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Categories: Hotels, Restaurants
Neighborhood: Flatiron28th St-Park Ave S (6)
23rd St-Broadway (R, W)
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Located along New York City's popular and chic Park Avenue is the amazingly cozy and stylish Hotel Giraffe. Upon entering this boutique hotel I was greeted by friendly staff that instantly made me feel at home. The lobby, which host both complimentary breakfast from 7am-10:30am and cheese and wine from 5-8pm daily, exudes a real laid back and comfortable feel to it.
As I was checking in, the cheese and wine special was well underway and quite popular with guests of the hotel. Many people were lounging, chatting and laughing (a couple of glasses of wine will do that to you) on the many couches and chairs available in the lobby. Live piano music is also performed in the lobby weeknights between 6-9pm. Definitely a great spot to hang out at before or after a day in the city.
The Hotel Giraffe offers many rooms with a small balcony, now even though I did not get a room with one of these great features, I must say that it is something you might want to ask for when booking a room. Many of them face Park Avenue and make for a spectacular view and a definite "photo op."
The room's decor is European chic and features high ceilings, flat screen TV, a work desk, complimentary wifi, a nice sized closet (that offers a safe, umbrella and robes), 2 free bottles of water, a plush lounge chair and foot rest, comfy bed and plenty of light.
The bathroom is large and offers guests plenty of room. It includes a beautiful marble counter space, plenty of mirrors, a glass and solid wood door and even a scale.
What makes this hotel so great is all of the freebies that come along with the rate. You already feel like a VIP when you are staying on Park Avenue, but the Hotel Giraffe turns it up a notch with so many great extras.
The next morning I checked out the complimentary breakfast, and while many hotel's "free breakfast" fall usually just include some cereal, an apple and bad coffee, that is not the case at the Hotel Giraffe. They offer a plethora of items to devour before starting another day in the Big Apple.
Fresh fruit include cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and melon. Also great New York style bagels, delicious pastries, strong coffee, a variety of juices and plenty of newspapers to read in a very cozy atmosphere.
Finally, how can you not enjoy a hotel named after a giraffe?! Highly recommend.
What a wonderful boutique hotel in an incredible location in Manhattan! It is located on Park Avenue in the Flatiron area, walking distance to Gramercy Park Tavern, Union Square Cafe and the Shake Shack, located just steps away in Madison Square Park.
My room was spacious and well designed for a business traveler with a generous granite elliptical shaped workspace large enough to spread out documents to review etc, free wireless WIFI and decent lighting.
Other nice perks: my room had a beautiful Juliette balcony so I could open the French doors and enjoy some fresh (well, NYC-style fresh!) air and the complimentary wine reception and breakfast buffet in lobby were generous even compared to other hotels who offer these types of business-traveler per diem friendly amenities.
The rooftop deck with bar is awesome!
Minor qualms: the bed is pretty hard thanks to a very, er, firm mattress bordering on therapeutic! I prefer a much softer bed and one that features fluffy feather duvets vs a shiny satin quilted comforter.
There was also a reported but unresolved minor housekeeping issue during my stay, but when I brought it to the manager's attention before check out, he was incredibly gracious and not only sincerely apologized but offered me a voucher as an excellent incentive to come back for another visit, which I will happily do again soon!
Disclaimer: I have not stayed here, but I have spent time on the rooftop lounge/bar. But if that is any indication of the rest of the hotel, 4 stars it is.
I actually went to the rooftop bar to meet my dad and his business friends who were having some drinks. What a perfect location for a warm NYC summer evening! Classy, classy. The girls who serve wear matching black dresses and pearls - almost makes me want to apply for a job if I get that as a uniform!
Per the Park Ave location, drinks aren't exactly cheap (so maybe if I had been going on my own dime and not my dad's, I wouldn't rate as highly, ha!). Blue Moon is $8, for example. I opted for a Blackberry summer spritzer ($15) - a tart drink made from fresh blackberries, Cointreau, lemon juice, and sparking wine, served in a champagne flute. A little too lemony, but really really good regardless. They have several unique summery drinks and specialty sangria.
I don't think there are food options up top, but chips and dip served for free!
I stayed at the Hotel Giraffe for 2 weeks during a work trip. The staff was very attentive, as after the 2nd day they new my name, and would greet me as I was coming and going. The wine and cheese after work were a great way to unwind from a day at the office. The wine bar on the roof is a don't miss. The only complaint would be that my room was located just down the hall from the bar, and on a night that I had to get up early the bar was going late into the night. I have stayed at many hotels in midtown, and this is one of my favorites, just due to the staff.
