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60 reviews for Empire Hotel New York
I LOVED this hotel! We got a great deal on Travelocity for $167/night for a room with two full beds.
We got there around 1pm on a Saturday, which was prior to check in time. Since we had to wait a while we (my son and I) walked around, yowza this is close to Central Park! We had a drink in the lobby, which was GORGEOUS and then moved on up to our room. It was a good sized room and the beds were ULTRA comfortable, with more than enough pillows and blankets. The bathroom was small but I loved the shower with the wood floor and AWESOME shower head (best water pressure I've ever had in a hotel). The robes were super comfy and thick, the shower gel was lemon lavender and The 3rd person in our party, my friend from Seattle, joined us at around 7pm the first night. We never got too crowded having 3 in a room, which has been a problem at other hotels. We slept with the window open every night to enjoy the sounds of the city.
We went up to the rooftop one day and took some amazing pictures of the Met and Central Park. We never went up to the rooftop bar at night because it seemed a little too trendy for our punk rock taste but I'll give it a try next time. And lastly, Sex and the City 2 was being filmed on one day of our stay and the hotel set up a hospitality suite FOR OUR INCONVENIENCE!! It's an inconvenience to see Carrie Bradshaw herself and have a hotel give me free beer, wine and snacks all day?? That is my kind of place!!!
I had to have my place painted and needed a decent but yet not out-of-this-world priced hotel near a good area.
I actually took the spin of the bottle and used a website to select a blind-four-to-five star hotel near Central Park. What it came back to was The Empire.
The rooms were roomy for the price and location. The staff was a little slow starting off with service but got into the groove slowly as I stayed and they got use to me.
After two weeks I was thrilled with the location, the room and the other amenities except that one day they were filming "Gossip Girl" and I was caught-up in it.
If you are looking for a clean, well maintained and affordable NYC location I can say this is it. What I was most happy with is that whenever i put my SERVICE tag on my door they cleaned me up.
Now why the three stars? That comes from the fact that it took two days to fix my shower. It was clogged and not draining properly.
I have stayed here many times. My first NYC stay was actually here for NY Fashion Week. The service is bad. There were a lot of people staying here for Fashion week and they were also filming Gossip Girl so I can understand that they couldn't give everyone the best service. Since then I have stayed here 3 times. I am not sure why but my travel agent keeps booking this hotel for me.
The service is terrible, Housekeeping will only clean your room when they feel like it, when you have the "Do not disturb" sign up they still enter and the front desk clerks....RUDE.
Each time I stay I am their for a full week which costs around 2K and they still treat me like crap. I will never stay their again.
On the flip side - Hotel is beautiful with many celeb appearances and the upstairs lounge is nice.
I just attended a fashion show at the rooftop lounge. It was stunning!
The DJ spun some kick ass mash ups, and the signature drink of the evening was delicious. You can't go wrong with champagne and fruit. The views from the upper deck were unreal, and we were able to space ourselves from the suited crowd below. The fashion show was very 'bubblegum', with tutu's and tulle on almost every piece.
I was invited by one of the producers of a pilot that was being filmed at the hotel that evening. The cast was staying in the hotel and mentioned that the rooms were very small, but comfortable none the less. With views of the Empire State building, Central Park, and the Upper West Side, I would come back to this beauty any night!
This SHOULD have been a glowing review, but sadly, I would actively steer people AWAY from this hotel. Everything went along nicely during our 3 night stay --we thought the price was right, the location was good and the room and amenities were nice.
Unfortunately, money vanished from our room safe and I would not feel safe staying in the hotel again....nor can I recommend the hotel to friends or colleagues.
Here are the facts:
We stayed in the hotel for 3 nights in mid November. During our stay, we used the hotel safe for our valuables and extra cash so we wouldn't have to carry it on the street. The night before we checked out, we took our valuables and some of the cash out of the safe, leaving $250 in the safe and locking it with our security code.
We checked out the next day and though I am a very experienced traveler and always check the room thoroughly before checking out, we forgot to empty the safe. We left the hotel at 10 a.m. and only realized our mistake at 4pm when we immediately called the hotel.
Supposedly, the security person on duty went to my room and used a hand held device which can over ride my personal security code. I waited on hold while he checked my room. When he got back on the phone, we said, "I'm sorry, but the safe was empty".
Of course, it is his word against mine, but I SAW the money in the safe and know it was locked when we left the room. If no one opened the safe in the meantime, how would you explain the vanishing act?
