Now Now NoHo — Hotel in New York

My recent four-night stay at Now Now NoHo presented a mixed bag of experiences. While I would categorize it as more of a hostel than a traditional hotel due to its layout and shared facilities, this establishment offers a more affordable alternative to traditional hotels, but it comes with certain trade-offs, particularly regarding noise and room size. The individual sleeping "cabins," as they are called, are undeniably compact. While perfectly adequate for simply sleeping, taller individuals like myself (at 1.91 meters, or approximately 6 feet 3 inches) will find the advertised comfort for those under 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch) to be accurate. I had to resort to lying diagonally to fully stretch out, which wasn't a major inconvenience for my sleep style, but could be problematic for those who prefer to sleep fully extended. On the positive side, the mattress, pillows, comforter, and sheets were indeed comfortable, ensuring a decent night's sleep despite the spatial constraints.

However, the open space above the cubicles create a significant noise issue. The establishment has a "no calls from rooms" rule, which was clearly disregarded by a neighboring guest who took a loud phone call at 2:45 am on my first night, waking me up. Even without direct calls, general noise travels freely. On another night, I was disturbed by other guests moving frequently between their rooms and the shared bathroom at 4 am. Both the cubicle doors and the bathroom door slam shut with considerable force, creating not only noise but also a noticeable vibration that shakes the entire cabin, due to the beds being fixed to the shared walls.

Interestingly, the white noise machine provided in each room proved to be a double-edged sword. While initially sounding like a loud "industrial fan," it surprisingly helped to mask other disruptive noises on my last night, ultimately leading to better sleep. However, the volume of the white noise itself could be disturbing to some guests.

While the room rates are undeniably more affordable than many New York City hotels, the lack of soundproofing and small room size might lead some to question the value proposition, especially if a good night's sleep is a priority. Personally, I will likely go for an Airbnb for my next visit.

Despite these drawbacks, Now Now NoHo does have its merits. The staff are consistently courteous and eager to assist with any questions or issues. Furthermore, the cleanliness of the entire facility is impeccable, a significant plus. The shared bathrooms feature spacious, lockable showers with consistent water temperature and pressure (though the pressure could be a bit stronger). There are also individual lockable toilet stalls and a communal sink area with multiple faucets, which I found to be readily accessible without any queues.

The location of Now Now NoHo is truly prime. Situated within a short walk of Washington Square Park and surrounded by numerous excellent restaurants and bars, it offers unparalleled access to the vibrant NoHo neighborhood. Many attractions are within walking distance, and several subway stations are conveniently located nearby, making it easy to explore the rest of the city.

The mobile key system, accessed through the FLEXIPASS app, was a disappointing experience. The setup process was smooth, but the app failed to unlock my door. Even with staff assistance, the issue couldn't be resolved, forcing me to use a traditional keycard. Unfortunately, I locked myself out once, but the staff promptly provided a replacement. The checkout process at 11 am was efficient, and the option to store luggage after checkout with a guest keycard was convenient. The downstairs "lounge" area, with its limited seating and vending machine, is functional for a quick call or some work but not particularly inviting for...

I stayed at Now Now NoHo in May for 3 nights - I knew what to expect when booking - capsule/pod style hotel, small cabins but was excited to experience it given the effort put into the design of the place. After my stay, I would not stay there again nor recommend it to others (unless the rates were dirt cheap)

Pros: Beds are comfy and the bathrobes a great touch Great under bed storage room for suitcases and rooms get cleaned daily The location is great in the east village Prices can be competitive if you get a deal More upmarket and privacy than a standard hostel bunk bed The women only floor is a nice touch however often the door to this floor was never fully closed / ajar which was worrying and undermines the idea of this being a woman only space as anyone could walk in with the door like this

Cons: Two of the three mornings I was there the showers only had cold water. No one at reception seemed to care. There is no hairdryer on the women only floor and the only option is to use the one hairdryer in the basement facilities . The rooms are all open ceilings so if someone has a cough or is sick, or just snores, you can hear that and are exposed to that. The cabin doors closing are extremely loud so sleeping with noise of 30+ doors on the floor is a challenge. I feel for anyone in the cabins by the bathrooms - the amount of noise there with 30+ people using it would be unbearable. The two sockets in the cabin are so close together if you’re using a travel adaptor you can only use one. The phone charger on the vanity never worked The lighting in the pictures on the website makes it look like the cabins are well lit - in reality this is not the case as the lights are very dim and low lit in the room/pod.

