The William Vale

The service is none existent except for in their restaurant Fino. We waited 30 min to order drinks by the pool and then we were told it was going to take another 30min to get the bottle of champagne and 2 beers we had ordered so we cancelled the order and left the hotel. Then they brought the order to our room despite the order being cancelled. I have still not gotten my 970£ refund. They did not clean our room and no one welcomes you, opens the door or offers to bring up your luggage when you enter the hotel. The pool hostess was sleeping in her chair when we arrived there:) How this hotel can keep their 5 stars is beyond me.

The William Vale Brooklyn Nightmare 1027936846 Did not honor a fully paid reservation— overbooked hotel and tried to push us off to another hotel on lower east side 15 minutes away no manager on duty to resolve— had to keep calling a manager whole thing was a nightmare. no other resolution offered. No compensation for truly unprofessional customer service.

TLDR: The William Vale is a decent hotel but is in a league below the one which it advertises and prices itself. Some things met the expectations of this level, such as the view, some things were decent but fell short of 'world class luxury hotel' standards such as the professionalism and helpfulness of the staff, and some things fell below any level of acceptability at any price point for a hotel, such as room cleanliness and the presentation and functionality of amenities. After writing this review I read other reviews, and notice there is a pattern with almost all the issues I have described here. The hotel has responded to many of these reviews; therefore they are definitely aware of them and have apparently been unable or unwilling to fix them. No amount of honeyed words or compensation will get me to return to this hotel because I wanted an amazing experience, not a bargain. Only a change in management or overhaul of policy could lure me back. Buyer beware. I stayed three nights in a 'gotham corner suite with wraparound balcony', which for context is one of the more premium offerings this hotel has short of the penthouse suites. The William Vale advertises itself as a world class luxury hotel and prices itself pretty similarly to other hotels making the same claims in similar locations (for example The Shangri-La, Shard, London, UK). Things that met or exceeded expectations of a 'world class luxury hotel': The view: The view from our hotel room was absolutely stunning. This was the single thing about this hotel that did not disappoint from the hype. At night the city twinkled like urban stars and in the morning, we got to watch the sun rise over the city. and this was an unforgettable way to experience New York. Things that did not meet our expectations of a 'world class luxury hotel': Service staff: The service staff were friendly and tried to be helpful when engaged but did not seem set up for success. For example before I arrived at the hotel I was trying to e-mail the 'concierge team' (that turned out to be just one apparently overworked person) to arrange various things such as transportation from the airport to the hotel and restaurant reservations, and many of my e-mails would go unanswered or delayed and eventually all I got was an out of office message saying the head concierge was out on vacation for a few weeks and wouldn't be responding to messages. When I actually arrived at the hotel and asked to speak to the concierge team that's when I found out there was no team, and the front desk tried to field my requests but seemed ill-equipped to do so as it was outside their normal tasks. I consider this a management/policy/training problem, no reflection on any of the service staff themselves. The 'luxury' transportation driver that they did eventually book for me was just plain rude and dumped me on the street round the back entrance of the hotel with all my bags before taking off in a hurry. I used Lyft for the rest of the trip and had a much better experience for about a quarter of the price. Dining: I only dined at the Leuca restaurant once (not the Westlight), and the experience was pleasant but very forgettable. Considering this hotel has some of the best views in New York it's puzzling they chose to put this restaurant in what appears to be some sort of cellar in the basement of the hotel. Nothing stood out about the food and service good or bad. I was unable to make a reservation at the Westlight because I was travelling with my 18-year-old son, and they would not seat anyone under the age of 21 in the evening. Pool: The pool area was declared off-limits to my 18-year-old son that was travelling with me from 12pm onwards, so I mostly skipped it. I did go there once by myself to order some drinks to take up to my room, and they were served in cheap plastic cups and I could barely hear the waitress over the party music that was constantly blaring. Definitely Vegas vibes, and not the class I was expecting. Room amenities: I paid extra to get a premium 'Wi-Fi' service, which turned out to be intermittently laggy and reset connections often. I would not have been able to rely on this internet for any kind of serious productivity. The mini bar had the basics, and puzzlingly enough a 'lovers kit' which was the source of a few jokes between my son and I and really felt tacky for a hotel like this. There was an ironing board, but difficult to find any space to actually use it since the bed and the cot took almost all the space in the suite up. There was no space to even sit down or get to the balcony entrance from the suite's 'living room' once the cot was deployed. Things that did not meet expectations of any class of hotel: Room cleanliness and maintenance: The room didn't feel pristine; the windows were a bit dirty as was the floor of the balcony. The bathroom felt like it had been tidied but not cleaned. There were stains on the outside balcony furniture, and a cigarette burn. There were also visible stains on some of the walls. The shower truly lowered the bar, it felt like it was just shoved in there with a flimsy soft curtain not doing much to stop water splashing and controls that made absolutely no sense. The first time we used it, the drain backed up and flooded the room. This was rectified by the staff promptly after I notified them. The coffee table in the suite was not assembled correctly and almost came to pieces when we tried to move it to make space for the cot which filled that whole room.

Stay away if you have kids, they are not allowed in the pool after noon. Pool staff directly rude at kids. If you are here to drink and party, this is your place, enjoy it. Vegas vibes.

Very disappointed — not family-friendly We had high hopes for The William Vale, but unfortunately, our experience was disappointing. One major issue: kids are only allowed in the pool until 12 PM. For a family visiting New York on vacation, this was a huge letdown. Limiting children’s access to the pool during peak daytime hours makes it clear this hotel isn’t truly family-friendly. We’ve stayed at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge on previous trips and will continue to return there. Not only are the views phenomenal, but the pool hours for families extend until 6:30 PM, making it a far better experience for those traveling with children. Regretfully, The William Vale missed the mark for us.