I next talked to the head of security for the hotel several times. During our first conversation, he said that he personally went with the security person when our safe was opened. During our next conversation, when I pressed him on whether or not he SAW the safe being opened and that it was empty, he retracted his earlier statement and said, "No, I didn't go to the room, I stayed at the elevator." Therefore,d the person who opened the safe had no witness. I found this revelation to be more than a bit disturbing. Why did he change his story?
Next, I asked to speak to the hotel manager. I waited more than 5 hours to receive his call back. While he apologized on behalf of the hotel, he couldn't explain the discrepancy in the security staff's story and promised to "get to the bottom of the situation and get back to me".
I said that I looked forward to his full report and while I wish we could get our money back, I was more concerned about the hotel instituting a better security system and follow through. It has now been nearly two weeks since the incident and I haven't heard anything further from the manager......
To his credit, he offered to offer a complimentary stay on a future visit, but until this issue is fully investigated and resolved, I wouldn't feel safe staying at the hotel.
So....if you stay at the Empire Hotel, just remember that you are better off carrying your valuables with you. For the money that we lost, we could have upgraded to a better (and safer) hotel.
One other point, during our stay, the lobby was closed off for an entire day as a TV show, Gossip Girl was being filmed there. I'm sure the hotel is compensated for the use of the space, but it added nothing but inconvenience to our stay as we had to go through alternate entrances, etc. It made me feel like the hotel was trying to use the space to make as much money as possible without any concern for how this might affect the guests. When I mentioned this issue to the front desk staff, they said the lobby was being used by a film crew nearly every week, so it is not a one off situation, but an on-going inconvenience to future guests.
Nice clean rooms occur often so in order for a hotel to stand out, it must have excellent service. This place did not have excellent service but the service was still decent.
First, when I checked in the lady at the counter stated that there was only a smoking room available. I reserved a month before hand and requested a non smoking room, so I did not understand why there was only a smoking room available. I took the room anyway because, well like most people who book hotel rooms, I needed a place to stay because of a planned event.
The room was on the smaller size, but very cute and decorated nicely. The bathroom was small but very gorgeous. The shower was weird because there was no door to close and therefore the water went all over the floor. The wood in the shower stall was really cute though. The small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion were soooooo cute. I almost squealed!
The bad side of this review: everyone that slept in the room that night woke up with a stuffy nose and sore throat. I think that's the nature of hotel rooms though, every hotel I have stayed in I have woken up with a stuffy nose.
We called room service for ice and glasses (since there was no ice on the floor and no glasses in the room) and there was about a 40 minute wait. We also called for a iron and ironing board and that was a really long wait also. I'm just saying that if I pay $400 a night on a room, there shouldn't be that long of a wait for things that should probably be in the room.
Some pointers:
1) I booked a King Double and there was no refrigerator. So if you want to store left overs at a restaurant you just came back from, that's a no go.
2) Don't take the robes home! When I first saw the robes on the beds I asked myself, " How am I going to get these home?" My question was answered by a note card which said that if you take the robe home there will be a $95 charge (see picture)
3) Check in is at 3 pm and check out is at 12pm.
4)Toiletries do not include tooth paste or tooth brush. Just body wash (kinda hard to use because it was liquid and there was no sponge), shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and hand soap.
5) Read my review about the rooftop lounge and how to get in. I think it's a separate entity so I'm not going to group them together. Which is good because the rating would have been lower.
the empire hotel manages to pull off a balancing act at the intersection of price, comfort and service relative to other NYC hotels.
that being said, piggies find that intersection to be a rather dull hangout spot, KWIM? (^(oo)~)
PROS:
rooms are a decent size, and this little piggy was pleasantly surprised to discover they have frette linens (the good, high TC ones, not the cheaper scratchy ones that makes piggies itchy! hehe) great water pressure means waterfall showerhead is lots of fun (^(oo)^)v
CONS:
vague, lingering smell of smoke, for those who are super-sensitive to that . . . hallways & room were both a bit dark - piggies need lots of light for getting ready! the hallways also had this forest-themed wallpaper, which sort of gave the feeling that a big bad wolf was about to pop out and start huffing and puffing away (*(oo)*)
GOOD TO KNOW:
there's a rooftop bar, which gets quite crowded on the weekends. note that you can't access the bar from the regular hotel elevators! piggy attempted to do this, and for 15 minutes there was a very lost piggy wandering amongst the wallpaper forest on floor 11!~
also, the hotel seems to have some sort of weird booking system - when i booked there was no availability on the regular travel sites, and the front desk told me they were all booked up. however, a bit of persistent google searching turned up a couple of sites that had availability and were actually cheaper than the rate i got from the hotel. very strange, said the piggy ( ' (oo) ' )
Pros
*****
In a good location and close to central park, Lincoln center etc
Good and quick service.
