More about St. James Hotel - Times Square
St. James Hotel - For The Bargin Hunter!~
by TripAdvisor Member susita
I stayed at the St. James from October 20-25th with two other friends. The location was Wonderful! Close to the subways, and Starbucks Coffee just a couple of doors down. The Cranberry Deli next door was fabulous!
This certainly isn't a fancy hotel by any means, but for the price and location, it was well worth the price! We had a room with two queen beds (the room was a good size). The matresses were firm, and nice and clean. The bathroom had been remodeled. The walls could have used some paint.
So there were only two things that one should take note of when staying at this hotel. Even though the bathroom had been remodeled, I think they must still have old pipes. It literally took about 10 minutes of running the bath water before it became hot. The other thing was that the air conditioner in the window had been fastened with ply-boards and there was an extremely cold draft coming through the window and lots of noise from the street. We asked them to please remove the air conditioner so we could totally shut the window - they were very happy to do thing for us. And it cut down the noise and cold air.
All in all, I'd recommend this hotel if you are looking for a bargin. I would definitely go back and stay there again!
They have really cleaned up Time Square and felt totally safe walking in the streets at midnight!
By the way, we saw three Broadway plays. I would definitely recommend Wonderful Town with Brooke Shields!
Detailed and Thorough Review of St James Hotel, NY
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed at St James Hotel for the 29th and 30th of October 2004. I had read the reviews here before going, so I think that it is my responsibility now to give a detailed aftermath review.
Pros:
1- Location. It is unbelievable. It is 3/4 of a block from the point which is the exact middle of times square and duffy square (that means the best photo point in times square). On the other side, it is about 3 blocks to rockefeller center, 3 blocks to 42nd street. Some of the best broadway theatres are 2 blocks away. Secondly, if you are planning to use the subway, then times square is the best place to stay, because every line goes through times square, and I think that times square station is the only one that can boast this.
2- Safety. It was quite safe. I went down at 4 AM to have a cigarette, no problems, and I didnt feel any more or less safe than in the rest of the city.
3- Clean Bathrooms. Well, lets just say that it would have been a drag had the bathrooms been dirty, but it was clean and marbled. And there was no problem with hot or cold water.
4- Didnt use the heating, but the AC was pretty effective.
5- Check in time was 12 PM. They gave us the room at 8 AM so that we could leave our bag over there. Also, while checking out, they allowed us to leave our bag with them till 2:30 PM despite the check out time being 12 PM. And I cannot tell you how much of a help that was. Dont know if other hotels would allow you to do the same thing, I basically was never in this situation before, but in this particular case, St James was very good to us.
6) There is a starbucks across the street, and there are two delis right next door. That is if you dont want to walk 3/4 of a block to times square :)
Cons:
1- Puny Room. I think the room must have been about 10 by 10. and bathroom was probably 5 by 5. Very very small. But if all that you need to do is to sleep, its fine.
2- Pathetic tv channels. I think they just had an antenna up. We were obviously not interested in Tv channels on a vacation to new york city, but if you are into it, this one gets 0/10.
3- AC made a lot of noise. We were however, so tired, that even if there were drums beating we would have gone to sleep.
4- The place was.... well..... dingy. It did have a haunted feel to it, and since no one used the stairs, they looked quite dirty.
5- Management has an unfriendly tone to them (though they are not really unfriendly, if you read my listing in the Pros, they did help us out, just their manner of talking appeared unfriendly)
6- Their employees sounded East European, so there were a couple of times that you could hear their maids fighting. Also, some of their housekeeping and front desk staff were the same :). Not that it matters a lot, but hey, just my observation.
7- The view was of a deserted alley :), and there was some kinkos type of place acorss in the other building. It was quiet. I didnt really care about the view... thats not why I picked St James Hotel :)
All in all, if this hotel was in San Jose, CA, its room would not cost more than $25 - $30. So when you rent this room, keep that in mind. The only reason why we stayed in this hotel was because it was the cheapest in times square, and the next one in line was $75 more expensive per night. If you dont have a geographical limitation like that, or if you can find as cheap or cheaper place in times square, go for that..... I guess.
I would probably never stay in this hotel again, but I have to say that the hotel this time around was ok.
Great Location for the Price
by TripAdvisor Member breezes97
As mentioned in the other reviews, the St. James Hotel is undergoing renovations. The accomodations are very basic, but the rooms are clean and the bathrooms newly remodeled. The main attraction is the location, only one block to Times Square. It is a great place if you are looking for an inexpensive place to sleep in a convenient New York location (We paid $99 for a Saturday night in September 2004). The staff was helpful and stored our luggage for us after check-out so that we could enjoy NY before taking a late flight. There is a sign to mark the hotel, but you have to look UP on the side of the building! We would definitely stay there again, especially when the reconstruction is complete.
Don't Stay Here!
by A TripAdvisor Member
We arrived and we left in a matter of 1/2 an hour.
What can only be described as a 'body fluid' like substance over the walls and the water stained filthy carpet, I phoned the front desk to ask the question " Are we in a refurbished room?" "Yes" came the reply. The bathroom was disgusting, the towels were stored on top of the toilet. We weren't expecting luxury or even a fancy bed covering, but we did expect CLEAN - as described by HotelConxions website. After viewing the second room on offer a shoebox, equally as inviting minus the sickly sweet smell of the first room and equally as UNclean, we decided to leave.
