E G.
Yelp
I'm not sure where to begin.
I checked into the Redbury on Saturday afternoon, and upon arrival it was refreshingly unpretentious for New York. I've lived in New York since I was 12, am now in the works of moving back from California but decided to take a weekend to visit friends.
I usually stay at the Soho Grand, which is much more pretentious but maybe for a reason?
As I was writing, the Redbury seemed nice upon arrival. No one is at the door to greet you, so don't expect anyone to help you out of the cab or with your luggage. It wasn't too bothersome because I'm not really a person in need of help & wait service. But in hindsight, considering I was paying $200 and then some to stay with the Redbury, I realize it's definitely unacceptable. I mean, I think the Sheraton on Canal has people to help you out of your cab?
I went up to my room, on the seventh floor. I had arrived at 4PM. I swear on my life they gave me the worst room in the entire hotel. Here's a list:
1. The heat was not working, and the hotel had yet to remove the A/C window unit. Cold? FREEZING.
2. USB port in the desk was broken, which in my opinion is just janky. Don't buy a desk with charging capabilities if you a) can't afford to fix it or b) it's cheap to begin with. Just buy a normal desk.
3. The room was TINY. And when I say TINY I mean... I'm 5'5" and I felt like a couple more inches and my body would have reached from the top of the bed to the wall at the foot of the bed. I literally had a hard time opening my overnight bag...
4. This seems silly but believe me... it's not. There was no "do not disturb" sign on my door, which like I said sounds silly but it's really not. Housekeeping literally knocked on my door, I swear, 6 times within the afternoon. I continued to say "NO THANK YOU!" When I walked in the room and felt how cold it was I thought I should immediately get under the covers and try to take a nap. The knocks every 10 minutes weren't helpful.
5. The room was a total clutter mess. The entire left of my bed was filled with random crap. A space heater, that DIDN'T WORK, a clothes rack for drying clothes, tons of wires and cords, including a lamp that wasn't plugged in. Why?
6. The room seemed, and now I'm certain was, dusty. Not to mention, throughout my stay the wretched stench of cigarettes came in through vents or maybe was embedded in my sheets I have no idea... then on top of it I was assailed by the disgusting smell of weed at 2AM. All of this while I was in a flannel, turtle neck, sweatpants, wool socks, and a beanie. STILL cold.
7. Alright, so someone came to look at the heat after my second request. They turned the heat ON... didn't even apologize that it hadn't been turned on before I entered the room. I asked if it was anything I could've done, and he said no, that it was a switch inside a grating system that I would not have been able to access. That's nice..
8. During my stay, I asked for a late checkout at the time of check-in. The woman at the front desk seemed very laid back about it. She said she would make a note on my reservation that I wanted to leave at 1PM and that if I needed it any later to just call down. Housekeeping was knocking on my door at 11:30, then 12, then 12:30. I mean... I wanted an hour of uninterrupted sleep... at this point I'm so grumpy AND can feel myself getting sick. Sneezing, sniffling, and sore throat.
9. I woke up my second night there because the idea at that point of switching hotels was too large to fathom considering I was now with a fever to the awful crazy buzzing of a vent? or heater? or some type of monster in the ceiling? It was so atrocious I thought I was going insane. And it came on every 10 minutes. It was so loud it drowned out the volume of Netflix. I just wanted some sleep! No rest & a freezing room & an impending cold for $200+ a night? I think not. So the room itself was noisy, in addition to guests and staff yelling in the hallway, and some random fire alarm type bell going off at random times. I paid for this?
11. I cannot stress this enough to all hotels but ESPECIALLY a hotel in this neighborhood. INVEST IN LEGITIMATE SOUNDPROOF WINDOWS. The room and hallway were blaring with noise, and then on top of it I was responsible for blocking out that which is basically midtown Manhattan: buses, garbage trucks, sirens, and more. NOPE.
As a cherry on top, the valet guy at the front desk asked me if I needed a cab. I was so happy someone was asking if I needed help! I said yes! thank you that would be lovely. He asked me where I was going, so he could tell the taxi. I said Penn, 31st & 8th Avenue. He proceeded to tell me no cab was going to go there because of how short the trip was and never helped me. Thanks!
I've now left with a horrible sinus headache, due to the dust and smoke, impending cold, because I slept in a room that was basically outside, and down $400+. Don't stay here. Save yr $$ and rent a motel/hostel.