Maintenance/Housekeping staff do a great job
Clean room
They have flat screen TVs and iPod docking stations with speakers
Cons
******
You get to hear the ambulance literally 100 times a day. It feels like it's right next to you.
Leaking shower which they could not fix
Very small bathroom
There's only a half door in the shower. Could be a fancy thing but it was weird
Room size is too small
Too pricey when it comes to the room charge, room service etc
No microwave in the room
They don't provide drinking water and if you get one, it would cost you 20$ (Usually hotels have atleast a coffee maker)
The breakfast place nearby is too pricey but opens as 6AM
For some reason they do multiple checks for cleaning during the day.
Note
****
Don't go by the website fancy pics.If you want to stay in a good affordable place for a considerable time, this is not the one
They gave us a room on smoking floor though we had book a non smoking one long back with a special request that we would check in late. That was not considered anyway.
My family consisting of my 2 gorgeous cousins and I came here Sat. night mid-Oct along with a few friends not knowing what to expect from another hotel bar, B & T... 230 5th? (NotSoMuch) And in honesty we could have fun just watching people at the corner of Greenwich & T, (serious.. ur scaring my oOT FAMILY) so Empire is nice for a shin-dog; get-together, not too-elaborate b-day party, drinks w/ PEOPLE! (OMG we know.. you wait for that gyro @ 4AM with lines around the block) Don't come here on a date dumb@ss.
The place is great to hang with friends and throw a little party. Drink are OK but than again I'm not too big on drinking. (it ages you)
The lines are crazy but one again I'm a sucker for big black bouncer's, or they're the suckers LOL.
Also for the ladies above 5'6" don't bother bc again the men are crazy short.
I'm definitely a fan of this hotel. It's situated right by Central Park, the subway, and tons of great restaurants. The service was nice, the room was clean, and the brilliantly designed bathroom gave me some design ideas for my dream home.
I noticed that some people have been complaining about how tiny the rooms are. Who freaking cares? If you're in New York, you'd be crazy to be holed up in your room all day.
Oh, yeah, the roof deck/pool is really awesome!
On a good night, a fantastic addition to the UWS. 360 degree views of the city, A-level service, and a good crowd make this one of the top spots on the UWS. But on a bad night, the line snakes around the block and it's just not worth going in. With 1 elevator going to the roof, it's pretty easy to tell what kind of night it is. If the line doesn't leave the building, you're good. Otherwise, Ava Penthouse on 55th and 7th may be an alternative if you want outdoor roof bar.
I feel that this place is a hidden gem in NYC. My husband and I stayed here for one night and had a wonderful stay. Yes, our room was small, but all the necessities were there plus some!
The toiletries were good, we were provided with robes (which we didn't need), air conditioning was just perfect (not sure what the others were complaining about...there is a knob that lets you adjust the temperature), the room was clean and also decorated very cutely (very personable and homey), and the beds were super comfortable. The mini bar was VERY extensive and when we called down for an iron and an ironing board, it arrived within 5 minutes! The location is also wondeful.
We wish we could have made it upstairs to the rooftop bar at some point, but we were just too tired. The reason I take off one star is simply cause that bathroom is tiny and only had 'half' a shower door (the design) which made water leak onto the floor making a bit of a mess...they should put in a sliding door or something. Also the check-in wait was quite long. Other than that, I would definitely stay here again!
DON'T GO HERE! My friend's family had the WORST experience. They came in for the nyc triathalon, which took place on a Sunday. They checked in on Saturday morning, and asked the hotel to valet their car. The hotel only had two of the four rooms ready, so they put all of their luggage in those two rooms and went out to do some sightseeing.
Upon returning at 4:30pm, they went to check on the other two rooms, only to find out that they weren't ready. Why? because the hotel had allowed the previous occupants do late check-out. At the same time my friend's mom noticed that her car was still out front and when she asked the hotel what was going on she was informed that the hotel had lost her car keys! They hadn't even called to let her know! To top things off, they had to toe the car to the Bronx because there was a movie shoot going on later that evening.
After a lot of arguing with an extremely unhelpful staff, they finally got two additional rooms and were just able to make it to the theater.
When I met up with them the next day for the triathalon I found out that one of the two rooms didn't have air conditioning and the hotel hadn't dispatched anyone to fix it. It stayed that way for the duration of the trip.
