Basically lived in this hotel for a month summer 2012.
No upgrade for me from a studio (platinum) - probably due to the length of time I was there. They were very accomodating about giving me different view options at least (some rooms have nice views of the Empire State bldg, some rooms face Bryant Park)
It's a functional, if uninspired, hotel. Studio rooms are smaller than the normal Residence Inn (with basically no closet space) but good sized for New York.
Elevators can be slow - there is frequently one out of service.
One big quirk is that none of the "kitchens" actually have an oven or stove. Only a microwave, full sized fridge, and a giant dishwasher (why a huge diswasher but no stovetop??). You can request a hot-plate for the room, which made me think of dorm days...
Breakfast is bedlam on a weekend morning, we generally avoided it. You will get an automated voicemail each Friday and Saturday night from the hotel basically telling you to forget about breakfast unless you get down there before 9am on weekends - annoying if you stay long term and each Friday and Saturday had to clear out the voicemail to get the stupid light to stop blinking.
Breakfast itself is pretty decent. Cut melon, some form scrambled eggs, and they tend to alternate between turkey Canadian bacon and sausauge. There is usually a breakfast sandwhich of some sort. One nice thing they do is they have yoghurt parfaits.
The location is great, right next to Bryant Park and on the B/D/F/M (42nd St/Bryant Park). Rock Center and Times Square right nearby, easy subway access downtown. Restaurants in the immediate area are so-so (typical Times Square mediocre tourist stuff)
Staff is average/fine- don't really stand out or go out of their way, but not bad either.