Wyndham Garden Chinatown — Hotel in New York

Recently stayed at the Wyndham Chinatown and had a very unpleasant experience from check-in to check-out. Upon booking weeks in advance I had requested an early check-in due to flight times and estimated arrival into the area. Hotel initially stated it would not be an issue. However, 24 hours prior to arrival when I called to confirm things would be ready without issue since I was traveling with my infant I was told that requests would need to be made day-of and to call back after my flight had landed. While frustrated with this response, I did go ahead and call upon arrival into NYC to confirm the early check-in, crib in room, etc. Was then told that they had no rooms available and I would not be able to check-in until 3pm. Arrived at the hotel 2-hours prior to "scheduled check-in time" and again was told they still had nothing available. Sat in the lobby for 2 hours only to be called up to the front desk at 2:55P for check-in process. I was holding my sleeping infant, had 1 suitcase, 1 carry-on bag, a diaper bag, and was not offered any assistance by the front desk staff to take bags to the room, offered the luggage cart, NOTHING! I had to ask for literally the basic common courtesies when traveling and staying at any hotel in the US.

Rooms are dark, poor lighting, and it is clear that they have not kept things in working condition. Faucet in bathroom cannot be turned on beyond a small dribble of water or it blasts off the sink (too small) and water shoots all over the countertop, top of the toilet, mirror, etc. Shower has no door, water escapes and covers the floor in quantities a small towel they provide cannot keep up with.

On the hotel website it also states that there is a 24/7 "store" for water/drinks/snacks/basic needs -- I had asked the front desk staff upon returning from dinner one evening where this was so I could purchase some bottled water. I was told they have no such thing and the closest would be to walk down the block to a corner-store/deli. ** Per hotel website -- Garden Shop The Garden Shop at the Wyndham Garden Chinatown will accommodate your last-minute cravings. The 24-hour shop has readily available hot/cold beverages, snack bar options, and your home away from home needs. In addition to the above -- guests have NO control over in-room thermostat. Room temperature grew to upwards of 80 degrees and maintenance was called at around 10:30p following my return from dinner. I was offered a portable fan and was told that the "hotel engineer would need to be contacted" was also told by the maintenance staff that if the room did not cool down (it's mid-October) with the single fan and the window open they would bring me another fan. Needless to say, the room DID NOT cool down and temperatures only continued to increase despite being late at night in the middle of Fall season in NYC. A 2nd fan was brought to the room -- I had called the front desk again and asked to speak with the night shift manager -- who refused to get on the phone. Was told by the desk staff that only the General Manager would be able to assist me but would not be on property again until after my stay was completed. I asked to me moved to a different room, was not accommodated because they claimed to be sold out. When maintenance returned to the room with the 2nd fan I was told that the "Head Engineer" of this hotel made the decision to TURN OFF the HVAC units unless the temperatures reached upwards of 95 degrees in the rooms the week prior to my stay. Upon checkout this was confirmed by the desk agent when I was asked how my stay was -- gave her an honest answer and she confirmed what night maintenance had shared. I was not offered any type of credit for the uncomfortable stay, mind you traveling with an infant in those room conditions. It is very clear that basic HOSPITALITY has left the Hospitality industry. I am not sure if it is staff, management, leadership or where things have gone wrong but this was the most brutal hotel...