The last straw was when the car came back to from the car lot, it had a huge scratch on the side.
The management at this hotel has a lot to learn about customer service. I would definitely never recommend this hotel after this experience.
Clean, loud, LOUD
We'll start of with the good things (this should be short). The staff is friendly, the location is nice, and the water pressure is FANTASTIC. The water coming from the shower really is great.
So here is what ruined our stay:
- There is a night club on the roof, we were 4 floors down and we had to listen to the music through the ceiling until finally falling asleep around 3am. When I called the front desk about 2:30, she said there was NOTHING she could do about it.
- The noise insulation to the hallway is laughable, we could here every door, every voice, every step (all night long and early in the morning)
- The elevators didn't all work, at one point only half were operational, that really was a pain.
- Our room faces the B'way and Columbus, the street noise was still really loud on the 8th floor. They could really use some better windows.
- We got in dead tired after a red-eye. They knocked on our door starting 30 minutes after we got in our room, about once ever 30 minutes waking us up each time. (they even knocked the next day when we put the do not disturb out, then the following day they called). It seems like they tried to get in to clean our room about 5 times a day (even after it had been cleaned).
- The dresser is pretty crappy. One of the drawers won't stay closed, the other is really hard to shut.... cheap, cheap, cheap
- There aren't really many accessible outlets, other places I've been build them into the lamps.
- The shower is missing the sliding part of the door, so you get water everywhere.
Great lobby and room appearance, and ridiculously cheap -- $163 a night? wtf?
However, behind the scenes, there's a reason for the low cost. There is a lot of old infrastructure (doors are horribly loud and need to be slammed), AC units are inconsistent, bathrooms look cool but aren't designed well at all (shower head kept falling out of its holder, spraying water everywhere, etc).
Floor felt like it was wet (rug shampooed recently or something?), bed wasn't comfortable, alarm clock was on the wrong side of the room, etc.
But, you can't beat the value. Lobby also has a great, comfortable bar. Free wifi too.
Well I would have given three stars because the hotel wasn't bad, but here's what happened when I checked in:
I had reserved a non-smoking king bed corner suite which overlooked Lincoln Center. When I checked in they were like "great news, we've upgraded you to a living room suite with two double beds"
I LOLed as I looked over at my very very beautiful girlfriend and told them two double beds wasn't exactly what I had in mind and not to bother with the upgrade. They were like "oh...hmmm..."
Turns out they "upgraded" me because all the non smoking corner suites were taken and when I asked how that happened since I had a reservation for one I was told "they are on a first come first serve basis"...well I checked in at 8 god damned thirty in the morning so I doubt anyone checked in earlier than me that day. Not to mention what the hell do you mean first come first serve basis? What the hell is the point of making the reservation? Needless to say they ended up having to downgrade my room because it's all they had with a king bed non-smoking.
The room was fine, albeit not what I wanted. The hotel was fine. I can't speak to the room sizes because I was in a suite, which was adequate. They had wonderful hand soap (well they did damnit).
Probably for New York it's not a bad deal - $360 or so for the Junior Suite which was a decent size (big enough for a bed, couch, chair and a desk which is a lot for New York.)
Certainly not a very "special" feeling hotel. Just okay. As I say, would have been 3 stars but for the room debacle. I won't go back, I like my hotel to be an experience in and of itself, not just a room. And this was just a room (and the wrong room at that).
This review is for the Empire Rooftop Bar as a dance party space.
Scenery: oh look the pretty night time view of NYC. yup, right there behind a couple of people's heads. oh you know, same people who are trying to get a picture with the view, even though they tried a couple of times already and it still didn't come out on the camera.
Bar: Strong drinks. Good drinks? Questionable. Like every other bar, crowds of people surrounding it. And guess what, once you turn around, there are random people dancing because they think that space (where everyone, including the staff, walk through) is obviously made for dancing.
Space for dancing: oooo Usher just came on "Yeah, Yeah...*OUCH*" someone just pushed me...grr this person's elbow is in my way...." Too small for people to move.
**maybe if it wasn't so packed, i would've enjoyed myself bettter. and it seems like a good place to just chill.
Recently, I stayed at the Empire Hotel. Location-wise, it is fantastic--close to Lincoln Center, Central Park, etc. The hotel is pretty posh for the price I paid (gotta love a TravelZoo deal).
