Hotel Mulberry — Hotel in New York

Hotel Mulberry has been our favorite hotel in Chinatown for many years. Aesthetically, it's pleasing. No doubt about it, the hotel is very nice looking from the moment you walk in the front door. The location is GREAT and you're within a decent walking distance to lots of dining, shopping, and just being outside and soaking up the busy city. Little Italy is only a couple minutes of a walk away, too. The staff is always kind and helpful and the rooms are clean. Considering other places we've stayed in Chinatown, the rooms and bathrooms are as spacious and quaint as should be expected. The hotel has changed, a bit, since we last stayed in 2019 (right before things started getting funky due to the Covid pandemic). In my opinion, the prices are high, but I (the wife/mom) thought that before.||Positive changes I've noticed:|1. Upgrades to the rooms and bathrooms. |2. Though most of the staff is completely different, everyone still seems super nice. |3. Also, the front door of the hotel has an added badge access for nighttime security. The badge to open the door at night is not the same as the Hotel Mulberry room key, so if you drop your key outside or lose it, you don't have to be concerned about too much.|4. Overall, the hotel always feels pretty safe on the immediate outside and inside. ||Other changes that I am not super fond of:|1. The hotel used to give a free breakfast voucher for the (now closed down) Mama Eatery a couple doors down. There is nothing in place to replace that nice perk for early risers. |*They also used to offer a coupon or deal for a small % off if you booked early or for more than a certain number of days. I don't see any offers of any kind, now.||2. There is NO COFFEE or TEA in the rooms. It's no longer offered! I've never stayed at a hotel in the history of modern hotels - or even motels - that didn't offer at least a packet of coffee and a mini coffee maker. Previously (again, my last stay was right before Covid), there were packets of instant coffee and a couple of tea bags in the rooms and an electric hot water kettle. Now, no coffee or tea. But, there is still a hot water kettle with a fancier pour spout. This is frustrating because I did not notice 24-hour coffee availability in the lobby, though is is there in the mornings. This is probably the single change that bothers me the most. A hotel room with no option to prepare a single cup of coffee in. (Guess what I'm bringing with me when I come back?)||3. There are NO MICROWAVES in the hotel room! There used to be. So, my main issue with this is that when we book the Family Room (which is gorgeous and relatively spacious), it has a full size refrigerator/freezer, a little stovetop, a sink, dishes, silverware, etc...(along with the hot water kettle that has no coffee or tea to go with it). Microwave popcorn? Forget about it. Warm danish? Only if somewhere else warms it for you. It's not a showstopper for us staying there, but it's something I think they should have.||So, having said all of that, the pros still outweigh the cons of staying here, for me and my family. We love Chinatown. This hotel feels safe, has friendly and approachable staff, but crummy amenities. It's still the best of what is offered, in the way of a nice enough place to stay in Chinatown and I do recommend it!||P.S. I'll add more photos from our next stay, which is coming...

We stayed here 3 nights(Wednesday-Saturday) in late May. I loved this hotel, especially the balcony!!! It was so worth it to have the balcony. The view was incredible, a perfect view of the World Trade Center and the downtown area. Honestly, I can’t get over how nice it was to have a balcony! It was such a nice place to relax, drink a beer, watch the sunset, people watch, etc… to be able to wake up and step right outside in the morning or to enjoy the city lights and night air right before going to bed… For me, it really made the entire trip so much better.

Our room was on the 7th floor. There was a room next to ours that we shared a balcony with, but there is a solid (8 feet?) fence divider. I did not notice any guests on the other side during our stay. I think the more expensive suite with the balcony is located even higher up (12th floor maybe??)… probably an awesome view all the way north to the Empire State Building and beyond.

For the price we paid, I was very satisfied with our stay. The staff were excellent. The room wasn’t anything super special, just your basic nice hotel, which is exactly what I hoped for. No issues with water pressure or heating or cooling, everything worked as it should.

There was no breakfast included, but when you’re in NYC… the hotel is really just for sleeping. For breakfast, we ended up going to a diner about two blocks down the street each morning. For lunch, Tasty Dumpling (3? 4? Doors down) is so good! I really wish we had more time to explore more local eats.

I seem to remember reading some reviews about loud Chinese music or noise from Columbus park… We did not have any issues with noise from Columbus park, the street, or the hotel.

The only real con I can think of about this location is that it’s not super close to any subway lines…. Depending on where you’re headed and how fast you walk, the closest subway entrance could be ~7-10 minute walk away. Not super convenient, but manageable.

When/if we ever returned to NYC, I would definitely consider...

Mixed Experience: Fantastic Location but Be Cautious with Valuables

I write this review with a balanced perspective, as my experience was mixed. Starting with the positives, the hotel is in a fantastic location in Chinatown, close to great eateries, opposite a lovely park, and conveniently near the subway. Our family room was enormous! The main area had one bed, a kitchenette where we could prepare meals, and a full-size fridge. There was also a bar with stools for us to sit at. Off to the side was a small alcove with a second bed. The room was clean, well-maintained, and although in need of a renovation, it offered plenty of space.

Now for the negatives – we had a deeply concerning incident where our child's prescription medication went missing from our locked hotel room. While we acknowledge that we should have locked it in the safe before leaving for the day, the fact remains that it was gone when we returned that night. The hotel staff were helpful in searching the rubbish to ensure it wasn’t accidentally thrown out, but unfortunately, we ended up without our daughter's medications for a week. This situation was incredibly distressing and unacceptable as we had to lodge a formal police report at a local NYPD Precinct.

Additionally, the hotel uses a centralized temperature control system, so you can't regulate the temperature in your own room. They keep it quite warm, making it hard to sleep comfortably. When they switch it to cool, it becomes very cold.

Overall, while the hotel has many great qualities, I recommend keeping your valuables, including medications, securely locked up when staying here, as we found out that room security is...