shinbal

It was my fifth stay there since LPM joined SPG.

As with Andymo99 above, I'm batting a thousand with junior suite upgrades. I have requested Park view Kings for a change-up, since the junior suites I get always seem to face 56th street. My NY office is across the street so there truthfully isn't anywhere more convenient for me.

Those things being said, I saw another side of the hotel with some less-than-great service; and it brought to light some things that annoy me.

I called about overnight dry cleaning on a suit. There were no forms or bags in the room, but when I called the valet, they gave me pricing, etc., and offered to come by and pick everything up. I was assured that my suit would be back by 7AM. They came and picked it up quickly and again assured me a 7AM delivery time. At 7:30 the next morning, no suit. A very, very rude valet told me that delivery time is between 9 and 10AM, then hung up on me. Fortunately, I wrote down the name of the valet from the evening before so I could tell the hotel who gave me the information.

Dry cleaning on a suit with express service is over $70, but it was urgent. However, since it didn't arrive in time, I plant to contest the charges. Additionally, I had to press another suit on my own, with a 1990's iron which was attached to an ironing board. Really? In the Parker? They have to attach the iron? It didn't really matter anyway - because the iron didn't work!

That afternoon, I did a quick view of my account and noticed $180 in dry cleaning charges. It turns out that, in addition to my own bill, they added the charges of another guest on to my bill. I spoke to the front desk and the agent was of no help, and showed no interest in helping. I was disgusted.

I called the GM and got his voice mail Turns out my complaint was forwarded to their director of customer service, a lady named Lisa. She's the type of person that every hotel wants in that position. Lisa was a great communicator and was certainly customer-focused. My request for a reversal of the cleaning charges was accepted, and she apologized profusely for the other problems.

As I spent a bit of time figuring out the issues, I noticed some things that bother me about the hotel. Since I wasn't in a good mood, they seemed to stand out and bother me more than they normally would have. First, they try too hard to be hip and really over-do it. The cutesy little signs in the room; the fact that dry cleaning slips (which I finally did see) are called "fashion citations"; The decor in the room is dated and the beds are not really comfortable. A simple, non-alcoholic breakfast for two was $100. $14 for a glass of orange juice? I had just enough time before my problems were resolved to stew on these things and re-think my new loyalty to the property.

I thought the hotel might offer some SPG points for the inconvenience. Sheraton occasionally does that as does Westin (Service Promise). I didn't ask and nothing was offered.

My experience took a little bit of the shine off this property for me.

FlyingDoctorwu

Hey, just a quick question. I have a stay booked for Valentine's DAy weekend... on the website the floorplan lists the jr suites with showers only... do any of them have tubs (I know that the Central Park JR. Suites do...)...

Just wondering.. seems as if there is good liuck with Jr suite upgrades at this hotel for plats..

FDW

TravelingWookiee

I've had one jr suite with a tub, but the fast majority of times there was only a shower. The showers are very nice though.

Gski

I also stay 2 to 3 nights a week. My main draw is the pool and gym.

Jr Suites: I do not believe there are ANY Jr Suites on the Park View side. All Jr Suites face the city based on (1) experience and (2) the floor plan on the door. There are corner rooms (xx01) to which as a Plat I am told you could be upgraded only if you book a Jr Suite. I spent a year booking Jr Suites and that never happened.

Tower vs non Tower: non Tower are up to floor 22 in the elevators opposite the Front Desk. The Towers, 23 to 42 elevators around the corner. I always stay in the Towers, though when the hotel is full, elevators can be slow since there are only 3.

Bathtubs: There are a couple of Jr Suites with bathtubs but I dont know which ones. The park view rooms (Kings) have bathtubs.

ParkView: I think if you're going to be doing a lot of work in the room, the park view King with the desk at the window makes for a pleasant working day. However, if you're not going to be in your hotel room much, just go up to the PH Pool and have your gander at Central Park there. There was one Park View night that stands out in my mind where I saw some lightning

Norma's: $75 is normal for a 2 person, 2 entree, coffee, no juice meal. It's NYC and unfortunately my European friends find great value in it. I've found the service to be really off lately (based on 3 breakfast visits). 15 min wait to order, wrong entrees, 10 min wait for the bill, even though when I ordered I asked the waiter for the bill and indicated that I had to be out the door at 8:45. You'd think that service would be immaculate given the price. Almost left and thought to settle up later.

Yes, Lisa T is extremely helpful.

ber10kmp

Shinbal
I know you needed your dry cleaning overnight, but for future reference there is a really good cleaners just around the corner on 7th avenue between 56 and 57th. IIRC they will deliver to the hotel.

Regards

BigPoppaCO

Next time you are in NY and find yourself in that situation, just walk a few blocks and find a dry cleaner. $70 is obscene

andymo99

My preferred cleaner is J's on 6th Ave b/w 56th and 57th, west side of the street. I've had them do laundry, dry cleaning and alterations. Reasonable prices, good performance (they removed a stain that others had missed) and they deliver to the concierge, who in turn has the clothes waiting for you in your room by end of day.

longtimereader

I have always had good experiences at Norma's.

