SIXTY LES Hotel — Hotel in New York

Where do I start?! So, I decided to book this hotel for my birthday since, due to COVID, I couldn't have a party. BAD IDEA!....well, good idea, bad hotel choice. I booked the Empire King Suite Terrace with the Penthouse Pool Package. Chill out at the pool with some wine, soak up some sun, hang in the room and order dinner to the hotel while we play some games and gossip. Sounds fun, right?....WRONG! So prior to checking in, I contacted the hotel to see if early check-in was available (because we all know hotels may not always be able to accommodate that) and I was told it wasn't. (Okay, fine.) So I asked if we could hang out by the pool while we waited for the room since I paid for the pool package and was told we could not do that either (whomp, whomp). The earliest I could check in was 3:00pm. Upon check in, we realized that only one elevator was operating, which was also being used by the staff. 30 minutes later....we finally get to the room on the 15th floor and it's now close to 4:00pm. So, we hustle to throw on our swimsuits.....just to wait and wait......and wait for the elevator again (Ugh! So, just take the stairs, right?! No sense in wasting more time). We get to the 3rd floor where the pool is located only to find out there is no entry from the stairwell (sigh). So after hiking back up to the 4th floor (which smelled like cigarettes) to wait for the elevator...again...we end up in the lobby asking for assistance. By the time we made it to the pool, it was 4:46pm only to be told by the very friendly lifeguard that the pool closes at 5! After talking to other guests, we also found out that they tried to check in early too, but were allowed to hang out at the pool until their room was ready (Not cool...we did notice the pool did not appear to be clean anyway). So we sadly head back up to our room....which literally took another hour.

We finally get to check the room out since we now know going back downstairs is foolish and overall it's okay. However, we notice that the minibar is completely empty (not even water?!) and the bathroom ceiling had white plaster tape attempting to conceal two leaking areas by the shower. Once the sun set, we realized the lighting in the room was inadequate. The livingroom area had zero lights and the terrace was also pitch black, which threw off our plans to eat dinner outside (coupled with the fact that the table out there was not even steady enough to eat on). However, we make the best of it, try to find a lamp somewhere we could use and just hang out. We also notice that the rooftop (with a pool) at the hotel across from our terrace was LIT. They were out there all night having a great time! (I think that was Hotel Indigo...where we should have been).

Once we finally decided to go to sleep, we heard a light tapping/scratching coming from behind the bedroom wall. We thought maybe it was our neighbors, but it continued all night into the next morning (weird, sounds like there's something trapped back there!) Then, when we got up in the morning, my friend who slept on the pullout sofa noticed bites on her ankles... ( :/ Time to go!) We couldn't get out of there fast enough! It was raining so we actually never made it back to the pool, never got the wine that comes with the pool package and only got water at 1am after calling room service.

So after explaining all of that to the woman at the front desk, I will say that they were friendly and adjusted the room rate. However, as if the narrative above wasn't enough, a few days after I checked out, I noticed they charged me an extra $70. When I called to find out what that was about, they told me we took 2 bottles of shower gel (which we did not...we didn't even use the shower gel at all, much less take 2 bottles....from what I know of hotels, they just refill those bottles when the next person comes...yuck). What kind of soap costs $35/ bottle anyway?

Needless to say, I will never stay here again and would not...

