umct

I stayed here for 1 night 12/31 I booked with 10,000 points in mid Nov., at the time the cash price for the night was $569 but later dropped. As an SPG Platinum I was not upgraded (Aloft & Element aren't required to upgrade plats) but was given an "enhanced" room on the 38th floor. I'm not sure what was enhanced about the room. I'll try not to re-post things that have already been said but would like to add the following:

Pros:
Complimentary coffee, tea & hot chocolate in the lobby 24 hours/day.
iMacs in the lobby have large HD screens, run MAC OS and Windows 7, have an easily accessible usb port and printer.
HDTV & Blu Ray player with HDMI, VGA, USB, composite A/V & 3.5mm audio inputs. (not sure if this is in every room or just the "enhanced" ones)
The lounge on the ground floor is roomy, has nice decor and is a nice place to chill for a while if you feel cramped in your room.

Cons:
No ice maker in the freezer, just 2 tiny ice trays.
At check in I was not informed about the breakfast, evening reception or rooftop deck. Sounds like it's a good thing I missed breakfast but I would have loved to check out the view on the roof and would never turn down a free evening drink, especially on NYE.

paytonc

There's a roof deck? Dang, shame I missed that. And I thought I was special for finding the sunroom behind the elevators.

My stay last week was pretty uneventful. Was told at check-in (I'm not even elite) that upgrades weren't available but that I would be given a higher floor and a better view; I got a standard room on the 31st floor, and a south view with the Empire State Building. A glance at the front desk screens showed that it was at 51% occupancy that night. The room itself was a great size, the water pressure seemed okay, but the always-on bathroom fan was annoying.

The evening reception had some nice beer, the free coffee was convenient, and the breakfast was... passable. The lobby was somewhat reminiscent of a better budget hotel in Japan: efficient and cheery but kinda hectic. They could use some signage directing people to the sunroom.

I didn't notice any of the problems listed upthread, save for busy elevators; indeed, I even saw an employee "grab a rag and wipe off the fingerprints in the elevator." Overall, I'm excited to see Element in city centers; I really enjoyed a previous stay at Element in Lexington, which is probably as close to brand-standard as any. (Didn't ask if this hotel had bikes to borrow, my own favorite Element brand element, but I doubt it due to NYC being short on storage and long on theft.) At the current AAA special rates or at Cat 4, this place is a deal.

ma91pmh

I stayed here last week and found this time my room was NOT clean. I found human nail clippings on the floor! YUK!

But paying only $89 a night. I would not even DREAM of paying $569 for this place. It's fine but at that price level most of the other SPG options are open and frankly I'd rather stay at either of Hyatt's Andaz properties. But at $89 I'm back at the end of this month

Out of my Element

Roof deck is off of the top floor (duh) and has nice views and no amenities, at least it didn't as of our stay on T-day. Nice high location, though, with a good view of the hopping roof deck at the 4 Points on 40th.

Might be a great place to watch the 4th of July Fireworks from.

captain_starwood

Am staying here next in two weeks, with some trepidation after reading this thread. Considering switching to the Four Points in Chelsea, which is 50+ more.

Seems like the common experience is decent experience, lots of small problems.

Also not entirely psyched about staying in Times Square, which is a bit of a hassle as a native new yorker.

Sam P. Goodman

I had a couple of stays here a couple of weekends ago. My expectations were pretty low going in and I was on an $89 AAA rate so it was fine, but had I paid regular NYC rates, I probably would have a different view.

Our room on the first stay was poorly laid out with the bed so close to the wall that there were maybe 5 inches between the A/C unit and the bed. The motel 6 wall unit A/C is a pretty low-rent feature to begin with and it's made worse by the tight space. There was also evidence of poor construction everywhere we looked. Cabinet knobs were loose, unpainted patchwork on the walls, residue on the bathroom lights, etc. There were also coffee stains on the kitchen counter. The windows do open, which is a major highlight in my book. Elevators were slow at times, but not so much that it was a major inconvenience. Breakfast spread was decent, though crowded and the use of bare 6' banquet tables left us scratching our heads. The lounge area behind the elevators is less crowded and more comfortable than the lobby. The roof deck is small, but nice and has good views. Staff were all friendly and plentiful, but the place definitely feels like it still has training wheels.

