Radio Hotel — Hotel in New York

I almost never need to review a hotel stay in a major city because when you're in a big city you assume you choose the quality by price but you ASSUME that service in NYC are table stakes. Service was terrible. Few of us booked w Groupon. they said for Groupon bookings, they need to know what day I bought it. They manually move the purchase from the hotel's email into system. If they did not do it, then they have to go look for it. There are no trolleys. main door is not well marked. no stopping for cars. you cannot stop out front. the hotel Parking is around the block from the main entrance. Front desk staff are v cold and unwelcoming, seem unwilling to help. No smiles or attempts to solution. We had a double room. They only provided 2 towels. I had to call 5+ times to get 2 more towels. When no one arrived the first 2 x, I went down to say the large dispenser of conditioner and 2 towels are missing at the front desk. I expected to come back to the hotel that evening with towels and conditioner in the room. There was none. I called again in morning when I wanted a shower but was told that there are no 'housemen' service until 7am. Then I hung my towels but they were replaced but replaced w only 2. So I had to call to get to more towels for my kids. When they finally arrived, one was a bathmat.

our room and hallway smelled of marijuana. I called down and someone came up right away. Too bad he didnt bring towels. We had 2 kids, we weren't smoking and we definitely did not want them getting high. All the man did was spray lysol. The only way to mitigate was to turn on the ac. We had turned it off bc it was SO loud. But we blasted it and got under the covers bc that was the only thing that seemed to stop the smoke wafting in. AC was the only thing to drown out the traffic. hotel is on Amsterdam at the on ramp to the GW Bridge. Ive stayed many times in midtown and you accept some traffic. Here it never stopped. The was regular honking, air brakes and motor cycles. I asked to move to face courtyard bc we have kids. all the doubles face out and single rooms face in. My friends had one queen bed faced in and heard some traffic but nothing like we did. Windows must be single pane with no attempt to insulate from the temp or noise.

sink in the bathroom is narrow. there is a sharp metal shelf about a foot over the sink to put your toothbrushes. no other counter space. made washing your face impossible. I kept hitting my head on shelf. The shower leaks into entryway.

The wall of the shower faces the bedroom area is glass. There is a light in the shower stall. Everyone gets a peep show as anyone takes shower. We made a point of taking showers in the dark. The toilet is w shower, so you can see the outline of people sitting on the toilet from the beds.

My friends room for a couple was smaller but the AC vent was same size. very loud. She tried to keep the AC off, bc was like sleeping in jet engine. the lights would randomly turn on and off. the light turned ON by themselves! Multiple times. We sat still just to test. Her AC system would switch to heating if the room got too cold. she set her AC a bit higher bc it was too loud. AC got the room too cool, then heating kicked in automatically no closet, just hooks. balanced our bags on windowsill and small fridge which didnt work. There was a stool that had nasty stains on it. There were under bed drawers but they are too shallow. hairdryer kept shorting out. no coffee in the room. Not even those old mr coffee drip machines.no ice. You have to go to the lobby and ask for ice. No one can help you until 7am. The lamp light over the beds and the halo lighting are the only built in lights in the bed area. desk lamp is too bright and the bed lights are too flimsy. And they're tangled w the hooks meant for your clothing. The bulb was broken in the socket and never worked. The halo lighting is WAY to bright and kept flickering. bed sheets were torn.

We we checked out they dont even bother to ask, 'how was your stay?' My friends and joked that they dont ask...

The hotel was mostly great! It is not for people expecting $400 luxury, amenities, and space for $125. It is a clean, sensible and fun choice on par with international standards for folks on a budget in NYC. That being said, don’t expect rooms to be huge and all-inclusive like suburban extended stay hotels. It’s New York.

Situated WAY in Upper Manhattan in Washington Heights (a.k.a. Little Dominican Republic) there’s a distinct vibe and pace that makes you feel a little bit like you’re on a tropical vacation elsewhere. There’s no big rush. And it’s pretty lively in the lobby at night outside the restaurant, Jalau. Lots of excited people all dressed up ready to go out on the town.

The guests were all ages and international except for a few deer-in-the-headlights older ‘Murrican curmudgeons who never should have come to NYC in the first place. It was a mix of business travelers, vacationers, families and small groups (wedding party, bachelorette, family reunion) lodging for private events.

The hotel was pretty darn clean except for the lobby rugs and upholstered furniture. The compact rooms are well-appointed with huge windows, cool/hip glazed cement floors, and up-to-date tech amenities. Low price point rooms are SMALL (100 s.f.). Toiletries, clean towels, and hairdryer are provided. My bed was comfortable and clean. There was hot water and good pressure at all times. My big window overlooking Amsterdam Ave and the Bronx was double-paned and featured both a sheer blind for privacy and a blackout blind. The hotel is located at a convergence of multiple major thoroughfares so it is not quiet - think intermittent sirens, car horns, and other typical highway din 24/7. There is an empty tiny fridge for guest use so you can stock it up yourself from the deli around the corner on 181st Street.

