leonard016

Based on what has been reported here, it seems that the management team either is not up to the job or does not care. I will avoid booking until I hear that they have moved to the right direction.

tjk1976

Stayed at the brand new Element this past weekend with high hopes given the Westin branding and was thoroughly disappointed. Staff was very friendly and helpful but the public areas of the hotel are beyond filthy... The lobby had scraps of garbage, stains, and spills on the tiled floor, damaged walls, etc. The elevators were filthy (smears and fingerprints all over the stainless steel walls, residue of spilled something or other on the base of the wall). The public restrooms are on a lower level, accessible through a filthy fire escape stairway. The men's room was disgusting (dried urine and garbage on the floor, marks on the mirrors, etc.). There are three elevators serving the entire building, so long elevator waits are common at peak times (we're talking 10 minutes plus). The hotel serves a complimentary breakfast in the lobby, but there is virtually nowhere to sit (the lobby is tiny to begin with), so people sit on stools in front of the food service trays (pretty gross) and there are no controls on who has access, so being right by Times Square, homeless people seem have figured it out and I had the pleasure of watching a homeless woman eating pancakes right out of the serving tray with her bare hands. ^ Rooms are small and austere, as expected, but clean at least, which was nice. I spoke with the GM who promised to address my concerns, but several hours later, nothing had improved so I decided to leave in favour of the Sheraton Tribeca, which was very clean. Someone from the Element emailed me after I left and apologized that I “felt that way” and offered me 5,000 token *points for my trouble. The bottom line, I can forgive some shortfalls because they just opened, but there is no excuse for a Starwood property to be that filthy under any circumstances. Shame on them, a little attention to detail would go a long way.

tjk1976

I couldn't agree more! Further to my post from today on this topic, when I asked a hotel employee with whom I was sharing an elevator if he was proud of the filthy state of the elevator, he responded by shrugging his shoulders and saying, "It ain't my job to clean elevators." The hotel was kind enough to accomodate an early check-in request; however, I had to wait for a room to be cleaned because, as I learned from the front desk, "housekeeping staff don't arrive at the hotel until 9 am." Unbelievable.

mareh

I have two stays booked at this hotel for late Dec and early Jan, but I'm going to cancel now. These are some of the worst reviews I've ever read, and shocking for a new property.

bubb1

Stayed here this weekend and experienced the elevator issues, which was really the only aggravating thing about our stay. Room was clean and perfectly fine, hotel is close (about 1.5 blocks) to the 40th street entrance to TS subway station, NYTimes building has dean & deluca (skip that hotel food!) maybe 2.5 blocks away, etc.

The elevator issues were annoying, and the trash in the hallway report is gross (that would have annoyed me), but for us NYC means eating out (no hotel breakfast) and going out all day. Worked for us

AZ Travels the World

Here is the thread containing the pre-opening discussion about this hotel, location, etc.

-AZ
Moderator

4Health

Same here, we skipped breakfast and went to Chinatown for some dim sum which was a fantastic choice. When we left in the morning, the lobby was chaos though during the breakfast rush so we were glad we decided to go out for breakfast the night before. The hotel was nice enough to hold our luggage for the day. We checked out around 8am before we headed out to explore NYC for the day and returned to get our luggage around 5pm before heading to the airport.

tjk1976

Starwood Lurker, is anyone higher up within Starwood taking note of the chorus of complaints about this property? When I personally spoke with the property's GM, he seemed somewhat disinterested in the litany of problems taking place under his watch. The issues at this property are, in my opinion, doing real damage to the Westin brand. My Ambassador said she will be escalating the matter, but I can't help but wonder if this is on anyone's radar in White Plains.

KENNECTED

Why would this do real damage to the Westin brand when it's not a Westin property?

The Element and Westin are two separate brands going after two different customer types. Just as Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton or Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn have different customer types.

This has no barring on the Westin brand.

Could it be that this manager has "heard" it but based on construction there are issues we dont know about? Granted these things should be transparent to the consumer. I think it's important to not a consumer should know that when hotels first open all aspects of the hotel may not be what they are accommodated to. I think thats the price you pay when you stay at a property thats only been open a few months.

tjk1976

It has something to do with the massive sign on the building that says "ELEMENT by Westin"

Apart from those of us who spend our time on FlyerTalk, most people don't make the distinction between the separate brands.

If you prefer though, CheapElite, I'll revise my statement to say it is doing real damage to the Starwood brand.

tjk1976

With all due respect, I totally disagree. The one constant that I expect from every Starwood hotel is a basic level of cleanliness. A filthy Starwood property, regardless of the price point or how long it has been open, is just inexcusable as far as I am concerned.

KENNECTED

A filthy property: Garbage strewn, dirty windows, unsanitary rooms, dirty carpets, broken lights in common areas, leaking toilets, faulty cabinets and appliances, mold etc. I totally agree.

However, if the property is still under construction and things are still being set in place, a person who books, should know going in there may be cause for "issues".

bubb1

Agreed, and if a service is offered it should uphold some basic standards, e.g. keeping bums out of the breakfast! Your review is pretty horrifying and I appreciate you trying to get Starwood on the case.

However, for those reading this thread that just want a decent room in midtown (to sleep in), will ignore all the amenities offered, and can stand a 10-15 minute delay for elevators during a few peak periods, this place can be a good fit (for the right price).

KENNECTED

You're underestimating peoples intelligence. Like I said do people confuse the 4Points for a full service Sheraton or the Hilton Garden Inn for a full service Hilton? NO!

The Elment is a extended stay brand and you're really trying to push the envelope by saying it is damaging to the Westin Brand.

You're revision makes more sense!

tjk1976

If it's "still under construction" then why is it open to the public? Revenue at the expense of the customer experience?

Filth is filth. For me, "leaking toilets" are not a prerequisite to use of the word. The Element is a filthy property. The devil's in the details. A good portion of the issues could easily be addressed by training staff to take ownership and pick up trash, grab a rag and wipe off the fingerprints in the elevators, clean the bathrooms regularly through the day, and so on. This is mostly "dumb dumb" stuff that is a consequence of weak or overwhelmed management.