4 Star Hotel? You Might Fit 4 Stars into One of These Rooms
Written: Aug 13 '04 (Updated Aug 14 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Near Times Square, Deeply discounted prices available
Cons: Unbelievably tiny rooms
The Bottom Line: There are lots of hotels in New York, and plenty around the Theater District. There is no reason to stay here!
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| mmcphee's Full Review: PARAMOUNT HOTEL NEW YORK |
This hotel is in a great location and you can’t beat the price, but my idea of 4 star hotel and the star-giver’s idea obviously are galaxies apart. We booked this room on a whim when one Saturday morning my husband woke me early to suggest we head to New York City to take in a few plays. We booked a standard room at the Paramount for $99 and we were a bit apprehensive about finding such a deal in Times Square. We noticed the 4 star rating given by several internet travel sites and figured that we had just been lucky to find a great same day deal.
Location
If your New York weekend includes the theater then you can’t beat this hotel’s location, just a block off of Times Square. The trick is to find it. There is no sign, not even a street number to help you find the entrance. So when you find an unlabeled door and what feels like a nightclub on the other side then you have probably finally stumbled into the Paramount.
Getting to Our Room
The draw of this trendy New York hotel is supposed to be the lobby. Personally I have never chosen to stay at a hotel because of the lobby, but apparently some travelers do. The dark lobby with the loud music personally turned me off to the hotel. The music was so loud that check-in required shouting at the desk staff. The check-in process was smooth and quick and the staff was friendly. We then had to crossed to the opposite side of the lobby to take the elevator up to out room on the 6th floor. The elevators are small and dark, mostly illuminated by neon lights, making the elevators tough to operate.
In keeping with the theme, the hallways to the rooms are dark as well. It felt like the hallways were dimly lit to keep you from noticing how old and dingy they really were. The carpeting and walls were dirty and the hallways smelled musty and smoky.
Our Room
From what we had read on the internet when we were expecting small rooms, but small does not begin to describe a standard room at the Paramount. We could not open the door to our room all the way because the door hits the bed as it swings open. Not a pleasant welcome.
The rooms are done in black and white. The walls and linens are all white and the carpeting was black and gray squares. Like the hall, the room was shabby. As you might expect all white shows dirt and the room felt dirty. The walls were in need of a fresh coat of paint and all of the linens really needed to see some Clorox bleach. Like a black car the industrial style carpeting also showed lots of stains and dirt.
The bed in our rooms was one double. Instead of being a frame the two mattresses were directly on the floor. I felt like I was in an apartment of someone who had just graduated from college instead of hotel. The bed was fairly comfortable although a double bed is a little small for two adults. The headboard was interesting. Famous paintings are printed on fabric and stretched over padding to make a somewhat comfortable back rest while sitting on the bed, because the bed (and the toilet) are the only places to sit in the whole room. It was also the only color in the room!
Rounding out the furnishings in the room was an entertainment center. It stuck in one corner of the room near the foot of the bed. In the entertainment center was the minibar with a variety of drinks and snacks at incredibly high prices. There was also a selection of hotel souvenirs available for purchase. Finally a 13” TV and a VCR were on the top shelf. The entire white entertainment center was on a swivel base, which is important if you intend to use any other part of the room. You need to rotate the entertainment center to walk along the foot of the bed and to access the tiny closet. In side the closet were 3 small drawers that held clothes for an overnight visit for two people. The pole was long enough to hold probably 3 or 4 articles of clothing. Since we had traveled to the city on a commuter train we were traveling light and we were able to fold up our duffle bag and stuff it into the closet. If you were traveling with real luggage I doubt it would actually fit into the closet.
Out room had a window air conditioner that was very loud but worked well. We were able to set the vent to allow fresh air to flow in which help some with the musty smell of the room. The air conditioner did block our view a bit, which was fine since our room was rather low and we really had no view to speak of.
It probably comes as no surprise that the bathroom was also undersized and all white. White that once again, showed dirt and age. To stand in the bathroom your leg is wedged up against the toilet, something I find disgusting. The only horizontal surface in the bathroom was a small glass shelf. The shelf was large enough to hold a couple of toothbrushes and some toothpaste and that was it. The only toiletries in the room were shampoo and soap, but it was enough for us. The sink is interesting. It is done in bright chrome and shaped like a funnel. However, the first time you use the sink it looks filthy because it becomes spotted with toothpaste, soap and water spots. Our bathroom had a shower only and the water pressure was great, which was good since I really wanted to wash off the perceived filth from the hall and room. The room and bathroom were actually reasonably clean but unless white is really white it always feels dirty to me.
Amenities
Since we were only in the city for one night we did not check out many of the extras in the hotel. There is a fitness room that we did not get to check out. The Mezzanine Restaurant as the name implies sits on a mezzanine above the lobby. We considered eating there but we they did not have reservations available at the time we wanted. The food looked good and from the menu I would have called in Cuban. The prices were a little high but in line with a trendy restaurant.
We did try and have a drink in the Library Bar. It was a really beautiful area and in sharp contrast to the minimalist feel of the rest of the hotel. There was a lot of warm and inviting dark wood and scattered around the room were comfortable upholstered armchairs around nice wooden tables. It would have been a very comfortable place for a drink had we been able to get any service. Despite numerous tries were unable to get anyone to take our order. After 10 minutes of waiting and becoming impatient we left the bar.
Final Thoughts
For one night the hotel was barely acceptable. It was convenient to Times Square and the Theater District, which is what we were after. But I would never stay here again. There was nothing comfortable or inviting about this hotel. I have never seen such a small hotel room in my life and I hope I never do again.
Want More Information?
Paramount
235 W 46th St (Between 7th and 8th Avenues)
(212) 764-5500
(800) 225-7474 (toll-free)
Hard Rock Hotels purchased Paramount in July 2004. They are planning some major renovations including reducing the number of rooms in order to enlarge some of the guest rooms.
This review is part of the Great Hotel Writeoff 2004. For more information please see http://www.angelfire.com/trek/greathotel2004/
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mmcphee
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