I arrived WAY early after taking a red-eye and there were no empty rooms. Apparently not even one. They did tag and store my luggage, which was nice. But while I (and multiple other parties who arrived on red-eye flights) waited MANY hours for rooms to become available, I observed the masterful “Lizbeth” at the front desk juggling the morning coffee rush - yes, the front desk has a coffee bar - plus the crush of check-outs and check-ins on a holiday weekend ALONE. Not sure what happened there but she kept her cool and was cordial with everyone as she hopped back and forth between making espresso drinks and listening to check-out Karens nit-pick their hotel bill details with a smile. Lizbeth was great!

The hotel offers a $25 per person breakfast buffet. I tried it and did not have a good experience. No greeting or guidance upon arrival to the restaurant. The manager (Head Chef, maybe?) seated at the bar couldn’t be bothered to look up from his computer to say, “Welcome” while I stood there wondering where to start. Hint: head right toward the adjacent rear dining room. The Dominican food offerings were not identified in any way so I filled my plate with cold & lukewarm mystery foods from the hot buffet. Too bad because it seemed like they would have been delicious if they had not been sitting out too long. The lone server was so painfully shy that she was cowering rather than welcoming guests. I felt bad asking her for anything.

There’s nothing to do or eat immediately around the hotel. Nearby surroundings aren’t so great (heavy traffic, no cute or quaint cafes or shops or convenience stores on the block. Off hotel property there’s a lot of litter plus a few harmless locos roaming about) however a few more blocks up 181st Street it turns into a vibrant, diverse experience and further on, Fort Tryon Park is a must see.

Subway lines are several blocks away but bus stops are close and Ubers arrive in 1 minute.

UberEats delivered easily on nights when I didn’t feel like going out. I wished the hotel had 24/7 room service and a dispenser where you could fill your own water bottle rather than selling plastic bottles from the lobby fridge.

All in all, the BEST room at this price...

I deleted a Google review because my problem was solved even though it took over 30 days and the person who responds to the reviews told me to contact them but they never responded I had to keep calling this hotel to resolve my refund.. but now I deeply regret deleting it… I continued to book here because the hotel itself is very nice area and I was told the courtyard is 24hr access by all staff I came in from a flight late at night there was no rooms available for early check in so I was told to wait in lobby or courtyard till it became available in the morning I had no issue with waiting for my reservation because I work from my computer so I took it as an opportunity to stay up all night working my wife and I were waiting out in the courtyard she had to use the restroom and the security working there that night had locked the door to go to the restrooms that are there for people who booked they’re public he told her she was not allowed to use the restroom so I walked with her to a local store to use the restroom at 11pm when we came back her purse was moved from the area we left our stuff in the security had grabbed it and touched our belongings he tried to kick us out of the hotel claiming we can’t be there and we don’t have a reservation when we did have one we actually had over 3 days booked we were just waiting on a room to become available he disrespected us EMBARRASSED my wife and I it was very uncomfortable and not okay.. he made us ask the front desk lady if a room was available when she already had told us there was no rooms available she said she would have one at 3:30 AM if we could please wait. After talking with her the security still gave us a hard time and accused us of lying about our reservation! So I started to record him and he went back inside to ask the front desk lady if it was true and she did confirm our reservation! we booked through AIRBNB!! We got no apologies no nothing after he left us alone still kept avoiding us and said the courtyard is closed Which is not true because I asked the manager multiple times what time it closes they said 24hours. The next day comes the same exact security sees us leaving the hotel when we come back before 10pm we were going to step outside to the courtyard to finish some work on my computer he barricaded the courtyard entrance so we can’t go outside so we just leave to our room and I decided to go re ask the male manager while the security was at the front desk with him what time does the courtyard close and he said it’s 24 hours everyday you’re welcome to go outside so I told him and showed him the photo I took and said how can we go outside if the door is blocked with the furniture the manager had no idea and looked shocked and confused on why the security was acting hostile towards us. so the security responded “you can go out there if you want” so not only was the costumer service awful he was doing that to be malicious he thought we weren’t going to speak up about the situation other people were trying to enjoy the courtyard as well. We never got a noise complaint. We were very respectful guests I spent at least over 5k booking this exact hotel and I always booked because of the courtyard being 24hour access and I can do my work there. I just can’t believe I spent all this money here for them to make me walk somewhere to use the restroom when they have a public one and he’s the only security that has ever locked it I wish I could upload this video so everyone can see how we were treated here most importantly the embarrassment. They never take accountability here or provide any...