Empire Hotel

I have stayed there before,...

Location location location/ needs updating and taller toilets!!! Wallpaper way too dark! Toilets and bathroom needs updating!

The location is amazing. Directly across from The Lincoln Center and Juilliard School This was our first time staying at the Empire. We had high hopes since it was in such an amazing location and the price was comparable to what we had paid for other quality hotels in the area (not cheap). Sadly, we were very disappointed in the hotel for many reasons. The entry is misleading when you see the rooms. Our first room was small even by NYC standards. It smelled of mold/mildew, the wallpaper was peeling off due to moisture, and the carpet had a hole in it. I called guest services and they offered to move us to a different room. The second room was much more acceptable in terms of size, but it had its own issues. The AC unit/fan would make this terrible scratching, popping, rattling noise and it woke us up in the middle of the night. It sounded like someone was trying to come in our room or mess with the window. But it was just the old unit. And the bathroom light is connected to a venting fan that could not be turned off without turning off the light. This thing was so loud it sounded like an airplane was taking off. You couldn’t hear anything else happening in the room. So we tried to keep it off as much as possible which is hard with a bathroom light. There was a huge crack down the middle of the bathroom tiles, there was a stand-alone sink with no vanity space or room to set even a small makeup bag on it. The room was incredibly outdated and dark. Also, the bed and pillows were hard as a rocks. We will not be staying here again which is so sad considering the location is ideal. I fear this is why they have gotten away with not updating their guest suites for so long.

Superb

nothing about this hotel is liked. Rooms extremely small, bed was supposed to be a queen and it was a double. noisey A/c unit and it did not hold temp. . the carpet was old and dirty. the location of the room was near the elevator so constant noise all night long. I asked to be relocated and was summarily told that all rooms were full.

Location The room was right on Broadway and the 1st floor, very loud all night long

My room was in terrible condition and not clean. The bathroom door was partially unpainted plywood and the doorframe had extensive water damage. The shower was a linoleum type material. The state of disrepair of the room was not expected from walking through the lobby which is well maintained. I would not stay here again. The room cost over $700 and looked like a one star motel at best. The pictures on their website do not reflect the actual condition of the room. Stay away.

Our room was very small even for a NYC hotel. No room to unpack. My husband wanted a different pillow and they had no other options so no restful sleep. We were also right by the elevator. It would have been nice if they had an ice machine for cold drinks. Otherwise, great location on the Upper West Side.

Location was great

Terrible condition property. NO HEAT. “We can bring you extra blankets” was actually the front desk response. Raggedy carpets, muggy feeling carpets and room design that screams Run Away. With such a great location, this hotel needs new ownership.

Great location and value

Helpful staff, clean room, beds were comfortable. Great location!!

Nice place, great location. Beautiful lobby. Lots to do around.

I would definitely visit again. Hotel is located right by Central Park & the staff was very helpful. The room was impeccable.

So noisy we couldn't sleep.

Location was great. Breakfast not furnished by motel. The air conditioning in one of the rooms was broken. We reported it to the hotel and was told that someone would be up to look at it. They could not fix and was told they would check for another room and let us know. They never got back with us.

The lobby and initial feel/ambiance of the hotel is very nice and inviting. The storage for our bags before we were able to check in was excellent. The water pressure in the shower was fantastic and I loved the rain shower head with a separate handheld sprayer even though turning on the sprayer was a little confusing to figure out. The staff was also very nice and wanted to be helpful. Unfortunately the problems with the hotel are likely beyond the control of the staff. Lastly, the location was great. Very centrally located for what we were there for and a short walk to the subways to get uptown and downtown. The AC wasn't working and when I tried to call down to the front desk, the button for front desk did not work. I found out the next day you had to press 0 to get to the front desk but the first night I couldn't figure it out and just dealt with the hot room as I did not feel like going down to the lobby. The next day I let the front desk know about the AC. It was 'fixed' while we were out but it stopped working again soon after. I let the front desk know again and it was 'fixed' again but stopped working for a 3rd time. At that point it was later in the evening and we just dealt with it again for our 2nd and last night there. Also, the beds were extremely hard. For the amount of money I paid per night, I definitely expected a working AC and a comfier bed after long days exploring NYC. I woke up both mornings hot and in pain. The rooms themselves could use a remodel.

Bathroom amenities are sparse. Go prepared.

Twenty minutes after checking in, I called the front desk and asked for a full refund. When I arrived to my room, I went to go put my water bottles in the fridge and it wasn't cold, despite being plugged in. Then, I went to go open the window shade to see the "city view" that the front desk person told me I had in my room (THAT COST $975 for ONE NIGHT) and the shade was broken. I then opened the bathroom door to find chipping paint coming off the door and a run-down, unwelcoming, dingy bathroom that was hardly big enough to move around in, and I'm a small person. Even though the staff at the front desk were extremely friendly, I couldn't wait to get out of the place. Do not book this hotel. I ended up going to the Hilton on 54th instead which was cleaner, bigger, more welcoming, and $500 cheaper.

Great location, and the staff was friendly overall. However, one older individual working at the front desk had a bit of an attitude. The rest of the staff was very friendly. The hotel definitely needs some renovations, as it was a bit janky, but we still enjoyed our stay, mainly because of the location.