TimMeineke

Heading to NYC at the end of the month with Mrs. Meineke & Tim Jr for a business/pleasure stay. This place is $97 per night cheaper than the SNYHT, which completely caught me off guard. With a 5 yr old, the SNYHT works out well because we almost always get a suite with an extra room, and the Plat lounge is great. A couple of questions before I opt for LPM (and I'm going under the assumption that I'd be upgraded to a Junior Suite):

- how much separation does the swivel TV provide, i.e. enough so that adults can sleep in the bedroom while a 5 yr old plays in the other room?
- is the couch a pull-out? The website seems to indicate that it is, but several posts seem to just refer to it as a couch
- is there somewhere decent nearby to eat breakfast - not Normas but a bagel place or good diner? I used to live in Manhattan and never thought of this area as a good place to have weekend breakfast (and I'll probably switch to SNYHT on Sunday night, since the lounge is open on Monday and it's closer to my office)

astan100

Tim -

I'm in a Junior Suite now (upgraded from a standard room as a PLT).

1) This is Manhattan, so there isn't a ton of space. It's big for Manhattan, but your kids playing video games will probably keep you awake because there is no actual door separating the two areas.

2) There is a pull out couch.

3) I always have a hard time finding good spots in this area, but if you want a really short cab ride, ESS-a-Bagel is at like 53rd and 3rd and it is rockin' and cheap.

thaliajen

Do they have a good upgrade policy for Plats? I see junior suite upgrades, but I'm curious if more than the 1 poster I saw got a full suite, living room and separate bedroom. Thanks!

steven_s

I stayed there last week, only made the booking 10 minutes before arriving and received a Junior Suite without asking. This is certainly the better SPG property in New York for recognition.

ttrltb

I just found this review of ours for Le Parker Meridien. It's based on a stay while I was SPG Gold at the very end of August 2009, so my apologies for the exceptionally late posting...

Got back from a weekend at Le Parker Meridien in NYC. Have to preface this review by pointing out that I chose LPM because we used to stay there occasionally and it was a big fave with my better half.

Our check in went smoothly. Sasha was certainly gregarious and engaging, though maybe playing on her sincerity a little. Not a problem for the uninitiated. She gave us our room immediately (we arrived around noon) and advised that we were placed in a Park View room. (FYI, I'm only gold so far...) We arrived to our room and I must concede that it was a little worn and dated, but nothing that would necessarily exclude it from a return. Our room was also next to the ice machine...and the employee/emergency stairwell...and an employee storage area. Thankfully, there wasn't too much noise. The Central Park view was nice, but just so you know, NYC being what it is, the view was really 55% buildings, windows and rooftops and 45% Central Park. (Also, the Mrs. mixed up hotel locations, since she thought the LPM was on 59th, thus was expecting an unobstructed view of the park.)

Everyone at the hotel was very friendly. I mean everyone! And that's a feat! Especially in NYC! Even though you could tell from some that it was hotel policy to engage all guests, not one staff member we met throughout the hotel seemed insincere or phony or "over" the company policy.

We used 2 of our FWN's to stay here, but if I could do it over again, I'd've forgone the sentimentality and chosen the Times Square W, since that property was also eligible for FWN. (We tried to get a look at some TS W rooms while there, but they were sold out and didn't get to see any...never made time to check out the Westin for future stays...)

Would I stay at LPM again? Sure, as long as the price point wasn't very close to the W Times Square or, as another unknown, the Westin.

As for restaurants:

Burger Joint - really good burgers, average fries and a good NYC price.
You can also pre-order from your room and pick it up quickly!
Wish I'd known we could charge it to the room... I have to disagree with earlier reviews who compare the burgers to Five guys or In n' Out, they are definitely much better. And I'm always pleased when they can cook a burger rare, a task that must be daunting for the 90% of places that can't or won't do it. The fries on the other hand, were only average, but at least they were hot and fresh.

Norma's - seriously overpriced and overrated
On our last morning we ate breakfast at Norma's, an event we were really looking forward to. Unfortunately, we were both rather disappointed. Our service was a little inattentive and unimpressive. It's super busy, noisy and our table was quite literally two inches from the table next to us, so it has all the ambiance of a well decorated diner. I had to struggle to hear or own conversation over the table's next to us. And, thank goodness I can eat ambidextrously, otherwise I'd have to time cutting lumberjack style with my neighbor. The French press coffee was good, not great and the OJ was fresh squeezed. They also provided little shots of fruit smoothie. I had the chocolate French toast and she had a chocolate crepe, both adorned with sauces and some fruit. Mine was okay, and I expected decadence, but it was basically a (flourless?) cake with chocolate sauce poured over it. Her crepes were really quite bland. Not exactly the "indulgence" I'd hoped for. It's also exceedingly pricey, too. Two coffees, one OJ, the crepes and chocolate "French toast" (no sides) came to $84.00 with tip. Even by NYC standards, rather dear for an early dessert. Would definitely discourage anyone from choosing this place for breakfast, even for a "splurge". There are a tonne of better breakfast values, from Ess-A/H&H bagels on the very low end to countless great brunches on the high end, to spend your money and experience.

Pros: Friendly hotel staff, great location, great burgers
Cons: fairly worn & in need of update/refurbishment, Norma's very overrated & over priced

thaliajen

A question about the junior suites- are there 2 tvs or 1? I'm considering the junior suite for a stay with a friend who would sleep on the sofa bed, but if there's only 1 tv, I guess it wouldn't work. If only 1 tv, is it in the living room or bedroom? How far is it from Times Square- within walking distance? Is it worth it to stay here if you're going to be seeing shows every day and night?Thanks, any info on this junior suite would be greatly appreciated!

SanDiego1K

In the junior suites I've had, there is only 1 TV. It is an old CRT, and it is in a half round cabinet that swivels to be seen from either side. It's about half a dozen blocks from Times Square, a pretty easy walk.