Conrad New York Midtown

I called to confirm our early arrival the day before. As a Marriott platinum member the person I spoke to on the phone confirmed. We also had suite upgrade nights and the points for those were deducted from our account ahead of our arrival so I confirmed we would be granted the upgrade. Again, I was assured we would. After a very delayed red eye, we arrived at 11:00 am. Our room would not be ready until 4:00 and as they over booked their hotel, we would not be granted the upgrade. Annoying because I did call to confirm we would arrive early and was assured our room would be ready. The lobby is non existent, so there was no where to even sit and wait. The woman at the front desk did not mention our status or go over the status options with us. She was cold and unfriendly. The lobby has a lady in a rubber duck, and one tiny couch for seating and that’s it. We couldn’t even wait there for our room to be ready if we wanted. I waited in line to speak with the manager, as the suite night points were deducted from my account and if we weren’t able to get the upgrade, that was fine, but they needed to return those points. The manager seemed to be half way listening to my concerns but did go out of his way to find us a room that was ready and grant the upgrade in that moment. Strange we weren’t just granted it in the first place, but grateful to have had a place to rest. The only negative thing I have to say about being on the 21st floor facing the front of the hotel is the large trucks. I’m not talking about regular city noise that’s to be expected, however; They are doing construction on both the adjacent building and the one next door. I don’t know if this is a permanent thing or temporary but it was LOUD. They are moving bins and bins of trash to large garbage trucks, automatically lifting and then the trucks slam them down a the compactor goes off. This noise does not stop. Not even at 3:00 am. It is LOID. Like, white noise and ear plugs all the way up and you could still hear it loud. When I mentioned it to the front desk, the response was “we don’t control them” totally understandable, but most cities have a noise ordinance for construction?, with quiet hours, right? Her response was, we’ll call the cops then” ma’am, that’s your job….. The room: We had a 2 queen suite. Our room was very nice and spacious. Beds were comfortable and there was plenty of closet space. Housekeeping was great, and so were the bellmen. Location: We loved the location. Easy to get to, all attractions via subway. The hotel is very centrally located. I would stay here again, despite the lack of customer service from the front desk, but I would ask for a room on the opposite side of the hotel, not facing the street.

My husband and I stayed here for nearly a month during the renovation of our apartment. We chose the hotel for its spacious rooms and proximity to our home. The hotel also promoted itself as pet-friendly, which was a major selling point as the parents of two 15-year-old small dogs. Unfortunately, our experience did not align with the hotel’s pet-friendly claim, and we encountered several issues with our room. During our stay, the air conditioning failed, as did the keycard access battery for our room door. The shower handle fell off the wall, and the TV in our bedroom was non-functional. Regarding housekeeping, our room was routinely left unserviced because the staff were uncomfortable with the dogs, even though they were always leashed and I was present. We spoke to the housekeeping manager, who promised that our room would be cleaned daily at a set time with a pet-friendly housekeeper present. However, not once did the cleaning staff show up as promised. While the housekeepers were generally wonderful, the hotel’s management was extremely disappointing. Our only consolation was a credit for two drinks at the hotel bar, which frequently failed to make our cocktails correctly. The hotel hosts professional sports teams, who seem to receive exceptional service, while regular guests are treated poorly. The line to check in or out is often 20 people deep. This hotel is in desperate need of a management overhaul under Bonvoy’s ownership.

This is a quiet yet well located hotel in midtown NYC. My room was a good size, and clean. Wifi was good. The hotel restaurant was OK - I ate breakfast there but if you eat early be prepared that not everything advertised on the buffet will actually be ready. Staff were welcoming and friendly, though, and the service overall was good. I'd happily stay here again.