Despite the nasty reviews, we thought we'd take a risk and stay at the Riverside Tower. We'd taken the precaution of bringing a list of some other hotels to retreat to if necessary. But really, while a little on the dumpy side, this hotel was fine and our stay was mostly uneventful.
We had a suite--two small rooms with a bathroom in between. One room had a single bed with a trundle, an old TV, a chest of drawers, small closet, a dining table and two chairs, sink w/medicine chest, microwave and small fridge. The other had a double bed with chest of drawers, an old TV, smaller closet, and sink w/medicine cabinet. All of this was perfectly fine for our needs, and our daughter had plenty of space to toddle between the rooms.
Though one of the elevators smelled like bug spray, the suite was clean enough, not a cockroach in sight. The rug had seen better days and the paint was peeling slightly by the sink. Whatever. We paid $99 and it's an old building--that was one of its charms.
There were some problems. The microwave wouldn't come on until I jiggled the electrical cord, and then it heated up items super fast, as though something was desperately wrong with it. I unplugged it when not in use. You can hear the hot water pipes tapping at times, but it wasn't loud enough to impede our sleep. We just kept getting up to check our daughter until we figured out what it was.
While this has nothing to do with our room, I thought I'd point out that there was a couple in the lobby who had arrived thinking they had a reservation, but when they got there, the hotel was completely booked. I overheard the staff lamenting someone who "kept doing this no matter what we say." I wondered if it was someone on their reservation staff until my husband pointed out that it was probably an Internet booking service. We don't know who it was but we were glad we'd called three times before departing for NYC to check on our room, probably annoying the staff, but assuring our peace of mind. Food for thought.
Back to the room, the biggest problem was the bathroom. It was miniscule with a dreadful, dingy shower--water kept changing temperature--and a low toilet. My husband burned his hand when he, out of curiousity, touched a pipe by the toilet. This was disturbing, especially given the fact that we had our 20 month old with us. They really should label that thing, and with how much McDonald's had to pay out after a woman spilled coffee on her lap, they really ought to consider it.
Front desk staff were nice but order your own cab. We ended up paying $60 for a trip to JFK and, I could be wrong, but I think it was because the company they'd found for us rolled up in a Mercedes. Also, do your own research on restaurants. We stepped up to the desk dressed all bummy in jeans and asked to be directed to the best pizza in NYC. We were sent to a frou-frou restaurant where dinner jackets were required. Maybe there was pizza on the menu, but we didn't see it at first glance. But then we were in a hurry to get away from there. We quickly retreated to a pizza joint a few blocks down from the hotel.
Speaking of which, the neighborhood was great. Central Park, a great kids's playground, museums and fine shopping were in walking distance and we jumped on the nearby subway to visit Times Square and Harlem. We were at Zabar's, which is a short two-block walk away, at least once a day; they have an incredible selection of groceries and ready-to-eat meals and the prices were reasonable. We weren't disappointed with anything we purchased there, and I wished we were in town longer so we could try more of their offerings. There was a church very close to the hotel that offers a Wed night worship time that we'll check out next time.
Overall, we were happy with our stay at the Riverside Tower, and would choose it again. The quarters were cramped, but certainly liveable, and you don't spend much time in your room anyways.
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