Empire Hotel

I usually don’t write hotel reviews, but I felt that this experience was an exception. I believe potential guests should have a clear and realistic idea of what they are booking, especially when choosing a hotel that presents itself as a 4-star property. I paid approximately *** for three nights, so I had certain expectations regarding basic comfort and service. The location was excellent, and this was probably the strongest part of my stay. I really enjoyed the area and found it very convenient. If you are driving to New York City, I strongly recommend looking for parking elsewhere. The hotel’s valet parking was $75 per night. After checking in, I asked about coffee because I am a coffee drinker and having coffee in the morning is important to me. At hotels in this price range, I would normally expect at least a coffee maker or kettle in the room, or complimentary coffee somewhere in the lobby. Instead, I was simply told that there was a Starbucks nearby. For a hotel charging around *** per night and presenting itself as a 4-star property, I found it disappointing that there was not even a basic complimentary coffee option for guests. The room itself was also much smaller and less impressive than I expected based on the photos. I understand that New York City hotel rooms can be small, but at this price point, I expected more attention to basic amenities. There was no toothbrush or toothpaste, bathrobe, slippers, kettle, or similar basic conveniences and obviously there was also no breakfast included. Unfortunately, the bigger issue was that I experienced several problems during my three-night stay. On the first morning, I used the bathroom and flushed the toilet, only to discover that it was clogged. The water began overflowing and flooding the bathroom. I immediately went to the front desk, and they sent someone to repair it. The issue was eventually fixed, although I was not offered a room change. I also noticed that the bathroom had no apparent ventilation or air filtration. When I asked the front desk about this, the employee response was "I know right, it is crazy." At that point, I was disappointed but still tried to remain understanding. Later that evening, I returned to the hotel around 11:50 PM after being out all day. I was tired and simply wanted to take a shower. To my surprise, there was no running water in my room. Again, for a hotel charging approximately *** for three nights and operating as a 4-star property, I found this extremely disappointing. Fortunately, the water was working again the following morning, so the issue had apparently been resolved overnight. Overall, I enjoyed the location, but the experience did not match what I expected from a 4-star hotel at this price point. The combination of limited basic amenities, the plumbing issue, the lack of water made the stay feel significantly below the standard I expected. Coming from Europe, where a 4-star hotel generally sets a certain expectation for basic services, comfort, and amenities. Based on my experience, I personally did not feel that this property met that standard. I did not raise a formal complaint with the hotel during my stay, and I am not writing this review expecting compensation or anything from the hotel. I simply think future guests deserve to know what my experience was like and what they should realistically expect before booking. The location is great, but based on my stay, I would not personally consider this a 4-star hotel experience.

Awesome location, a short walk to Central Park in the morning was very refreshing. Room was a bit old but okay. Lobby is spacious and relaxing.

So my first room they put me in was muggy. When I used the shower, there was two cockroaches. They moved me to another room where there were more roaches. The bed was uncomfortable. The pillows were dirty. For what I paid, I thought I’d have a better view but instead it was of a concrete wall. Very disappointed.

Terrible experience that went from bad to worse. A number of issues with this hotel: 1. Very noisy air con machine that rattled all night 2. damp carpet in one section of the room 3. broken blind 4. no fridge in room 5. wet bedding was given when house keeping changed the beds. This resulted in 2 additional bed changes due to stained and ripped bedding. 6. hotel ran out of bottled water for one entire day 7. miscalculation of charges 8. thin walls - you can hear the lifts and people talking 9. Stained towels was given once when housekeeping cleaned the room. I would not recommend this hotel.