Kalboz

A recent article by the Independent about the Lexington W:

They've spent $40m rejuvenating this Manhattan hotel. Will the results please its trend-setting guests?

Reviewed by Kate Simon
Sunday, 7 June 2009

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...k-1698501.html

The rooms

All 688 rooms in the 11-storey property have been refreshed. W's theatrical – the unkind might say gloomy – lighting remains key to the look, centring on the very comfortable bed, where headboards featuring abstract photos are backlit and pools of amber light spill out from its base. It's a matter of taste, but ...

Flews

Interesting. I stayed here a lot on business but haven't returned in about five or six years. I was never impressed with the W attitude, offering or service. I did have a favorite bartender in the lobby bar, a really nice person who made me feel welcome with great service and conversation. Travelling solo, I usually ate at the bar as well.

My wife and I are thinking about visiting NYC this summer. We were leaning to one of the more traditional, luxury properties. Maybe I'll give the Lex W another try to check out the changes.

Cheers,

EnvoyBoy

Keep in mind it was the property and not the attitude that got the overhaul.

aussiechris

The only attitude I caught when I stayed in March was from the 50ish lady on the Accura desk in front of the lifts.Major attitude reassignment needed.
My suite upgrade was cool!!!!!!!

PHL

The name of that bartender wouldn't happened to be Tracy or Lisa would it? They have been there since the beginning (or close to it). I haven't been there in over a year, so I'm not sure if they are still there. But, even though I moved 99.9% of my stays to the Waldorf=Astoria across the street, I always popped in just to say hi to them.

Flews

Indeed, I do believe the one I recall was Lisa.

Cheers,

ps9a

Just checked out this afternoon from room 917... booked a "cozy" room for 2 nights (cheap 2nd night 50% rate, but it was last minute, it was wide open, and I'm Plat, so there was zero incentive to book a nicer room) and they upgraded me to a "fabulous suite." My TV's were new, but in contrast to the poster above, the bathroom was tiny with only an old shower and a dirty looking shower curtain. On the plus side, we had a huge balcony... I wanted to re-try this hotel after the renovation, but I'd still prefer any of W's 4 other NY properties... or the Westin... or the Parker Meridien... and obviously the Reg

blort

For some reason I'm on the mailing list for Quintessentially, which appears to try to market "the good life" -- their latest offering should give some idea of just how "good" their offerings are.

I didn't even know there was a members' penthouse!

CO FF

Just spent 2 nts there. "Gloomy" is unkind; "inadequate" is sufficient. Only with the desk light on can you read - which does no good if you want to read lying in bed. The bathroom (1435) was tiny - every time I sat on the commode I banged my elbow on the vanity - but when I forgot to bring a washcloth into the shower, I could reach the one sitting on the side of the sink.

All in all, the lack of amenities at this property annoy me; I was only there b/c it was cheaper than staying @ the Waldorf-Astoria (conference hotel) for $50 more/night.

stevens397

Thanks to all of you and to FT in general! Stayed at the Parker Meridien last week and had a wonderful upgrade to a Junior Suite in a great hotel at a great location. I have a seminar on Park and 42nd this weekend so we booked the W Lexington Ave. Saw yesterday that I was upgraded to a Mega Room - and they call 275 Sq Ft a Mega Room!

Called the Platinum Concierge and told it that it didn't work for me. They have suites available and I want one. If not, we'll transfer to the PM again. She called the hotel for me and they changed it to a Fantastic Suite. BTW, I'd like their advertising people to market my dental practice!!!

Never would have done it if not for this thread and would most certainly have been pissed off. Thanks to you all, I'm getting what I deserve!

WBurcham

Stayed at the W NY on Lex last weekend and had an interesting stay, overall it was good but the Whatever/Whenever desk had some major issues that could have really ruined my trip if I hadn't backed them up.

Saturday was great, at checkin I was upgraded to a Wonderful Suite from a Mega Room (after asking and saying that I knew Suites were available). That was great as there were going to be 4 of us! The room itself is very large. Nice queen sized bed and very comfortable. Nice flat screen tv mounted on a pole in the bedroom. Living room was as pictured above and great for relaxing. I didn't have any issue from the silver "pool float" furniture as I thought it was comfortable.

Staff was great getting two roll away beds in and a nice (very small) slice of birthday cake sent up for my partner. When we got home from the bars there was a bottle of wine waiting (a bit late but appreciated). The Acrua was even able to take 6 of us to dinner in the East Village, getting picked up and dropped off for a birthday was a nice treat for all of us compared to taking the subway.

Sunday morning was a complete failure when it comes to service. I called down at 10:30 and left a message with the Whatever/Whenever desk to see if they could have the concierge arrange brunch reservations for us. I called at 11:45 and was told that the concierge was busy but would call me back. By 1pm, they hadn't. I ended up taking our friends and my partner out with me to find someplace myself.

When we got back at 2:45 I called and asked for a wake up call at 3:30 because I wanted a quick nap, never happened. Luckily I had a friend call me at 3:45 and ask where I was.

Overall, nice room and good staff on Saturday but Sunday's staff really soured my experience. The Whatever/Whenever and Concierge staff really need more people! 1 concierge for a hotel this large is just unacceptable.

DCBob

Although there is no excuse for any hotel to miss a wake up call, it happens a lot. Why wouldn't you set the alarm clock in your room just in case? I always do that and have never missed getting up on time.

PHL

While that is a serious lack of manpower if they couldn't get back to you after 2 1/2 hours from the original call, did you go down in person or start making some calls yourself for brunch? I don't know many people who would sit around hungry for that long waiting for a concierge to find a brunch spot.

Btw for anyone looking in the future - the Waldorf=Astoria Sunday brunch across the street is about as good as it gets...they convert the lobby into a huge buffet.

WBurcham

If I could have found an alarm clock in the room... I would have.... I guess I chock things like that up to "It shouldn't happen at a hotel like this".

With respect to why it took so long, hungover inertia. The first call was before any of us started getting ready to go to brunch and by the time all 4 of us were ready (2 guys, 2 girls) and by the time we'd talked to the people we were going to end up meeting, it was almost 2 1/2 hours (I'd say about 2 hours from when we initially called we made our own decision based on calling friends). It was just a REALLY bad way to leave a lasting impression, especially on a celebratory weekend where I could have paid a little more to have stayed at the Waldorf.

SOhp101

I'm planning on using Cash & Points for either this or the Four Points Chelsea hotel. They're both in the same category so they cost the same amount of Cash/Points. Which one would be the better value?