I stayed at this hotel last weekend to use up my 2008 Plat gift. Even though I've only had two qualifying stays this year (goodbye Plat -- boohoo), I was upgraded to a Studio "Suite."

Regarding the bathroom privacy issue: When the bathroom lights are on, there is NO privacy for the tub or shower dressing area. The screen becomes completely transparent, and you can see a person through it as easily as if it were not there. For this reason, I undressed in the shower, which in a corner room is more than spacious enough for that activity.

The real reason for my post (after a 2+ year absence), however, is to point out that this property does not use the W Hotel bed -- i.e., the Beautyrest mattress and featherbed. Wondering the next morning why it didn't feel like I'd just slept in a cloud, which is my usual W Hotel experience, I pulled back the sheets to find a blue Fireguard mattress (????) and thin mattress pad. Upon checkout, I asked the clerk about this property's deviation from the standard W Bed, and he validated my observation but did not know why the W Bed had not been placed in this property (he also said that he was a member of the New Build Team for this hotel).

Oh, and there are no coffeemakers in the rooms (perhaps they've been removed from all W rooms as a cost-saving measure?). Too bad, I really enjoyed W's in-room coffee.

As others have pointed out, however, there are other factors that recommend this hotel. The staff is warm and hospitable, Market is excellent and reasonably priced for a hotel -- not to mention Jean-Georges -- restaurant, and the location is superb (although it can get noisy in the room since the hotel is in the heart of the Theater District; reminded me of the street noise I always suffered through staying at the Palace Hotel in S.F.).

Happy travels in the New Year to all!