Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Times Square South by IHG — Hotel in New York

I've been a very frequent traveler to NYC for the last 18 years, two or three times a year, and have stayed at a number of different hotels--and our week-long stay at this Holiday Inn was a positive one. The location was perfect as there was subway access for all major lines nearby. The breakfast was good, our room was clean and generally functioned well, and the staff was always kind, helpful, and professional. There were a few minor issues that were certainly not deal breakers, but the combination of them resulted in a four-star rating, as opposed to a five. 1. Housekeeping was a bit inconsistent; one day no one came to clean the room until we brought it to the staff's attention later in the early evening, and coffee pods (a must for us first thing in the morning) were not always replenished, so a couple of times we had to pick some up from the front desk in the evening. 2. The phones in our room did not connect to the front desk when pressing "zero", and so we tried to use the HI texting service to contact staff but we heard nothing until much later the next day--when it was too late (to their credit, they tried to knock on our door repeatedly... at 6.30am when we were still sleeping. I appreciated the effort, but didn't love the unintentional early-morning wake-up call.) 3. Our shower leaked in big puddles on the floor because the seal around the door was in need of repair. 4. From my experience, many travelers don't use hotel gyms in NYC, but I always do, without fail. While the cardio machines were fine, there was a set of 20 lb weights missing (among the sets of 5s, 10s, 15s, and 25s), which I use. 5. Finally, HI has implemented a tipping service whereby housekeeping leave a card with their name written on it, and a QR code which will allow you to tip your room cleaner without the need to use physical cash. I LOVE this idea, especially the concept of tipping after your room has been cleaned, rather than before--this makes a lot of sense. But in order to do so, HI charges you extra fees--something vaguely called an "international fee"--that, my guess, do not go directly to the staff. That rubbed me the wrong way, so I opted not to use this service, even though, in spirit, it is a great one. However, all of these issues were fairly minor ones and did not significantly affect my overall satisfaction with the services I received. I was happy with our stay at this hotel and would definitely come here again, as long as the price was reasonable, which it...

I made a reservation for NYC marathon several months ago. In August, I made a call to make sure we still have a room for that weekend. I also gave my credit card information. I was told "You are all set." Then, a month before the date, I noticed they canceled our reservation without any explanation. We called the hotel and was told that their manager would called back. Oh, and the person on the phone did confirm that we had a reservation, but their manager canceled it. They tried to make us make another reservation with much much higher price than the original one. We really needed to talk to the manager. We called again, sent an email, but no one has given us an explanation. Now we don't know what to do for the NYC marathon weekend.

Ok. Our card DIDN’T have a problem, and when I gave the card info on the phone two months ago, a person on the phone told me,”YOU ARE ALL SET.”It’s obvious the manager (according to the front desk) canceled our reservation for more money since it’s a marathon weekend, and we reserved the room cheaper months ago. I called them to confirm because I had heard that this happened to someone else for marathon weekend before. Now they are blaming us even we didn’t do anything wrong. Somebody did reach out after we had complained FOR WEEKS eventually!! And your explanation was wrong and he yelled at my husband and hang up the phone. When I called to confirm our reservation 2 months ago, the front desk DID say, “YOU’RE ALL SET!”after I gave him my card information. I didn’t notice your manager canceled my reservation until I checked my app. At least you could have told us you canceled it after holding our reservation for months, right? Again, we did not do anything wrong. You never tried to fix this, but just keep blaming the...

Regrettably, one of the worst experiences staying in the hotel in NYC. I did come during NYE weekend, but it was a mad house. Not worth the money or the time at all. The incidents included witnessing a breakfast-time altercation among the hotel staff -and an unexpected visit from a homeless individual seeking a meal.

The hotel staff, Emmanuel exhibited hostility and aggression, particularly during breakfast. On one occasion, my mother faced unnecessary criticism when attempting to take a few bottles of water to our room. The staff member, without reason, publicly scolded her for taking a seemingly excessive amount, despite others taking more. Security appeared lax, allowing anyone to enter without consequences, jeopardizing the safety of paying guests.

Management proved disorganized and unresponsive. Despite multiple calls to the front desk from my cell phone regarding issues with the room's heating, no effective action was taken.

The lack of communication left me enduring two freezing days.

Additionally, various amenities such as the phone and TV were dysfunctional, and instructions for the heating were absent.

The overall security of the hotel was questionable, with anyone able to enter freely. The hostile demeanor of the staff including front desk further contributed to the negative atmosphere. The only redeeming aspect was the kindness of the housekeeping staff, who seemed to be the only reliable element in the hotel.

In conclusion, this hotel is not worth the money. The rooms are small, lack closet space, and the overall experience is far from satisfactory. If I cannot secure a refund, demand a refund, for this regrettable stay, I caution others against choosing this establishment. It's imperative to avoid it at all costs, as the positive reviews appear to...