nologic

How are the views good from the lobby? Views of what?

djkyyc

They were unsure if it was permanent when I asked but thought it would be long term.

I enjoy the Central Park views from my room so the street life views of the hustle and bustle from the lobby club lounge with the much larger windows and higher ceilings appeals to me. It feels much more open and spacious (and is indeed much larger). I was never challenged to find an empty table.

steve60549

What kind of room are you booking? I only remember looking into the next building even though it was a pretty high floor.

djkyyc

I book a traditional room and typically get upgraded to a club or premium view room. For this last stay I was on the 50th floor above where the lounge used to be located.

I will certainly agree opinions will vary on the location of the new lounge. I liked it, others won’t. One thing for sure, the food offerings have been improved as well as the amount of seating available.

RafKa

I concur with the previous assessment on the quality of the lounge.

I was here 2 weeks ago, and despite many previous visits, I never had the opportunity to check out the lounge, nor was I inclined to do so, given the negative reviews here.

I was thoroughly impressed at the quality of both evening hors d'oeuvres and breakfast, so much so that I managed to make a quick dinner out of it before going out for drinks. The area is indeed spacious and convenient right next to the entrance, so easy to drop by and get a soda on the way to your room.

gregv

I believe someone predicted in another NYC Starwood thread...
As of February 1st, 2018:

MANDATORY CHARGE POLICY

Our 25 USD daily destination fee includes upgrades designed to enhance your stay in New York City:

• 25 USD daily Food and Beverage Credit in Hudson’s Market, In-Room Dining, or Club Lounge
• NYC Experience, choice of: Gulliver’s gate in Times Square; Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, or City Sights New York Cruise – including Hop on/off (one per day). See Tickets & Tours Desk to redeem.
• 20% Discount at Landau on all regular priced merchandise
• Fitness Class with On-Property Instructor (1 per day)
• Enhanced Wired Internet and Local/Long Distance/International Calls

Food and beverage credit is per day, and cannot be accumulated for multi-day stays. Club Lounge credit is for beverages only; Platinum status or upgrade required for access to Club Lounge. Tax not included.

travellingcari

At least this pays for itself, theoretically, with the food & beverage credit. But I really wish hotels would knock it off with using a resort/destination/whatever it's called this week for basic utilities like phone & internet.

controller1

I thought this property no longer had room service!? Or is that another property I'm thinking of?

Torode

So, I booked this hotel a week ago for a June stay, and I have a booking confirmation email with the total price that does not include this newfangled "destination fee." However, when I checked the reservation online, to my surprise the deal had been altered, with three days' worth of destination fees now added to the total amount payable. It doesn't seem right to make changes that are retroactively applicable to existing bookings. I called SPG and was told that I must have been mistaken and not seen the destination charge at the time of my booking. I explained that the charge didn't exist when I made the booking, and was told to expect a call from the hotel's billing dept. Will update if I receive a response.

Update
I received the following response from the hotel regarding the Destination Fee:

"You certainly have the option to opt out of the program upon arrival by simply advising the reception team at check-in."

I will indeed be opting out of this. I assume this is an option afforded to me due to having booked before the system was put in place, but perhaps others will have luck as well.

pewpew

Seriously, destination fees and resort fees should either be illegal or OTAs + hotel websites should start quoting the price inclusive of hotel-added fees. As I understand it, the whole reason we don't include tax on prices in NA is so that we can see how much money the government is "taking" from us. Fine. But excluding destination/resort/facility fees from search engines unfairly advantages properties that engage in anti-consumer behaviour.

And don't get me started on destination marketing fees

jaejaez

next up, "destination resort marketing fees" which will give you complimentary 24 hour access to the hotel lobby

Out of my Element

"Wired Internet"?

Are they going to have TVs without remotes, too (that was a thing for awhile, kids)

porciuscato

Thanks for checking. The same thing happened to me. Pretty damn sleazy to alter the reservation and the price after you have made it with a price certain. It's fine for them to tell us to say no at the desk. But it's absolutely fraudulent to change an agreed upon price after the fact and leave it up to the customer to discover.

itsaboutthejourney

That's not a cappuccino machine. Did you use it? It dispenses Starbucks brewed coffee, no espresso, no cappuccino, no lattes, etc.

djkyyc