Review: The New Yorker Hotel by Wyndham in Manhattan
The New Yorker Hotel Hallway
I apologize that I didn't take pictures of the hotel, as I don't usually review hotels. After staying, I thought the conditions and experiences were so diverse that I would share them. If you want to see more pictures of the hotel, you can see them on Google Maps.
For this trip to New York, I chose to stay at The New Yorker Hotel. A big part of it was due to my anxiety and the personality of worrying about anything. It was a transitioning time between Fall and Winter, and the weather could be unpredictable. I didn't think it would snow, but if it did, I still wanted to get out of town and get home. With all those crazy thoughts, I stayed at The New Yorker Hotel because it was right by the Moynihan Train Station. Luckily, the weather was quite pleasant when I was there. I did get some rain in the morning on one of the days, but the sky cleared up by lunchtime.
To start things on a good note, I will first share what I like about The New Yorker Hotel. As I mentioned earlier, it was two blocks away from the train station. The location of the hotel was excellent! It was so convenient that I could simply walk to the station instead of taking the subway or Uber. Besides being close to Moynihan station, one of the subway stations was around the corner. I don't remember exactly; it might be the A, E line, which I could travel up to see Broadway shows or head down to the World Trade Center. Since the walking distance to Time Square is 10 to 15 minutes, stores and restaurants are everywhere. I believe that the location is the main selling point for this hotel because after staying there, knowing all the flaws, I would still consider staying there again on my next trip.
Sometimes, hotels only have one or two elevators, and you could literally wait forever every time you want to go up or down. Not with The New Yorker Hotel! They have more than five elevators, and they all move fast; I never had to wait more than a minute! When I travel to places like New York, I have so many items on my to-do list and no time for standing in front of an elevator pretending I am interested in strangers' mundane stories. At some point I did realize that I was putting too much on my plate. After visiting all the stores and restaurants I wanted to go to, I did slow down on the last day to let my legs rest.
Other than the location, the room condition can be crucial. Even though it was an older building, they managed to keep the room clean. The bed was clean, and the mattress was at the right firmness. As an aging middle-aged traveler, I didn't wake up with a sore back. In addition, they had good water pressure in the bathroom. The shower came in hot and strong and fast, and the bathtub looked clean enough if I wanted to take a bath. I tend to book rooms with a bathtub when I travel to cities like New York. Unless you have an unlimited spending budget on Uber and taxis, you will walk a lot, and you may need a tub to soak your feet.
The room was clean and pleasant, and the lobby looked like a decent hotel. However, once I got out of the elevator, I was shocked to see the condition of the hallway. I guessed that showed where they spent their money. The light was dimmed, which was appropriate based on the condition. It reminded me of some old apartment building's hallway, and it was a disconnected view from what I saw in the lobby.
Even though the cleaning crews were attentive and on time every morning and did an excellent job maintaining the cleanliness of the rooms, the front desk in the lobby was a different story. It could be that they didn't have enough employees that day when I checked in. I was in line for about 15 minutes, and when I was done, there was still a long line waiting.
I want to point out something I wasn't sure about. The New Yorker Hotel had multiple employees near the elevator who checked my room card every time I returned to the hotel. Was it for security? Was the safety that bad in New York? I did notice that they didn't check everyone, which made me wonder if they were racially profiling me since I am an Asian.
Now, let's talk about some make-or-break situations with this hotel. Although I appreciate a clean room, the condition wasn't pristine. The bathroom had broken tiles that were fixed, and one of the bathtub faucets was disposed of due to the broken tiles. It didn't affect the functionality, and I didn't know if other rooms had the same condition, so that could be a one-off thing, but it is not likely.
The walls were thin, other than broken tiles. I could hear when the next-door guest took a shower. At some point, the shower next door even made a loud whistling noise. Luckily, I didn't hear about any extra activities with my neighbors; I imagine it could be awkward if you travel with kids. When I checked in, the employee did ask if I was traveling alone, so maybe they do have a system where they placed their guests. It was a tall building, if you want a view of the city, you may ask for a room at a higher level. Besides the showering sound effect, my next-door guests were particularly busy; they came and went frequently. I constantly heard the door open and close, even late at night.
Maybe because my room was at the end of the hallway, the Wi-Fi connection was terrible. With my iPad, I frequently had to wait for the videos to load while watching YouTube videos. It wasn't a big issue for me since I was out a lot, and I downloaded plenty of videos to watch before I left home. With my phone, I had to turn off the Wi-Fi for a better experience. If your job requires you to stay connected and work on your trip, you will have a hell of a time with their sparse internet connection. Other than the Wi-Fi, I couldn't control the room temperature. Regardless of what I set it at, the temperature was around 68-69 degrees all the time when I was there. The room did feel comfortable for me at that temperature range, but if you are specific with room temperature, it could be a deal breaker. Lastly, the room didn't have a fridge or a coffee maker. For people who like to store some food or snacks in the mini-fridge, this would not work. Maybe because it was New York, they assumed the guests could easily get anything they wanted nearby.
Overall, when I looked back at my experience, I saw many minor flaws that didn't bother me too much. I think I may book this hotel again if the price is right, probably because I appreciate the location and the cleanliness of the room. When I am in New York, I am out walking often, and I don't spend my days inside the room. It was pretty beneficial to have a good shower and a clean tub to bathe if needed. If you are on a small budget and can tolerate the flaws I mentioned, I recommend The New Yorker Hotel due to its location.