The concierge and hotel staff are uber-helpful and courteous. The bellman went above and beyond to find us a better room (first room had no mirror). My friends had a bigger room with a king-size bed on a lower smoking floor. My non-smoking room was half the size and the king-sized bed monopolized the room. The bathroom was wee small. Not a biggie...this was merely a spot to pre-game and sleep so we hung in the bigger room for the most part. Both rooms were clean and the furnishings seemed newish.
Unfortunately it was rainy so we could partake in the rooftop pool or rent a cabana but we chilled in the cabana por gratis (rental fee is $75 per day) and popped some champagne. The rooftop space is pretty, great view, and I suppose if it wasn't monsoon weather then it would have been busy. Pool is enclosed but empty.
The Empire Rooftop Lounge was the perfect spot to end the night. The music was good (Top 40, heavy on the hip hop, a bit Bridge and Tunnel, mix of 20s and 30somethings). It is an amazing space and the view was amazing. Drink were strong and seating was ample. There was some sort of "dance-off" that reminded me of that Cosby Show episode when Cliff uses a chair against the SandMan. However, best deal is that there is no cover and since we were hotel guests we did not have to stay in line which was a block long. Holla.
I would definitely stay again. It is comparable to boutique hotels like the Roger Williams, Morgans, Royalton but the lobby is bigger and more luxe and there is more of a scene. However, beware of the meemaw and peepaw factor--perhaps because of the proximity of Lincoln Center? At times, I was checking to make sure I packed my Centrum Silver and Metamucil.
I stayed here from a Tuesday - Friday and would recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a west side version of the W at a cheaper price who isn't a terribly picky traveler (see below). Plus it is in a good area. Right across from Lincoln Center and two or three blocks down from Magnolia Bakery and some decent shiopping and other cheap eats and convenient to the subway at Columbus Circle.
I was upgraded to a room with double beds, and there were nice details of turn-down service with a cute cake/cookie, L'Occitane bath products, overhead shower, really comfortable duvet, modern decor, and free internet. The lobby was hip and there was even a film crew there doing interviews for something one morning, but I never hung out there. The staff was very nice.
But, there were some downsides: first day there were no hand towels nor bath mat. The plug for the sink didn't work so I had to pull it out. The internet was spotty so I used my AT&T broadband with no problems. The famed rooftop bar was closed for a private event every night I was there. The desk area was cramped between the bed and the bathroom entrance so you had to walk sideways to get around. But the worst was the noise from the plumbing. I have never heard anything so loud. It didn't even have the pleasant sound of water - it was like a high pitched static. However, this was seldom. But it wasn't a deal breaker for me and I'm a light sleeper. Otherwise the room was quiet, even with the AC on.
I would still stay here again if there were a deal going. The decor, comforts and location outweighed any annoyances.
i'm currently staying at the empire hotel. its a beautiful place. its in an awesome location. the room itself is pretty spacious and decorated nicely, except for the random animal print chair.
so why am i only giving them 3 stars? the bathroom is ridiculous! first of all, there's no shower door. correction, there's half a shower door. you know the part of the door that usually slides open and closed? its not there because the design is prettier that way. there's also one of those removable shower hose things that you have to turn off when you're not using it since there's nowhere to actually hang it on. and the toilet! damn you empire! not everyone is 4 ft tall. the toilet is facing the wall with about a foot and a half of space. i'm about 5'4 and there was no space. the toilet also flushes randomly. there's no central air in the regular guest rooms so the AC unit was pretty loud.
This review is for the rooftop bar at the Empire. Did New Years Eve here with a group of friends. We decided we would rather pay that extra buck for a table, bottle service, a food platter and the luxuries that come with that option.
Table: CHECK - Except it wasn't inside the VIP room, it was on the opposite end. We were kind of annoyed at this- were on the opposite end of the earth.
Bottle Service: Eventually - got bottles pretty quickly, but only after some nagging (by the boys of our group since the waitress was ignoring us girls) we got mixers. She was totally trying to get with one of the boys in our group!!!! (Oh the DRAMA!)
Food Platter: Also eventually - after complaining to the manager that it took the waitress forever for mixers and reminding them we paid for food, we got some. Sliders-- pretty good I guess.
Good part was open bar until 3AM despite our bottle service, though the bar did not have champagne, only (crappy) wine. We got our own bottle of champagne but one of the girls in our group INSISTED we open it early since "she does not drink vodka" BOO-HOO! So we did not have champgne to toast at midnight. But whateva.
The crowd was okay, not the most entertaining crowd.. The people I was with were cool, so that made the night. The view is nice, but the Gansevoort has a much nicer view in my opinion...
General consensus was we should have done Chipriani's for New Years.... Maybe next time!