So let me tell you my story about my experience at sixty LES hotel.I decided to celebrate my bday at this location because apparently it was a really great place, but what called more my attention was the nice pool area and the exclusivity they offer when you booked suites or special rooms with the “penthouse pool paradise”package as you can read it on the webpage.We paid 1 night on 08-29-2020 in a junior suite room + the pool package + LATE CHECKOUT so i can enjoy the pool the next day 08-30-2020 (officially my birthday). The late check out was supposed to be at 2:00 pm....the same day we got there we couldn’t enjoy the pool due to it closed at 5:00 pm, but thats ok because in my mind i still had enough time the next day  . First of all lets talk about the room, it doesnt have all the things it describes on the webpage, dont get me wrong the room is beautiful but for example coffe machine was missing (I am a coffe lover btw), but i didnt mind at the moment. The next day we woke up at 9 in order to have breakfast and enjoy the pool, as restaurants in the hotel are closed we had to ordered breakfast.....so that delayed us a little bit. We were in the pool area having breakfast, then When I was getting ready to go to the pool it was almost 12 and my brother decided to use the bathroom, he came and told me that keys were blocked and went to the lobby to ask about it and he was told that we were supposed to check out. I was thinking that maybe it was a mistake because we paid for late check out (2:00pm), I went to the lobby and asked to the girl in the front what was going on.Let me tell you what she told me: you guys need to check out at 12:00, it was 12:10, i told her that we paid for late check out and we could stay until 2, she said that it was not charged, i told her to charge it because im willing to pay for it, she said that “late check outs are not  guaranteed, that it depends on availability” and she couldnt allow me to stay until 2. I asked her why I was not informed about it, nobody called, nobody told me anything even the day before when I checked in, the girl in the front didnt mention anything at all, so for me everything was perfect...she insisted an said 3 times that she spoke with somebody (which is a lie, because only my phone # was in the system), and i told her a couple of times that nobody informed me, how was I supposed to know?. So basically we had to packed our stuffs rushing because according to her we were supposed to leave and she gave me until 1:00pm so we can pack. I felt so humiliated because of the way I was treated, Ive never been treated this way and its not my first time in a hotel, my birthday was basically ruined, and the funny thing is that I decided to celebrate it at this place with my family expecting the best. I felt that my money was worthless, they didnt even try to give me a plan B or at least give me the option to stay by the pool even if we check out of the room. I was willing to pay whatever it was, but apparently its more convenient1 to kick ppl out and keep checking in ppl in order to charge the night. And let me not forget to tell you that according to the webpage the pool package included included a bottle of wine which i never got it either. Very disappointed, I even told her that i understood the “availability” part but what annoyed me the most was that I WAS NOT INFORMED!!!!!!!!!!!I signed when I did check in for the room but another mistake I made was that I didnt request a receipt and it was not given to me either.....It was so stupid from me not to request my receipt; because if you think about it if they give you a receive when you check in then its basically official. I feel they do this type of things so you dont have nothing in order to fight for you RIGHT as a costumer. I showed her on my phone my detailed reservation...

I recently booked a suite for my bachelorette. The room was as nice as expected, and matched the images online. The bathroom was very nicely designed although I was slightly concerned that the glass doors would not muffle the typical sounds one may make when using the toilet. I also wish the fridge was not so full of the mini bar, as I was concerned we would be charged for moving items to fit our own items. I would say the room was a bit dark but I suppose that was the atmosphere.

The pool is very cute, and the bar staff was nice enough.

Our issue and reason for this poor review came with check out and continues to this day over two weeks later. My bridesmaid, and one of the people sharing the suite with me needed to check into the hotel earlier than the rest of the party. The other room guests and I were at a bachelorette event, but this friend had just flown in after being on call as a surgeon. So she was exhausted and needed sleep. To check in to this hotel you need to put a credit card down. My friend was assured that as soon as I arrived her card would be removed from the room and no charge would be placed on her card. She was not informed that a hold that could last weeks would be placed on her card. When I arrived to the hotel I made it clear that my friends card was to be removed from the room. I was assured it was. Again I was not informed that a hold that could and would last weeks would be on her card regardless.

When we checked out of the room my friend noticed there was a charge on her credit card account for $1700 (more than the actual room cost). The front desk clerk told us at worst it would be a few days before being taken off her card. This was on June 30th.

On July 8th my friend called me concerned that the hold was still showing on her credit card. As I mentioned previously my friend is a doctor, one who is currently in the process of moving from California to NY to start a new attending role. The money Sixty LES has held since 6/30 was to be used to book a cross country moving truck. I and my friend called the hotel and spoke with James the Operating Director. While very nice and understanding of my friend's predicament James insisted there was nothing he could do to remove the hold, and all we could do was continue to wait. He said for domestic cards the holds (which I had now learned were routine) lasted about ten days.

Well here we are 16 days later and the hold is still on my friend's card. Since it is not a fraudulent charge her bank cannot remove the charge. She now has two thousand dollars of credit being held in limbo and she cannot make the necessary bookings to move across the country! My friend's bank is now saying there is nothing they can do until 7/28, a full month since we checked in. And Sixty LES maintains there's nothing they can do, and refuse to call my friend's bank to help ease a situation their poor systems have created.

Sixty LES should absolutely not be using a financial system that could have holds for this long. And they most certainly should have procedures in place to remove them especially in a situation like this. Holding on to nearly two thousand dollars worth for over two weeks is completely unacceptable. I am horrified and embarrassed that a hotel I chose has put my friend into this situation.

If money is no object and you won't miss thousands of dollars being held up for god knows how long then sure stay at Sixty LES, but be certain that whoever is ultimately paying is the one...