Hotel Beacon — Hotel in New York

We loved our stay at Hotel Beacon!

The people are wonderful at the front desk and the bell/luggage guys and housekeeping staff. If you need something, ask them and they're really helpful. Shout out to Jennie at the front desk, Jet helping everyone in the lobby area is a font of knowledge, Manny took good care of our luggage, and Helen in housekeeping is a sweetie! :-) We had a King Studio Deluxe, a category which gets you above the 15th floor (we were on the 18th) which we liked for the view and how quiet it was. We might go for one of their "executive" rooms the next time, as those appear to have a nice table to eat at, and we often liked eating in the room (see below). The deep/wide window sill ended up being my table, while my wife sat in the very comfy stuffed chair with her round coffee table. The upper west side location (location! location!) is fantastic!!! Our previous Manhattan stay was in Times Square, but this is a totally different, residential area feel. Schools are nearby with families/kids going about. The wonderful and fun American Museum of Natural History is an easy walk. The NY Historical Society is well worth the visit. Central Park is also nearby, with the Strawberry Fields John Lennon memorial and lake and zillions of benches to relax. Also go to the Grand Bazaar on Sundays on Columbus Avenue - neat flea market with clothing and trinkets and art and food and... The Beacon Theater is right next door! Two grocery stores are right across the street, and many restaurants are within easy walking distance. With Hotel Beacon's kitchenette in all rooms, you can eat in for breakfast if you want (we did many times), get prepared food for maybe dinner in the room, or take doggie bags back from the restaurants and heat it up the next day. That kitchenette means you don't have to eat out all the time if you don't want to. Pop Up Bagels near the history museum were a great breakfast in our room one day. Want pizza? Freddie and Peppers is around the corner. Mediterranean? Miriam is wonderful. Italian? Salumeria Rosi is excellent, and Joanne Trattoria is good for traditional food. Mexican? Playa Betty's is also right around the corner. I also got a great bottle of wine at the Beacon Wines and Spirits on the same block as the hotel. And Starbucks is right next door. Oh and don't buy the breakfast package - Viand Cafe is okay but you won't want to eat there every single day. The laundry is very helpful to have, especially for longer stays like ours (two weeks). Yes, you can use your credit card to pay. $2.25 per load in the washers or dryers. They do have soap for purchase but we bought a bottle of perfume-free stuff across the street at the Fairway Market (great, crowded, busy/popular place). Accessible outlets that actually work in the room are hard to find. Many are non-functional like the two outlets on the desk lamp base. I plugged my phone in only to discover it had not charged all night as the outlets were worn out. I ended up using the outlet behind/above the stove in the kitchenette. Other outlets are buried behind furniture, and even the three-way extension cord sticking out from under the bed was loose/worn out. Many reviewers commented that the bathrooms are small. Yes, they are. We wish they had a safety bar in or next to the tub. A hotel staffer told us that they often have to reattach the towel bars as people grab on to them and they come out of the wall. I also hated that short/small toilet. But good water pressure and plenty of hot water. Ventilation is non-existent, unfortunately. If you need to ventilate, you can crack the room windows open then hold the room door open for a bit. Silly.

Overall a super excellent wonderful place to stay. It's not glitzy but it's nice. Yes it's dated but we really liked it and all of its advantages as described above. We're even planning a return...

I stayed in The Hotel Beacon from July 15th-27th with four people because my father was receiving a kidney transplant from my friends (Donor and caretaker, also guests). I was not treated well despite a bedbug infestation and my room flooding with sewage. I was abandoned by the hotel and general manager Vincent Hardy.||On July 19th, the toilet in my room (803) overflowed & flooded my room with sewage. When I called the front desk, they sent someone up who had me open the door (I had to step on said sewage to do so). They removed the water but did not sanitize, and I was told to “ask the housekeeping to sanitize the room for me.” I was also not offered a new room at this point, so I had to go ask the front desk myself. 

When I asked, the front desk moved me to room 812. At first, this was convenient because it was next to the donor’s room (810). That night, I slept in Room 812. In the morning of July 20th I found bedbugs in my room, confirmed by my donor’s caretaker, but upon taking the pictures down to the front desk I was told it was “probably dust-mites.” But they would check and e-mail me the results. ||That same day, my father’s donor had complications and had to return to the hospital.