Happy (belated) New Years!!!
what a cool loungey/swanky hotel. the lobby is gorgeous.
after waiting a good hour and a half for the room to be inspected *(the guy at the front desk was maybe high), i was finally given the room key. my friend and i got the jr. corner suite (which is actually a normal sized room with a little alcove).
you get l'occitane shower goodies, which is awesome. the shower was a little annoying, because i hate the european hand held spray, but that's a personal preference.
the beds were extremely comfy, even though we could hear traffic going on outside.
it's in a good tourist location! i love how old the exterior facade is, and the mix of the modern interior. good to know - there is a sweet hotel guests only rooftop deck. no bar, but you can BYOB and chill. the awesome 'empire hotel' red neon sign is on there. awesome ambiance.
Stylish hotel across the street from Lincoln Center, and conveniently close to Columbus Circle. Rooms were small but nice, with huge plasma TVs, ipod docks, and comfy sheets. Don't leave without visiting the roof, with its dramatic neon sign and views south to Times Square.
The showers were bizarre -- they're "European style" and have no doors. So water soaks the whole bathroom. We noticed the poor cleaning staff roaming the halls with water-vacs.
Another weird thing was that it was 90 degrees, but the elevator guy wouldn't let us go to the roof with t-shirts. Apparently there's a strict dress code up there! We changed clothes, and the view was quite worth it. Still weird though.
Stayed here last year around Labor Day. Rooms are decent-sized for NYC, we had 4 people in a queen-queen room. No problems with our stay at all! Yes, the pool is small, but if you can get up there and get a spot, it's a great way to spend a few hours. We also lucked out with the Cabana Package, so didn't have to spend any extra for that. It is a little confusing to make your way up to the pool from the hotel.
We knew what we were prepared for on the rooftop bar, but the air misters cooled us down, and the drinks were POTENT. Let's just say "Death By Whiskey" is a great afternoon drink...
The Pool Deck rooftop bar at the top of the Empire Hotel. What a cool new hot spot!
People are finding this place quickly and it's become quite popular. There are evenings when there is a line out in front with people attempting to get to the roof from the one small elevator lifting people to the top. Call for a table reservation in advance if you want to skip the line and have a place to sit.
Our group of friends found a table, but it was pretty much standing room only....and we were never without a drink. They seemed to have the waiters and bar service figured out.
Definitely the after work crowd... with dress and suit attire quite fitting for this upscale bar environment...love those men in suits....reminded me remotely of the Sky Bar in L.A......I have to say, it was quite refreshing to be removed from the mindless standard.....the jeans uniform.
We didn't try the h'ordeurves...honestly there were too many people when we were there so we left for an early dinner.
But I'd try it again, views were nice and I loved the good energy.
Location: First of all, the hotel is conveniently located in the lower part of the Upper West Side. It's close to two subway stations and you can easily grab a cab along Broadway. It's steps away from Central Park (great for those watching the Thanksgiving parade), the Time Warner Center, and several eateries along Columbus and Amsterdam. It's also right next to the Lincoln Center.
I've heard that this hotel has gone under major renovations. And it shows. It has that very urban modern look. The room we stayed at was pretty large for a New York hotel (though the front desk was nice enough to show us a basic room for comparison - it was very tight). It had a very sleek design and nice furnishings. The bathroom had a very uber-modern look. There was a lot of storage - which a lot of hotels lack now-a-days. The bellhops were very nice. The front desk was also very nice, even when the hotel became packed over the weekend.
Problems: The weirdest thing happened during our stay. We stayed at the 9th floor. All the doors seemed like your typical hotel doors except for a couple - they seemed like old apartment doors. So, one day when we were heading out, we heard some banging down the hallway. We decided to check it out because it was on the way to the elevators. The hotel staff was trying to knock down a door because the person inside was screaming for help. They apologized for the inconvenience, but it felt really weird. So, when we got on the elevator, we happened to be on the same one as one of the staff members. When I asked what was going on, they said an old lady in the room was yelling for help and couldn't open the door.
When we got back, the hotel staff was "cleaning" the room. I have to say, with the door open, the whole hallway smelled like piss. I peaked inside and found out the room DID NOT look like the rest of the hotel. It looked like an old apartment! It had a very traditional look instead of the hotel's modern style. The staff cleaning the room was also wearing face masks, which just made the experience even more weird.
So for the next couple of days, the area in front of the room smelled like piss. I was just freaked out and decided not to think about it for the rest of my trip. But still, isn't that a totally weird experience?