The team were very unhelpful and how they market their deals is misleading - I booked a welcome offer which was meant to include some perks like a free drink and late check out. None of these were made available to me and none of the benefits promised were given.

At check in they take the room fee and deposit as one pre authorisation payment and on checkout they take a new payment for the room cost. It took about 30 days for my pre authorisation payment to come back which meant i was down nearly 1000 bucks having had twice the money removed from my account for this stay. Given this is a budget option hostel/hotel, I don’t understand why they don’t just charge the room at check in and then do the deposit separately so that is the only pre authorisation.

The team were unhelpful when I raised this with them (no amends were made and nothing manually released) when I had to follow up after my stay regarding returning my deposit, they were unhelpful and blasé about the matter.

Luggage storage comes at an extra cost which is greedy

This is 100% more hostel vibes than a hotel. While effort has been to make it aesthetically pleasing the service really lets it down. Don’t be foooled by the marketing - this is budget.

The other thing to add is that this is a walk-up with quite steep stairs, so if you have mobility issues, this could be an issue for you.

All in all I wouldn’t recommend here unless you get an amazing deal which makes it a no brainer as the cheapest place to stay in NYC - looking at current rates, they are far more expensive than what they should be given the offering and service (and compared to what you get at other similar “budget”’options like the Jane in the west village or the YMCA on the UWS) which would give you a better base for...

I recently stayed here for 10 days on my first solo trip to NYC from the U.K. - i have to say, from first stepping foot in the property i was made to feel at home and like I was part of the family. The staff here are nothing short of wonderful - all very kind, helpful and welcoming. They always made sure to say hello and have a conversation whenever I was passing, they offered recommendations of places to go/eat/drink in the local area. Sadly, whilst I was visiting I got sick during the middle of my trip so I informed the front desk via email that I’d tested for covid and wanted to make sure the staff all knew so they could take their own precautions as I was taking mine (cleaning my door handles and masking whenever moving around the hotel etc). I specifically want to thank Aleksander as he ensured I had the support I needed throughout my isolation and himself and his team checked on me throughout my time there. As well as this, upon arrival I hadn’t booked an accessible room as I wasn’t 100% what was available - but upon noticing I was using a walking stick Aleksander and (I can’t remember the name of the lovely lady) ensured I was given an accessible room on the ground floor which made a huge difference to me!

The rooms and the rest of the property were immaculately kept, I’ve never stayed somewhere so clean and well kept. The linens and the touch of the robe and sleep kit were very well received, everything was fantastic quality. A full selection of shower products were available fully stocked at all times in the bathrooms and they were lovely quality - my hair and skin has never felt better!

I liked the addition of the lounge, I don’t think many people used it but having that on offer was nice too. I would recommend perhaps some tea or coffee making facilities within it if I’m being pedantic but honestly it was great.

The room sizes are small, however you are made aware of this in booking and for the price and how you are treated, the location and quality of mattress & linens absolutely make it worth it. The rooms also offer substantial and clever storage solutions.

I’m shallow in the sense I like somewhere to be visually appealing and fun and Now Now absolutely offered this. It was fully to my taste - the decor down to the pink glow emerging through the doors on to Bowery felt homely and fun.

The location is fantastic, as someone who’d never been to NYC before I wasn’t sure what to expect but there are a great selection of eateries, coffee shops, independent stores and dispensaries (if that’s your thing) around and short walks to a number of subway stations.

I absolutely will 100% stay here again when I come back to NYC - I’ve already begun recommending to everyone I know! (Also spoke to a local coffee store and recommended they get in contact and could work with them, I think it’d be great for the hotel to work with local eateries etc to provide an extensive offering of recommendations!).

Can’t wait to come back, miss...