On our second stay, we had a room right across from the elevators, but the layout of the room was actually better as you could walk all the way around the bed. Less construction residue and more comfortable in general, but more coffee stains on the counters. Both rooms had great views of the Empire State building to the southeast.

All said, I'd consider going back on a good rate, but I imagine the days of $89 rates are gone, so I'd probably look elsewhere. I also prefer to be further south in NYC, but that's a personal thing.

I'm a huge fan of the element brand and have visited several, but this one doesn't seem quite right. I'm not sure it translates well to a big city. The amenities that go with element just don't fit well into a 300 sq. ft. space.

palmetto86

I just completed at a week long stay at the Element Times Square. It was my first stay at this particular property, but I haven't decided if I'll be back yet.

Positives:
- Nice room, great view! I was in a NE corner room on the 34th floor--great view up 8th Ave and of the NYTimes building across the street.
- Very helpful staff. I actually think my toilet was clogged by housekeeping, but a word with the front desk at lunch got the issue fixed by the time I was back that afternoon.

Negatives:
- Location. Maybe this is because of my personal preferences, but I really didn't like the surrounding area. I know others said they felt unsafe, but that wasn't the case for me. Simply put, the hotel is in one of most commercial areas of NYC. No good restaurants, no bars, no fun within walking distance. Two of my four nights I had delivery from Seamless Web.
- Food: Two separate mornings, I bit into items from the breakfast buffet that weren't thoroughly cooked. A frozen Mexican omelet--disgusting!

My biggest complaint:
- The Pantry: I know the "Restore Pantry" or whatever is called is part of the whole Element brand, but I really don't get it. It's basically commercial coolers in the lobby stocked with bad frozen foods. You would think they could have some nice prepared salads, or sandwiches, or cheesecake. But instead, the coolers are loaded with frozen organic crap. What young, urban, business travelers (Element's key demo) actually want to eat frozen foods they warm up in their room's microwave? Especially in NYC!

I just finished pulling this text from Element's website:
"Restore: A Well-Stocked Pantry
The restore gourmet pantry is equipped to help you prepare healthy, satisfying meals in your guest room. Choices range from salads to pasta and sauce to ready-to-go meals. We even offer artisanal meats and cheeses. Snacks include yogurt, chips and dip, cookies, crackers, candy, biscotti, snack bars and trail mix. Crave something cool? Ice cream, gelato and sorbet are available in the pantry freezer. Our extensive beverage selection includes smoothies, specialty sodas, energy drinks, water, tea, coffee, beer and wine."

From my stay at the Element Times Square, there was nothing "ready-to-go" about the Restore Pantry.

itsaboutthejourney

I too need to think about returning. It's great to have a stylish, new, budget SPG option in NYC, but is it worth the drawbacks?

Positives:

• Pretty nice room, great view. I was in a NW corner room on the 25th floor. Although the room as small, it didn't feel cramped. The bed seemed pretty close to the Westin Heavenly Bed with all the different pillows. This is a big improvement from say a Four Points.
  
• Loved the dark hardwood floor and the area rug around the bed.
  
• The bathroom was small but smarty designed with quality fixtures in terms of the glass shower and shower fixture. I also liked the 6" shelf created by the wall going out the width of the bathroom. It was a place to put stuff.
  
• I don't mind the pumps for shampoo and soap in the shower, just like aLoft. However, unlike aLoft's Bliss, this was some cheap generic stuff that I skipped.
  
• Liked the kitchenette, and that it also had a recycling container.
  
• Breakfast: very busy, but free food will do that. That said it was a good mix of items, far from the typical continental bfast that say a Holiday or Hilton Ghetto Inn would offer. They seem to offer a few things that a Hyatt Place would "upsell" (Egg McMuffins, hot cakes, sausage, etc.) I was surprised to see a few healthy items.
  
• In the side of the lounge area, there were 5-6 free use iMac computers running both Mac and PC and offering free printing. Simple. Easy. Big kudos for this set-up, which clearly was available 24/7.
  
• Wifi was free, and worked well.
  
• They emailed me my folio!

Negatives:

• I too had coffee stains on the counters, there was also some food resudue on the counter. Poor housekeeping.
  
• Bathroom was missing a garbage can.
  