I really just LOVE the roof top.
Amazing views, great lawn chairs- yes, i judge based on lawn chairs. They have a 3 or 4 different decks depending on your personal preference. ANd there's a bar at each of them.
they just opened 2 weeks ago, and have been booming ever since. great drinks, to die for views of the city. its the 11th and 12th floor. great crowd.
I'm too short to enjoy the view, even with heels. Oh well, when you're a cross between a hobbit and a smurf, there's little you can do about it.
There are three rooms on the rooftop bar; inside and two outside bars. I went and hunted for Danielle "The Obaminator" but she wasn't working that night.
I wasn't crazy about the music, pretty awful, which surprised me as the owners of this place own other bars which have great music. The large outdoor bar has lawn chairs and beach loungers so you can moon bathe, and the smaller outdoor bar has some foliage, didn't really look that much at it.
Weird crowd, a strange mix of poorly dressed men and women on the hunt for their next...meal? assignation? personality? I don't know.
I do know that there were many women there who had recently seen SATC and I had fun trying to figure out who they were aping.
Well drinks are strong, well made and their well stock is top notch. But jeez louise! I'm paying more for two drinks there than I ever paid in the MPD.
The hotel isn't much to look at from the outside, but the rooms are updated and quite cozy. The lobby is very chic and while we didn't have a drink at the bar, it looked pretty nice. I've also heard great things about the rooftop deck with the pool.
Above all, this is a great value ($200/nt for a standard queen) for its location in New York given that it is within blocks of central park, lincoln center, time warner center, and riverside park. I would definitely stay here again.
Last night I went to the new rooftop bar on the top of the hotel. This type of place really isn't my scene but I figured I would pretend I was the social diva for an hour or two. I knew it was gonna be swanky before I even walked into the elevator. Why? The downstairs bouncer checking the ids knew the words please and thank you.
After walking off the elevator I was blown away, not by all the people there that think they are beautiful. But by the absolutely f-ing fabulous view. I came at exactly the right time to watch the beautiful sunset from on the roof top. There's a nice bar but no one sits there because you can sit outside and have twiggy chicks in short little black dresses serve you.
The outdoor area is pretty nice with couches and tables spread out. It's a pretty big area with lots of people with trendy clothes that think they are more beautiful then they are. But that's okay I'm here to see something more fabulous than them. The great spectacular view wearing great fabulous shades of blue, purple, and pink.
And the drinks, well as you probably already know, pretty pricey. It was the best mojito I've ever had but also the most expensive one. By the way it was also the longest one I took sipping. I let every single ice cube melt. Hey I wanted to watch the entire sunset. And I was not gonna buy another 14 dollar mojito. Was it worth it? For one of those last lingering Indian Sunsets? Hell ya, maybe even for a few chuckles at the people that think they are beautiful because the spent 750 on a pair of jeans.
Okay - stayed there for about a week last week. And I got a "regular" sized room which was way smaller. The room I got before was way bigger due to 2 queen beds in the room.
Downgrading a star due to mediocre service from front desk to operator.
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Stayed here last week and I'm going back for more. Although it's a little out of the way from my office, it's worlds better than the hotels I have access through for work.
Rooms - Great. Decently sized, especially for NY. Although I think I got upgraded, so it was a step or two above the basic rooms. Very nicely appointed and I had a walk-in closet, which I've never seen in NY hotel room.
Limited Room Service - It doesn't look like a full menu.
Amenities - L'Occitane products - yum!
Staff - They were perfectly nice and polite, but everything just seems to take a little longer than it does at other hotels.
Now that both my sister and I live in New York and 60% of my mom's family lives here too, my parents are up here quite a bit. So much so that they decided to purchase an apartment very close to this hotel, (and, by extension, to my apartment...sigh...) and stayed here when they came up for the co-op board interview.
This stretch of 63rd street (including this hotel) has undergone a major renovation over the last few years. It used to contain only a sketchy jazz club (R.I.P. Iridium) and this hotel, and now it's a Starbucks, the Empire, and the west side edition of P.J. Clarks. Call it gentrification if you will, but it's nice to see this half a block across the street from Lincoln Center being put to some use.
As for the hotel itself, I never saw it in its former incarnation. The new one is quite dolled up though, with a somewhat over the top African theme going on. It seems like the wanted to make the many bars in the hotel real destinations rather than just another hotel bar, and I think they were trying a bit too hard, if you ask me. My parents had a lovely suite with a grand bathroom, and I think they actually got a pretty good deal for it (by NYC Standards anyway). Seems a solid choice for a Lincoln Center area hotel.
