This hotel is situated between Little Italy and Chinatown, so you get the best of both worlds. And subway stations are just a few blocks away. I love exploring and eating in Chinatown, so it was a no-brainer to stay here.
When we arrived, it was already raining. This hotel provides umbrellas for your convenience, so you won't get caught in the rain. Just give them your room number to check them out.
The elevators don't need a hotel key card for them to work, which I find odd. Some nights, the front desk did not have anyone there, which can be a security problem. Almost every hotel I have stayed at needed a key card to go to your hotel room from the lobby. Hopefully they'll consider changing this. Thankfully, the area isn't too shady.
The room is high-tech, modern, and pretty clean when you check in, but not much cleaning from housekeeping during your stay, as they only come every 2 days. They fixed the bed, but hair and whatever on the floor stayed as is. The floors are not carpeted, so it would be noisy to vacuum. I'm not sure if they cleaned the floors during our stay but tables and sinks were cleaned. They do not give refills for any amenities or water bottles. This is what we got the first night: 2 toothbrushes with toothpaste, 2 shower caps, 8 cotton swabs, 2 sanitary bags, 1 comb, 2 make-up remover cloths, 2 pairs of slippers, and 2 bottles of water. They do provide shampoo, body wash, and conditioner, & hair dryer. You get 2 large body towels and 2 hand towels, but no face towels. They will not clean the drinking glasses once you've used them. Mini fridge barely stays cold like many other hotels and they don't have mini bar items for sale and no room service. And you can forget about a microwave oven, that's at the Hilton! You can get hot and cold water, ice, coffee and tea at the lobby. Sodas are $2 (honor system-$2 in tip jar). I overheard that if you go to the lobby early in the morning, there is bread near the coffee and tea area. The front desk people did not tell us that when we checked in, but another guest asked about it while we were waiting for a taxi.
On our king bed was a cute stuffed monkey for us to take, though not necessary. I guess the kiddos would lWe had a firm mattress and good pillows that gave us a good night's rest. No complaints there.
The handheld showerhead streamed in a pattern with a power massage. No weak massage here! We walked about 10-12 miles a day, which left my legs aching, so this was appreciated. You also have the option of using the rain showerhead.
PRO TIP: When using the shower, if you turn the small knob towards the left, the small handheld showerhead turns on, so you're able to adjust the temperature without being doused with water. If you turn the small knob to the right, the rain showerhead will turn on and drench you with cold water! Luckily, I turned the knob to the left first!
The room design is flawed, since there is NO privacy whatsoever when you shower. The shower walls are frosted, but there is no door from the shower to the rest of the room. So you'd have to strip in front of whoever you're staying with to get into the shower and come out butt naked after your shower to change into clothes. We had a king-sized bed and I guess they assume you are intimate with the person you're rooming with? I've never had a hotel room where you're this exposed. If you're planning to stay with just a friend, you're better off getting 2 rooms to avoid an awkward situation. I'm not sure how the other rooms are designed. Maybe they have some privacy when showering. But our room was wide open for all to see!
The mirror above the sink has LED power buttons to turn a light on around the mirror, which was nice and bright. I liked that the toilet room had a fan when you switch on the lights. Great ventilation! We didn't need to worry about odors.
They have plenty of outlets beside the bed, on the writing desk, near the sink, and even on the wall where you hang clothing, purses, and such.
They have a taxi service, if you'd like to have someone take you to the airport, instead of lugging around your baggage up and down the stairs through the subway stations. We did take advantage of this service, so the front desk made arrangements for us to be picked up. It took about an hour to get to the airport during non-rush hour, due to the construction at Terminal 5. It was about $65 without tip. During rush hour, it would cost $80 and it would probably take an extra half hour, if not more. The driver was efficient and knew his way around to avoid traffic. Got us to the airport on time, so we didn't have to worry. GPS gave us an ETA of 1 1/2 hrs, if we had taken the subway.
This is a good hotel, despite some of the nuisances. The top reason to stay is their prime location, having tons of restaurant options, close to soho, and a few walkable subway stations being 5-7 minutes away, and it's a quiet neighborhood. read more