More about Verve Hotel, An Ascend Collection
Absolutely worth it!!!!
by TripAdvisor Member CT5678
I stayed at this hotel for 2 days and would stay there again and again! The hotel is really brand new!! Everything was very clean and new. It's a non-smoking property with indoor parking (so hard to find in and close to New York City)! The suite was so amazing that we even found 2 white robes in the closet! It was real high class. A quite neighborhood around it with a 2 minute walk to the subway (E, R and V lines). I'm originally from NYC and have stayed in many hotels in the area and I must stay this property is definitely worth a stay. The prices are great and you can't beat the location. There really isn't anything I can say in a negative sense about my stay. Oh - there weren't any stores or eatery places near the hotel so plan to pick up incidentals and food in the city and bring it back on the subway. Cheers!
Fantastic place to stay in NYC
by TripAdvisor Member Hanoiandrea
My mother, sister and I were looking for an affordable place to stay for our week long trip to NYC. The Clarion Verve in NYC offered great rates and was in Long Island City, close enough to Manhattan but much more affordable. It is 2 blocks from the E and R subway lines which takes you to Times Square within 10 minutes. The hotel is newly remodeled and we had a spectacular suite with a fridge, microwave, excellent coffee machine, two flat screen tv's and free wireless internet. We also had a great view of the Empire State Building's lights at night, Continental breakfast was included and had lots of great choices to eat. The staff were very helpful and accommodating. We loved this hotel and would definitely go back.
Perfect Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member xxiheartmtlxx
I absolutely loved this hotel. It is brand-spanking new, with comfortable and large rooms, and very nice service.
To begin, the location; for someone who is not willing to dish out the money to stay in Manhattan, this is definitely the hotel for you. At about less than half of what one would pay per night to stay in the city, the Clarion in Long Island City is literally a 15 minute subway ride away from Times Square. The hotel itself is about a 3 minute walk away from the subway station. I'll admit, the area isn't the most comfortable or welcoming, but after all, hotels are only made to sleep in, especially when stayin in the Big Apple.
The hotel is new, which makes it stand out from the older-looking buildings that surround it. Their special feature, being underground parking, made it very convenient for us; we just left our car there for the weekend, and used the subway to get around. The staff is friendly and helpful. The rooms were very clean and comfortable with flat screen TV's, and a very nice bathroom that provides tiny Crabtree and Evelyn shampoo and conditionner bottles :)
There aren't very many restaurant's in the area, however one in particular that is associated with the Clarion offers free delivery right to your room, and the food very delicious.
For someone who travels to NYC almost 3 times a year, I know the hassle it is to find a convenient hotel that meets your budget. Finally I found one, after years. I definitely recommend this hotel.
Problematic for Handicapped
by TripAdvisor Member SandyOCCalifornia
We stayed for 5 nights. I booked an accessible room that had everything I expected. The problem was that neither hotel staff nor MTA staff nor even a police officer could clearly describe how to safely get to the nearest subway station. We used the subway one of our four days in the city; hotel recommended a car service which we used the other days. All sources directed us to walk to the bottom of the hill and turn left and cross three busy streets. We learned that if instead we turned right and walked about a block, we could cross South and North Queens Boulevards with lights, then turn left and walk on sidewalk to end of block and handicapped entrance to the station. To learn this, we walked about 12 blocks in various false starts.
Other than this problem, staff was friendly and helpful (and apologetic about the subway experience). Not sure that in the end we saved much over staying in Manhattan because of $20 of so each direction to Midtown.
Had nice view of Manhattan at night from our window. Facility and furnishings were very nice--a good way to begin our vacation.
Nice hotel but out of loop
by TripAdvisor Member renoc
I stayed at the hotel in the first week of November. I had no problem with the hotel at all. The room was nice, bathroom was clean, rooms were cleaned and made up daily, and staff was very polite and helpful. Free newspapers were a nice touch. Breakfast was adequate - consisted of toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, cereals, pastries, bagels, shft cheese, fruit jams, and a choice of hot and cold drinks - it kept us going until way past lunchtime most days. My only problem, as many have already said, was that the hotel was in a very desolate area, and whilst the subway to Manhattan was only a few minutes walk I kind of felt out of the loop staying in this area. There were no bars and eateries nearby and no shops that I could see - it was literally just run down industrial buildings and a church opposite, although the area did not seem dangerous to me, just deserted. Whilst I would recommend this hotel because of the price, it would probably be nice to stay somewhere within the bright lights of Manhattan next time, where you can step out of the hotel and be in the thick of things without having to worry about getting on the subway every morning. Having a flat screen TV in room was nice, but I don't think that it had pay movie facilities, which would have been nice.
Nice hotel, but beware of hidden transportation costs...
by TripAdvisor Member Ravens4ever
All the prior reviews are correct, the Verve is a nice, 4 star, hotel. The rooms are quite a value when considering the close proximity to Manhattan. The hotel is new so everything is clean and well maintained. The room was very clean and the bed was ultra comfortable. Even though it had a nice flat screen, HD TV, the picture was poor (but you don't go to NYC to watch TV).
