Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City

Advantages: Location, Cheap, Comfortable
Disadvantages: Decor, Basic Accommodation

...number of people stated this hotel was dirty, the staff unfriendly and their stay a nightmare with a majority saying to stay well clear. Having just returned from my holiday there, I'd like to balance this out with my experience. Being a 2-star hotel, I wasn't expecting the earth and found myself pleasantly surprised. When you enter the hotel lobby, it shines at you with the marble floors and chandaliers; all very clean and had that bit of wow-factor. ...
...I am aware that the hotel is/was renovating it's rooms and so I may have felt different had I not had a renovated room. So my main recommendation to people thinking of staying there, is to ask for a renovated room - I guarantee you won't be disappointed. The biggest selling point for this hotel is it's excellent central location. Directly opposite Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, it has excellent subway links - 1 stop down from Times Square. ... Read review

Advantages: Close to Macys, Madison Square Gardens, Subway Links
Disadvantages: Very busy, unclean, in need of serious updating

This hotel is situated in a fantastic location and is very cheap, however the standards inside reflect this, and the location is by far the best thing about this hotel On entry to the hotel there is a large foyer area which is always extremely busy, this hotel boasts about being one of the largest hotels in New York City comprising of around 1700 rooms and so check in can be a long wait and then another long wait if you need to return to reception ...
...abrupt, no friendly smile or courteous attitude and the bellboys are always in competition to try and reach your luggage first. They are also very rude and will blatently stand there with there hand out until you provide them with a tip they like! Rooms - Where to begin, our first room was supposed to be a triple room which we had booked in advance several months earlier, on arriving at our room we were suprised to be confronted with just one double ... Read review

Advantages: Quality Room On Complaining Of Poor Standards
Disadvantages: Fourth Room Lucky!

...view. Location of the hotel is good, right near Maddison Square Gardens. We booked for three nights as part of our 21st birthday present to one another, this was our second visit to NYC after getting engaged the year before (see review of Roosevelt Hotel). Price was good for time of year though this was in comparison to Christmas week the year before. Upon arriving, believing we'd booked a room as shown on the website (which turns out to be a 'premier ...
...a trip there than the hotel room you stay in, we didn't make any more use of the facilities other than sleeping, showering and changing clothes. General staff were friendly and the doormen impressively polite and competant. We ate in the diner next to the lobby which was an authentic american dinner. Overall I would not reccomend this hotel unless you are prepared to take your own sheets, I'm not a whinger normally but you pay good money for a hotel ... Read review

Advantages: fantastic location, spacious room
Disadvantages: many floors rundown, aircon unit directly below our window

...we arrived over. With decent hotel rooms at a premium in NY, its hit-and-miss what sort of room you'll get for the type of money you'd pay for a 4 or 5 star elsewhere. The front of the hotel and the lobby are impressive - marble floors, shining reception, deep carpet. The give-away is the crowd of increasingly dis-heartened would-be guests assembled in the middle, waiting desperately to check-in. To say the reception staff are inefficient and unhelpful ...
...plenty of space, and the hotel couldn't be in a more convenient location. It just depends what you're visiting New York for - if its shop all day, drink all night, the Pennsylvania is ideal; if you plan on spending a lot of time in your hotel room, or want something sumptuous, it probably won't suit. ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic Location, Price
Disadvantages: Very Basic

...the long search for a hotel began. We wanted somewhere that was a hotel (and not a hostel), a good central location close to attractions and transport and a decent room - the hard task was that we only wanted to pay £400 (£200 each) for a 6 nights stay. Given that this is New York City we didn't think we would get all our requests for that price, but then we fell upon the Hotel Pennsylvania. The price was great so we booked straight away (it cost ...
...City, we finally arrived at Hotel Penn. Check in was quick and simple so we headed straight for our room. The hotel was clean (ish) and each room door was in desperate need of replacing, but all that being said, the rooms were great! Very basic, but this is only 2 star so it was to be expected. The main room had a double bed, some drawers, a table and a television. There was a very small room off to one side - basically a wardrobe / changing room. ... Read review