Cindy S.
Yelp
Consider this more of a 2 and a half star rating (I'll give them a little bit more since we had a bathroom and it was more affordable than other NY accomodations). My hubby and I went to NY around January 2008 for vacation. We actually got a good rate on the hotel when I went online. But this also got me nervous since I've never been to NY, and I've never seen this place. It was close to everything, even to a subway station, and is located on the Upper West Side. They had a good breakfast place next to it, and a good Thai restaurant nearby.
As soon as we entered the hotel, it had that hostel vibe and was an old building (but we ignored it since most buildings in the city are old anyway). The lobby seemed nice from a distance, but when you look closely, the furniture is mis-matched and dirty! The staff was courteous to my hubby so that was a plus. We rode the elevator and it was those really old-school lifts! Scary if you ask me, then again, I enjoy those in old SF buildings too. I just don't want to get stuck. So far that didn't happen. Whew!
We went to our room and as soon as we opened the door, it stunk! Smelled like pee and it was very, very small. I've seen hotel/motel rooms with bigger sizes for the same price. And this hotel is not even on Times Square! I kept telling my husband to upgrade or request for another room, but he just sprayed the room all the time and it was bearable, hahaha! We had a fridge, microwave, dresser, an lcd tv, a small closet, and a bathroom, so it wasn't too bad. Am not sure about air conditioning since it was cold in NY when we were there, sometimes snowing.
I was also able to use the internet via wifi, but you have to pay $5 a day for it. We were there a week, but I only used the internet for 3 days. One time, the connection was so bad that I got a refund of the $5 bucks. On other days, it was pretty good. Overall, it was a good bargain but you definitely get what you pay for. Maybe I'll spend a couple more bucks for better accomodations next time I'm in town. But if I'm in a hostel budget, I'll probably go back here.