Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West by IHG — Hotel in New York

My family and I came to NYC for our Spring Break. We have never been to NYC before, so, as you can imagine, we looked at a lot of hotels for location and pricing. This location was within walking distance from the Newark Airport Express bus. Plus, it was within walking distance from Times Square, Central Park, the Hudson River, subway stations, and other landmarks. The price for our room was acceptable, especially since it included a hot breakfast buffet. We were greeted by friendly staff upon our arrival and quickly checked in. (We were given a room on the 11th floor.) There are only two elevators, so wait times varied depending upon how busy it got. (Stairs are on each side of the hotel.) The room was a little bit smaller than we had anticipated, but this is New York, so space is a premium. The room included a refrigerator, and coffee maker, a desk, night stand, iron and ironing board, and an enclosed freestanding closet with a safe in the bottom. The first thing that my children did was turn on the TV. At first, we thought that the remote was broken because we couldn't change the channels, but after some sleuthing, I figured out that the cable box was attached to the bottom side of the desk. We just aimed the remote there. Only traveling with carry-on bags, we left our liquid soaps at home. Our bathroom included not only liquid hand soap, but also hand lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash from dispensers attached to the wall. (Had we forgotten anything, there was a small sign that said complimentary toiletries were available from the front desk. There were plenty of towels in the bathroom on a metal rack above the inside of the bathtub. (Besides hanging the hand towel from this rack, I wish that there were a towel bar attached to the front of the sink to hang towels as well. We also had to get creative in how we hung up our towels to dry.) (We did not use room service any day.) Although there was a vent in the bathroom, there was no switch to turn it on. (We're not even sure it sucked up any air from the bathroom.) After showering, not only did the bathroom steam up, but so did the entire room. There were no vents in the room, so our room was very humid and condensation quickly dripped from the windows. The room temperature was able to be adjusted easily with the thermostat on the wall, but did nothing to alleviate the humidity. The windows were also able to open a slight crack to air the room out. The windows, however, were very thin, so NO sounds were blocked. We could hear every noise and siren from outside. The beds were very comfortable, as well as each of the two pillows per person. A hot breakfast buffet was available on the first floor each morning. (Hours varied, but during our stay were from 6:30 - 9:30 a.m.) There were signs on each floor indicating when the fewest people were at breakfast and when it was the busiest. The breakfast staff was busting their butts keeping everything stocked. Finding an empty seat was a bit challenging, but there was an overflow room around the corner in the back of the hotel. A vending area and other snacks are just to the side of the front desk, but we didn't buy anything there. We didn't use the workout room, but just the water from the water cooler to refill our water bottles. (No pool is at this location.) Extra bathrooms are available on the lower level/basement, but don't forget your keycard. Check-out was a breeze. Bottom line: we would consider staying at this location again should we ever come...

Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West - A Platinum Elite's Disappointing Stay.

My recent stay at the Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West, spanning two separate reservations, left me questioning the value of my IHG Platinum Elite membership. While some staff members did an excellent job, the overall experience was far from the "wow" factor I'd expect as a loyal customer.

My first reservation (July 25th), a standard room booked with a rewards night, immediately highlighted a frustration with IHG's rewards system: the inability to choose between a single or double bed. This lack of choice is disappointing for loyal members.

However, the real issues began with the room assignment for this first night. Despite being a Platinum Elite member traveling with kids and requesting a more suitable room (understanding it's subject to availability), we were placed in a basement room right next to the elevator. The constant elevator noise was incredibly disruptive, and a window facing a construction patio with a bright light shining all night made a good night's sleep impossible. Arriving at 1 AM, this was a particularly disturbing welcome. We were so ready to check out and move to an Intercontinental the next morning, but my wife convinced us to stay due to the hassle of moving our belongings.

I do want to give props to two specific front desk agents. The girl who checked us in offered welcome points and recognized our Platinum Elite status, even mentioning how unfortunate it was that we were placed on the basement floor. And a big thank you to Ms. Pamela who also provided excellent service. These individuals made a positive impression with their attentiveness.

Thankfully, the hotel staff did a commendable job with our request to move our luggage to the new room for our second reservation (July 26th), which was for a two double-bed room I was paying for. All our items were carefully transferred, which was a significant relief. The new room on the fourth floor, a standard two double-bed room facing the street, was certainly an improvement. However, it was still located directly in front of the elevator, leading to constant noise from people outside our door. The thin walls throughout the hotel only amplified this issue.

Ultimately, my sole reason for giving this stay a single star is the profound lack of effort in creating a truly positive experience for a loyal Platinum Elite member. There was no discernible attempt by the hotel as a whole to acknowledge or reward my loyalty, especially considering I had multiple bookings. The placement in a noisy basement room with disruptive light for the first night, despite my status and traveling with children, speaks volumes. While some individual staff members like the check-in agent and Ms. Pamela provided good service and recognized my status, the hotel's inability to provide a quiet and comfortable environment, even in the second room, demonstrates a missed opportunity to truly make a member...

Update on 14 June 2024. After posting my below review and reviewing it, hotel management had reached out to me and acknowledged my feedback and committed to take action towards better guest experience. They also waived my first night charges as compensation against this experience. I feel this is what makes IHG hotel great and this is what showcase how much they value guests' experience by getting back to me on matter, and not only listening me but taking action against it. I really thank IHG mgmt for this gesture. With this action in mind, i am changing back some of rating considering this as just one of miss out from them and this incident does not represent their overall experience (as except first day, my overall experience with hotel was very good).. As I believe in acknowledging your mistake and learning from it towards future improvement is sign of great organization. Sleepless night in Summer (June 2024) ruined next day by leaving whole family headache. Detail: We have booked this hotel for three nights starting from 5th June 2024. First day on check-In reception guy gave us one of basement room. Though i requested to give us main floor room OR above but he didnt provide any option. On arriving to basement room, it was not clean at all, the room was having some bad smell and window was half down to main floor level with some garbage & furniture outside. it was like hunted room. Still we thought of going ahead with it. While we came back at 10 PM to room (post lunch outside), room AC was not working at all. It was just fan. Infact Room dont have AC in built Unit. With summer room become hot and i call reception but Guy came and acknowledged that there is issue but then never came back. After calling multiple time reception (which past 11:30 PM ) i went out and called reception guy (Alex), and his behavior was very bad. first of all he told me that he is leaving home so he just doing favor to check issue. second he came to our room and in front of whole family he lied saying room temp is fine (while my whole family total 4 people suffering and requesting him, he was smiling saying he cant do anything talk with manager dont complain him. What an pathetic experience we have. We all have sleepless night which cause our next day outdoor activities by leaving us in headache. When next day i complain about this to manager, she listen us but i feel instead of taking action against that person (Alex) she was not accepting this happen and though offered me another room . Well i taken room though i was about to leave hotel but with family i stayed to new room (new room was fine). I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. They charged us almost $400 per night and given very bad service. Hotel should not be charging me for first night to compensate about this terrible experience. Infact manager (Sonia)...