Park Central Hotel New York — Hotel in New York

STAY FAR, FAR AWAY, EXTREMELY DODGY OPERATORS

The worst and most dodgy hotel experience I’ve ever had and I travel all year for work.

Little bit of a story, as it’s a nightmare experience. TLDR, down the bottom.

I booked this hotel online for context. I arrive on the day of the booking pre-checkin, as I’m coming from the airport. I wait 50 mins in a line at 2:30pm to get a sheet to then store my bags. I pay a security deposit of $100 USD, gets returned 5-15 days after you make the deposit.

I go out for a walk & then dinner. I get back at 8pm. The line is back to the entry of the hotel to checkin. I stand there in line. It’s not moving. I then go ask a lady behind a counter, “excuse me, what’s going on?”, to which she said “sir, there’s a line and over there, I’m shut…” in a super rude tone.

So I get in line. I wait an hour. Then I notice a guy getting an envelope and some cash. I ask them what’s going on. They say “the hotel is full… and they’re trying people away, I just got a room at a shitty hotel they have booked me…”

At this point, I go straight up to the front, and ask “…excuse me, but is there no rooms left tonight?” To which she says, “…no there’s not.” In my head I’m thinking… ‘you’ve shut 4 out of your 5 checkin desks down, and you haven’t told anyone in the line they’re not getting hotel rooms tonight.’ Talk about an absolute screw around.

This is just the beginning.

I get to the front of the line. “Sir here’s an envelope to a ‘sister hotel’ we don’t have a room for you here, you’ll have to go there.” To which I just said, “I want my money back immediately, and if you can’t do it, I want it in cash.” She couldn’t do that. Handed me $20 in cash to get a taxi and then sent me on my way, saying “…there’s nothing more we can do for you… next.”

Honestly the rudest staff I have ever interacted with.

I get in a taxi, the $20 doesn’t even cover the ride, head to a hotel that was much worse than this one. I go in and they say, “…okay sir we’ll need a $100 security deposit.” To which I say “…look the other hotel already has my deposit, can you call them up and let them organise it…” She says, “fine.” They call up Park Central, and after getting onto them the receptionist was asking about the scenario and saying that I wasn’t happy paying a second deposit, they just hung up. THEY HUNG UP on the receptionist of the ‘sister company’.

I’ve documented the whole thing, if anyone’s interested in the story.

Writing a long and formal complaint, to relevant parties.

THEY DID NOT NOTIFY US IN ADVANCE. This is most certainly the worst part. We had to get to the hotel, and then even in line they didn’t tell us what was going on.

THEY DID NOT PROVIDE COMPARABLE OR BETTER ACCOMMODATION. They most certainly downgraded us, even if the room was listed more expensively. It’s most certainly not.

THEY DID NOT OFFER COMPENSATION. There was no “walk” whatsoever.

THEY DID NOT RELEASE THE SECURITY DEPOSIT IMMEDIATELY. I never stepped foot in their room. Hence no damage, yet they insisted on keeping the security deposit.

In total it took 160 minutes in line & taxi’s to checkin finally to a room to sleep.

TLDR; hotel turned away a lot of customers late at night, they overbooked, and sent people to a shitty hotel, didn’t give them enough cash to cover the taxi, made people pay the security deposit at their hotel and then the other. Wouldn’t provide an...

On arrival we found the staff on the desk very cold and miserable. The lady who checked us in rattled off the check in instructions so fast and inconsiderately that we barely understood a word, she wasn’t even looking at us as she said it. Not a good start.

The room was very run down and in desperate need of refurbishment, there were long dark hairs inside the bath tub that were very clearly not from my wife or I and more long dark hairs stuck to the bathroom walls. Obviously some housekeeping issues there! Not very nice at all that the bathtub hadn’t been cleaned from the previous guests.

Most days the lobby was absolutely packed full of kids and had luggage piled to almost ceiling height. There was usually only one or two people serving on the main desk while there seemed to be a lot of staff just stood around talking or messing with their phones. The place was full of teenage kids when we were there who rampaged around all night, played music, shouted and basically didn’t care one iota for other guests. We had to bang on the door next to us and remonstrate very loudly with one group who came in at 1am and started clapping, shouting and playing music at full volume.