I love this place! All the good things that folks are talking about are true. I would definitely come back. I love how clean it is, the breakfast buffet, the giraffe theme, the toiletries, and the fact that it is affordable for NYC.
I highly recommend this place, more so after having just stayed at a different hotel nearby where I had a terrible experience.
I just spent a lovely weekend at the Hotel Giraffe. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this place. The staff is courteous and accommodating. The rooms are clean and relatively spacious. There are lots of lovely little perks such as complimentary breakfast and wine and cheese in the afternoon. It is very centrally located and was quiet at night. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to stay there on my next visit.
Great little hotel, wonderful staff and a great location.
We stayed 3 nights here and loved it. Very nice rooms, ours was large with a king sized bed nice bathroom and a sitting room.
Excellent free breakfast downstairs and a nice wine and cheese service from 5-8.
I would highly recommend this hotel, it was a good price for NYC and the service, decor, rooms and everything were much better than most of the comparably priced large chain hotels.
I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!
I come to the City for business, and every time try to stay at Hotel Giraffe. It's not only within walking distance of my clients, you have a TON of local restaurants on Park Avenue to choose from.
The rooms are spotless - cool, art-deco decor, comfortable beds and great amenities. Free continental breakfast, wine happy hour...all in an elegant atmosphere.
Call ahead - you might get some good prices a few weeks out.
stayed in a suite. one room had two double beds, the other a pull out sofa and a king. both had terraces. the beds were very comfortable. nicely decorated, simple, clean lines, modern. the wine/champagne/cheese reception and breakfast were a nice addition. great overnight valet parking rate. nice location, close to everything. door men were very helpful.
I had the best hotel experience ever when I stayed here. It was awhile ago, but I needed to give them kudos.
The room was spotless and modern/ streamlined in decor, the service was wonderful.
It was a particularly slow time, so maybe that accounted for their generosity in opening endless bottles of wine in the evening for myself, my daughter and several of our visitors, no questions asked. Just kept pouring and opening. That and the cheese, nuts etc did us for evening meal.
Wonderful gratis capuccinos and croissants in the morning, and so many little thoughtful touches.
The location wasn't my ideal although its very upscale and prestigious, but worth it to experience this kind of service and pleasure in a hotel stay.
What a cute little hotel! You get complementry bottled water, room slippers, apple downstairs, wine and cheese every night if you go down when they serve it. What else can you ask for? Oh yeah! Umbrellas when it rains.
I heart Hotel Giraffe!
I have trouble hating on a place that stocks your room with free wi-fi, complimentary water bottles, chocolate bars, and a copy of The Maltese Falcon. (Seriously! Hurray.)
Other amenities: a complimentary selection of DVDs and CDs (boy bands and esoterica heavily represented), free breakfast, all-day coffee, tea and espresso service; umbrellas. I came during a storm so the latter was a lifesaver.
God bless you, Giraffe.
Odd stuff: you can buy a commemorative Giraffe plate, and a book about giraffes called "Tall Blondes," out of your room as souvenirs. All RIGHT.
My dad has always had a thing for giraffes. I'm not sure why, but for as long as I remember, he's always been fascinated with them. So imagine his delight when this lovely little boutique hotel happened to be located around the corner from my sister's apartment. The theme is quite present in all the decor - everything is brown and giraffe spotted but not offensively so. In fact everything is very tastefully done. Beautiful but understated. Much like a giraffe, I'd imagine. I always liked nature's irony in creating such a grand, stately animal but not giving it the means to make any noise (Giraffes are mute, if I recall).
Well, in my opinion, this hotel lives up to its namesake. It's not to be ignored, but makes no effort to stand out in an ostentatious way. It's undeniably beautiful, but is not proud. Pricey for sure, but that's par for the course for this neighborhood. And don't expect loads of space for the non-suite rooms either, but do expect well executed layouts and enjoyable experience. At least I know my dad will be happy.
Great views, nice interior, and an attentive staff.
I only came here for a meeting for my work (located conveniently a block from one of our restaurants) so I don't know specifics about rooms, etc, but their banquet/meeting room on their top floor with garden balcony sure was nice.
They also had a nice breakfast spread out for us (I had already eaten an AMAZING breakfast at my Hotel though), not you usual "hotel meeting fair" (ie: stale bagels, box cerals, etc) this was all fresh and great quality, half way through the meeting I did end up snacking on some great berries and granola they had out.
I'd love to stay here next time I'm in NY...we'll see ;)
This hotel is a nice respite from the standard chain hotels that dominate NYC. It's a small place on the corner of S Park & 26th.
