Adelphos

As usual with Edition, you only get full value out of the hotel if you plans to spend time at the lobby bar and/or the restaurant/pool/etc. Edition NY has an awesome lobby bar.

Curious if you have posted a review of Equinox Hotel, I spend enough time at the club there but haven’t seen the rooms or anything

WasKnown

I am not a fan of EDITIONs overall but I do not think the value of the NY EDITION is from staying at the hotel. Imo the hotel location is great and the service is excellent for most travelers. I don’t need a butler to unpack my stuff and pour hot water for me. However, I love being greeted by name and being at a hotel where the team is able to anticipate my *wants*. Following me to give me an umbrella because I left the hotel without realizing it’s going to rain? That is truly great service imo. The location is also unbeatable. However, it is really a shame they have virtually no relationship with EMP given their proximity to the restaurant. They deserve to lose points for that. But with all that being said, this hotel is just cheaper than true luxury options. It is a step below some of the nicer hotels in the city but also priced relative to that. For this reason alone, I think the hotel will have a niche.

Personally, I do not find Bonvoy benefits to be “weak” at EDITION hotels. Between an EDITION and a St. Regis, the only difference I see is breakfast. It might be controversial to say this on BreakfastTalk but I would not have eaten breakfast more than once at the EDITION even if it was complimentary. However, in exchange for my status I was granted: an early check-in at noon (instead of 4 pm), a late check-out at 4 pm (instead of 11 AM), a meaningful room upgrade, and a 75% bonus rebate (discount) on my stay.

My equinox hotel review will go up on November 7. Imo they have some of the best rooms in the city but the location is just too terrible. I don’t know how it can be justified for anyone but staycationers or people with business at BCG/Google/Facebook/L’Oréal/whatever. Service was fine by NYC standards but probably intolerable by FlyerTalk standards. It took them 1 hour to send up a notepad to my room.

WasKnown

Also this is easily my favorite staycation NYC hotel right now. It is not the best for anything but it is one of the only options that excels in the 4 dimensions that matter most to me: room quality, location, service, and price. I expect the Ritz Carlton NoMad to surpass it in every dimension but price when it finally opens. The hard product looks amazing, the location is excellent, and the hotel is run by a GM that I really respect (that used to be the GM for the NY EDITION).

Kacee

Stayed one night at the bargain redemption price of 50k (with cash rates over $900 ). Given minimal "upgrade" to a higher floor room (Superior King vs. 1 King). Room was very small with what would have been a nice view downtown including the Hudson but already small windows obstructed by building's arches (34th floor). Only elite benefits are 1000 points plus late checkout. Front desk agent seemed embarrassed not to have anything else to offer an Ambassador. $35 destination fee; they do offer a lobby bar/spa/laundry credit of additional value for those who can use these benefits. They do seem to have added a mattress topper to the otherwise too firm beds since I last stayed. Great location, but I'm otherwise not a fan of this property or the Edition brand in general. Obviously I am not the target audience

olindacat

Any thoughts on where you'd do another 50K redemption in the Big Apple Kacee?

Kacee

I don't think we'll see Essex House at that rate again. At 50k, I'd consider the Ren Chelsea or perhaps the RI Manhattan/Central Park.

To be clear, Edition New York is a good deal at 50k, I personally just don't like the property so much.

Radiation Station

Speaking of upgrades, I had a very unpleasant discussion with a manager at the TS EDITION yesterday where they denied me an upgrade as an ambassador and were very rude and antagonistic. My conclusion is that EDITIONs in the USA just don’t care about elites. This completely contrasts with my experience of EDITION hotels in Europe, which have been pleasant boutique hotels with impeccable service. I think we previously discussed our disparate opinions about EDITION hotels, so I wanted to let you know that I think American EDITIONs may be the bad apples!

olindacat

I can tell!

olindacat

Hmmm. I just snagged two 50K certs so I could try out the NY Edition bc WasKnown had sung songs of praise, and I happen to think WasKnown is a very good/honest reviewer of hotels (I lurk a lot :-). I was about to pull the trigger for tonight and tomorrow when I checked out this thread and started to run scared. Ugh, NY is hard to figure out for short escapes. Not easy to St. Regis and/or Ritz regularly, and not exactly on the cheap.....