We probably overpaid a bit at $250-350/night for 2 double beds in a modest room. The lobby and decor is contemporary. Our 4 day stay was fine and the location adjacent Juilliard and Lincoln Center was helpful.
2 stars are for being double billed and taking a week to clear it up. Andrew in accounting was cordial, but the situation was still a pain in the a**. I mean, I really shouldn't know the name of their accountant!
If you can avoid the purchasing hassles and get a room for under $250/night, give this place a try...
This review is for the rooftop bar at the Empire. I have not stayed at the hotel ever. I will say that if the hotel is anything like the rooftop bar then I would love to stay there.
I joined a bunch of friends for happy hour one Thursday afternoon this past fall. I have also since been back to meet a couple other friends for late night drinks. There was a line to go to the top from the sidewalk entrance, but it moved quickly. The rooftop bar area is decently small place that is upscale with couches and 2 bars - one inside and one outside. The views are good, but not spectacular since they are blocked by the hotel which is probably a good thing for many drunk people. Thursday happy hour tends to be very popular I found out and gets crowded. Lots of trendy people that night and there is a bouncer being a fashion critic so be sure to dress appropriately. However, most late nights it is more calm (which I prefer) and you can even order food. I had the mini kobe burgers and the lobster wrap which were both delicious. It is a pricey kinda place, but that is true for most of Manhattan!
Location, Location, Location.
Closed to subways, directly across from Lincoln Center, Starbucks at the corner, two movie theaters around the corner, one block from Central Park.
This place is happening. Busy bar in the lobby. Young hip staff who are very helpful and considerate.
This newly remodeled hotel has a chic style with small, clean rooms. Color palette is neutral, with shades of brown and gold. The bed is comfortable and plush. Nice size flat screen TV. Bathroom is tiny but has a great shower.
Free wireless and i home for your ipod!
Reasonably priced hotel in a good location makes this a good option for NYC.
my mom and grandma came to visit me last week and due to grandma's bad knees couldn't stay in my humble castle on the 5th story of a walk up.
Empire Hotel is GORGEOUS. I admit, I don't get out much, but this place was nice. Everything is decorated in golds and browns, with an old fashioned tinge. The room offered bath robes, a plasma screen tv, an Ipod dock (genius!) and all the other typical hotel stuff.
There is a pool on the roof (its more like an overgrown hot tub, but a body of cool water none the less), a restaurant/bar, and a lot of cots to lay on.
The staff was very friendly for the most part. The bar downstairs was never full, almost dead really... and the bartender could have been a bit friendlier, but of course you can't have it all.
I also must warn, there is a screening process for bell boys. They are all really cute and friendly.Not a single unattractive one. Seriously!
Anyway, the rooms aren't cheap, but they aren't NY prices either... its worth a glance if you are looking for a nicer place to put your family :)
Hung out in the hotel bar for a friend's party. Very pretty bar with comfortable seating, clean and modern looking, very dark and cozy and romantic. Good place to meet people.
However - when we asked for a bottle of the "house red wine," they uncorked a $60 bottle. My friend paid, then later on in the evening we found out they had cheaper bottles, on their wine list that they hide under the bar. Kind of scammy. But a hotel for business travelers, not real people - so I guess that's to be expected. Also I guess the term "house" doesn't necessarily mean most basic, but the bartender should have clarified before uncorking.
My friends thought the cocktails were inconsistent (guy bartender was a much stronger pour than girl bartender) and at $15 each, some consistency would be nice.
But it was a great party!
Gourmet G's review scared me because my company booked me at the Empire for four nights two weeks ago when I headed up to our New York office for our annual conference. According to the New York Times, the Empire reopened in August 2007 after a major renovation.
The vibe is 1950s schticky Hollywood hotel. If you're familiar with the Kimpton Hotel Group's Hotel Helix (http://www.hotelhelix....) in Washington, DC, it looks like someone visited the Helix and said "yeah, we want that with more of a '50s vibe in NYC."
The place is fun, the beds are enormously comfortable. The restaurant wasn't open yet, but the complimentary continental breakfast is more than substantial. Since the hotel is still getting everything together, there are no "hotel services" in the rooms, which was a small pain, but the front desk staff were extremely helpful and I found the hotel to be utterly charming.
For my purposes, I couldn't beat the location, either. It was literally right on top of my NY office. I'm hoping I can stay here again.
The rooftop bar was cute, but why was my drink served in a plastic martini-shaped cup???
