A Stay Report: Le Parker Meridien, New York City (October 2016)

A Stay Report: Le Parker Meridien, New York City 
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There are many hotels in New York City, depending on what you are looking for and what you are willing to pay.  If you look, you can find some deals on hotels that are within Manhattan and close to a lot of the traditional sights and sounds.  I was looking for a hotel that was close to Manhattan and I found a deal with the Le Parker Meridien so I booked it (the hotel later did not honor the deal – more on that later).  The hotel has entrances on both 56th and 57th street near 7th avenue and is a very big and modern hotel.  The main lobby entrance is on 56th, while the entrance on 57th is through the hotel’s bar.  If you enter from 56th, the front desk and bellman on your left hand side while the elevators and gift shop are on the right.  Straight ahead is the concierge desk as well as entrance to the hotel bar, and next to the concierge desk is the line for the burger bar (which is very good, and as a hotel guest you avoid the line and have the burger delivered directly to your room).

I was staying with a friend, and they were arriving to the hotel before I was so I emailed and called the hotel to confirm my friend would have access to the room, and what was needed to grant access. On the phone, I was informed that I only needed to add his name to the reservation to ensure he received a key to the room; and via email I was told that they would charge his credit card instead of mine when he checked in. The hotel’s customer services was lacking, as they were not very friendly and were not consistent in their implementation of policy (this was throughout the stay). When I arrived to the hotel, I went up to the front desk to ensure my card was on the reservation and to confirm the room rate (both of which were messed up). I received my key and took the elevator up to my room.

The room was on the smaller side, but I guess that is consistent for NYC hotels.  As you entered into the room, on the left was the closet with a curtain as a closet door.  On the right was a built-in desk, and next to that was the entrance to the bathroom.  Further ahead in the room were the two beds on the right hand side and across from the beds was the TV on the wall and a couch below the TV.  There room was somewhat compact and there was not a lot of room between the bathroom door and the bed, between the two beds, and between the bed and the couch.  In between the beds was a nightstand.  The beds were somewhat comfortable, but felt more like an expensive Ikea bed versus a standard hotel bed.  There was also a lack of plugs available in the room, especially near the bed. 

The bathroom was equally as compact as the room.  The door opened to the outside to allow more room in the bathroom.  The bathroom had a sink on one side, a tub on the other, and the toilet in the middle with little room between each item. What was good about the bathroom were the amenities, which were very nice and very large in size. 

The hotel amenities included free in-room wifi, a fitness center on the basement level, an indoor pool, a spa, meeting rooms, a hotel bar, a famous burger place, and both a barbershop and beauty salon.  I tried the in-room wifi which was decent and was pretty fast for basic searches and emails.

Overall, the location of the hotel was very convenient but the lack of customer service and the small room size were a negative.  I was supposed to stay here for many nights, but after the first night decided there are other options available so decided to check out after the first night.