New York Staten Island 2-star Hotels

We stayed in February of 2023, having traveled back to our home town from out of state for my adult daughter's birthday. I was reminded because my husband asked if we were going back this year - and warned me against booking this hotel ever again. I booked it because I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, and because the Hilton on South Avenue was all booked up for a wedding. I know the area, but didn't connect the address with the actual location until I got there. That was my mistake. The hotel itself ... isn't completely horrible. That's about the best endor*****t I could give it. It's a bit shabby, with worn carpet and upholstery, and a burn on the sink (non-smoking hotel?). But Staten Island is out of the way, and I know from experience there are worse places in that town. Even so - Marriott considers this a 3-star property, and it just isn't; it's a solid 2, so know what you're getting into. In 2021, there was an SNL skit with Billie Eilish called ”Hotel Ad.” It might have been written for this place. Here's a pertinent line: ”Situated between the DMV and a darkened Sonic, it’s the location that will make your Uber driver say, 'You’re sure?' ” It's literally like that. The hotel is behind a defunct ***** mall that even the DMV abandoned, and right next to the highway. The highway is the good part; you won't have to drive around to find it. Considering the ghost town vibe, the price is frankly hilarious, and reflects what you might call a ”Hey, it's inside NYC City Limits” premium. The same dates this year are going for the same price over at the Hilton, and South Avenue, while not exactly walkable, at least isn't scary. I say this as a native. Really, don't stay there.

Multiple issues with our stay. 1-SAFETY: I don't understand how the property obtained a certificate of occupancy. (A) Room doors stick such that one needs to use two hands to yank on the door to open it. This presents a very obvious fire safety issue as it makes egress difficult in case of emergency. When entering the room, I risked injury to my shoulder trying to open the door. [This also presents a security issue, requiring guests to yank hard on the door to ensure that it has closed fully and locked.] (B) Elevators repeatedly stuck, requiring opening of the doors to resume operation. When operation resumed, elevator made abrupt movement which was disconcerting, not only to me, but to other guests. 2-Staff member who checked us in was rude; didn't tell us details about the breakfast, didn't explain the $35/night security deposit, just overall surly and very atypical of a Hilton property experience. 3-Price: I was under the impression that Hilton Honors members booking direct on your website/through app had the best pricing. If so, why did my sister-in-law who booked through a 3rd-party site not only pay less than we did, they were eligible for cancellation at that rate (which we would have had to pay even more). The property is dangerous, and not what I expect as an Honors member for many years. They need to do better.

The room is clean and tidy, and the service staff are friendly. When I checked in, I gave a room that hadn't been cleaned by mistake, but immediately adjusted and apologized after communication. Meals are not very convenient, except that breakfast is served, others have to rely on takeaway.

To begin with, I must stress that we only used our room, and spoke to staff on the reception area. I’ve no idea on the quality of the rooftop bar nor restaurant at the hotel. Location: We booked knowing that this was in the Financial district, but I was elated with the location. We got the air-train & subway from JFK and the hotel is just a few blocks from Fulton Street Subway station. I am a quick walker, and found that the World Trade Center was only 5 minutes from the hotel, the same with Wall Street / the waterfront which was a great location to me. There were plenty of shops / restaurants / etc. in the area (where doesn’t have that in NYC?). There was construction work taking place across the street from the hotel entrance, but never any issues with traffic or noise. Reception / Staff: We arrived in the evening on a Wednesday and the staff on reception were really welcoming as we were checking in. They were taking the time to say hello to returning guests as they came through the lobby. We experienced this ourselves whenever we returned to the hotel. It may be a small thing, but it showed good customer service to me. Room: A lot of rooms in NYC are “small” when compared to counterparts in other cities so I never expect masses of space. I was happy with the size of our room when we arrived. We were on the 21st floor, and our room was on the corner overlooking the front of the building and the construction site across the street. There was small walkway between the door to the room and the bedroom. 2 of us stayed there with 2 cases and we found enough room to move around. The bed was comfortable, everything in the room worked. We had a coffee machine and bottled water given to us for drinking. The bathroom had a shower & toiletries, and it was clear everything was clean. When I'm back in NYC, I'd happily stay here again!

