TownePlace Suites by Marriott New York Long Island City/Manhattan View — Hotel in New York

My stay at TownePlace Suites by Marriott New York Long Island City last week prompted me to write this letter about the poor condition of customer service with high customer dissatisfaction. Ever since I checked in, my experience was not the best. First and foremost the location is not the best at night. I am a six foot 220 pound African American male and I felt unsafe while walking in the street. To my main point, I was notified by Expedia that I would be able to check in online which I did. I was sent a message that I would receive a notification when a key was ready for me, which I did not receive. When I got to the premises to check in I was told that my room was not ready, despite having information on the hotel listing that my room would be ready at 4 pm. So after arriving 3 hours past the time, my room was supposed to be ready, and after a long and horrible flight, I had to wait an additional 2 hours for my room to be ready, Which is simply ridiculous. When I was waiting in the lobby I proceeded to ask the staff why my room was not ready. I was told that “ we are short on staff and we are rushing your room” during the 2 hours in the lobby, I witnessed 5 staff members head home, including the initial staff member that initially told me that my room was not ready at 4 pm. I know they were staff members simply because every time they would leave, the staff member at the desk would say “have a good night” proceeded by name and a question “ are you working tomorrow? ”. I understand that workers are on a set schedule and are not there solely to serve me, but when I am told after 5 hours of waiting that my room is being “rushed” and I see several workers leave its a slap in the face, and shows me that true urgency is not there. After waiting for 2 hours I approach the desk, and the staff member tells me that my room is ready, after that he asks me for a credit card so I would be charged a security deposit which I did. But prior to my booking the hotel nowhere did it say on the Expedia listing that a charge would be required prior to my stay which I felt a bit blindsided by. I looked everywhere on the listening and nothing was stated that an individual would have to provide a credit card for a security deposit. Not expecting this I proceeded to give my credit card which did not work because it is a secured card which I told the staff member. After the conversation, the worker gave me two room keys and said that my roommate would have to come down and provide a credit card followed by a threat of “don't make us come for you” which I found to be profoundly rude, condescending and unnecessary considering what has just happened on the side of the hotel. During the stay, the hotel tried to charge me eight separate times for a security deposit ruining my credit in the process. Fast forward to the last day of my stay, I and my roommate did not provide a credit card because we believed we did not need to do so, and we simply knew our cards would not work in the united states. We hadn't broken anything in the room, we had paid for the stay in advance and we were leaving in a few hours anyways. But, at 4 am the day we were leaving the front desk called us. I do not answer because I was skeptical as to who it might be at that time of day. Not even 5 minutes after the phone call, someone comes to the door while I am asleep and opens the door to the room unannounced. Luckily I had the blocker engaged, I assume it was a staff member, I find this extremely invasive and not considerate of personal space and privacy. Otherwise, the room was nice even better than what the photos indicate, the location and the description of the location were questionable, and the sheets were also questionable, as I got a rash on my inner thighs from the bedding, but either then that everything was okay. I still feel my personal space was compromised, my peace of mind was compromised and my trip was destroyed because of a simple interaction over a few days. I will never stay at a...

We stayed for five nights at the Long Island City Towneplace and had an excellent time. Our room was spacious, clean and well equipped. The Cupboard was half ripped out of the wall and all uneven, but as a German I might be a bit overreacting seeing bad craftsmanship. The rest of the room was really fantastic. The highlight of our stay was the roof terrace. Usually hotels nickel and dime you for everything, but this terrace is free and you'll get a breathtaking view of Manhattan and I really hope they'll never change that, because it's a feature that would make me choose this place over others. Just sitting there without having to buy anything is just a great thing. They overdid it a bit with the glass windows that surround the terrace; so they are a little bit too high and most people have to stand on their toes to enjoy the view (or watch through the glass, which is, tbh, not the same). The other thing they overdid is the lightning decoration. It's so bright you can barely enjoy the view at night time. So my secret tip is just to unplug all the lights you can when you get up there at night and you'll have a crazy beautiful view of the city. Just be kind and plug the lights in again before you leave. (That's what we and the other guests did and we passed this information on, which was gratefully received when people realized that there is a solution to the light smog.) Besides this minor issue it's just fantastic up there. I can't stress enough how great it is to have something like that without getting it spoiled by just another rooftop bar with overpriced drinks. The breakfast was very decent by American standards and at some days they even had fresh cut fruits. The hotel's location is very decent as well. It's a 5-10 minute walk to the train station (depending on the one you choose) and from there you'll be in Manhattan after 1-2 stops. It's a bit outside, yes, but you'll safe money and you'll have a great view of Manhattan. If you do come back to your room to refresh during the day this might be an issue. If you leave in the morning and come back at night there is basically no difference to a Manhattan stay.

Some other commenters raised issues about feeling secure in the area: The hotel IS located in a working class neighborhood and especially at night times you might also see homeless persons and/or drug addicts. We never felt unsafe though (even at 3 am in the morning). I really don't see an issue concerning safety in the hotel neighborhood if you apply some common sense I am certain you'll be fine.

So all in all I highly recommend this Towneplace and there is a very high chance of use...

I stayed here less than a week ago. When I chose this place there were only 3 reviews. I'm not sure why there are over 60 now some indicating they are 3 months old. Maybe it's a Google hiccup.

What I do know is the main picture of the front of this place is fake news. The picture of the building with a driveway and some folks walking around is not what it looks like. I think the pic is an artist rendering before it was built. There is no driveway. Other pictures too are misleading. There is no Manhatten view, at least in my room that claimed there was.

That being said let me give my experience. We arrived in the neighborhood just after midnight. I was surprised to see a hotel here in the middle of what looked like a light industrial neighborhood with some sort of heavy industry building with three large smokestacks a block away. Later upon walking the neighborhood I was puzzled by the description of nearby restaurants and activities listed on their website. It seemed off. This is a warehouse/industrial neighborhood.

The hotel is new. The front desk staff so early in the morning was well versed and very pleasant. We were quickly and efficiently checked in.

The room was clean, very clean. There was no carpet, that along with the furnishings gave the room a dorm feel. I had requested an extra blanket delivered to the room before our arrival. It was literally thrown on the bed and had become mostly unfolded in the process.

Our city/Manhatten view was a small sliver that was only seen while squinting and using imagination. The three very very distant buildings was the view I assume. The bulk of the view was another building across the street that had the illusion of being been topped with three very tall, very large smokestacks due to building behind it.

I don't have complaints about the rooms amenities. The breakfast reminded me of school food but it was acceptable enough.

Another oddity was the housekeeping staff that roamed the hallways with their cell phones playing music for all to hear. Now the music was pleasant and it was only loud enough to hear while in the hallway or elevator while near them. But it was strange to hear Cuban salsa type music from an employees phone.

Checkout was easy and the staff really was great.

It was a pleasent stay overall but it was overshadowed and off-putting to see the hotel project themselves as something it isn't with the pictures they chose to post and the lack of a view of Manhattan in the room description.

Don't lie, your hotel isn't that bad and is actually good in many respects, but when you lie it seems like you have...