Editor Pick
The Barbizon Hotel
- January 15, 2001
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Steve S. from Kansas City, Missouri
We booked this hotel through Microsoft''s Expedia website through one of their special deals. Expedia said that the Barbizon was a 4 star hotel and we believed them. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at what we found but by no means was this a 4 star hotel in accomodations or service. The hotel has a storied history of being a women''s boarding hotel and only opened up to the general public (read as: to all travelers male and female) in the last 20 or so years. In it''s history it''s played host to some of the most famous women on Broadway and the information book you''ll find in your room will give you all the details you could ever wish to know. Although a very neat, old hotel, we were somewhat disappointed in the size of the rooms. Imagine a room big enough (in width) to barely hold 2 twin beds and still squeeze in a TV and mini bar and a small bathroom. The view from the window was more or less non-existent as it looked directly across to the other part of the hotel, but we didn''t spend much time at the hotel so this wasn''t an issue for us. The Barbizon does have a health club/pool but it is actually run by another entity and they charge a "nominal fee" for use which we didn''t bother to ask about; we were much more interested in getting out and exploring the city. The concierge (when available) was reasonably helpful and was able to take care of most of our questions without any trouble.
If you''re looking for a grand old hotel that you can occasionally book reasonably cheaply through Expedia or Travelocity or some of the other travel sites, the Barbizon would be worth a shot, but if space is what you desire you''d be better suited to look elsewhere.
From journal Two Days in New York