| Satisfaction: |   | | Reviews: 3 | Photos: 2 | | 299 Madison Avenue At 41st Street |
 | New York City Library Hotel Reviews | 1 - 3 of 3 |  |
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 | Library Hotel: Good, could be great.
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The Library is a good little hotel but the frustration is it could be a great hotel.
Great concept and location are let down by the usual NYC designer hotel problem, (aka ‘Schraeger syndrome’) the staff radiate a sense that this job would be so cool if it wasn’t for the customers.
For example, when first booking and again on checking in I told them my wife was arriving two days after me and watched them write this down but when she did arrive while I was out they denied any knowledge of her and only let her into the room when she started crying.
When we mentioned it to the front desk they’d stayed cool. “I’m sorry about that but everything else made up for it right?”
Well, not quite.
The rooms are cosy. The books themselves seem to be mainly remaindered hardbacks but this gives the Reading (/Breakfast) Room fabulous serendipity. You come across an old guidebook to Coventry next to a book on astronomy, a biography of Napoleon, and a John Updike novel. The size and scale of the hotel feels very Parisian or Roman.
It is crying out for a charismatic owner/proprietor couple who love books and do the mine host thing, working the tables at breakfast to check everything’s OK, mentioning something about the room you’re in. The guests are by definition more bookish, they want warmth over cool. You just know there’s a hotel manager somewhere in the city who could make the concept really come alive.
Incidentally, the 30 or so books in the famous love room are mostly marriage guidance manuals by Dr Ruth K Westheimer and her friends or remaindered collections of love poetry but the room is well worth taking for its balcony.11 floors above Madison Avenue with clear views all the way up and down and not too overlooked. The surrounding office blocks all empty at weekends. It’s a wonderful stage for romance. Theme: HotelPrice: US$80-120 » Currency ConverterComparison: more expensive than averageWebsite: thenurseryresearch@yahoo.com
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