Ken C

Have a stay next month, needed something walking distance to Gramercy Park Theater. Haven't been to this neighborhood since PreCOVID. Any good biz casual dinner recs for this area?

Polytonic

Had a stay here a couple weeks back and enjoyed it immensely. Easy access to multiple trains, friendly staff, the avocado toast at the bar is actually pretty good as a breakfast or light lunch item if you're trying to burn off the $35 destination credit.

No suite upgrade (per brand standard I suppose) but the front desk did give me a pretty good room on the 28th floor with a view of downtown, 1WTC, both bridges, etc.

Really the only negative thing I have to say is the sink is a little small. Nowhere to put a toiletry kit or anything like that.

Also a bizarrely large closet, which I suppose is great if you have a lot of luggage. I did not, but I wouldn't hold it against the hotel either.

Kacee

Closet size is apparently highly variable, as the very expensive room we booked here several years ago (Loft King I believe) had about the smallest closet I've ever seen (and no dresser). We had to lay our bags out on the floor and use them for clothes storage.

Polytonic

I’ve added some room photos (last one of closet — it’s seriously the size of a small room, the wide angle shot does not do it justice).

Actually while I’m at it, I suppose I can add some more detail.

I showed up early, around noon-ish, room was not ready yet, told to return around 4ish. Came back and was told housekeeping needed to sign off on it first, which took another 10-15min. Not a huge deal since I was hanging around in the neighborhood anyway.

The “real” check in went pretty smoothly. I had a fun conversation with the front desk, shoutout to Johnny filling me in on all the local coffee spots. Pretty straightforward explanation of the benefits associated with the destination fee (mostly the $35 daily food and beverage credit in my case).

Elevators are a bit slow considering how many rooms/floors there are on property, but the actual room/furnishings are in pretty good shape. As a relatively younger person, I appreciated the more modern design relative to what the JW had on offer (also: the service blows the JW out of the water to be totally honest). I can confirm that you can occasionally hear some hallway noise as others have stated, but there are really only 5 or 6 rooms per floor, so it’s not a huge deal. The toiletries are to die for (Le Labo) compared to the JW (Aromatherapy Associates).

Housekeeping was doing nightly turndown service, and by the 3rd or 4th night, they were leaving me extra bottles of water. They also noticed which side of the bed I was sleeping on, and left me an extra bottle of water on the nightstand. The bartenders were also happy to fill up my water bottle on request. Really friendly bartenders too, some good conversation with them. Most guests staying in the hotel are from out of town — a fair number attending either the US Open or NY Fashion Week, but the hotel was not particularly full according to the front desk.

The location is unbeatable for food and transit with easy access to R/W and 4/6 trains — the 23 St 4/6 stop is actually closer than the R/W stop (north exit shares the same block on Madison). If you don’t want to try the avocado toast at the bar ($28?), there’s plenty of stuff nearby at every budget level. The lack of kettle in room did not bother me, tons of fancy coffee options nearby (Gumption, Devocion, Felix, etc.).

I would not hesitate to stay here again, esp. at the rate I got on points (6 nights at 65k/night, 5th night free and a 50k cert w/ top off compared to rack rate $1100+/night).

sxpsxpsxp

I've deleted everything I said here because... well, there's no other way to say it, but none of it applies to this property. This is what happens when you're trying to do too many things at the same time and aren't paying close enough attention.

So if you read what I had written here prior to me deleting it, please know that it refers to a different EDITION property.

Sorry.

Adelphos

The high room rates are driven by the design (which some people like) and public spaces - like all Edition hotels.