The hotel room felt more like a nice apartment versus a hotel - large windows, glass desk, good layout of furniture and lighting. Avoid rooms on lower floors near the street level if you are a light sleeper. The garbage trucks come around 11:30AM.
Nice details to the room like a hardwood and glass bathroom door, small mini bar niche stocked with some preselected books for you to read and buy, full size umbrella in the closet for you to borrow or buy, comfy cotton robes and slippers, natura toiletries, complementary internet access (albeit very slow...), bottles of water, good travel magazines...
The hotel has a nice small cozy lobby where they serve a complimentary breakfast. There is also a beautiful small roofdeck stocked with complementary bottles of water. Relaxed atmosphere is enhanced by a decent music selection piped through the public areas.
Staff is polite and attentive. Asked for some nearby restaurant recommendations - and went to Les Halles.
Can't say much about the location since I stayed here on a business trip.
But all of this comes at a price - that's why I'm only giving it 4 stars. Room rates are usually around $400 plus per night.
Solid hotel. i'll definitely return. Reasonable prices and room size (for New York that is). Didn't take advantage of the breakfasts or drinks but in terms of a place to lay my weary head, it had what i needed: firm beds, internet, and quiet floors - didn't hear any other guests. Also, although i couldn't use it this trip, their free admission to the health club two blocks down beats the pants off the usual crappy hotel gym.
A few nitpicks:
- water pressure in shower was fine but intermittently spotty
- i grew up around NYC so street noise doesn't bother me, but you will get some road chatter. I was on the 11th floor but also had a balcony so perhaps all that glass was the culprit.
In the past, when I would go to NY I would stay with my friend, but she had the nerve to move to L.A.
I'm glad my first NY hotel experience was at the Hotel Giraffe. This place was great. The room felt like a small one bedroom apt. Seperate living room, solid wood doors, granite bathroom, cool furniture. I've never been to a hotel where there were drawers in the bathroom. There's never enough room to spread your toiletries out, so having 2 drawers and another shelf kept things out of the way. I'm convince every hotel bathroom is designed by a man because the lighting always sucks to put on makeup. So even though this bathroom was fabulous, I still sat by the window to put on makeup so I wouldn't look like a clown.
Every morning in the lobby they served free coffee, tea, cereal and pastries. In the afternoon, they had more coffee and tea and cookies. After walking around all day in the cold and rain it was great to come back to the hotel and grab some hot coffee and a handful of Milano cookies. Even better starting from 5-8 they served wine and cheese. We enjoyed getting a little buzz before we headed out for the evening:)
One of the greatest features of this hotel is the beautiful terrace on the roof.
The only thing that bothered me was that it was unseasonably cold out and we had no heat in our room. I asked the front desk and they said they turned off the furnace for the season.
This place is pricey, but I would definitely stay there again.
Generously sized rooms for a boutique hotel in midtown...very clean rooms and well set up. Nice balcony views, comfortable sheets and finally an NYC hotel room bathroom that doesn't feel like a 4x4 box.
My company usually puts me up here when I'm on business in NYC because our office is right across the street so I don't have to pay for it, but if I was in NYC for fun and had $300/night to spare, I would stay here.
Pretty decent free breakfast in the morning too...nothing to write home about but lots of choices and, again, free. They also have free wine in the lobby for guests every evening from 5-8.
What a great boutique hotel! It stands apart from the more ostentatious/trendy hotels so often found throughout Manhattan. This little gem is truly stellar in service! Right down to the turn down service where they leave a bottle of water on your side table, along with some chocolates! The windows certainly made the room seem more spacious (and it was by New York standards), and the small balcony is nice to have as well.
Their roof deck bar is called Barna (just like the restaurant and ultra lounge on the first level). It's a nice place for quiet, intimate conversation, a glass of wine or two, and some tapas. I'm definitely going to go back!
Hotel Giraffe was a very pleasant surprise in that the room was much larger than expected for the price (granted it was not inexpense but it is NYC) with two double beds, a good size bathroom, two desk areas, and a terrace. The lobby has a complimentary continental breakfast, complimentary cocktail hours in the evening and late night tea and cookies.
The room was very comfortable and well decorated with a flat screen television, iHome, dvd player, etc. The walls are thin walls so I could hear water running in the next room as if I was running my own faucet, but thankfully I had a quiet neighbor who was not up as strange times. The hotel is also not in a very busy area (on the southern edge of Murray Hill) but being able to stay a short walk from the hustle and bustle was great and it was a easy walk to the Meatpacking District for dinner.