I don't know if this is a common practice in Manhattan NY, (because it happened to me one more time in the past with a much smaller, cheaper, and lower quality hotel), but my son and I were placed in a "no choice" position by the Wyndham Garden Chinatown hotel receptionists, on a Saturday evening on June 22nd , 2024. Months before that, I spent quite some time searching for a specific room, in a hotel in lower Manhattan, on a higher floor, with a view. Found one at the Wyndham Garden Chinatown hotel – booked it, and pre-paid for it. About 2 weeks in advance, I checked if everything was ok with my reservation. Then checked earlier the same day when we were arriving. And each time, we were assured that everything is good. However, when we came back from our sightseeing tour, about 8pm in the evening, tired from the heat during the day – we were told that there is a problem with our reservation. They said that the AC in our room broke, because of the extreme heat that day, and there was no other similar room for us. We were told that we can cancel the reservation, leave, and expect a refund. Or – they can give us a room on the second floor, facing the ugly back of another building, overlooking a balcony in a construction state, with some plywood panels thrown on the floor and walls. Also, the bathroom was missing half of the shower cabin door. (I took pictures.) It seemed that the AC in the hotel is centralized, there were no AC controls in the individual rooms, so it’s hard for me to believe that the AC in one room can break, because the only thing reaching the room was the vent. I can speculate what exactly happened with our room, the hotel’s capacity, and the prices that weekend, (I’ve been in similar situations with airlines), but regardless, I was disappointed, because upon entering the hotel, my teenage son, desperate to have a rest, asked me if I booked a decent room, or just picked something cheap. I told him with a smile, “Well, we will find out now.” But in my mind, I was confident that I will pleasantly surprise him. However, we really did find out the hard way. It caused me a bad headache. (Obviously, I was tired and hot too, but the last thing I wanted to hear was that there is some problem with our room.) I asked at least for a discount, but through a lot of blabbering, they basically said – take it, or leave it. I felt completely helpless. We had already pre-paid. Obviously, we didn’t have any energy to look for another hotel at that time of the evening, and for sure the prices would have been much much higher. Not to mention, that we had already parked our car in a garage nearby, and would’ve been very risky to take it out, look for a hotel, and find a free spot in another garage. We had to attend another activity the next morning nearby. At any rate, we had a quick dinner, went to bed, and left early the next morning. Never looked back… I am sorry, but I will have to give that hotel a lower review on the internet. Most of the reviews I’ve provided for hotels around the world have been good. Of course, there are always exceptions. If you had the patience to read the above – thank you...

We checked into the Wyndham Garden Chinatown around 3 am on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. We actually came from the La Quinta Inn, Queens, and the rooms there were disgusting, but the final straw was finding a used condom under our mattress. I spoke with Adam at Wyndham Garden Chinatown, and they were the first hotel to have availability immediately, with only one room left, and he promised to hold the room for us until we were able to get to the hotel. He offered to let us view the room itself to ensure it was clean, and apologized that only twin beds were left. He also informed us that they had already turned on the AC and double checked the cleanliness for us so we could go straight to bed. While we did not view the room before booking (as his assistant was unable to come down and show us), we told him that was okay, because the lobby itself was so clean and welcoming that we trusted the room would be, too. The room was small, but wonderful! We had an incredibly view of Chinatown and the NYC skyline, and the twin beds were perfect. The shower was large and open, which meant water got everywhere, but just keep your clothes off the floor and it's fine. Adam also called our room once we entered to make sure it was amenable.

The next morning, I realized that I had lost my wallet. I asked Tiffany at the front desk if she had seen it anywhere, and while they had not, she opened a note/alert for me in case anyone else found it. Later, I discovered it was in the Lyft we had taken at 2:30 am from the terrible hotel to this one. I contacted the Lyft driver, and he coordinated with me, and I coordinated with Tiffany, and he was able to drop my wallet off at the front desk with her, and she called to let me know it was there and the steps to take to identify it when I returned to the lobby.

This hotel is in a GREAT location and allows you to start your day meandering through Chinatown, getting delicious, cheap pastries, authentic dumplings and zongzi, and even a bouquet of flowers that's still drying out beautifully on my kitchen table. It's easy to hop on a bus nearby Bowery, or walk through Little Italy to the subway. The hotel is definitely pricier than we originally budgeted for travel, but life happens, and in the future, it's definitely worth the price.

The hotel staff are incredibly hospitable, going above and beyond to not only accommodate but outright help and assist us when we were in a less than ideal situation. Adam immediately understood why we did not want to sleep in the original hotel we booked and worked hard to make sure we felt clean, comfortable, and, honestly, safe, and Tiffany was more than helpful with me getting my wallet back when, by all rights, another person might have been annoyed or put out with me.

If you're on the fence, book...