Address: | 358 W 58th St, New York, NY 10019, USA |
Phone: | +1 212-554-6000 |
Site: | morganshotelgroup.com |
Rating: | 3.4 |
Working: | 5PM–1AM 5PM–1AM 5PM–1AM 5PM–1AM 5PM–1AM 5PM–1AM 5PM–1AM |
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Kevin Barron
The Hudson is less of a hotel than a dark, rough fun house ride by design impostor Philipe Starck. A flickering two-foot high gas torch marks the entrance as its flames crack the surrounding concrete of the Soviet-style mausoleum façade. Walk sideways in front of the glass to enter - it confuses everyone - and ascend the shoulder-wide three-story escalator to a green-lit low beam lobby entrance. The lobby is practically unlighted and paneled in faux dark wood. The pleasant tee-shirted staff have an attitude of corporate-enforced peppiness. They know youll be calling about the 15,000 decibels of pulsating bass that makes its way up through the ventilation to your room several floors above. Lurch into the small crowded elevator and hope you can find the right button before you pass your floor. If you manage to see the button in dark, it may be partly covered by the textured wood paneling. As you creep down the narrow charcoal-painted hallways, your back crimps with anticipation at what lies beyond the door to your room. Your animal instincts serve you well. It is not a room - it is a paneled cell, sheathed in more of the same dark fake wood paneling. Do not drop any small valuables. You will not find them again in the dark corners. As everywhere else in the Hudson, the ornamental lighting actually impairs vision. Mr. Starck, a maker of bath faucets and blow molded plastic goods, has managed to backtrack on ninety years of progress in lighting design since Poul Henningsen developed efficient, soft illumination; Starcks weird ornamental fixtures manage to provide glare without illumination. And watch out in the bathroom! because the toilet is only 16 inches from the wall. If you dont bang your shins on your way into the kinky glass shower (please dont ask), youll smack your head into the tiles when you sit on the pot. Owww. Better slide to the bottom of the bed than getting out on the right side because the wall-mounted TV is waiting to separate your shoulder. Now for that 1:30 AM call to the front desk to get them to turn down the Pink Floyd in concert in the bar. The operator says "no problem", the hotel manager will speak to the bar manager. Nodding off 25 minutes later in spite of the noise, the hotel security desk calls to inquire about my complaint. Another five minutes later, the front desk calls back to inquire whether the noise level is better. Now its two in the morning. Is this punishment for the noise complaint? Thanks for the calls. When I speak to the desk manager in person the following day, I am told, between enthusiastic handshakes, that there is no substitute room available for me and that the hotel had vacated the fourth floor as a buffer floor but he would speak to the bar manager… What kind of Hotel keeps its guests awake with loud night club music?! The poor staff - probably artists, writers, grad students, actors - ask timidly "have you enjoyed your stay" and start to apologize before the answer comes. The rooms are not merely small. They are walk-in closets. The whole place is dark and unbearably loud. All very exhausting. Of course you should not stay here. If you think Im kidding here, go see for yourself some evening and ask to a see a room.
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A Private User
Just back from 5 nights in this place and I can safely say I have never been in a more pretentious more over priced hotel in my life. True the decor in the lobby and bars on the L level are fantastic and they do look great on photos etc. However for those of us paying close to $400 a night one can only feel robbed short changed for what you get...i.e. the smallest hotel rooms in all of New York. My partner and I could not believe this box that we had been given. there was less than half a metre on either side of the double bed and the walls. Less than a metre then from the end of the bed to the wall and with a corridoor one metre in length and less than a metre in width this was incredible. Worse was to come when I saw the bathroom which did not have a bath....a tiny cubicle with basin, and less than half a metre from the toilet bowl to the wall.....as I said looks great in a glossy mag but in reality this hotel was a rip off and suffering from a huge delusiuon of grandeur Also to the pathetic size of this room was the following Room was dirty...covered in dust. Music system in room comprised of really old tape deck system there is absolutely NO VIEW of city nor of Hudson River despite the hotels claim. there was no mini-bar, no directory listing in room allowing you to see what the hotel had to offer ( it was by chance we discovered their Lobby bars!!) not even a kettle to make yourself a cup of coffee!! The wooden panels on the wall , again oh so granduer in design but naff in reality, was actually falling off at the window! The window itself was cheap and so not new york....ive stayed in so many good and bad hotels in new york over my time and one complaint ive never had until now was the noise from the street as all other establishments have invested in proper windows to ensure the constant moronic hooting of the car drivers and even worse the ambulance and police sirens trying to outdo one another with the grandiose and loudness of their sirnes (good lord these people need psychiatric help!) are not heard. In the Hudson Hotel you might as well have been sleeping with the bums on the side of the street. We did not sleep at all on first night so I complained and demanded a bigger room that was clean, worth the money and had windows properly installed. the staff, thankfully were the Hotels saving grace and they got us a quieter room but it was almost the same side. I then discovered on conversation with others that they were also disgusted at the size of the rooms for the price that was being paid....Thankfully Im not the average size obese American so I could cope!!! All in all the Hudson Hotel is a hug dissapointment, the streets outside are litter strewn and just awful and whereas it looks great on entering and has the two very funky bars for the general public also on its lobby level it in reality is just another travellodge with an astonishing delusion of granduer. Spread the word and let not other be fooled by this silk handkerchief on a boar.....at $400 dollars a night it is nothing short of a disgrace..... Edit Remove
ME
Melissa Marin
Two adults, one room --- extremely small (the room was around $350) it is by far the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed at, and I have stayed at various hotels in NYC. Though NYC is known for small apartments, rooms etc, I had never experienced this in my stays at NYC. The hotel itself is BEAUTIFUL!! The ambiance, the grapevines, the patio-- absolutely stunning, even the staircases. I was very impressed with the architecture and the lay out of the room and hotel itself. We stayed on the 4th floor (which, yes it must be one of their less expensive rooms, but please keep in mind we paid 350 for a Wednesday night in early June 2010). We could barely move --it was so small that you couldn’t share the bathroom mirror and or space with anybody else. --Yes, it was that small -- and we are Athletic, skinny etc... The bed was very comfortable, but the room lacked enough lighting to get ready in the room mirror (Im sure this type of lighting was also in tune with the actual concept and the creation of the ambience of the room). The lamps were a fine apposite to the bed and colors as well. I do want to say that I love the concept of the actual hotel and the beautiful scenery and ambience --you are dazed and bewildered by the lighting going up the electrical staircase, reaching the lobby from the staircase felt like I had walked into the jungle --- walking through the hallways makes you feel like youre in a medieval castle somewhere in England. The rooms even feel like a post-modern fairy tale -- I was enamored by the charming, contrasting furniture as well. As for customer service, I was quite impressed by the sweetness of the girl who helped us being that the room was booked under my name and I accidentally left my I.D at home. She was very kind and took the time to help us resolve this issue. I didnt need any further assistance and thus, I am judging from a one encounter experience. Im guessing for this specific hotel, you really have to spend over 500 to get a decent sized room...