The situation with the elevators is nothing short of ridiculous. Expect to wait 20 - 30 minutes at busy times or walk up many flights of stairs. They say some elevators are being serviced or refurbished. We didn’t see any work taking place during the time we were there.

There is the usual total rip off of ‘tourist tax’ which is nothing short of daylight robbery given that you get zero amenities- no kettle, tea, coffee, water, absolutely nothing. Just 2 plastic cups that weren’t changed or replaced all the time we were there. Casting Netflix onto the TV didn’t work either. There is a coffee shop in the hotel that charged us $16 for two coffees, another way to rinse every cent out of you whilst there.

Be aware also that the cleaners just walk in. No knocking, no announcement, just straight in so be very careful to use the door chain/latch mechanism when you’re in the room.

On a positive note the bed was very comfortable indeed and the hotel is in a great location, a stones throw from Central Park and close to several subway stations. The WiFi is quite slow but worked fine and was easy to connect to.

Be mindful of the issue some guests have had with the smoke alarms. The hotel have charged several people hundreds of dollars for smoking in the rooms when most of them haven’t smoked at all. Do some research into this before you decide if you’re staying here as this could prove very expensive and annoying if you’re innocent and still get charged. Only use the hairdryer and spray aerosols etc in the bathroom with the door shut or you could set the alarm off and get charged a fortune.

All in all, I’d say this place is the US equivalent of Travelodge in the U.K. Rundown and tatty, very loud at night and lots of young people with zero consideration or respect for anyone else. We wouldn’t stay here again which is a shame as this place was obviously once over a...

A Nightmare Check-In and a Damp Disappointment Overall Rating: 0/5 Stars (Avoid this place at all costs)

My recent stay at this hotel was, without exaggeration, one of the most frustrating and disappointing hotel experiences I've ever had. From the moment we arrived, it was clear this stay was going to be a struggle.

The check-in process was an absolute nightmare. After a long day of travel, all we wanted was to get to our room, but instead, we were subjected to a grueling two-hour wait at the front desk. The line was endless, and it appeared there was only one person checking in all the guests. This glaring staff shortage was inexcusable, especially given that it was the July 4th holiday weekend, a time when hotels should anticipate and plan for a surge in guests. The staff seemed overwhelmed and inefficient. What was particularly disheartening was the complete lack of empathy from the hotel staff; despite the visible frustration of guests, including families with young children who were clearly struggling in the long queue, there was no attempt to offer apologies, explanations, or even a simple gesture of understanding. It was an incredibly poor first impression and set a negative tone for the entire stay.

When we finally reached the front of the line, we were informed that the room type we had specifically booked – one room with two queen beds – was not available. This was utterly unacceptable, especially after such a prolonged wait. Instead, we were grudgingly offered two separate rooms. While we appreciated having a place to sleep, this was not what we paid for or expected, and it completely disrupted our plans.

To make matters worse, one of the two rooms we were given had a distinct and pervasive damp, moist smell. It was incredibly unpleasant and made the room feel unhygienic and unwelcoming. We immediately contacted housekeeping, explaining the issue, and they sent someone up. However, despite their efforts, the smell persisted. We complained again, and again, but the problem was never resolved. In fact, when we escalated our complaint and requested to change rooms due to the persistent odor, we were astonishingly told that we would have to check out and then return later in the day to check in again, effectively forcing us to endure the harrowing two-hour check-in experience all over again just to get a new room. Sleeping in that room was a constant battle against the stale, musty odor.

The combination of the excruciatingly long check-in, the failure to provide the booked room type, and the unresolved issue of the damp, smelly room made for an incredibly unpleasant experience. It's clear that there are significant operational issues and a lack of attention to guest comfort at this establishment. I would strongly advise anyone considering staying here to look elsewhere. The hotel and the service was not worth the price they charged us for our stay. I would rate this hotel a 0 but google reviews did not let me post a review...