The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel Review

Last week when I attended the 140 Conference I stayed at The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel.  I decided not to stay close to the event, but I wanted to stay near Times Square.  I was booking my trip through Orbitz because I am an affiliate of theirs and receive commissions off of all rooms and airfare that I book.  Now to the review.

My initial opinion of the hotel was that it was very clean and looked nice on the outside.  The lobby was a bit small, but did offer free wifi in the lobby which included a business center with 6 computers and two printers.  The pool area was large and it was great to have an indoor pool because it was some what chilly outside, but fun to be able to take a quick swim.  It did however remind me of the good ole YMCA pool that I grew up swimming in, which brought back good and bad memories.

Checking in was a difficult appearance and I do not know if it is on the end of Orbitz or if it was on the end of the hotel.  Basically, I purchased the room on Orbitz a month before the trip.  When I attempted to check in, the hotel had not received the funds from Orbitz and was attempting to charge me the full amount for the room that I had already purchased.  After about 30 minutes the manager allowed me to check in and they would take care of the money situation with Orbitz.  I was happy with the customer service that I did receive in order to be able to check in.

My first reaction after walking into the room was that it felt small.  I was only on the 6th floor, which I asked for a high floor because who wouldn’t want a high rise view in New York City?  My room faced out towards the back and looked directly into apartment buildings across the street, so I would have to give my particular room a D- for the view.  The desk and office chair were comfortable to work from, however there was no WIFI in the room, not even for purchase.  The only way to use the internet in the room was to be connected via a cable (I didn’t even know people still used those), but it cost $14.95 for 24 hours.  I have paid more before at other hotels, but since there was free wifi downstairs in the lobby, I felt no need to actually purchase it.

One of my biggest pet peeves at hotels is what I like to refer to as “shower power.”  The hotel must have a shower that is very powerful, I hate showers that don’t blast water out.  I would have to give this hotel a B+ for the shower power.  The bed as well was very comfortable.  I had a queen sized bed, but it felt like a king.

The last negative about the hotel was that the A/C was broken somewhat.  The thermostat was set to about 65, but the room never got colder then 74 and I like my hotel rooms cold.  I told them about it and they said that it would take a few hours to fix the unit and they couldn’t switch me to a new room at that point (which I believe had to do with the early check-in and also that they didn’t have the money from Orbitz yet).

Overall, the hotel was nice, a B-.  The price for the location was amazing.  It was just steps from Times Square and a few blocks away from the streets that I needed to get to in order to take the bus around the city.

I would recommend this hotel to others if you are looking for a cheaper way to stay in the Times Square area.
photo credit: Manhattan at Times Square Hotel via photopin cc