This hotel is undergoing a make over from a comfortable middle aged woman to a sleek Euro yuppie type. If you like the clean spare modern style, you will love the look of this hotel once they are finished, which they say will be by November 2007. We booked directly with the hotel’s online site which offered rates as low as the third party hotel providers. It is not cheap - just under $500 for a suite on a high floor - but it seemed comparable to other hotels in the area with similar levels of luxury.
Having the lobby under construction is not a plus. Check in and the concierge is on the second floor, but there was no confusion as you are escorted from the sidewalk to the front desk. The restaurant is also still under construction but a kitchen somewhere must be functional as room service dining is offered. There is also a fitness room on the 4th floor of the hotel, but it was feature we did not use.
The rooms seem to generate strong reactions. I like the modern style and thus, found the look of our London vista suite very appealing. Some people do not like this style.
We were on the 43rd floor with a view of the west side of Central Park. The entrance has a mini bar and safe enclosed in a cabinet. From there, the suite has a sitting area in the bow window, coffee table, a desk, rocking chair and flat screen television. I liked that even when cloudy, lots of natural light came into the room. The bedroom, which closes off from the sitting area by two French doors, also has a flat screen television. Our room had a king bed which was very comfortable with its high thread count sheets. In an alcove in one corner of the bedroom, there is a roomy clothes storage area which is somewhat open to the bedroom. Beyond that is a long narrow bathroom with both a shower stall and bathtub. The bathroom has no door; some people greatly dislike this detail. But because of the configuration of the rooms, we did not find privacy to be a problem. I understand you can ask for a room with a bathroom door. The counter space was very generous. The space in total was roomy and continually neat and clean with housekeeping tidying up twice a day.
The suite does not have a kitchenette nor coffee making facilities, instead they leave a breakfast menu from which you can request everything from a pot of coffee in the morning to a full breakfast. Other than an ice bucket and water glasses in the bathroom, there are no additional cups or glasses. When we wanted wine glasses, we had to get them from the concierge.
The location near Central Park and the theater district is unbeatable. Overall, we were pleased with the room and will return.