Novotel Times Square, New York

Edited 05/02/11 to provide more detailed information and format.

First Impressions

I stayed in this hotel recently with a group of girlfriends for a Hen Party weekend and it was perfect for what we needed. We had chosen the Novotel as it was a reasonable price for a centrally located hotel and we were not disappointed. We were greeted by friendly door staff and the check in was quick and simple. We were shown to our room which was furnished in a simple and modern style. The room was clean and tidy and was maintained on a daily basis. My only gripe with the room was that it was quite warm and when you tried to open the window the sound from the busy street below was very noisy. I also felt the mini bar in the room was very expensive (probably to be expected) but due to the heat in the room we had to resort to buying a bottle of water. After our first night we bought water in from the local mini supermarket located within a few minutes of the hotel entrance.

Food and drink

We had chosen to stay just room only to keep the cost down and felt as we were centrally located we would have a huge choice of place to eat. We were not disappointed! A highlight of the day was eating breakfast at Ellen's Stardust Diner, it was musical theatre themed and the staff would put on shows while you ate your breakfast. It was great fun, excellent value for money and within a minute's walk of the hotel. Other local restaurants of note were Ruby Tuesday's, within very easy walking distance of the hotel. Typical American dining but had a young and trendy vibe which suited us well. The food was lovely and not very expensive. We did need to book in advance as this was quite a popular place in Times Square. We also ate at Hawaiian Tropic! Probably a bizarre choice on reflection, as a group of Hen's, we were served by women in bikini's and it was a very masculine clientele on the whole! The food could not be faulted though and we had a fun night. We were even treated to the waitress staff putting on a limbo show for us!
Although we did not eat at the hotel, we did use the bar for pre dinner drinks and again felt it was quite expensive but the atmosphere was lovely and the bar had quite a glamorous feel which was ideal for us on our hen party.

Location

The best thing about this hotel has to be it's location. You are really close to Times Square for all the nightlife and dining. You are actually on Broadway, so a great location if you are interested in the Theatre's and you are within comfortable walking distance of many of the major tourist attractions such as Central Park, the Rockerfeller Centre and the Empire State Building.

Cost

When looking to purchase this trip, we were very torn within our group between getting a cheap holiday and making sure we were very centrally located. This hotel was a very happy compromise. It meant we saved so much money on transport around New York as we could walk to most things, only exception was down town when we wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and we tied that in with visiting ground zero and checking out the financial district as well.

In conclusion

I would recommend this hotel to people who want to stay in New York, in a central location and don't want to pay through the nose for it.