The Empire Hotel

One of the worst hotels I have ever had to endure. While the hotel lobby bar is very nice, don't let that fool you! You can come here for a drink, but don't need to stay. The room was smaller than a bread box, even small for a NYC room! Aside from the size, the staff were not well trained: When housekeeping brought 2 foam pillows up she handed me the pillows and then the cases and said Here, you do it!. Housekeeping never took any dirty glasses away, in fact I called room service to pick get them repeatedly. It was colder outside our room (we stayed in NYC in August!)than inside, the air conditioner sure did make a lot of noise but did not work. It was so noisy we actually couldn't hear any street noise and we were on the 2nd floor! The carpet was frayed and dirty. Our Do Not Disturb sign was taken off of our door every morning so that we had the pleasure of housekeeping barging into our room for 3 days from 7am to 9 am every few hours! In the bathroom, when we checked into the room there were hairs (not ours) on the toilet seat, in the shower and in the sink. The reasons we didn't leave are because our friends live around the corner, other friends were waiting for us at the hotel before we even checked in, we had plans early that night, and we didn't have the time to hassle for a refund.

We had major problems with the A/C and the electrical in general. It still supports the needs of a hotels and its patrons from 50 to 60 years ago. The circuit breaker would trip but no one knew about it until we returned to our room with temps in the 80's. This happened both nights of our stay. The maintenance staff was either slow or did not show -- the second time, the staff fixed the A/c by running an extension cord to the regular socket.

I was shocked to see a 20% service charge for drinks for 4 people. 10-15% is standard. Wine glasses were not changed in the rooms. Had to call several times(we were there 5 days) for new wash clothes and bath mat. Tiny rooms, no storage space, bathroom tiny as well. Much prefered the Chambers Hotel, but this was more convenient to where our son lived. We would not recommend at the price we paid.

We were there for medical reasons and they first put us in a large room but it was filled with smoke and uninhabitable. We asked to be changed and they gave us a really really small room, the bath was so tiny and for the cost of two nights it was definitely not worth it and we would never go back.

The room and the bathroom were really small even by New York standards. There were no instructions in the room as to how to use the shower (which was complicated) or the telephone or how to call the front desk. We had an adjoining room and the people next door partied all night and their cigarette smoke came into our room. We had a non-smoking room. The restaurant on the second floor was OK for a snack but the breakfast service was a disaster. We will definitely not stay here again even though it is right across from Lincoln Center.

Terrible staff service, paid for king size bed had to be fought for.

The hotel overbooked (they said they had some damage to a floor which caused them to cancel rooms but as we travelled by the hotel, all floors looked booked.) We were informed that a wedding and two conventions had to take priority over our visit and we were unceremoniously relocated to another hotel all the way across town. My parents arrived first and were simply told it was not their problem and that we should contact [...] We needed to be close to Lincoln Center which is the only reason we booked this hotel in the first place. Until we called the hotel to discuss what they could do they were prepared to simply tell my parents to go to another hotel nearly 20 minutes away. The best they did was put us up in a queen room at the Hudson...Smallest room ever. Although the front desk manager was helpful, while we waited for a new hotel room which took nearly 4 hours, many people arrived at the hotel and checked into their room. As they told me, they simply took priority over booking with [...]. I will never recommend, stay or every even suggest any hotel associated with the Empire, the chain[...]

Hotel was very expensive, and a 4 star SO we were expecting the best ammenities. However, our room was very small, our bathroom door didn't close, there was MOLD in the shower, the paint on the ceiling was peeling, our towels had holes in them. Exremely disappointed..

Faux hipster scene prioritized over customer service and professionalism. Given shoebox sized room - even by NYC standards - that overlooked AC units. At first, staff was not responsive to requests to change, but eventually switched me. Little things like cigarette butts in hallways and no wake up calls added to frustration. On positive side, decent bed and good location. Won't be going back.

Horrible hotel. There was mold all around the bathroom. The shower did not drain. The sink drain did not work. The mold in the bathroom was really quite a turn off. I will never go there again. Way over priced and under quiality. There were no sheets on the bed. Totally a disgusting experience.