Ameritania Hotel at Times Square — Hotel in New York

We had a family member performing over the weekend at Carnegie Hall, so I took a leap of faith and booked at an independent hotel rather than a chain. We were all completely delighted with our time at the Ameritania! It is beautiful, comfortable, well maintained, well located, and graced by an exemplary staff. ||Location:|The hotel is at 54th and 8th. It is very convenient to the theater district, Carnegie Hall, and Central Park. It is also far enough away from Times Square that none of the noise and craziness reaches up that far. There are lots of restaurants within a few blocks, including places where you can pick up a takeout breakfast. ||-Rooms|We had 2 kings and one double/double. They varied in size. One of the kings was on the small side, the other 2 were pretty roomy by NYC standards. All of them were well maintained and comfortable. The website says that king and double/double rooms have a mini fridge, but only ours did.||Hotel beds are always way too soft for us, and this one was pretty typical. The big fat pillows are great though! ||I prefer a night stand with a drawer so I can keep my wallet next to me, but again this is a minor deal. The room had plenty of outlets and good lighting.||The bathroom was spotless and attractive. I could have stood in the rain shower all day. (aaaaahhhh)||Our room had a closet that was big enough to stash a folded stroller, which was a big help. It had no view, but I don't expect one in midtown, and it wasn't important. We did have a problem with the drawers of the dresser, which kept sliding open. My husband figured out a hack to keep them closed with a folded up tissue. We also couldn't get the thermostat to stay on the temp we wanted, so the room was a bit chilly at night. The exta blanket the hotel provides helped with that.||Public spaces:||The lobby is stylish, spacious, and comfortable. It's not set up to be able to eat a takeout meal, as many chains hotels are, but the rooms have a desk that works for that. The hotel has no restaurant, but coffee and tea are available in the lobby in the morning. ||If you have a disability that prevents you from climbing stairs, be aware that there are a few steps leading up to the entrance. There may be an accessible entrance but I didn't ask about that and it wasn't obvious. ||Everyone on staff was welcoming, informative, helpful, and eager to help. Special thanks to Majid at the front desk. He let us know about construction going on outside the hotel in case we wanted to ask for a room on the quiet side. He also upgraded my husband and me so we could have a room a few down from the one where our kids and grandkids were, which was a big help. None of us thought that there was much noise, but it was a holiday weekend, so maybe that was the reason. We had no trouble sleeping. The valets were super helpful and patient with our 2 young grandkids. ||It was fun to hear a lot of different languages and talk to other guests from a wide variety of places, and I noticed that the desk staff was multilingual. It was a fun and sophisticated atmosphere.||I look forward...

We stayed here the 4 days leading up to Thanksgiving (left Thanksgiving Day). We had taken a red eye and arrive around 9am. We were unable to check in early but were greatly appreciative of being able to leave our bags for the day while we explored the city.

The staff here was warm and friendly. This place is smaller and feels cozy and I loved that. Every time we came off the street (brr, cold outside but warm inside!!) it was lovely to come into the warmth. Nice lobby area with seating I used a few times.

They set out water and glasses in the lobby area and in the mornings, coffee for the guests.

We stayed on the 5th floor and faced out over a comedy club next door. The first night I thought "oh no" its going to be loud but the club finished at 10 and it went quiet soon after. It didn't even bother us. The rooms were compact but comfortable. The bed was extremely comfortable. We didn't even see there was a mini fridge until our last day, it was hiding under the desk where we piled all our coats. Definitely big enough for 2 people who were spending the bulk of the day outside. The shower was lovely - the closet and bathroom did not seem to be insulated but we just kept those doors closed and no problem. The rest of the room was lovely and warm - no problems with the thermostats.

The only downside I felt and it was little was that I was not made aware of the coffee times so missed them on my last day. I also left quite early on Thanksgiving and it would have been nice to have a coffee before I left - seems like an easy thing since the coffee just needed to be made the one time since it was put in a thermos type serving thing anyway. The coffee was out in the lobby each morning, again not sure of the timing of that.

I recommend this place - location is great - about 3/4 blocks to Central Park, right around the corner the other way is Times Square. Outside, there is a Halal guys food truck (well, they are everywhere but this one was close if you didn't want to wander) for a quick bite but if you walked a couple blocks, there were a few good markets and a place that sold pizza by the slice for 99 cents. Starbucks also a block away and a few different subway...

I had a pleasant stay here, with only a few nitpicks. I'll start with the good stuff first. The area the hotel is located in is great for anyone who wants to travel to Times Square. It's also right next to where Stephen Colbert does his shows, so that's an added bonus. My fiance and I tend to go through the Times Square area whenever we visit, so the area was perfect for us. We were also wanting to go through Central Park, which is close by as well. Our room was clean and comfortable, and everything like our TV and shower worked well. For any couples, they also include a "Lover's Kit" in your room. It's an added $25 to your bill, but if you're really in the mood, then go for it.

Now onto my nitpicks. I know hotel rooms in New York can be small, but this was the smallest room we've ever stayed in. We nearly tripped over the bed upon walking in, since it was that close to the door. Speaking of doors, if you don't have yours locked, it'll sort of rattle whenever someone closes a door outside. The first time it happened, I thought someone was trying to come in. They're also kind of thin, so they don't block out much noise in the hall. There were people slamming doors despite it being late at night. I was startled awake multiple times because the sound was that loud. We had housekeeping knock twice in the morning, despite us saying the room was occupied. They even tried to come in, but we had the door locked. Not the best way to be woken up. I also found a dead bug on our floor towel in the bathroom. I'm not sure what kind of bug it is. My fiance doesn't think it's a bed bug, but it looks like one to me. Either way, I wasn't happy over finding it, since I'm not a big fan of bugs.

Despite the nitpicks, Ameritania is a pretty decent hotel. They have deals going on right now, and I paid $221 just for one night for a single queen sized bed for two people. The location is great, and the hotel itself is really nice, especially the lobby area. The staff was welcoming and seemed nice. It's not perfect, but I recommend it for anyone wanting to stay in the Times...