Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Good safe location, great staff, excellent value for money |
| Disadvantages: |
Noisy due to subway stop nearby |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
So you're off to the big apple and you need a place to stay? Well make sure you do your research to make your stay as perfect as you can.
When I look for a hotel in New York City, I want a clean and welcoming place. Not too bothered about swimming pools, and other things associated with 5 star hotels. I want a place that is safe, in a good area, and not too expensive. After all I want to explore New York not the hotel! The hotel is just a place to store my stuff, sleep and shower. If you are after a cheap and clean basic hotel then I have found a gem of a hotel for you!
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LOCATION
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Located in downtown Tribeca, I loved the location of the Hotel. This hotel is in clean, friendly and quiet neighbourhood. There is a subway stop right outside the hotel. The subway stop houses the red lines 1, 2 and 3 which conveniently service 34th St, Times Square and Central Park. I'd advise buying an unlimited weekly ticket for the best value (rate may have gone up- but it was $21 in March 2005).
On our second day we walked to Battery Park to board the free Staten Island ferry. It is an enjoyable walk and an ideal way to soak up the hustle and bustle on New York streets. Chinatown is within walking distance which was great. Also Soho, Little Italy and Greenwich Village are pretty close too. Times Square and midtown are only a short subway ride away. Also there is a Starbucks right below the hotel. There's a deli nearby where we had scrummy toasted bagels every morning. If you want some cheap souvenirs there is a 99 cent store round the corner of the hotel. The view out of the hotel window was great, although I nearly fell out trying to get a perfect shot!
The only disadvantages to the location are that it can be noisy because of the close proximity of the subway. And if you are only in New York for a short time you may want to stay in Midtown to make the most of your sightseeing time.
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CHECKING IN
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As soon as I got out of the cab I breathed a sigh of relief. The hotel has a comfortable yet modern look (which is at odds with their two star rating). The lobby is inviting and clean (not decorated to my taste but who cares about that?). The lift was also clean, and I am told the hotel was renovated recently. With only 105
rooms the hotel is small and welcoming.
As I booked this hotel from Hotel ConXions and not from the hotel directly I was a little apprehensive and had all the paperwork handy. The staff were lovely, didn't even look at my passport- they just took my bits of paper and gave us a key to our room pretty quickly. Very efficient.
The other guy at the desk said he liked my top (amusing as it was a FCUK top which said "fcuk it"). I could tell our stay here will be fun.
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THE ROOM
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As we were staying for 10 days we wanted a nice room and we weren't disappointed. We booked a double room which had two double beds and more than adequate storage space for all our stuff. The room was immaculate and possibly the cleanest one I've ever stayed in. Although the room was quite modest in size it never felt claustrophobic as it had quite high ceilings. Decorated in a simple and modern style, the walls were a speckled grey and white. The windows had aluminium blinds which were a nice touch. And most importantly the beds were nice and warm with lovely clean bedding.
The bathroom was tiny but spotless and they supplied plenty of clean towels and loo roll. They also provided soap and shampoo. A hairdryer was attached to the wall, and though it wasn't very powerful it was adequate. The shower was a good quality over-the-bath style one. For those into their baths you may find it a little on the low side. We did find that the shower curtain wasn't stopping overspray from the shower- but used the extra towels to clean up any puddles on the bathroom floor.
On the first night we didn't have any hot water as their boiler wasn't working. However we were assured it would be fixed the next morning. Although we weren't pleased about not being able to have a nice hot shower after our plane journey, they were right and the boiler was fixed the next day. We had no other problems over the next nine days at the hotel so we'll forgive that little problem.
One minor annoyance I had was the lighting wasn't excellent (something that happens with many hotels). This meant putting makeup at night time on was a tad annoying- but the bathroom light was okay.
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THE STAFF
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If you do not wish to be disturbed early in the morning, you must remember to place the "Do not disturb" sign outside the door. I think housekeeping starts early at 8 or 9, but to their credit they never disturbed us. Just remember to remove the sign when you're ready or leave the hotel otherwise your room will not be cleaned that day.
I found the housekeeping service to be excellent. They hoovered and cleaned the rooms perfectly, emptying the bins everyday. They replaced the towels, plastic cups and soaps (weirdly they replace the soaps everyday which I think is a bit wasteful- but that is how thorough they are when in comes to cleanliness).
I loved the reception staff at the Cosmopolitan. The two men were always pleasant, laidback and helpful. Call me a cynic but I can do without the 'Have a nice day' sugar coated Americanisms in the mornings (I know I'm a grumpy cow). Thankfully they were perfect, and were amused by the two mad British girls braving it out in below freezing temperatures in their clubbing gear. Hey the alcohol kept us warm- thank goodness for the duty-free!
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AMENITIES
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Though you don't get any facilities like a gym, swimming pool, sauna or even room service- you do have some amenities. These include air conditioning, concierge, cribs on request, a safe (not in your room though), 24 hour security and you can borrow an iron too!
In the hotel room you get an alarm radio, a direct dial phone, hairdryer, satellite TV (don't expect hundreds of channels though), voicemail, and a wakeup service.
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CHECKING OUT
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Check-out was easy and swift and they offered us luggage storage until we had to go to the airport. We decided to leave for the airport straight after checking out. So they organised a cab for us, who we were very happy with. The guy didn't even count the money when we paid him!
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FINAL VERDICT
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This is a brilliant basic hotel. If your aim in New York is to be out sightseeing then it is ideal. Yes the rooms and bathroom are on the small side; however they are fine for the amount of time we spent there. As we stayed there for ten days we got a good chance to check out the pros and cons of the place.
Often feeling more like a bed and breakfast than a hotel- I quite liked the easygoing atmosphere. Being a fussy eater I never eat in hotels so I didn't miss the room service element. At such a low price, you won't find anywhere at this level of comfort in New York. I would highly recommend this hotel to all, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again in the future.
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PRICES AND HOTEL INFORMATION
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We paid an average of $119 per night in March 2005. Prices will vary depending on the time of year you are visiting New York, and strangely enough are more expensive directly from the Hotel than from Hotel ConXions. The price on Hotel ConXions includes all extras such as housekeeping and taxes which is excellent value for money.
The hotel did offer loft-style rooms which were split level rooms. In 2005 these rooms were a bargain $89 a night. However they only had one bed with a sofa, and as I get claustrophobic we decided to go with the slightly more expensive double room. This also avoided the argument over who gets the bed! I'm not sure whether they offer these cheaper rates now as they're not mentioned on the hotels website. However it may be worth emailing the hotel to ask!
Cosmopolitan Hotel
95 West Broadway
New York
NY 10007
Check-in time: 3.00 p.m.
Check-out time: 11.00 a.m.
$145.00 one double bed $169.00 two double beds on their website
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LINKS
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www.cosmohotel.com
http://www.hotelconxions.com
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