rooivalk

how much is the per day per baggage fee here? had planned on leaving luggage here for a week whilst I toured some other parts of the US.

skye1

Hopefully someone will respond with a precise rate. I recall wanting to leave a bag there for an afternoon (leaving around 1pm, with a late-checkout for 4pm, just wanting to drop off bags, walk around a bit, come back & bag-grab without needing to return to room, etc.).

I can't recall exact rates, just that--even for a major city hotel, even in its location--it seemed a bit steep.

Keyser

i've been in this situation a bunch of times as well....booked a reward room with a particular bed type & i didn't get that in the end....but like you said, not the end of the world....

but coming back to your other problems at this property....i haven't stayed here in a while but i've faced similar issues as well....seems like not much has changed....

skye1

...by way of epilogue, the hotel never posted my "stay", noting it still missing over a month later.

It took two calls to Platinum Concierge and correspondence with Research for that to go through. Seems that they did redeem "my" points for the award I used, they didn't post the stay, & SPG "needed" to do this for me/them.

nachoman205

Never been to NYC before with Family. Three Children all teenagers So was looking forward to the trip. Was lurking on this sight so expectations were low based on all the negatives. Room Choice, Club Lounge, Rooms not ready,etc.

So all this in mind I had two room reserved on poitns for 5 nights. Thought might be a good idea to call and see if I can get adjoining rooms the day before the stay. Desk was very polite on the phone and said"will do our best" Was pleasantly surprised to fine that I had been upgraded to a parlor room (low floor 14th with decent view but who cares) connected to a double room. Other room was few doors down. Wife not thrilled. So made it up the 14th and we found out did not need second room. So I went back down and the desk let me cancel and got me 30000+- points back. Obviuosly did not have to do that.

Club lounge no issues with number of people. Great attentive service. Kids loved the hot chocolate/ coffee machine. Only issue is the food did not change in 5 days either morning or night. Still saved big $ on snack drinks etc.

Location once you figure out subway(easy) can get just about anywhere. short walk to times square/Brodway shows/ Rockefellor.

Would stay here again no problem. As with most business travelors I really only want/need upgrades when with the family and wife. And most of the time I have been well taken care of by starwood.

gregv

I have a stay here soon and received an email regarding front door closure.

"We are preparing to make some great improvements to our front doors. Starting on March 31th through April 24th, our main entrance on Seventh Avenue will be closed for renovations. During this time, please utilize the hotel entrance on 53rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. Taxis will also be available at this location, by the Ground Transportation signs. Please pardon our appearance as we undergo this transformation. We are doing our best to keep any disruption as minimal as possible."

Antonio8069

Oh, fun! Encouraged by more positive recent reviews, I just booked a 2-night stay for Easter. I was also surprised to see this property came up on spghotelescapes.com today.

Do any FT's have a contact name/e-mail address for this property? If so, please PM me, thanks.

ac1510

I booked my parents in a club room on points for the weekend to celebrate their 70th birthdays. When they arrived, the front desk girl disappeared for 10 min and came back with " I can give you a superior room." When my mom asked why they couldn't have a club room she was told it was the same type of room.
I wasn't impressed. Neither was SPG. I got a form letter back from the guest relations manager with some points. No explanation. I write a follow up letter and got no response.
Won't ever stay here.

sfozrhfco

If they got club access there is nothing different between a superior room and a club floor room. They are exactly the same size with the same amenities. Seems like a pretty minor thing to me.

Antonio8069

The property held a swanky "Spring Fling" event for SPG guests on April 22. It was great to meet # of the managers on site (PM me if you need a contact for a future stay).
The suite - 4501 - is amazing. Its 2-story, wall to ceiling windows, 2-bedrooms with 2 jacuzzi baths c/w their own bath! Reminded me of the Westin Sydney!

Some other updates on the property:
- the closure of the 7th Ave entrance is a non-event. The flow on the main level (always crowded) in fact works better now. The entrance (on 53rd) is actually close to the MTA ACE train entrance so its more convenient;
- the lounge continues to be very crowded in the am, but never ran out of food. The eve spread was cheese and a few cold or d'oeuvres i.e. nothing worth going back to the hotel for. Runs 5:30-8:00 pm and the bar stays open after.

The SPG Fitness on the lower level is also very busy in the eve. They have a decent workout area, but amazingly, they still charge regular guests #10/visit! (SPG members are complimentary). The ee told me one time they had both a steam room and a pool (next door) and now both are long gone!

Out of my Element

Stayed here this weekend (Sat/Sun nights). Got to NYC earlier than expected, hoped to check in at 11AM, but told to come back, they were "100% full last night as well as tonight". Left our luggage and did some exploring, got back there around 1:30PM and went back to the desk to see if anything was available. Noticed an agitated man with the next associate, mid 30's with his wife and 2 kids (6 and 9?). Apparently he mistakenly booked a Queen room, thinking this meant 2 queen beds, not realizing that those kind of rooms are rare in midtown. Associate offered him a King with a "chaise" that they use instead of cots (no cots at all in this property), but that still wouldn't sleep 4 people. He "was Platinum a long time" with Starwood, and expected an upgrade that would sleep 4 people, but no dice. Meanwhile, the associate helping us was finding nothing open, so I asked about an upgrade (why not?). He asked for a minute to check, came back from the backroom with a "for $25/night I can give you a Club room now, which includes hors d'oeuvres and breakfast. We decided that was very fair (it also included Internet, so we got points as well), as breakfast would cost close to that for the two of us, plus we were very happy to get into our room early.

Only got to the lounge for one evening hors d'oeuvres -- no hot items, but lots of cheese, crackers, veggies, and dips. B'fast had only hard boiled eggs for hot item, but lots of pastries (and a toaster) and cereals and fruit. Not bad, not great. Stay in total was pretty good. Room on the 45th floor almost had a view of Central Park. Elevators were fairly annoying for every trip -- never faster than 2-3 minutes, usually 4-6 minute wait each time down, less for going up. Good thing the lounge on 44 was accessible by stairs!

pyite

i've got a stay coming up here in the next couple of weeks... tempted to use a couple of suite nights? thoughts?

Antonio8069

What do you mean by "suite nights"?

The standard SPG reward is for a standard room. Upgrades are based on availability on arrival. Pretty standard.

IF you have a booking and want a hotel contact to request an upgrade, PM me.

DavidAL

They are referring to Suite Night Awards (SNAs).

To the OP, no harm no foul for attaching SNAs to the reservation. May clear, may not.

EnvoyBoy

After on the list for a few weeks, my SNA for a Thurs, Fri, Sat night stay did not clear, fyi.