Hotel Giraffe was recommended to us by friends who we were visiting. Hotels in NYC are hit and miss. Sometimes that's why relying on the reputation of a chain can be a good thing. Independent hotels tend to be a total wildcard. Hotel Giraffe is a hit. The location is good, a few blocks north of Union Square on Park Ave. It's not overly trendy, but so what? The room was clean, well appointed in a semi-contemporary style. Our king room was large, and almost seemed to be a suite since it had a small living room. The rate was a little pricey (around $400 including taxes)- but hey, it's NYC. They have a nice continental breakfast and the staff was very friendly and helpful. Highly recommended.
Two words; THIN WALLS!!! Ok, maybe I'm spoiled b/c we stayed at Sofitel last time and it was a perfect experience. But boy did we run into trouble with this place.
Let me start with the good... the staff are very accommodating & friendly. The hotel design/decor is beautiful and we had a King room and it was pretty darn big for NYC. The wine & cheese was just okay - but then again it was free so...(cheddar, gouda & pepper jack w/ 1 choice of each red & white or champagne). The complimentary breakfast was a good selection, yogart, fresh cut fruit, cereal, oatmeal, danishes & bagel. Big props for the yummy breakfast.
Why the 3 stars then?? Well let's begin with the club/bar Barna that's connected to the hotel. We were on the 2nd floor and all we heard all night was thumping bass music. We're not old (mid 30's) but man when you're tired from the day and all you hear is that thumping bass music, you just wanna scream (or leave). There was also a room full (4) of screaming barely legal girls who were giggling and yelling up and down the halls. They obviously were oblivious to anyone else on the floor. Honestly, I felt like I was in South Beach on Ocean Drive b/w the thumping and the scanty clad party girls. So we call the front desk and ask to be moved. We hit our breaking point. They were understanding and moved us to the 10th floor - I should mention it was 1 a.m. when we did this... Awww finally some quiet... so we think. The person in the room next to us continued to rattle the coat hangers in his closet for about 30 minutes. Ugh! (at 1 a.m.) THEN - here's the topper... at 3:47 a.m. the couple in the room opposite of the closet organizer, woke us up since they were having sex and were rather loud. Oh and they were smoking tons of pot which somehow blew over into our room. (not always a bad thing- but unusual unless your in like Amsterdam) . One more thing, my husband ordered room service. They brought a tray with no glass of water, no garnish (flower) just the plate & 1 set of utensils. It was pitiful for a hotel that charges $300 + a night.
Moral of the story here PAPER THIN WALLS. Proceed with caution. I regretted not bringing enough Tylenol PM & earplugs.
I attended an event at Hotel Giraffe's Piano Suite and, let's just say, I wanted to scream, "I LOVE this room!" from the terrace ... but I didn't because that would have been very unprofessional. The 12th floor penthouse is beautiful and warm with all this natural light pouring in from the tall windows and the two sets of double doors that open out onto the rooftop garden on one side, and the terrace on the other. Walking out onto the terrace, especially after sunset, you get a gorgeous view of the neighboring buildings and of traffic below. The terrace also has 3-4 deck tables with deck chairs. It turns out that the rooftop garden is open to hotel guests as well as to the public (from 5pm-12am). I only ventured out to the garden for a second because if you hang out there, you have to buy something from the bar and ...well, the event I was at already provided free wine. We did open the doors that lead to the garden so we could see what was going on out there and it looked really chill and people seemed to be having a good time out there. Great staff and service; the reservation manager was awesome. He stayed to help out even when he didn't have to. There's a bathroom in the penthouse with a shower in it! I honestly did not want to leave at the end of the night. It's been four days since I've been there and I am still thinking about it. I'll most likely go back and check out the rooftop garden. Apparently it gets more business from the public than the hotel guests.
Clean, romantic, hotel among the city's beautiful apartment buildings and far from the hustle and bustle of Times Square. I loved all the goodies and every night the staff sent us to thrilling places. You won't regret.
This is my "go-to" hotel when I'm on business in the city. The rooms are HUGE for NY standards. Here's the kicker though. I'm so over the NY scene at the W's (my old stand by). Too many loud, obnoxious hipsters hanging in the lobby. The Hotel Giraffe caters to Europeans and it shows. Service is great and not over bearing. Lobby is subdued but nice place to hang with a laptop and drink your complimentary cappucino. Free breakfast of yougurts, fruit and pastries. Comfy beds and very nice sized bathrooms. Rooms have DVD players and the hotel has a library of movies. Very nice touches. There is also a cool rooftop bar here. No gym, which is kind of a bummer but complimentary access to a health club down the street. I highly recommend the HG.
Clean, hip and spacious (by NY standards) make this place a happy oasis in the big city. I thought the location was great and I loved the deli across the street. Pricey, yes, but it's New York!
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Hotels
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