The next morning, I noted I had unusual, extremely itchy bumps all over my torso, forehead, neck, and back. Desk manager Robert verbally confirmed bedbug infestation (I received no confirmation e-mail). At this point, I was needed at the hospital to relieve the donor’s caretaker. Instead, Robert had me come to the room to help him deal with the situation, admitting he did not know what to do. He did volunteer to wash my laundry, though. I packed up mine and my friends’ items so that they could be moved to another room while I rushed to the hospital. I was told the manager would call me and that I may have to sign a ‘release form’. I was again told that room 810 would be tested and confirmation sent to my e-mail. 

None of this happened.||The manager did not call me, I was sent no confirmation for bedbugs in 812 or whether 810 was infested or not. Throughout the week in between caretaking, walking through the lobby and speaking to staff with bright red marks visible all over my body, no one felt any sense of urgency to help me. On July 26th WITH my donor friend and I were able to secure a meeting with Vincent Hardy to inform him of my plight. He assured us that I would be compensated for my entire stay, the bedbug test proof would be sent to my inbox, and my expenses related to my bedbug injuries would be compensated. I was compensated for my expenses, but then was told it would be my responsibility to secure the refund as he was at a standstill with the booking company. This was in direct conflict with the verbal and written promises I was given. However, Booking.com and the external booking company say that the hotel takes care of refunds. After August 6th, Vincent completely stopped responding. When I emailed back a couple weeks later asking for an update of when I would get the refund, I got an auto-response that he was on vacation for 2 weeks. It is now August 28th and I have received nothing else. ||I want it known that if my father or the donor were to have gotten bedbugs, a LIFESAVING kidney surgery would have been cancelled. If I had brought bed bugs unknowingly anywhere else during my stay I would have put many others in danger. This was irresponsible, unfair, and unprofessional of the hotel and I HIGHLY suggest avoiding them. They made me feel so small and...

Travelled as a family : 2 adults and 2 teens. We needed a bigger room and the beacon provided exactly the room space we needed: 2 double beds (very comfy) in the bedroom and a double sofa bed in the lounge area. This meant older teen (16) could basically have his own room at night on the sofa bed which he said was comfy and he slept well. The room was called a double double suite. It also had a kitchenette and a bathroom obviously. Loads of storage for cases and hanging space for clothes. The kitchenette was perfect too. It had a microwave, coffee machine (coffee pods provided), hob, large fridge and crockery/ cutlery. We took a travel kettle but my husband said there was a kettle provided in the cupboard. Tea towel and sponges also provided. There is a fairway market across the street which was Convenient. It sells anything and everything!!!! We ate breakfast in the room a couple of mornings after buying some muffins/ croissants and fruit at the market. (I also packed weetabix!!!) We also took takeaway pizza back to the room one evening too as we were shattered! The kitchenette and small table provided us with a wider variety of options for meals. Hotel also has a laundrette which can be a lifesaver for families!!! We didn’t use it but it looked very clean. Gym also very clean but again we didn’t use it. Both on lower ground floor. Check in was quick and friendly. Concierge and lift porter both very friendly and good to know there’s staff on the door for security reasons, although this felt like a very safe, family friendly area. The hotel is 2 blocks east from Central Park and 2 blocks west from the Hudson River parkway. Both beautiful, safe and relaxed places to walk and relax as a family. Views stunning on the Hudson River parkway. Ate at pier 1 cafe one evening. the chilled vibe and views by the river made for a gorgeous summer holiday evening. My 16 year old said it was his fave meal. (Beautiful salmon burger!!) Also only a very short walk to 72nd street subway which goes all the way downtown. All in all a highly recommended hotel if you want something a little quieter (we weren’t disturbed by noise at night at all) and family friendly but within walking and subway from all attractions. We walked to circle line cruises pier which was a 45 min beautiful walk in the sunshine. We walked via Central Park, the zoo and fifth avenue to Rockefeller too; a lovely walk with the zoo as a great stop off on the way to top of the rock. Took a taxi to 9/11 but could have got the subway all the way there. So this hotel is in a great location if you don’t mind a bit of walking and subway and being a bit out of the main hubbub of Times Square. Highly recommend the...