Pointe Plaza Hotel — Hotel in New York

This was our first ever family holiday.

We had a suite for five – which is two double beds and a pull out sofa. We couldn't get a duvet for the sofa bed which was a shame, but my 15-year-old son was perfectly comfortable. The double beds were excellent – I usually struggle with hotel beds but these were really comfortable.

The kitchen in the room is extensive and well appointed.

The air conditioning was highly effective and controllable, although these things can make a lot of unavoidable noise. You can open the windows.

The bathroom was clean, modern and well appointed – good powerful shower.

The staff were excellent and very polite, friendly, responsive – everything you could really hope for.

We had more than one mix-up over the shuttle to the not terribly close subway station, but we got there in the end.

The Business Center needs work – I was able to use it to print out some tickets, but I needed to use more IT chops than most people would be prepared to apply. The room was being used as temporary storage, one of the two PCs had a corrupt profile, and the printer wasn't plugged in and was reporting errors. It seemed to be seldom used – but as I say I did get there in the end

WiFi works but needed a fair bit of interaction to stay connected. One of those browser-based authentication things where you keep having to re-enter the credentials.

The breakfast worked brilliantly for us – a good range of nice items are available in the included Continental Breakfast offered. It’s a small space but we always had enough room.

The main negative against the hotel is its location. It is a good ten minute walk from the nearest place to eat. There are many options on Myrtle Avenue – have a look on Google Maps to check the distance. It is a good fifteen minutes’ walk to the nearest subway. This didn't bother us – we like a walk and we used the bus and the subway – there are a couple of bus routes to get you to Lorimer St or Flushing Avenue subway stations.

The hotel is in the heart of an orthodox Jewish community. This means that the well-stocked supermarket across the road closes for Shabbat and you will need to make a trek if you need supplies on Friday/Saturday. The local area feels very safe and I was happy walking around with my kids day and night.

We really enjoyed our time there and would certainly stay there again; it was a little bit quirky but we felt welcomed and comfortable. . I have travelled to NYC many times on business but always stayed in Manhattan and it was great having the experience of being in Manhattan in the day and Brooklyn in...

Reading the reviews I had no clue what to expect. A lot of five stars but also a lot of people saying it was in a bad neighborhood, or that it was run down and unsanitary. Look, this hotel wasn't my first choice either, but it was $200 a night when my other ol' reliable hotels were $400 a night minimum.

So before I get into the review, let me level with you: If you're staying here, it's probably because you sorted for the cheapest hotels in the area. $200 might get you further somewhere else in the US, but that is very cheap for NYC. So, please set your expectations properly if you plan to stay here.

The neighborhood was completely fine. At no point did I feel unsafe during the day or night. I think the people who complain about the neighborhood need to do a little bit of introspection about what's "unsafe" and what's "I'm not part of the dominant culture in this neighborhood." It's overwhelmingly hasidic jewish community, and it's extremely residential. Just be respectful and MYOB, it is not hard.

There is a bus stop right outside the hotel that takes you straight to the middle of everything in Williamsburg. It's $3. If you want to go to manhattan, you'll just need to walk 15 min to a subway stop. I've stayed at hotels with better transit access and more things to do nearby, but I can't stress enough, you are probably staying here because you are getting a deal. This is part of the deal price.

I stayed on the fourth floor in a twin room and the beds were totally fine. I've definitely stayed on less comfy beds at my go-to budget hotel in DT williamsburg. It's probably less comfy than your mattress at home, but you should be sleeping fine. I thought the size was fine, but maybe I'd want a bigger bed if I was 6 foot of taller. My room was clean, there were no weird smells that I noticed, and the size was satisfactory. I was worried I'd need earplugs, but I found the area to be pretty quiet (it was sukkot tho, so not a ton of people on the road).

I did notice some people were unhappy when I walked through the lobby. They were very upset it took a few minutes for the shower water to heat up. I imagine most of the one star reviews come from people who sweat stuff like that.

In the grand scheme of all hotels I've stayed at, as a budget-conscious traveler who occasionally will shell out extra for luxury, this one goes right in the middle. I've stayed at WAY WORSE for this price range in NYC. The location being so residential is the only reason why this won't become my default budget...

I've been a guest at this hotel multiple times and usually it's great. My latest experience unfortunately was not as stellar.

BEWARE IF YOU HAVE SENSITIVE SKIN. I had a severe allergic reaction to the new detergent/cleanser they began using. So bad so, that I couldn't even stay one full night because I was in severe, swollen, red and itchy hives. Attempted to go to bed around 11pm but broke out severely. When I brought this to the attention of the front desk attendant at around 3am, he did not believe it was a reaction but he still gave me new sheets. Feeling nervous, reluctant, very much in pain and questioning myself, I went back to my room and attempted sleep. New sheets did not help. I was in and out of sleep and by the time 630am rolled around, I couldn't take it anymore. The hives had doubled in quantity and the pain was intense. I decided to check out immediately so I could go to Urgent Care. When I was doing the check out process, I asked for a refund due to the fact that I couldn't keep my 4 day reservation and barely made it through one night.

The attendant was reluctant at first and gave me the spiel about policies (which is understandable, she was just doing her job and she was so sweet!!) however, there was no way I was paying for a stay I could not do. I provided photographic evidence of the hives and asked to be contacted by her management team. The owner contacted me and was completely understanding and empathetic about my situation. I am very grateful to have been listened to by him. One star taken off due to the midnight attendant who was rude and could have been a bit more humanistic in his approach, whether he believed me or not.

Overall, great location, reasonable prices, spacious room, hit or miss with service, very dusty, but worth it if you are careful. Again, SENSITIVE...