Holiday Inn, 6th Avenue, Manhattan We are a much travelled family and have used Holiday Inn many times in different cities worldwide. It was a brand that we, as a family, had confidence in. The accommodation was as expected and the cleaning staff should be praised. However, we were bemused by the demeanour of the other staff – front of house and in particular, breakfast staff. We could only conclude that Holiday Inn had given work experience to people from other backgrounds who had no experience of interacting with the public or serving at tables. We took a while to check in, the young man with headphones in, couldn’t find our reservation. There was no apology and, crucially, no explanation as to how the unique breakfast system worked. We found the breakfast room the following morning, eventually a young man came, we thought that he may normally have been a plasterer or welder trying out this new job, and told us that we needed a voucher from behind the reception desk to access breakfast. This voucher allowed us one item off the menu – any additional item such as orange juice had to be paid for. It was not permitted to pick up vouchers for my two sons or to pick up vouchers in advance for the next two days. The ritual of picking up the daily voucher was bizarre! Each morning was a transatlantic scene from Faulty Towers and proved to be a most memorable experience for all the wrong reasons. We had an amazing time in New York and had so many fantastic experiences of superb hospitality and service; the antithesis of our experience at the hotel. The location of the hotel was excellent

This was the 1st time staying here and it did not disappoint. What a fabulous hotel. The entire staff was just the best. EVERYONE was friendly and helpful. Our room was very clean and quiet. Our beds were comfortable. Great shower pressure. Small refrigerater was appreciated. The free breakfast was outstanding..eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, toast, bagels, fruit, yogurt, waffles, pancakes, juices, milk, coffee. The location cannot be beat. When you walk out the door, Macys and Herald Square shopping are right there. Just a couple of doors down were pubs and restaurants. We went to shows in Times Square on Friday and Saturday and walked back. Took us about 10-15 minutes. An easy walk along 6th ave. WE ALWAYS FELT SAFE. Outside in front is a lovely courtyard with plenty of seating. I am a smoker (yes I know it's bad) and it was nice to go outside and have a place to sit down without intruding upon others. The only negatives (and they are small) would be the elevators are slow and it would have been nice to have a little more storage in the room rather than just the small closet and 3 drawers. We have always stayed tight in Times Square but this is now our go to NYC hotel. Thank you Hampton Inn for making our trip so enjoyable. We will be back!

Hotel is located in a very convenient place, public parking is right across from the hotel, 10 minutes walk to Time Square. 15 minutes walk train station. Hotel staff is very friendly and helpful. We stayed there for two nights, room is small and has only basics but functions, I am happy we stayed there.

as expected, the pod room is compact and clean. the shower is great. having the toilet in it is odd. ok for a solo traveler but not ideal for a couple. air con worked well. wifi was good tho not super fast. the location is fantastic, very close to great shops and cafes etc. having a good sized safe under the bed is great to store valuables. the bed is big and comfy - tho it was very easy to bash your leg against the edge of the frame, which i did three times within a day before hanging a towel over it to avoid further leg scuffs! only four hangers in the room but another four delivered swiftly when requested. having a mini fridge in the room would have been welcome.

Excellent location quite near to Time Square. The room was not big but spacious enough to put a small luggage and still be able to walk around. The bed is large and very comfortable, had the best sleep during this sleep which helped me recover from the jet. Two negatives: 1. The sink drain is not installed properly, which doesn’t allow the water to drain away fast enough causing buildup. Quite disgusting when you are shaving, washing etc. when the dirty water doesn’t go down fast enough. 2. This one is not necessarily something Holiday Inn can control, but there is consistently some homeless ppl, ppl that look like they are on drugs outside the hotel. Also the sidewalk isn’t particularly clean. Now I wasn’t particularly bothered by #2, but could totally see ppl coming to NYC for the first time being turned off, or feel unsafe and choose not to stay here. Something for the hotel to think about.

This was booked through a travel agent when we said, nothing fancy just travel lodge type, for sleeping only really. It was for me and my daughter, 60 and 40, twin room requested. It looked ok on website so we were happy. Oh dear, when we got there we were told, you have our deluxe double, i told the receptionist we had requested a twin, he said non were available, so we thought a double like a travel lodge/premier it would be fine. The room was the size of your little bedroom in a house, the bed was long ways on running against the wall, after a conversation with the receptionist, a twin room miraculously appeared at a price of a further 200 dollars!! Over a barrel we agreed, what choice did we have! Once in new room, which was nice and had rooftop balcony, we decided to shower and change before eating, the shower was via the toilet in the room, i got in and then my daughter shouted mum, don't turn round! the shower, which was lovely and hot, was exposed to the whole room through a full length window! No modesty at all. The room service and cleanliness was great and i am sure for a certain type of guest these rooms are good value and do the job. I have attached the welcome poster on the back of the door, we have laughed since. Also don't eat at the joint next door, it too expensive and not good value, walk to the end of the street onto 2nd ave and you ll find lovely eatery's and service. Also don't use their return to airport service, they use a luxury limousine service which is double the yellow taxi!