Believe it or not, this hotel is your typical Aloft hotel, even being in NYC.  For better or for worse!

Check In

IME, checking in at an Aloft is very consistent.  Your status will not be recognized.  If you have any room preferences (such as higher floor), they will usually not be honored.  This hotel is no exception.  Last time I stayed here I was on the 9th floor, this time I am on the 6th floor.  But I am only Gold, so what do I know.

Room

There are up to 10 rooms on each floor and two elevators which are usually pretty quick.  However, the surprising thing for me was the size of the room.  90% of Aloft rooms look identical.  And for a NYC hotel, this actually looks like almost any other Aloft I've ever been to.  The room is in the typical Aloft layout.  Perhaps a touch smaller than normal, but barely noticeable, and in this layout it does not make a difference.  The room is big enough for my needs.

The blue lemonade soap is not present.  Last time I was here is was some no-name white soap; this time we have... this.  No coffee maker or water heater in the room; all of this is available in the lobby (for a price).  They do have the normal Bliss shampoo and body wash which I always enjoy.

One of the rooms across the hall was being extra noisy and I politely (maybe) asked them to shut the ... up, which seemed to work.

Dining

The WXYZ bar is open!  Really great bartender.  When I asked about happy hour, he offered to extend the prices even though we were well outside of the times.  I watched him make some VERY nice drinks.  I would come back here even if I weren't staying here; the bartender here is good!  The GM (I think) was also at the bar chatting with customers; I had seen him on the roof as well.

Location

The hotel is one block from the Queens Plaza subway station (E, F, M, R), which can't really be beat; Queensboro Plaza (7, N, W) is only a few blocks away as well.  The roof deck is open has a beautiful view of midtown.  On July 4th I was able to watch fireworks between the buildings to the southwest.  Any time you are here you will likely enjoy a very nice sunset; last time it was straight down 57th Street which was amazing -- tonight was still very nice.

Overall

Overall I am very pleased with this hotel.  For an Aloft there's a lot going for it -- primarily the roof deck.  Most WXYZ bars are the same but this property benefits from a great bartender.  The last time I was here I was only okay with it -- I found a bug of some sort in the room and wrote the place off.  However this time I have yet to find one, and am so far enjoying myself.  I don't usually love Aloft hotels but this hotel is surprisingly consistent with other properties (except I suppose the El Segundo hotel).  One would expect smaller rooms being in New York City but at this propety, you will not experience this.  This is as big as the room at the Marriott Marquis, if not larger!  Granted we are not in Manhattan, but it's still surpriringly nice and big.  This is my second time at this hotel and I look forward to returning again sometime soon.