NYC Hotel Reviews - Booking.com/Oyster/ TripAdvisor?

[bitofabelly]

Hi all, just wondered which website is the most critical...or too critical...I have a short list of about 10hotels and I keep procrastinating about which one to go with...I sometimes get put off by the odd bad review...any advice

More like take all the info from those sites and go from there. I used Tripadvisor for traveller reviews and pictures, then Oyster to see what the rooms were like. Anyway.. it'll be rare to find a hotel with 100% positive reviews.

I went round in circles until I lost the will to continue, I also checked all the comparison sites. You have to ignore some of the bad reviews. Have booked a flight & hotel deal with BA staying at The Renwick

People will complain on the web sites if something has gone wrong. I tend to ignore the silly complaints. In the USA, I always ignore the “Hank the Bellhop was the best ever”. Who cares? Hank will probably get more money if his name is mentioned.

I tend to look for British reviewers like me! I look for location, size of rooms, cleanliness, efficiency, near to restaurants, views or not, decor, value and is it my sort of hotel!

For NY, decide what you want to see and choose a range of hotels in an area where access to these sites is easiest. I know the Statue of Liberty and Crntral Park are a long way from each other but what are you most interested in seeing. Plot the sites on a map and search from there. Booking.com can rank hotels by customer review.

Which hotels have you shortlisted?

Ignore reviews and go with one in a good location. I’ve been twice, picked a random hotel and both were great. Clean, functional and well located.

What’s a good location though? The last time we went we stayed in SoHo. We loved it. Others may not. It suited us because we wanted to experience that area of Manhattan. For a first trip it might not suit but there were great restaurants and breakfast/coffee shops and fewer tourists plus a subway station (old and manky with no real time info though).

I wouldn’t stay at somewhere rated 7 if I could stay in somewhere rated 9.5 for the same price. However be choosy about what reviews actually cover in terms of what actually means something to you and your holiday. If you need the subway - is there a stop? Location near to your interests is key and staying in budget usually counts too.

Ok so here is the list...Christmas 2018 trip- 2 bedrooms in each hotel as we need two for our family number and it suits us to do it this way- so we don't all kill each other..kids are 8-13. We plan on doing 4 nights in one of the hotels below ( dont want to be too far over past Grand Central) and then moving downtown for the last 3 nights to either the Hotel 50 Bowery or Nobleden Hotel. This will vary the trip for us which will be nice and allow us to see a different part of town. Would love advice from anyone who has stayed in these hotels - particularly Courtyard by Marriott as this is one of the cheapest, good location but as it's for Christmas want the experience to be a good one for the kids.

1. Courtyard by Marriott New York Manhattan/Herald Square

1. Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel

1. Refinery Hotel - New York

1. The Iroquois New York

1. The Knickerbocker

1. Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel

1. The Pearl Hotel

1. Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel

1. Cambria Hotel & Suites New York - Chelsea

The Bowery 50 is just around the corner from Mulberry St where DD stayed as an intern. I love this area. It’s very different from further North and has a more village feel. That would be a great choice for SoHo and Little Italy. Better access to Staten Island ferry and Twin Towers if you are interested in them.

I have stayed at the Sheraton Times Sq many years ago. It’s ok. I would stay centrally but North of 42 nd Street. Chelsea is good for access to the High Line but is a bit out of it for major sights.

Sheraton is a shit hole, used to be on our work programme and had to be removed due to the level of complaints. Can’t list them all here as it would be a thread in itself but some were pretty serious.

Have heard great things about the Knickerbocker (it replaced the Sheraton on the work programme much to everyone’s delight).

Have personally stayed in the Refinery and loved it. However, it’s quite fashionable, the standard rooms are tiny and the major plus was the lively roof top bar but it’s over 21s (at least in the evening) and popular with a party crowd so I wouldn’t stay there if you have the kids in tow.

No experience of the others on your list.

I like The Pearl from those you have listed. Look at The Sanctuary and The Luma which are in this area.

I thought The Sheraton might have nose dived!

Me again: The Refinery looks great. I know The Knickerbocker is well regarded. I would choose on price and room size!

Ooh interesting...my top are knickerbocker and pearl for my gut feeling. Refinery could be a bit clubby with the roof top bar from what reviews I read. We love moving around on holidays so will enjoy seeing two parts of the city. I was looking at the Bryant hotel as well..but the rooms look really small and might not be a kids place. Knickerbocker were very responsive. I'll knock Sheraton off the list.

Depends on the holiday. In the last couple of years we've paid £3000 for 19 nights in Thailand using air b&b and £5000 for five days in NYC. Me DH and 21 year old DS

Sorry wrong thread