to NY.
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