West Side YMCA — Local services in New York

I am currently staying at the hostel and it is a living nightmare. I booked a room on April 1st (almost 8 months ago!!) directly from their website. There you have two options, “book now, pay later”, and “pre pay and save”. The latter is the one I chose, and it consists of reserving the room and paying for it at that time. They charge your credit card and the room is already paid for and reserved. At that time, I had more than double the amount I was paying for the room in my bank account, so there shouldn't be any problems. Months went by, and when I arrived at the hostel on November 24th (that is, seven and a half months later!!), the girl at the reception with whom I checked in (her name is pronounced Maisha, I don’t know if it’s spelled correctly) told me that I had to pay at that moment. I didn’t understand, I told her that I had already paid when I booked the room, but the girl told me that that wasn’t the case, that they don’t take payments in advance because “people sometimes cancel at the last minute”, that payment is made when you arrive at the hotel. Since my room was theoretically already paid for since April, I only had a little cash with me. I had to pay with that cash for my room, losing practically all of my money, since I was going to stay in New York for more than a week. That same night, and after checking in my reservation that I had chosen the “pre pay” option, I went back to the hotel reception to talk. A guy with glasses told me that what Maisha had told me was incorrect. What she told me corresponds to the “book now, pay later” option, but if I had chosen the “pre pay” option, the payment should have been made at that time. When I asked why it had not been made if I had extra money in my bank account, he told me that it is a system error that sometimes occurs, where sometimes the money is debited from the bank account, and sometimes it is not. They don´t know why, but it happens sometimes. He recommended that I go the next morning to speak with his Manager, named Frank. The next morning I asked for Frank. I had been told he would arrive at 9am, but at that time he was not there and they told me to ask for him around 10:30am. I returned at 2pm, and they told me he was not there, and to come back the next day. After all this, I spoke to Maisha again, and when I explained the situation again, she again told me that if I wanted I could speak to Frank the next day, but she could not do anything. Over and over again she insisted that the money be debited from my bank account when we are “close to the date of my stay at the hostel”, which is NOT SPECIFIED anywhere on the website, contradicts the “pre pay” policy and in turn contradicts what the guy at reception told me. I have requested legal advice (because I work for an American company) and they told me that, in accordance with the Fair Trade Practices Act, and the Consumer Protection Act, businesses are mandated to maintain transparency in their reservation and payment policies, and to communicate any changes thereto. This obligation has not been fulfilled in this instance. In the State of New York, the New York State Consumer Protection Act further safeguards consumers against deceptive business practices. The error on their part has resulted in me being left without funds, thereby providing substantial grounds for filling a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the New York State Attorney General's office. Due to a YMCA error, the money was not debited from my bank account for 7 months (despite always having money in my account), I was never informed about this, and I only found out 7 months later when I arrived at the hostel, where I could only pay in cash or I would have to sleep on the street. I practically have no money for food or water, I have to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world with just a handful of dollars per day, and what was going to be the vacation of my dreams has turned into a nightmare. This is why I am going to sue them, and resolve this matter in a...

12/12/2024-12/15/2024 - Staying here reminded me of college dorms or military barracks. Everyone gets their own room but there is one shared bathroom for females and one for males on each floor. The female bathroom does have a lock code on it which is comforting. From my recent experience, here are the PROS: Central Park is literally across the street. The 59th street subway station is a short 5 minute walk. Columbus circle is also a 5 minute walk and Times Square is a 20-25 minute walk. We were so close to everything it was amazing. We had no safety concerns while staying here (two females). The guest floors (8th floor and up) have vending machines (drinks and snacks) so when ours weren’t working properly I was able to just go to a different floor and use theirs. The room is TINY but it had moving air from a window unit, a small desk with a mirror and a bed to sleep in. There was also a safe in the small closet. You need your key to get in and out of the building once evening hours hit and then there is security that double checks you have a key card before they let you upstairs. Every day housekeeping brings new towels and empties your trash. Now the CONS: Bring flip flops you can dispose of when your stay is over. The doors are super heavy and industrial so anytime someone left their room it woke me up, multiple times a night every night because they slam shut. Weekends were obviously more busy. I stayed on the top bunk so whenever I climbed up or down it jiggled the whole bed waking my bunk mate up. I dropped an AirPod and it went under the bed. That’s when I realized no one has cleaned under the bed in I couldn’t tell you how long. Just a really long time. For our entire stay, one of the three bathroom stalls was not working and one got clogged, backing water and everything in it all over the bathroom floor. That’s a guess issue but it grossed me out nonetheless. Two of the three showers did not have hot water for the duration of my stay.

Would I stay here again? Yes. If I was alone and it was a short visit. It got the job done that I needed, and put us in a really great area of town for more than half the price of a hotel. Would I stay here again with someone else and for a longer visit? No. If you are simply looking for a bed to sleep in, an area near Times Square, and a place to put your luggage, then this works. If you are in any way demanding of above average accommodation standards, this would not work for you. Hope this helps! And...

I enjoy this YMCA because the prices I have paid so far for 2021 are under $100.00 Once 95. When I booked an hour before The second 88. 00 per night And I got it for 2 nights each! Its clean quiet and I could use the 2 pools and gym with that price. I purchased one of their silicone swim caps for 10.00 and they let you know that another store sells them too but I was not interested in the name of the store Kevin Marin mentioned. This employee is professional, kind and courteous. The room came with a card key and a 3 digit code to use the showers and toilets. You could rent rooms with those facilities also I believe but my budget was not that good to even inquire. The room has a single bed sturdy and comfortable, a comfy comforter, air conditioner and TV both have remote controls. A window, adjustable louvered blinds, a safe which I never used. Door with strong sturdy lock and chain. A lg desk and a door less closed. Mine had one hanger only and I used rod too. A clean plastic garbage can with a new clean garbage bag in it. The location is super! Its located on West 63 st between Central Park West and Broadway. At the corner of B/Way there is a large clean fruit and vegetable stand where you could purchase any type of fruits. There are the silver trucks selling Halal food and Mexican food. But the best of all is the Time Warner building 4 short blocks away on the opposite side where there is a giant Whole foods Market inside with 2 escalators! One for going down and another going up, ck out the view, the ambience is an experience to behold. Now the varieties of well prepared gourmet dishes cold and hot to purchase in any size each and afford healthy tasty meals, plus you could go purchase your variety if coffees and teas and if you have finished shopping they will then check out your groceries too at that particular counter! If not check out always have several lines to cash out and a self service line. After cashing out you could get your utensils on the left and napkins and proceed to eat some or all if your food right in the eating area on their white marble tables. Use their toilets which are clean. Save money with a variety of sm dishes and pay zero tip. Take the rest if your food back to the Y. And watch TV, read, write, go to the gym or pool and eat some more food while watching TV. There is a plug to charge up your phone and laptop. Only 1 so when one is charged...