Out of pocket $US200 plus tax, we found another room at the cheapest hotel on offer of the bunch we called, quoting $US289 per night - I felt sick. On arrival, we were given an excellent deal (compared to the $289 first quoted) and were apparently we were the second couple to come to them with a similar experience that evening.
My advice to those contemplating staying at the St James Hotel is don't if you can possibly stretch to an extra $US80. If you don't mind dirt and grime and pros down the hallway then stay there by all means. All I can say is that I wish I had seen the comments on this message board before making the booking.
Fantastic Location
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed at the St James Hotel from November 7-14. I knew it was a budget hotel and I had read all of the reviews so I was prepared for basic accomodation. If you are on a budget this is the Hotel to stay at since many expensive Hotels are in the same area and the location is fantastic. I had asked for a renovated room and my accomodations were basic and the room and bathroom were clean. It was better than I was expecting.
This Hotel is 1/2 block from Time Square and you will feel very safe at this hotel. There are great restaurants, shopping and Broadway Shows within blocks. As other people have mentioned, the Deli next door has excellent breakfasts and reasonably priced lunches and dinners.
I would definately stay at this Hotel again because I could not have had a more convenient location for the price. The Hotel lobby is still undergoing renovations and no one was working on it for the week I stayed. Once this Hotel is finished you can be guaranteed that the prices will increase--so take advantage now!
Awful
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at this hotel this past Saturday night. We paid $199 for a quad room, because we needed 2 double beds. When we arrived, we found an OLD, very run down room with one double bed and one twin bed. Not even enough space for what we had reserved! My husband went down to the front desk (which was closed in by plexiglass and very sketchy) and complained, but the best they could do was give us a roll-away bed. The room had extremely old bedspreads and furniture, including a folding chair!! The bathroom was just as bad, which light blue tile and a faucet that wobbled all over the place. The beds creaked when you sat down on them. It was just horrible.
Needless to say we will NEVER stay here again, and I highly recommend to others that you do not. It appeared that they were renovating the lobby, but our room had not been renovated. Two of the walls were cream (dirty dirty!) and two were a very bright turquoise green. Just terrible. We were so angry that we had to pay this much for this dump. For some reason all of NYC was sold out for the weekend.
Location Location Location
by A TripAdvisor Member
What this hotel lacks in amenities it makes up for in the most important factor in real estate: Location.
This is truly a no-frills operation -- don't except more than a couple plastic cups, a couple tiny soaps, and a TV (CNN and a few minor channels). The carpet and walls in the room we were in had small stains. If you expect to spend quite a bit of time at your hotel, this is not a good choice.
On the other hand, if you spend most of your time outside: hitting the theaters, Rockefeller Center, cruising around Times Square or other parts of midtown Manhattan, the location is great. We popped back in the hotel several times a day just to plunk down our stuff and take a short breather before heading out again. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants nearby. If you get a midnight (or later) craving, plenty of restaurants within a 5 minute walk are open till 1 or 2 am, even later on weekends. If desperate, a 24 hours-open McDonalds is around the corner.
For our purposes, it was just fine. If you are used to a little more luxury and are willing to pay more, look elsewhere.
best value in The Theatre District
by A TripAdvisor Member
We had a nice and clean room in an ideal location; friendly service and very reasonable rates. We stayed for 5 nights during the New York marathon, attending 4 shows in Broadway, all theaters located no more than 2 blocks from the hotel. The Rockefeller center and Central Park are within walking distance. Because the hotel is within 2 blocks from most metro subway (2 blocks from Times Square) and bus lines, you are virtually within minutes from most New York landmarks. What we saved in hotel and transportation, we spent it in fine meals in nearby restaurants. Also, by staying in the heart of the City, we saved the most precious resource, time to enjoy all the museums and other wonderful sites in the limited number of days available. If what you want is a clean and safe place (since you will be out most of the day, anyway) look no further and try to get a room here. The hotel is currently under restoration, but other than cosmetic signs of ongoing work, we did not hear any construction noises. I had read the comments about unfriendly service, but I did not find that to be the case. The front desk lady was very accomodating and courteous and the cleaning ladies were very friendly.
Not a bad deal after we moved to renovated room.
by TripAdvisor Member campsalot
We arrived late and were given a room on the 12th floor and told that we could change rooms the next day, since this room had two double beds and we only requested one. I asked if we had to change and the desk person implied that we would want to change as this was not a renovated room. After going to the room there was no question that we would want to change! The carpet was the worst. Spots everywhere! I did check the bottom of my white socks and was pleasantly surprised that they did not seem to be picking up any dirt, so maybe it had been cleaned just looked horrible. The mattress was worn and the only lock on the door was a push button kind in the knob.
The next day we moved to a renovated room on a lower floor. It was smaller, but much better. The door lock had a bolt lock. The rooms are simple. I like at see older buildings still in use. The elevators are older and have slow moving doors.
So be sure to ask for a renovated room! Otherwise it is a great location. The deli two doors down is great as well as the Italian restaurant a few doors down. The staff was friendly enough and helpful.
