Good location, OK price, otherwise not so great
Written: Jun 04 '04 (Updated Jun 04 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: location, price(?)
Cons: quality, service, (lack of) space
The Bottom Line: If you can't find a nicer hotel for $130, you might as well take advantage of the location.
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| jonebner's Full Review: Best Western President Hotel |
I do a good amount of business travel and am always on the lookout for decent hotels. When in NY, I usually stay at the Courtyard Marriott Times Square (a very nice hotel with reasonable rates). On my last trip, the best rate I could get there for a Wednesday-Friday stay was $290 a night, so I was forced to look elsewhere. The Best Western President Hotel was recommended to me by a colleague, who admittedly did not promise much more than a good location. My review below is based on my two day stay there.
Location
The location is outstanding. To get there, I took a taxi from Penn Station for less than $5. The hotel is on West 48th, a block or so west of Broadway. You are in the heart of the theatre district, and Times Square is only three or four blocks away. Mid-town is easily accessible. For those of you there as tourists, Fox News Studio is on the same street, a few blocks east of the hotel. On the Fox morning show, you can see the pedestrians walking past on the sidewalk.
Price
The rate I got for a double bed (booking directly on the Best Western website) was $130 for Wednesday night and $170 for Thursday night. As previous reviewers have noted, room rates fluctuate wildly in New York, and may vary night by night.
Reception/Lobby
The entrance to the hotel is nice, but the entire ground floor/lobby is a bit narrow. OK, perhaps this is a petty criticism, but I was not awed with the grandeur of the place. There is an open hotel bar in the very back of the ground floor, which I did not visit. Halfway back on the right side is a narrow passageway to the elevator bank.
Upstairs Hallway
When I exited the elevator on the 3rd floor, a wave of hot air hit me--unfortunately it was May and I cannot praise the central heating system. It seems that the upstairs hallways are not cooled.
My 3rd Floor Room
I was truly surprised by the small size of the room. There was very little space between the double sized bed and the side walls--perhaps two feet. At the foot of the bed, there was a little more--perhaps four feet. Crammed into this four foot space was a small desk with a small TV. The room was even smaller than a cheap highway motel. The air conditioner was a window unit only kicking out hot air although it was on the coldest setting. The bathroom was also very cramped, but clean and fully stocked with soap. There was a safe in a small closet which I noticed cost something like $1.19 to use, for which I was charged (even though I did not use it!) After sweating for half an hour, I repacked my bags and went back to the reception to get a room with working AC.
Changing Rooms
The staff was very reluctant to put me in a new room. They explained that their policy was to send a repairman to fix the AC. I had already brought my bags downstairs, told them I was off to a meeting, and would deal with the room situation when I got back. They then relented and gave me a new room on the 7th floor, and seemed annoyed when I asked politely whether my bags could be brought to my new room, as I was late for a meeting. Minus points for customer service.
My 7th Floor Room
Anyway, when I finally went up to my new room, a wave of hot air hit me in the 7th floor hallway as well. At least my new room was larger (but still very small), and the window AC unit worked! The bathroom was stupidly raised by a dangerous four inches, and I tripped over the step a few times in bare feet which really hurts. This room had a large balcony overlooking 48th street, which was a plus. The bathroom was also amazingly small and narrow, but at least clean. My stay in this room was uneventful. Even this larger room was comparable to a clean highway motel, with a few amenities (phone in the bathroom, balcony). One nice feature was that local phone calls were free.
Conclusion
If this hotel is to be recommended it has to be on location, and MAYBE on the price. New York is expensive, and on my last trip this was the best I came up with. You could surely find a worse hotel for $130 a night, but I hope that on my next trip something better will be available in the same price range.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jonebner
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
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