Empire Hotel

New, Great Location, Great Bed

by TripAdvisor Member Justmyexperience

My husband and I stayed 6 nights in late October/ early November 2007 at the Empire Hotel. The hotel was being renovated so some of the amenities were not available. The restaurant and the fitness center were not available during our stay. Be sure to check what is available before you book if you are planning to use the amenities at the hotel. First of all, we enjoyed our stay at this hotel. There were a lot of pluses and minuses.

First the pluses: most everything is new. The bed and the pillows were very comfortable. The linens were soft and clean. The shower was unique. It was spa inspired with a “red wood decking” type shower mat. The shower head was installed on the ceiling so if you are tall, like my husband, you will not need to hunch over to wash the top of your head. Flatscreen 32’ TV was nice. The room was very clean. Housekeeping did an excellent job cleaning the room everyday. There was a lot of fresh fruit available at breakfast and at the front desk. The location is excellent - Upper West side close to Central Park and Lincoln Center.

Now the negatives: I had requested a relatively quiet room when I made the reservation. I know – it’s Manhattan with lots of cars and buses – I just didn’t want to be by an ice machine, elevator or some machinery that hums all night long. Guest what? They put us toward the back of the hotel where there were HVACs and all sorts of fans below. Something hummed all night. It wasn’t too bad so I didn’t ask for another room. It would have been a big hassle to move. We did fly in 6am and front desk allow us check in early when we arrived at the hotel. We even had breakfast. We were extremely grateful for the early check in.

We had a standard queen room. The room was small but barely larger enough for two. The closet was very small. It measured 24 inches wide, in which the hotel jammed a small mini-bar refrigerator. Now where should I put my shoes? There was very little storage space for my belongings. There was a small chest of drawers with two small drawers. The two night stands each had a small and very shallow drawer. There was also an in-room safe. I don’t know how safe it was because it was not bolted down. Someone can easily carried it off. To make sure the hotel can generate additional revenues (on top of the mini-bar); they placed a tray of goodies on the desk of our room and took away much needed space.

The heating was controlled by the hotel. We couldn’t adjust the temperature or turn it off. The bedding included a nice thick down comforter and a light fleece throw at the foot of the bed. The problem was that the down comforter was much too heavy for a room that was about 70 degrees. The light fleece throw was the only alternative available. The hotel did not have a lighter blanket. The light fleece throw was not a blanket so it didn’t cover the bed or us adequately. Be aware that the Air Conditioner was a large wall unit.

Although the shower was great, I always got wet turning on the shower because I had to step in before I can turn on the water.

The hotel staff ranged from being helpful and friendly to somewhat unprofessional. The bellman that greeted us and helped us when we checked in was very helpful, professional, and just great. However, during the rest of our stay, we often found the bellmen/doormen socializing with one another. The front desk needs some improvement in customer service.

We checked our account on our TV the morning of our departure and found we were overcharged. The hotel imposed a $1.50 per room per night charge called “unit tax.” We booked our stay on the hotel’s web page and it gave us the daily rates plus ALL applicable taxes and fees. There was no $1.50 per night unit tax. We didn’t want to argue because we didn’t want to hassle with it.

When I return to Manhattan, I may or may not return to this hotel. Again, we enjoyed our stay in spite of the problems. Perhaps it was the City or perhaps it is because the hotel just opened. You can feel the “vibe” that they put a lot of thought into the renovation and hopefully they can work out the negatives.

Oh – I have a great restaurant recommendation. Jean-George. It is located in the Trump Tower in proximity to Empire Hotel. The food service was excellent plus. Although it was expensive, it was well worth it given the food and the service and the location. Don’t miss it. Also, go for the formal restaurant. The informal has a different menu and kitchen. I would go back tomorrow, if I could. Oh – another thing - don’t miss Carnigie Hall – beautiful historical place with great acoustics and the best performers.

A city that never sleeps… We loved Manhattan!

Would go back tomorrow!

by TripAdvisor Member Paradise2006

This has to be one of the best hotels my husband and I have stayed in. We've just returned after a 4 night stay at the Empire for our anniversary. We booked a standard queen room but when we arrived we were upgraded to a superior 2 double bed at no extra charge. The only reason I can think this happened was that I had emailed about a week before we were due to arrive to ask if the room had a hairdryer and explained we were there for our anniversary. Maybe it was a good will gesture but whatever the reason we weren't complaining.
The room had quite sufficient storage for our 4 nights stay although we could've done with a few more coat hangers. The beds were extremely comfortable with 4 pillows that you could melt into. We had a slight problem with the heating in our room making it too hot to sleep, so we rang down to reception (at 1am) and an engineer was fixing it within 5 minutes! He explained all the controls to us and it worked perfectly for the remainder of our stay.
The shower was fab! There were 2 controls meaning you could have the water coming from the shower head on the ceiling or the hand held one or both. There was a knack to getting the shower to the right temperature without getting wet but once we'd worked this out it was plain sailing. They'd provided shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, soap(s), body lotion, shower cap and even an "everything" kit. The only thing I didn't like was the design of the basin. It was quite shallow and there wasnt much room to get your hands under the tap but thats just me being fussy.
We loved the large flat screen tv which had an adequate choice of free channels. There was a safe in the room but as has been previously pointed out it wasn't bolted down. The mini bar contained everything you could want (at a price of course) and other extras were available on a tray but a bit pricey for us so we chose not to indulge.
There were bath robes, a hairdryer and even a newspaper hung on the bedroom door in the mornings but it could've done with having tea/coffee making facilities. Being a Brit I love my tea and finding a good cuppa in New York proved to be the hardest challenge of all.
The maid service was excellent, A+ !!! Our room was attended to at least twice a day and if you don't want to be disturbed you simply put the magnetic "Do not disturb" sign on your door. We found all the staff to be friendly and extremely efficient. The doormen would rush to open the door, had impeccable manners and were very helpful for giving directions and suggestions on places to go.
Breakfast was OK. Cutlery, crockery etc would run out now and again but it wouldnt be long before more arrived. It's a basic buffet breakfast menu but quite adequate for us.
The roof top pool hasn't been completed yet so we weren't able to experience that. It does say on the website "coming soon" about certain facilities of the hotel so we werent totally disappointed in all honesty.
The hotel is located across the street from the Lincoln Centre and the nearest subway which is the no.1 line. From there it's only a few stops downtown to Times Square where you can connect to a few other lines, including to Grand Central Station. The hotel is also within a short walking distance of Central Park.
We would definitely recommend the Empire Hotel to anyone wanting to stay on the West Side of Manhattan and we'd most certainly stay there again.

