fly co to see the yanks

regarding the rain, welcome to NY for the better part of the past two years.

regarding the next post about opinions vis-a-vis the Russell, etc., it depends on your desired location. if you are looking for downtown activities (particularly on the west side), this property is in a great location. it is very convenient to a bevy of subway lines and buses.

Steph58

Thanks all for the updates, glad to hear this is an ok place. Are the rooms that small? We'll have 3 people. Whole Foods nearby, a good tip. I booked this about 6 weeks ago and I notice the rates have now doubled. I am looking forward to the stay. Should we bring umbrellas in 3 weeks? Hard to think about rain, since it's close to 80 degrees here in sunny California.

fly co to see the yanks

if the hotel doesn't provide them (which would be poor (pardon the pun)), then definitely "yes."

SFOTRAVELER

The floorplan was more "U" shaped than having rooms go all the way around the perimeter of each floor. I don't think there were rooms behind the elevator.

The rooms were smallish, but 3 adults in 2 beds were not in each other's way. Our rate of $169 / $199 was acceptable for a new property in this part of Manhattan. If another hotel had larger rooms at the same rate, of course I would jump on that.

Forgot to mention, there was a coffeemaker (never used it).

fly co to see the yanks

per the WSJ: "Midpriced and economy hotels, which rode the travel downturn better than high-end rivals, want to keep their edge by investing in luxury perks of their own.

Starwood's midpriced Four Points chain just opened a branch in New York's trendy Chelsea neighborhood with two 22nd-story suites and an Asian fusion bar and restaurant, U and Mie."

ralfkrippner

Staying there for 2 nights for the Freddies next week and will report my experience there.

If you want to reach them by fax: the published number doesn't work. I got another one by phone: 212-337-8318.

ralfkrippner

The location at 25th and 7th is quite good and a short walk from Penn station only. The restaurant was not yet open and it seems they still had some problems - e.g. on one morning there was a fire alarm with repeated messages 'please disregard alarm' while two firetrucks and police pulled in.

I got a room on the 21st floor (top floor is 22) with quite a nice view in the southern direction. The room was tiny but that was expected for a New York FourPoints. The bed was good (mattress with a softish overlay, low-cost heavenly bed style) and three large pillows, but only with a wool-blanket. Large TV (without spg tv and pay-tv), working desk with free high-speed internet plug (bring your own cable), coffeemaker, nice office chair. Also a small easy chair, a cupboard and a closet with safe and ironing board. The room had a window that could be opened a bit and a good but loud a/c. The bathroom had a nice large shower cabin. Furniture was painted with dark brown colour but definitely on the cheap side; looked a bit 'home made' with strange iron fittings.

No club lounge or spg offerings other than a free bottle of water.

For future visits of NYC I would visit this hotel again as long as it stays new and the rooms are not worn if the rate is at least 50$ lower than the Sheratons.

Plus-Points:
- New and somewhat nice rooms
- Good view from upper floors (at least in southern direction)
- Free internet

Minus-Points:
- Seems Plat upgrades will be just to a higher floor
- 40$ off second night promo was not honored (requested by fax with online booking; no answer to my fax in advance of stay)
- Even 169$ rate is a bit too high IMO and cat. 4 for awards is definitely too high
- no club lounge
- requested room 'away from ice machine' was not honored
- no mini bar and no room service (I guess as no restaurant open yet)

LewDog

I am somewhat reluctantly going to give them a try in mid-June, since the cheapest other property is the Russell at $245 with my corporate discount.

I say reluctantly because of the poor experiences I've been having lately w/ SW properties, but hopefully they won't disappoint this time.

Never thought I'd spend $170 per nite to stay on 25th street, but such is life.

EricH

I just did a two-night stay. I'd describe the place as an attempt at a low-rent W. Very small rooms, pretty cheap furnishings and a Four Point bathroom. But the walls are painted in dark colors, which adds a touch of coolness to what might otherwise be a low-end property. I'm Gold and this stay brought me more than half-way to Plat for the year, but I got a pretty crummy room on the second floor. They said they were sold out but I checked in at about 4 pm, so I'm skeptical that they were already full. I didn't push my status, so I can't say that I was refused a nicer room, but they certainly didn't offer anything.

PremEx

Not to mention it's $170 for a Four Points!

All that and still just a 250 point Platinum Amenity Bonus.

LewDog

I'm no marketing guru, but I'm willing to bet they branded this as a Four Points to avoid cannibilizing the other lower-end Sheraton properties in Manhattan.

I wonder if the 250 points is worth it, or if I'd be better served taking the $10 minibar credit.

Is there a minibar?

Ready2Go

No, but there are vending machines in the basement. Don't know if they give tokens to Plats.

I stayed at this property a couple of weeks ago, and it's fine for what it is. But there's no question of it being confused with the lower-end Sheratons. It's much more bare-bones in terms of public-area amenities. The lobby is tiny, consisting of the check-in desk, four chairs, and a coffee table. Other than the one or two desk personnel, there were no staff in evidence, i.e., no bell staff, concierge, or anything like that. There are a couple of conference rooms in the basement (by the vending machines), but nothing like the function rooms you find in larger hotels.

Steph58

Just returned from 3 nights here. My biggest complaint is I booked a room for 3 people, 2 "double" beds. The beds are not doubles--something between a twin and a double. I really wish they would have mentioned this at the time of booking b/c I would have gone elsewhere. The rooms are so small, there's no way to bring in a rollaway. We were assigned the 17th floor. You could clearly hear people talking in the hallway (although no noise from other rooms). At midnight, after 20 minutes of listening to the conversation of our floormates, I opened the door and they went back to their room. At 2:30 a.m. someone else felt compelled to carry on a cell phone conversation in the hall. Window coverings are extended too far out from the wall and sunlight streams in early. Noisy window a/c unit. Asked if all rooms have these small beds, poor window coverings and noise problems and was told by the front desk "this is New York what do you expect". Front desk seemed constantly overwhelmed as the lobby was always packed with people (an art show). It's a Four Points so no concierge of course, but front desk couldn't help with directions on how to get places. Asked for a late checkout, which was given. However, my bill was quite a mess (many errors) so at 9:00 a.m. I explained the problems and asked the front desk to work on fixing it. When we returned to check out at 3:00, the clerk had not done anything toward getting the bill corrected. Had to go through the whole thing all over again with someone else. We moved over to the Westin Times Square and felt like we'd died and gone to Heaven--a perfect stay at the Westin.

The positives are: new and clean rooms, good shower, coffee maker in room, good housekeeping, Whole Foods across the street, subway within a few short blocks. If you're just 1 or 2 people and get a very low rate, I guess the place would be okay. Over the years I've stayed in 8 different mid-range hotels in NYC, and this is the only one where I personally would not return. Other than this hotel, we had a fantastic time--no rain except a couple brief minutes at night. In fact the weather was sunny and fantastic--I'm freezing now back here in California!

FlyingProf

Stayed there two weeks ago, and it was excellent in almost all respects. 169 for NYC is amazing ... location is good, and the free internet was up and running just fine. Everything is brand new. The ice machines not turned on yet, and that's really the only problem. The halls are very small, and the ice machine is located just outside one of the rooms, so if you are worried about noise you might ask to be away from the ice machine. The rooms are tight, but well designed. I'd stay there again without hesitation, particularly if they can keep the price below the normal Manhattan stratosphere.

touringuy

Leaving for NYC tomorrow and will be spending a total of three nights at this property. Has anyone else stayed here lately? I will be sure to post a review when I return, hopefully the room will be acceptable! For the price of $169 a night, I don't expect to be disappointed.