The Blond — Restaurant in New York

i was a guest at the hotel and headed to the blond for a drink at around 8:30pm on a friday. i received perfectly good service. obviously the prices are insane, but you know what you’re signing up for when you go to a hotel bar. i invited a couple of friends to join me. i had no idea that the bar would turn over into nightclub service - nobody mentioned that or told me such. when my friends joined me at 9 and 9:30 respectively, they were treated incredibly rudely by the bouncer (who wasn’t even present when i entered the bar). he refused to allow one of my friends to enter, even though i explained to him that i was a guest of the hotel and had ordered food for my friend, which was waiting for him at the bar. he told me to speak to the manager upstairs and she could approve entry. i went back upstairs, did what she said, she seemed baffled but said that she’d text the doorman. in the meantime she told me to bring my friend up through the elevator. i went back down, did that, and the doorman came busting out on the second floor as we arrived to berate both of us - as if I wasn’t doing explicitly what the manager had told me to do. i don’t know what miscommunication occurred with the staff but i’ve never been treated worse or more disrespectfully. Obviously we left and went to the chelsea, a way nicer hotel with a MUCH better bar and far superior service. For what it’s worth, when I came back to the hotel to sleep after a great night at the chelsea’s lobby bar, the Blond was a total nightmare: played-out music, super young, sloppy, basic crowd spilling out on the sidewalk, nobody visibly having any fun at all, just yelling and seeming aggravated. The doorman did us a favor by forcing us to go someplace with a better vibe.

tldr: Le CouCou is a nice place to get dinner, 11 Howard is a nice place to sleep, the Blond is a complete hellhole unless you love being treated like garbage and overpaying for drinks while listening to the okayest hits...

The hotel was OK but not 5 star as it was advertised - rather a three. I booked last minute through a travel site and I was disappointed because I stayed in 5 star hotels before. It is an alternative hotel in Tribeca. Rooms are clean, but the furniture, amenities and the hotel are far from being a five star hotel. I checked in 25th Dec and stayed one night. Because of Christmas everithing (gym, spa) closed at 4.30 PM. The valet parking is 75 USD - that is the only available option so I parked on the street. Furniture is cheap and worn. Room view is on very close building walls with paint coming off and an ugly roof. Lobby is tired, there were two guys behind a desk in sweaters - that was the reception. The guys were nice and knowledgeable but this is it. Breakfast is a la carte and is not included in the room price. The place is more a community room than an eating area - I went to a Starbucks instead that is 200 yards from the hotel. All in all if you just want to crash in a three star facility - this is it. If you want more you should look elsewhere. The pictures on their website are...

TLDR: Go literally anywhere else - the staff at this place are extremely rude and drinks are on the pricier side.

I will start off by admitting that the space itself is quite nice. If you're able to get in (which apparently is a big "if"), you'll notice it's not too crowded which is probably related to the other reviews mentioning how the bouncers turn people away who aren't conventionally "attractive". This is already terrible, however my issue was that the staff (specifically the bouncers and the bartenders) are on power trips. Towards the end of the night I asked a bartender for two waters that were desperately needed for someone in my group. He proceeded to be extremely rude to me - even when I offered to tip him generously! Hilariously enough, this loser threatened to end my night "the hard way" even though this interaction happened like 30 minutes before closing. It's pretty clear why this place can't even hit 4 stars, and its already low rating will likely...