Pod 39 — Hotel in New York

At first I was pleased to know that POD 39 was a safe and overall great place to stay. I work in the media industry where schedules are hectic and the creative load of work takes its toll. It happened that I enjoyed the working area where I could use and create on my computer. There is a bar in this area, which opens only after 8:00 pm. Couple of times when I happened to work on the computer I fell asleep. The work load can get the best out of all of us. One of the guys from the reception came to tell me how embarrassing it is for me to do that in that particular area, completely disregarding any human factor or hospitality manners. The company paid for the stay as well. Another time he asked me which room I was in, which I didn't want to respond to since this is the protocol when it comes to journalists' work environments.. A guy who works in the hotel said that one of the bosses didn't want me there since I work as journalist. My luggage disappeared - a whole suitcase, my backpack disappeared as well, I was mistreated, and although having the key to the room I was treated unfairly. When I went to the reception and spoke about everything I have previously wrote by now, the manager - Mike - smiled arrogantly and said that I was trespassing and that I should leave. Especially, because I did not want to show my room, which they clearly knew. I showed the key only. Trespassing means when you are unlawfully into someone's property doing damage or being reckless, or being unlawfully there without a key to the premises. Not only that I was having a room and a key but I also happened to befriend a lot of people who mentioned similar stories in the building itself. My advise is, if you are from the media business, or you are a journalist, expect to be treated unfairly. It turns out being a journalist in New York has significantly bad reputation and most of the time has a negative connotation attached to it. The managers told me that I used reverse phycology on them.That I was manipulative by not wanting to allow them in my room. I am a single woman and working as a journalist, ANY MEASURES OF PRECAUTION SHOULD BE TAKEN. The whole experience was cringing. I thought to myself: "Let me consult with three different people from different walks of life and share this experience with them. One is STATE ATTORNEY OF FLORIDA AND A CRIMINAL JUDGE FOR 20 YEARS, ONE IS A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER WHO HAPPENS TO BE A FAMILY MEMBER AND ONE IS A TEACHER WHO CAN GIVE ME THE SOFT PERSPECTIVE OF LIVE AND TELL ME HOW PROBABLY THE GUYS WERE NOT THINKING RIGHT AND I WAS WRONG IN MANY WAYS. It turned out all came to the same conclusion that I was mistreated. Pod 39 is not the place to be, if you want to be treated respectfully. POD 51 is slightly better. Good luck everyone ! Choose wisely! The management from POD 39 refused to return my luggage, which by law is stealing and neglectful handling of a personal property of a guest. Be mindful who you trust and what people are a part of the management of the establishment. GOOD LUCK AT CHOOSING THE RIGHT...

I am a month late on this review; but I stayed end of July - beginning of August and I didn't know what to except but Pod 39 exceeded my expectations from the reviews. Granted; rooms are small but please read the descriptions and options for each room and yes - bathroom walls/door is frosted (not fully see thru but enough to make out a silhouette). The rooftop view is stunning day/night w/ bar; the lounge area is nicely decorated and family friendly w/ ping pong table, pool table, big screen tv for sports viewing seating area/eating areas and bar (oh oh oh and next to bar wall is a water fountain for your water bottles; I only realized it on the last day and it was hot hot hot in NYC) and I only found ice on the 12th floor. To keep things cold; I grabbed multiple buckets w/ ice or if u bring a cold/hot bag - it can keep your things cold until morning as there are no microwaves or small fridges in the room. Ask for a room w/ a view - both of ours had the Chrysler Building view - the view was so pretty at night. There is a restaurant attached to the lobby which always seemed full and busy. As far as my inspection of the room; It came w/ some travel size amenities and shower body wash etc attached to shower wall. I had not noticed certain "damages" to the wall/door until nighttime and I mentioned it to the front desk same night as I did not want to get blamed/billed for it - they called the next morning and kindly offered me a bigger room (which was extremely spacious) compared to the bunkbed room we first had at no cost to me. I explained that I would be out for the rest of day and would not know when I would be back - they offered to take packed bags to my new room after it was cleaned, and it was just as so. I was very grateful for that. There is a daily fee - and there is a hold of a certain amount that I received back after 3 weeks. This hotel/pod is located blocks away from Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station, tons of eating options, movie theatres, shops, deli's, banks and a short walking distance to Time Square, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park and a tiny more longer walk to Central Park and air tram to Roosevelt Island. I will definitely stay here again; staff/housekeeping were friendly. Rooms were clean on arrival and lobby/lounge areas were clean. Front desk is clear on fees and try to be very accommodating as far as early check in and late check out. This hotel/pod is smack middle on a block so it is very lively at all hours but nothing that should interrupt your stay. See ya...

I write reviews you can use. Mainly positives with one major negative that you need to be aware of. First ... the positives: 1) location! A few mins (3 blocks) from Grand Central Subway. Also ideal for walking midtown. A very safe area day and night. 2) OK the room is tiny (see pic) but excellent in terms of soundproofing, HVAC, comfort and safety. Great WiFi. There is a safe. The window opens so you can get fresh air. There is no in-room coffee machine so I took my own kettle (see pic). There is free coffee at reception at breakfast. 3) The hotel offers SUPERB FREE walking tours every day, I did 3 of them. What a benefit of staying here! 4) Lots of food and convenience / grocery options locally and the restaurants of Little India are a 10 minute walk. The negatives ... 1) At breakfast rush hour each day the elevators were taking more than 5 minutes to come. One day it took 9 minutes! I was on floor 15 which was a slight bonus because by the time the elevators got to the lower floors it was too rammed for people to get in! Here's the problem: at rush hour they use one of the 3 elevators for cleaning staff, nope management that's just wrong, you need to address that so badly. I missed an appointment because of damned elevator delays. I did report it to management and they acknowledged the issue. 2) No fridge in the room but there is an ice machine. Overall it's a great hotel with good customer service in a great location, as long as you can put up with a very small room, which was fine with me because I saved a lot of money and it was cosy! And as long as you can accept waiting more than 5 mins every time you want an elevator up and down at...