Northern Lights Mansion — Hotel in New York

Took a trip to New York to celebrate my birthday and wanted to stay in the mix of things without being 'in the mix of things' and we decided on the Upper West Side area.

When I initially found the Northern Lights Mansion online, I had to google it through a few other sites to confirm the price which was stellar and the rooms which looked beautiful were actually for real. I read review after review with a raised eyebrow and figured it was worth taking the chance and boy were we glad we did.

Parking was important....I wanted to be able to park and basically forget about the car until it was time to check out. Not only was there free street parking but the mansion is right in the middle of two subway stations so you have your choice of subway depending on what you're doing that day.

Upon entering the brownstone..........I mean...........i was floored!!! It was absolutely beautiful!! A truly gorgeous, gorgeous place with a shared kitchen that was to die for - the pics dont do it justice! As I got acquainted with Diane, it doesn't take long before you realize that you're with GOOD people that you can trust and that means a lot when you're staying with strangers. She is patient, kind and incredibly accommodating offering snacks, free waters, expresso's, breakfast vouchers, and great insight into the neighborhood. There are also a plethora of site seeing pamphlets available to you.

There are 5 bedrooms - each with a distinct theme - and I had paid for the top floor (name escapes me) which had two beds, television with cable, closets, great windows that you can open if you like, AC, and of course - your own bathroom! I was determined NOT to stay in a hostel with a shared bathroom at the end of the hall but in this mansion, everyone has their own washroom and it was beautiful and spotless with NO BUGS!! Everything in this house is tastefully done...in fact, be sure to ask her about the history of the house and it's secrets!

I truly can't think of a negative unless you dont like sharing space with others but then why would you be here if you dont? Remember, everyone is in their own quarters and the house is built solid so you don't hear your neighbors at all. In fact, there are a few floors keeping us apart so I guess if you have bad knees, the top floor can be a bit of a climb but its absolutely manageable. Also,I assume if one of the guests decided to cook spicey food in the kitchen, that may turn some people off but once again, this would affect ANY shared accommodation and wasnt an issue for me at all.

Diane, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you! You are a gracious host and a wonderful human being! I can't thank you enough for extending your beautiful home and look forward to staying at the Northern Lights again in the near future!!

Sincerely Kevin...

My husband and I decided to stay at northern lights because the pictures and the majority of the reviews were so nice. Everything was kind of good at first. But one day we decided to use the tub, which was included in our room, five minutes later Diane, the owner of the place was knocking the door and yelling at us saying: you cannot use the tub several times, we had to get out of the tub as fast as we could to open the door, she told us that we cannot use the tub because it wasn’t included with the room (??) but that was her fault not telling us before. At first we thought : how come the tub which is inside of the bathroom, which’s inside of the room for what we paid more than 2000 dlls it’s not for us to use?? But then she apologized saying was her fault and we didn’t give it so much importance . Minutes later we recivied a text from our bank saying that Northern lights tried to charge us the whole amount again(2150 dlls) two times. Then Diane came to us again asking for the credit card zip code and I told her that we already paid her. Then she told us that we have to pay for a electrician because when we used the tub the water leaked and damaged some lights of the house, our answer was no, it was not our fault, she never told us not to use the jacuzzi, she has pictures of the jacuzzi with the bathroom in all the websites, and if a room comes with a bathroom and the bathroom has a tub, should we don’t use it? She became irrational and start to yelling, so my husband and I decided to leave even when we had 4 nights left that we already paid. She did absolutely nothing, we call Expedia and they talk to her but she said she has a no refund policy, very convenient. ||Finally we ended in another hotel better located, not that fancy but we were treated with the respect that any person deserve . This is false advertising and it’s...

My husband and I decided to stay at northern lights because the pictures and the majority of the reviews were so nice. Everything was kind of good at first. But one day we decided to use the tub, which was included in our room, five minutes later Diane, the owner of the place was knocking the door and yelling at us saying: you cannot use the tub several times, we had to get out of the tub as fast as we could to open the door, she told us that we cannot use the tub because it wasn’t included with the room (??) but that was her fault not telling us before. At first we thought : how come the tub which is inside of the bathroom, which’s inside of the room for what we paid more than 2000 dlls it’s not for us to use?? But then she apologized saying was her fault and we didn’t give it so much importance . Minutes later we recivied a text from our bank saying that Northern lights tried to charge us the whole amount again(2150 dlls) two times. Then Diane came to us again asking for the credit card zip code and I told her that we already paid her. Then she told us that we have to pay for a electrician because when we used the tub the water leaked and damaged some lights of the house, our answer was no, it was not our fault, she never told us not to use the jacuzzi, she has pictures of the jacuzzi with the bathroom in all the websites, and if a room comes with a bathroom and the bathroom has a tub, should we don’t use it? She became irrational and start to yelling, so my husband and I decided to leave even when we had 4 nights left that we already paid. She did absolutely nothing, we call Expedia and they talk to her but she said she has a no refund policy, very convenient. ||Finally we ended in another hotel better located, not that fancy but we were treated with the respect that any person deserve . This is false advertising and it’s...