My only caution is the location! Prior reviews talk about how close it is to the subway and Times Square is only a $10 cab ride away. Well the closest station is a good three blocks away and not a walk that I would do at night with just me and my wife. In terms of taking a taxi, I spent over $30 for one ride into the city. Thus if you start tacking on $60 a day to cab back and forth from the city, actually staying in Manhattan may end up being the better value (just before I left for my trip Hotwire was offering comparable rated Manhattan hotels for around $50 more a night).
Brilliant find
by TripAdvisor Member judowidow
We have recently returned from a long weekend at this lovely hotel.
We were a party of 4 we used the subway everyday to get into times square, after having a lovely complimentary breakfast which kept us going for a few hours.
The area is very quiet but all we ever did was sleep in the hotel as we were too busy out sight-seeing and shopping all day.
I would certainly stay here again if we returned to New York.
The rooms were of a high standard and larger than I expected.
Excellent Value & Location
by TripAdvisor Member bored_talking
We just got back from a 5 day stay at The Verve and i thought it was unbelievable what great value it was. People are unhappy with the location but its a 5 minute walk from the metro which my Fiance and I used morning, day and late at night and never had a problem. It has security cameras and there is always a lot of people around so you never feel intimidated or alone. The walk to the Metro is on open busy streets and very easy to find and as mentioned, just round the corner from the hotel. $2 will take you straight into Manhattan or you can pay $7.50 for a day unlimited use or $25 for a weeks unlimited.
The Verve as everyone mentioned is a very well maintained hotel with large rooms, flat screen tv and satellite. The complimentary breakfast was excellent to feed you up for a days shopping. The only tiny bad thing i can say about the hotel is the excercise room is literally a room with a excercise bike and a treadmill...but when your walking round Manhattan all day, who needs more excercise. I have and will recommend this hotel to anyone, you will save a lot of money staying here and using Metro rather than staying in a hotel in Manhattan
Loving the Verve
by TripAdvisor Member Gayle_WY
Just returned from a 4 night stay at the Verve. This hotel was easily half the price of a Manhattan hotel and was not only excellent value but exceeded our expectations. I loved this hotel and would definitely stay again.
Admittedly as other reviews have said the location is a little run down but there are 2 subway stations less than 5 minutes walk and within 10 mins you can be at Times Square. We purchased the $25 unlimited subway pass (which we certainly got our money out of). The area was very quiet, but we always felt safe enough.
The rooms were fantastic, huge king sized comfy bed, good heating, safety deposit box as standard, coffee machine, decent sized flat screen TV (which seemed to have a constant supply of movies to watch) nice bathroom and complimentary Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries which were a nice touch. The Reception area had a complimentary hot drinks machine (which was great for getting a hot chocolate to take back to your room when you got back at night). Also there are 3 computers with free internet access. I think there’s also free wi-fi in the hotel rooms. Breakfast was ok enough for a freebie and consisted of cereals, fruit, toast, bagels and donuts. Hotel staff were more than helpful and even allowed us to use the printer behind the desk to print our boarding passes.
On arrival we took a taxi from JFK to the hotel ($55). We took the metro back to JFK (E line to Jamaica Station then Air train) which you could use your subway pass and then pay an extra $5 for the airtrain. The taxi and the subway probably took the same amount of time.
All in all I’d highly recommend this hotel.
Clean hotel in safe area
by TripAdvisor Member trip_too_far
Stayed at the Verve for 7 nights in December 2008 and thought it was a nice hotel. Our room had a King size bed and was very spacious.
When we booked on Expedia it said breakfast was not included but it was. I think breakfast comes automatically if you book as there is no one to ask your room number in the breakfast room which is self service.
Good points
- Staff were friendly and helpful.
- Housekeeping did a good job tidying the room.
- Breakfast is "cheap and cheerful".
- Five minutes walk to the 39th Avenue station (lines N and W)
- Free coffee machine on the ground floor which you can use 24 hours a day - has cappaccino, latte and expresso too.
Other points to note
- They don't provide slippers so I had to put my shoes back on every time I wanted to use the bathroom. Take your own.
- The toilet in our room (second floor) was a bit shakey but perfectly usable.
- The bath tub is very low down but again had no trouble taking a number of showers.
- There is no tea making facility in the room, only a coffee making machine. You have to go to the ground floor to get hot water and tea bags (all free) but there is no milk other than in the breakfast room which is locked in the evenings. So buy your own milk to put into the fridge in the room if you want to drink tea at the end of a tiring day.
- It is a very run down area with graffiti everywhere, dilapidated buildings and lots of rubbish bags but we felt perfectly safe at all times of the day. Did not see any gangs or young people hanging around or police cars driving around. There's a Holiday Inn about 2 minutes walk away so other people stay here too.
- There is free wi fi in all the rooms. I took my laptop so didn't have to use the free PC downstairs.
- Breakfast: all the cutlery and plates are plastic and you have to get your own stuff. Plenty of nice stuff including hot food (sausages, boiled eggs and scrambled eggs). I was satisfied and found it filling.
Recommendation - if I were to visit NYC again I would look for a reasonably priced hotel in Manhattan. If I could not find one I'd try the Holiday Inn or Comfort Inn near the Verve but if the facilities weren't as good then I'd stay at the Verve again.
This is not a good hotel for a romantic break and people with young children may not feel comfortable with the area (although I felt perfectly safe).
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