DYLAN HOTEL

Stayed here for only 1 night in March 2006. Hotel is conveniently located near Grand Central Station and New York Public Library. Actually, its the street the tidal wave comes down in the film The Day After Tomorrow that sends them running for cover into the library.

Hotel entrance is pretty unassuming and would be easy to miss were it not for its gold branding and light boxes. We arrived at 8am from Puerto Rico and although our room was clearly ready, as the days previous occupants had been required to leave some 20 hours earlier, the accommodating receptionist told us we couldnt have a key until 3pm. This was completely unnecessary as we saw a mere two other guests during our whole stay in The Dylan. A minor irritation over, we left our bags for our penultimate day in New York.

When we finally got access to the room (11th floor), it was surprisingly big and well presented. Two large windows, one of which could be almost fully opened, looked out over 41st St. Half of New York Public Library could be seen at the end of the street, although directly opposite, like most hotel rooms in New York, we had a view of just another very tall facade. (Given up thinking well ever accidentally find ourselves in a room overlooking Central Park or Times Square). Room had good storage and TV, and was fairly plush. Bathroom was much smaller in proportion (even smaller than the one at Hotel QT we had stayed in a week earlier), and was pretty plain and basic looking. The hotel occupies the site of the old Chemist Club and they had made a small nod at this connection by providing two chemists measuring beakers to put your toothbrushes in.

At the risk of sounding like The Princess and The Pea, the bed was hard and the pillows cheap. However a fairly quite stretch of Manhattan road outside and reasonable double glazing meant we had a decent nights sleep. Theres a Starbucks on the corner if you fancy a coffee, but not much else nearby. In fact, just like the hotel, we rarely saw anyone even on the pavement outside.

Unique Quality: The bar downstairs (Chemists Club) was closed as we left so we never had a chance to use it. Staff had a cold, detached attitude, which could be regarded as normal in the UK, but comes as an unpleasant surprise when youve just spent a week in the US. The only staff members who do show a proactive side are the bellhops, who will quickly snatch your bags, but are less keen to engage in any friendly dialogue. If these guys rely on tips alone then God help them as they probably earned the sum total of my 8 dollars that whole weekend. Receptionists were on the whole quite unhelpful, and the whole place seemed to lack any team spirit or purpose. If a tsunami did come down 41st, I doubt any of them would even notice.

If you just require a good quality spacious room in a convenient location then The Dylan Hotel may be for you, but if you are looking for more (service, facilities, bars, restaurants, theming, value for money etc) from a hotel then go elsewhere.

Directions: Between Madison & Park Avenues on East 41st Street

Hotel Dylan is a great midtown find, not terribly expensive, but very nice, clean, nicely-designed rooms for the price and location.

I really liked everything about the hotel - with the exception of the elevators! Why don’t they replace the disgusting, ripped, filthy carpeting? How much could it cost? They elevators needed a good vacuuming, as there were small bits of paper all over the floor.

The rooms were not large – but sufficient. The ultra-high (maybe 14 feet) ceilings help give a feeling of spaciousness.

The bathrooms are small but quite nice – all marble with interesting fixtures and two 250 mm beakers instead of water glasses (a nod to the origins of the building – the former Chemists Club building.) Good towels, nice amenities, and a warm, cozy terry bathrobe in the closest.

I loved that the coverlet on the bed was pure white – you KNOW it's really clean!

The room was quiet enough – never heard anything from the other rooms, and the street noise was not a problem. Best not to check behind the elegant window draperies. For one thing, you need to be at least 5’7” to REACH the drapery pulls. Then, the window itself is dirty, and lined with tacky, yellowed, old foam tape which is not doing a particularly good job of keeping the cold air out.

But the heating and cooling controls in the room worked fine. Use of the internet is $10. Breakfast in the hotel restaurant is $18 – I skipped it and went instead to the Starbucks a couple of doors down.

I paid $229 for a king, no smoking on www.quikbook.com, saving $20 by prepaying - this on a weekend when most other hotels of this category were $300 and up.

Directions: Murray Hill / Mid Town. On 41st between Madison and Park.

So I was looking for a place to stay near our office at Grand Central. My coworkers were all staying in Times Square. Being a former New Yorker, I could not bear the thought of staying in such a mecca of tourists. I found the Dylan online. The rooms looked small but the locations and amenities fit the bill. My coworker was not impressed but this hotel rocks compared to other hotels in NYC.

Unique Quality: “Behind the beaux arts façade, rich tones of amethyst, jade and emerald are juxtaposed with sandblasted glass panels and parquet floors.” (Conde Nast Traveller)

The coolest thing about this hotel is the bathroom. It has some unique features and amenities.

Directions: Midtown. Between Park and Madison Aves. Near Grand Central.