Candlewood Suites New York City- Times Square by IHG — Hotel in New York

The Candlewood Suites Times Square is in an excellent location, - this and the fact that it had a kitchenette was why I chose it. Firstly my opinion of the room, it was a little "tired". The door to the clothes hanging area wouldn't close and had been crow barred open at some point and not repaired/redecorated. One hinge on the toilet seat was broken but the bed was lovely and comfy and the sheets / towels were nice and clean. The cleanliness was generally was good but as with all 3 star hotels there were areas that would benefit from a deep clean ever so often. We were on the 12th floor at the front and it was lovely and quiet due to the fact there are only 6 rooms per floor there was hardly any comings and goings or doors banging, - in fact the only thing I could hear, which was a little annoying and only when the room was silent, was the lift roaring up and down continuously (luckily only one as the other was broken down for the majority of our stay) but our room was next to the lift so avoid that if you are a light sleeper. Wifi connection was simple and worked well for general emailing, browsing etc. The room had a full size fridge with freezer section, dishwasher (although didn't use) sink, hob, large microwave (which would have benefited from having a grill inside as that limited what you could cook) an iron (although didn't work), plus board, in room safe, pots and pans, cutlery, plates, bowls, some utensils, tin opener, mugs, kitchen roll and tea towel. The bedroom area had a 55" TV (with limited channels) 3 chairs of different types (1 recliner armchair which I discovered on the last day) and a desk area where you could sit and eat. The only thing that was a little awkward was there was only a bedside table on one side of the bed so my partner had to put his drink and phone etc on the floor, - not a big issue. Bathroom was ok with shower over tub - note: the shower head is not removeable so I had to use the jug if I wanted to wash my hair only. Housekeeping is only once a week which to be honest we quite liked as could get up, make some breakfast without the worry of holding up the cleaning staff. When our room was cleaned I think the bed sheet may have been changed (definitely not the duvet/cover) and maybe a quick bathroom clean and the towels were replaced (you could ask for towels anytime at reception) didn't look like it had been vacuumed. The only downside to weekly cleaning is if you were using the coffee maker you only had 2 sachets of coffee and condiments etc. on arrival and they weren't then replenished (even when room was cleaned), I guess you could ask daily for more but to be honest we took coffee and tea and boiled water in the jug in the microwave. (THERE IS NO KETTLE - would be better to take away the coffee machine and add a kettle in my opinion). You also needed to ask for a loo roll if you run out as only 2 in the room for a week, - if only doing housekeeping weekly they should leave 3 or 4. The staff were friendly and helpful, reception area was comfortable and adequate - you could borrow small appliances from there as well as any buy basics. They take a $100 deposit but this was not charged once we checked out and room checked, - there is a destination fee of $17 per night non refundable. To sum up we had a great time staying here - had everything we needed for the price we paid and the location was spot on, - I would definitely stay there again if I...

