The Lucerne Hotel — Hotel in New York

Reviews seemed very positive, so I looked forward to staying here. And it was pleasant overall except for one glaring issue. Sadly, that one issue was unbearable enough to sour most of my stay.

My only concern was about whether there would be a mini fridge. So I called ahead and was told they would install one upon request. I even put in a direct request with my reservation to have it in the room, and they told me it would be in the room prior to my check-in. After getting to my room, there was no fridge inside. A bit frustrating but no worries; I went to the desk to ask for one and someone came up very quickly to install it.

I put a water bottle inside to test how quickly the fridge would chill something. Then I left for about half an hour to run some errands. Upon my return, I checked the fridge, and it had barely gotten cold at all. I also noticed that it didn't seem to be making any noise. If I waited and listened, the compressor would only go on for brief periods before shutting off. When I asked the staff about my concerns, they told me this was normal, and I shouldn't expect it to get that cold.

I figured maybe I just have to live with a weaker fridge than I'm used to. As extra assurance, I filled several cups with ice from the ice machine and stuck them in the fridge, hoping to keep it cooler. The inside was not as cold as I'd have liked but seemed okay enough when I went to bed.

After waking up the next morning, I checked the fridge again and noticed it had gotten warmer than it had been the previous night! The fridge by this point was not ever making any noise; it had previously at least been turning the compressor on occasionally. Calling the staff again with my concerns, they brought up a new fridge, plugged it in, and...nothing happened. No compressor noise or any sign that would indicate the new fridge turned on at all.

Upon pointing this out to the staff member, they told me this was normal and I should just wait for it. But it just didn't feel right to me. Since there was apparently an issue persisting across two fridges, I suggested that maybe the outlet itself had been tripped by the old fridge and now needed a reset. After hitting the outlet's reset button, the new fridge finally began working as I would expect. Everything was okay the rest of the stay, though I still kept putting in cups of ice because I didn't trust it anymore.

I came to this hotel expecting it to be a respite at least somewhat reminiscent of home, where I could, if needed, store my drinks and leftovers. Never would I have expected such a basic amenity as a fridge to cause this much trouble. I've stayed at many hotels, and even cheap motels in the South never gave me as much headache as this experience.

The fact that I was given a clearly defective fridge is baffling to me. More baffling is how I had to be the one to recognize the issues and make the staff care about them. With both the old fridge and the new fridge, I quickly clocked there was something wrong, while the staff told me both times that everything was normal and I should wait. Both times, I was of course correct.

Rest assured I will be searching for much better options the next time I'm in NYC.

P.S. The first time I went down to the front desk to get the fridge installed, they told me I didn't need to come down: I could just dial the front desk from the phone in my room. Very nice, except any time I tried to dial the front desk, I just got a...

Disappointing.

We have stayed here several times a year often for over a week at a time for years. Good location for visiting our kids in the UWS but customer service this past 3 days was disrespectful with a tone deaf and unresponsive front desk staff , oblivious to customer needs.

2 examples:

On Thursday, it rained heavily for hours. My wife took an umbrella and I asked for another. I asked a woman staffer at the front desk if she would provide another.

A fellow named "David" overheard and decided to take over the conversation. He said they don't have another umbrella. Surprised I asked no where in the hotel? How come?

? He explained "it's not in the budget" and launched into a a minute monologue about how the Hotel Lucern makes decisions. To this customers ear, I was being ignored, disregarded and dominated.

Mr David lacked basic empathy , customer service skills and the most basic emotional intelligence. Result: the downpour continued , I walked without an umbrella for 3 blocks and got soaked. Piss poor service.

A couple behind me chuckled and said to me "they're quick here but they're dead from the neck up". They were right. What a disgrace.

We also phoned the front desk immediately after check in when we saw there was no refrigerator for our medication or additional hangers. An hour passed after we phoned the front desk originally and still no frig or hangers We phoned the front desk again and the fellow (sounding like Mr David but I could not be certain), said he had some questions for me. He then asked what time did I order the frig and extra hangers? I said I was not certain. He asked w whom did I speak? I said I was not certain there either. When I explained my priority was to get the frig and clothes hangers and respectfully don't want to take the time to "essentially complete the hotels internal police report". He explained this was necessary to "get to the core of the problem".

I thanked him, said goodbye and hung up. I needed get out medication cold and not waste my time on the Hotel Lucern's internal problems.

Ordinarily, we would have asked for Steven in the executive office. In the past, Steven has always acted as a gentleman, gracious and smart and savvy and always capable of getting things accomplished. They told me Steven was busy with other problems at a second property and that they would handle it. They failed miserably.

While others have told us to look into other hotels closer to where our kids live, we still have a fondness for the hotel Lucerne.

Wonder if this hotel will...

Strongly recommend. Can’t say enough great things about this hotel. I stayed here for four nights at end of September, with my college age daughter. Room was immaculate and large (we stayed in a room with two double beds), with a decent sized closet, lots of hangers, ironing board and iron, umbrella, and room safe. Our room looked onto W 79th St, which was quieter than Amsterdam but still gave us a great view for watching the street scenes and people. Room temp was easily controlled by thermostat, plus we were able to open the window slightly for fresh air. Great water pressure for shower, and lots of hot water. Each bed had four pillows so we had tons. I requested a mini fridge which was free and quickly brought to my room when I requested—AND the front desk called 15 minutes after I called to make sure I’d received it! Room also had a K cup coffee machine with all of the needed supplies. Hotel was full but you wouldn’t know it because it was incredibly quiet. Super black out curtains—I would have slept til noon if I didn’t look at the bedside clock! Elevators were small but there were two of them, and I never had to wait more than a few minutes for one. Ice machine, vending machines with snacks and soda, and the gym on 2nd floor. The gym was quite nice and had multiple treadmills, a stationary bike, and a few ellipticals as well as weight machines. They also provided water and hand towels for workouts. I believe there was a small spa, but I didn’t partake during my stay. Location is A+. It’s located on the upper west side, so tons of great restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, coffee, near museum of natural history, Central Park, etc and one block from the 1/2/3 train and a few more to the A/B/C/D. Last but not least, the staff are fantastic! Very kind, efficient, willing to go the extra mile, flexible—can’t say enough great things. When I was checking out, I told the door man that this was the cleanest hotel I’d ever stayed in. I come to NYC four times a year on average, and I will...