Not a good decision

by TripAdvisor Member Igetaround60

I stayed here on 11/14/07 in a mini suite. Rate was pretty high ($650 + $100 or so extras in tax).

On the plus side: great location, good looking rooms, nice (huge) flat screen TV. Room was clean and bed/sheets excellent.

On the negative side: no hot water (they came to fix it and said it was fixed, but the water was only tepid: they indicated this was the best they could do). It is definitely a dissapointment to spend $750 on a hotel room and not be able to take a shower or shave in the morning.

Also: bathroom sink clogged up (could not fix it). No mini bar (just a basket of expensive wine and snacks). No room service. Bathroom shower was small and very low end. Room heat/air controls are window units (ancient) and marginally effective.

It looked to me like the hotel kind of half upgraded from the 70s. The surfaces were nice; anything below that was ignored.

I would stay away.

Be prepared to pay at the Empire!

by TripAdvisor Member Roja42

The hotel is very nice, but the rooms are small and the decor is dark. A word of warning to those who book this facility on Hotwire: The "hotwire rooms" are corner rooms that are about the size of a large walk in closet. If you book through Hotwire they will put you in one of these rooms, and if you insist on having a place to put your luggage, an outlet to plug your computer into, and the ability to enter the shower without banging your head on the bathroom door, you will be charged and "upgrade." The upgrade room is still rather small, even by NYC standards.

That being said the breakfast bar is exquisite, the location is great, and the service is terrific. The lobby is a well designed place to meet up with friends or business associates. The bar is expensive, but very nice and like all public spaces in New York, smoke-free. Lincoln Center is just steps away.

I came for business and found it convenient, clean, and hassle-free, aside from the initial bother of having to change rooms and pay the upgrade fee.

Really nice hotel - let down by the air conditioning however

by TripAdvisor Member Devon_girls

We enjoyed our stay. Great staff really friendly and helpful. The bell boys are really good for getting taxi's to the airport at excellent rates. The room was small but very comfortable and very clean and the shower was great.

The location is brilliant and there is a fantastic mexican restaurant next door.

The hotel bar is very nice - very well decorated and a nice chilled out atmosphere.

I would have given this hotel 5 out of 5 except for the fact that it does not have central air conditioning. there is a air con unit in the room but it is very very noisy. The hotel was really hot so we had to keep putting it on and it kept us awake. Its a shame they did not put air con in as the they have clearly spent a lot of money doing the hotel up and I think they made a big mistake by not putting centralised air con in as it does prevent it from being up there with the best hotels in New York.

That was my only complaint though - other than that it was great.

I would skip the free breakfast and go to the red diner down the road - very nice breakfast there!

Stay Here!

by TripAdvisor Member wunparalegal

Beautiful hotel. Ours was the last room on the 9th floor and quite enough space for 3 with our 2 queen beds and bathroom (including tub). No view except of the building next door but we didnt come to look out the window so who cares? The maid service was perfect and the bellman were very, very helpful. Would definitely recommend a stay there. The only downside was the design of the bathroom. The showerhead was some artsy thing that could be used on the wall or as a hand held but it was not practical and when positioned on the wall sprayed water onto the towels (the rack was INSIDE THE SHOWER???) and into the floor because the shower doors had no caulking. Maybe I am just inept at using highclass showers, I dunno. Other than that little inconvenience every day, our stay was superb! Right across the street from the Lincoln Center and 1.5 blocks to the Thanksgiving Day Parade Route so we arrived early and got an excellent viewing location of the parade!(PS: Starbucks is right around the corner)

"Boutique" frosting can't hide old hotel

by TripAdvisor Member columbuscirclenyc

The Empire was a down in the heels hotel in a great location...steps from Lincoln Center and Central Park West . It was closed for several years as the owners considered a condo conversion and has reopened this year with a great sexy lobby, groomed staff and high rates. The problems begin when you get into the room. This was clearly a cheap conversion -- Frette sheets can't cover the big problems ..cheap storm windows that rattle all night, plumbing and heat that don't work , elevators that break down, no real closets in many of the rooms. The staff could use some customer service training..when told at check-out there was no heat all night the desk personnel snapped.."Tthey eventually fixed it, right?" It would be a great stay at half the price, but they are pricing themselves on par with the nearby Mandarin and Trump -- charging for luxury that they don't have.

New York City

by RCaborn

"Vacation; September 2007"

Empire Hotel, just across the street from Lincoln Center, six blocks north of Columbus Circle. Easy walk to Broadway.