Hopefully this helps others in their decision to NOT stay at this hotel. ||I chose this hotel as it was close to Times Square and had valet parking as I didn't want to worry about parking, or driving, in New York City. ||When we first arrived, the valet parking already had a car in the designated area, so I parked on the street while my daughter went into the hotel to tell them that we arrived and that we were parked down the street. The lady at the front desk told her to put their provided parking tag on our dashboard and they'll go get my car shortly and in meantime we can go and bring our luggage inside. This is why it was very upsetting to find I received a parking ticket once I retrieved my car after our stay. ||When I advised Kenny (Assistant General Manager) about the ticket & asked for a reimbursement as we only left our vehicle on the road due to their instructions, he advised he would investigate it & get back to me “shortly”. This was on September 4th. After a few attempts to reach out to him for an update, he never responded. ||I reached out to IHG head office & unfortunately they are not able to help as each hotel is individually owned/managed.||After numerous attempts for IHG to reach out to Candlewood to help have this resolved, I finally got an email from Kenny on October 1st (almost 1 month!) advising they would not reimburse me for the ticket. They didn't take any accountability for the fact that I only left my car on the road due to their instructions. They knew I was parked on street (not in valet area) & should've told me to stay in the car until the parking attendant came, but they didn't. The whole point of the valet parking was I didn't want to worry about parking - that's why I stayed in my car to wait and only left after their instructions. I would never just leave my car unattended in a city I was visiting, especially NYC! Now I know I should've just booked another hotel & parked my car myself and that way I would ensure I wouldn't get a ticket.||Candlewood clearly doesn't care about their customers & try & do the right thing by them. I spent a lot of money for the hotel (to include the valet parking) and to then have to pay a parking ticket on top of all that, which was not due to my own negligence, was very upsetting and stressful due to them not responding/acknowledging me for weeks.||Other issues we found:|-Only 1 elevator was working - which led to very long wait times. It's been down for awhile from what I can see from prior reviews.|-Saw a couple of dead cockroaches in the basement (that was fun to see after we had to take the stairs down due to elevator situation). The only exit from the stairs is by the basement. The stairs don't lead to the lobby. |-Phone in our room wasn't working. And from what I heard when we were in the lobby, other customers seemed to have the same issue.|-Wi-Fi was not the greatest|-Bathrooms are small|-Musty smell in our room||In conclusion, if everything is going well, the staff will be pleasant & respond right away; however, if there are any issues, don't expect anything other than terrible customer service. There are no consequences to any of the staff’s actions.||This whole experience has tarnished my memories of NYC. ||I will never stay at this hotel again & I hope this help others make a...

Hopefully this helps others in their decision to NOT stay at this hotel. ||I chose this hotel as it was close to Times Square and had valet parking as I didn't want to worry about parking, or driving, in New York City. ||When we first arrived, the valet parking already had a car in the designated area, so I parked on the street while my daughter went into the hotel to tell them that we arrived and that we were parked down the street. The lady at the front desk told her to put their provided parking tag on our dashboard and they'll go get my car shortly and in meantime we can go and bring our luggage inside. This is why it was very upsetting to find I received a parking ticket once I retrieved my car after our stay. ||When I advised Kenny (Assistant General Manager) about the ticket & asked for a reimbursement as we only left our vehicle on the road due to their instructions, he advised he would investigate it & get back to me “shortly”. This was on September 4th. After a few attempts to reach out to him for an update, he never responded. ||I reached out to IHG head office & unfortunately they are not able to help as each hotel is individually owned/managed.||After numerous attempts for IHG to reach out to Candlewood to help have this resolved, I finally got an email from Kenny on October 1st (almost 1 month!) advising they would not reimburse me for the ticket. They didn't take any accountability for the fact that I only left my car on the road due to their instructions. They knew I was parked on street (not in valet area) & should've told me to stay in the car until the parking attendant came, but they didn't. The whole point of the valet parking was I didn't want to worry about parking - that's why I stayed in my car to wait and only left after their instructions. I would never just leave my car unattended in a city I was visiting, especially NYC! Now I know I should've just booked another hotel & parked my car myself and that way I would ensure I wouldn't get a ticket.||Candlewood clearly doesn't care about their customers & try & do the right thing by them. I spent a lot of money for the hotel (to include the valet parking) and to then have to pay a parking ticket on top of all that, which was not due to my own negligence, was very upsetting and stressful due to them not responding/acknowledging me for weeks.||Other issues we found:|-Only 1 elevator was working - which led to very long wait times. It's been down for awhile from what I can see from prior reviews.|-Saw a couple of dead cockroaches in the basement (that was fun to see after we had to take the stairs down due to elevator situation). The only exit from the stairs is by the basement. The stairs don't lead to the lobby. |-Phone in our room wasn't working. And from what I heard when we were in the lobby, other customers seemed to have the same issue.|-Wi-Fi was not the greatest|-Bathrooms are small|-Musty smell in our room||In conclusion, if everything is going well, the staff will be pleasant & respond right away; however, if there are any issues, don't expect anything other than terrible customer service. There are no consequences to any of the staff’s actions.||This whole experience has tarnished my memories of NYC. ||I will never stay at this hotel again & I hope this help others make a...