Royalton New York

I booked the "City View Alcove Suite" to take in the skyline and instead got a dark room with a view of a wall, that you could only see through a dirty, weathered window. In addition to the misleading view, the bathroom setup is a large tub with a shower head mounted over it, placed right next to the toilet. There is no separate shower stall. It felt more like an accessible, handicap arrangement than a luxury feature and it is awkward for a suite tier. The listing photos also photoshopped the toilet out of their image to make the bathroom appear larger instead of everything existing in one small space. I went to the front desk hoping there was an alternate room and a man behind the desk named Stephen said "City view doesn't mean you can see the city, it just means your room faces the street side of the hotel." His co-worker Janae then said within earshot "people should have common sense and know where they are." I asked were there any alternate rooms and again, Janae (with whom I wasn't speaking to) inserted herself and said in a smug, condescending tone, "the penthouse is $2800/night." I asked Stephen if all the rooms had the same shower/tub set up that was in the Alcove suite and he said that some rooms offered standalone showers, so I asked could he let me know what options I had to switch to one of those rooms. He looked on his computer for a moment, then whispered to his co-workers and walked away. I stood at the desk for almost 15 minutes assuming he was checking room availability. When Stephen returned, he looked confused by why I was still there. I reminded him that I never received an answer and his response was "she told you the penthouse was $2800?" I said this entire time I've been standing here thinking you were coming back with an answer for me, not realizing you guys dismissed my question and were proceeding to ignore me. When I asked for a manager, another front desk employee who told me her name was Shahannah said there was no manager on duty and could not identify by name who the managers were. My experience to the side, my review is that the property feels dusty. Rooms are dark and dated. There is no onsite restaurant or bar and no real amenities to make up for that. The suite is bigger than the average standard room for the city but the layout does not deliver a suite level experience. Management should update the photos and language on the site and coach the front desk on basic hospitality. I would not book again.

This NYC hotel is absolutely horrible. It is old, rusty, and in disrepair. The staff is not friendly. The only thing missing is the bed bugs. Do not stay here if you want an enjoyable NYC visit!

Nice people at desk (although my single request -- a list of nearby hotels -- was unfulfilled as they could not get the printer to work. And did not take the initiative to bother printing it for me when they got the printer working. Kind of surprised that they did not have a list (and maybe a map) already printed and available for guests. Our second room facing 44th Street made it obligatory to wears ear plugs. The hall carpet and elevators are dingy. The couch sort of fell apart every time you sat down on it. The desk was wobbly and nearly tipped whenever you tried to use it. Lobby is huge with lots of old furniture but badly lit and empty. NY was experiencing a heat wave and the room A/C was more than adequate. The one highlight was the bathroom -- nicely done. The other Royalton property (with a nice facade that is used in their ads) -- also in Manhattan -- is MUCH nicer and cleaner

I've stayed there since 2003, at least twice a year and latterly for weeks at a time. You won't find more genuine, friendly and helpful staff, be it the bellmen, at front desk, housekeeping, the cleaners, maintenance, management, right throughout the hotel. The rooms are very comfortable, and they make an effort to see that I get the ones I particularly like. It's in an ideal location for theatre, shopping and cafes and although central isn't in too noisy a street. I wouldn't stay anywhere else.

The price is reasonable and the location is nice. Very near to times square. The staff are very accommodating to guests.