• I booked an AAA rate that said it included "full american breakfast for 2". The hotel told me that the little buffet they offer in the lobby was a "full american breakfast". It was ok, but hardy that. The hotel doesn't even have a restaurant, so why are they selling this kind rate? Why the lie when I asked the front desk about the breakfast? (This was my first Element stay so I didn't realize there wasn't a restaurant)
  
• They did gladly honor the 3PM checkout, but when I arrived back at 3:04 the room was locked. I went downstairs and they said they couldn't re-key me, they had to send a security person to escort me to the room. It was kind of tacky and a bit embarrassing. Why can't they simply re-key for 15 mins to let a customer go up and gather their things? If they were smart they would have just done it for 4PM.
  
• They didn't know anything about a Platinum Amenity when I said I'd prefer the points. Does Element not offer that?
  
• Elevators were a bit slow at times, I'm guessing the hotel is 1 elevator bank short of what it should have.

Restore pantry. I agree with palmetto86 it's a big disapointment and far off target for it brand premise. The frozen food reminded me of a soulless Marriott Residence Inn or something out in the 'burbs or office parklandia. There were some interesting things, such as Seventh Generation soaps, Newman's Own brand items. They need to list prices, either on the items or signs. Because it's not staffed, it wasn't worth me getting attention of the desk staff to ask for prices. One one hand you have Starbucks 1/2 a block away with better sandwiches if you are in a hurry, and the other, it's NYC where you can get anything from full gourmet to decent pizza 24/7 so they shouldn't even bother to compete but focus on things people may not want to leave the hotel for (laundry soap, ice cream, shaving kits/personal care items).

Suggestion:

They should put a post-it on the counter reminding you they sell grocery items in the pantry, maybe it would get more use?

Bottom line:

It's great to have a stylish budget SPG option in NYC, but is it worth the drawbacks? If I were to normally stay at a Residence Inn or one of those kind of places I'd switch to the Element in a heartbeat. But someone used to a Westin, W or even Sheraton may want a full service hotel with more room options.

boifromtroy

I stayed here mid-January and was glad I did not pay more than $125.

- There was no power outlet or internet connection by the desk
- There was no trash can in the bathroom
- The TV would not swivel to face the bed

I also think I was allergic to the room, as I would sneeze uncontrollably inside it but never anywhere else.

Oh well...

Sam P. Goodman

I forgot to mention that I had the same problem. 4pm checkout offered at check-in, but when we came back to get our bags at 3:30, the room was locked and they said the keys don't work for "extended" checkout. Had to get the security escort back up to get let in. It appeared that this is S.O.P. for late check-outs, which is rediculous.

LovetoTravel83

So what do you think here guys, $166 for a studio at the Element or 306 at the W times square.

I've been at the W before and the room was kinda small. (was gold back then).

166 looks pretty low for a studio, anybody been in a studio and how was it?

itsaboutthejourney

After sending corporate my issue about the breakfast and expired room key needing a security escort I received a nice note from the front desk manger acknowledging that the key issue as a known problem they are working to fix. They also said they would adjust the language in the AAA rates. So kudos for the response. ^

bubb1

Maybe that is the case now, but we used this (last entry ~3:45pm) in early December and had no issues. We did check with the front desk that morning to verify the 4pm checkout.

SensFan

There is no choice of amenity at Element hotels. It is 250 points for all stays (similar to 4 Points).

MacnCheez

Can someone help decipher the room descriptions? What is the difference between these four options?

(1) STANDARD NON-SMOKING , HEAVENLY BED, RAIN FOREST SHOWER HEAD , FULL KITCHEN , CANNOT ADD EXTRA BED
(2) STANDARD VIEW , HEAVENLY BED, RAIN FOREST SHOWER HEAD , FULL KITCHEN , CANNOT ADD EXTRA BED
(3) STUDIO NON-SMOKING , HEAVENLY BED, RAIN FOREST SHOWER HEAD , FULL KITCHEN , CANNOT ADD EXTRA BED
(4) HEAVENLY BED, RAIN FOREST SHOWER HEAD , FULL KITCHEN , CANNOT ADD EXTRA BED

All the rooms in the hotel are non-smoking.... so what's the difference between each? If you know, please include the room sizes and any other amenity difference.