Here is my video review of the Holiday Inn NYC Lower East Side hotel:
Booking.com
Summary:
A modern & affordable hotel at the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New-York. If you are familiar with Holiday Inn, and love their “product”, then you’ll feel home in this hotel as well.
The place: Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side
Address: 150 Delancey Street, New York, New York 10002 United States
Date of the visit: September 2018
Number of days: 5
Hotel Star Rating: 3-star hotel
Booking.com
The location:
The definition of what makes a location good or not is totally subjective, especially when we’re talking about a place like NYC, that has so much to offer.
For the purpose of my trip, I took into consideration the following parameters:
- The area is safe during the day & night.
- It is close to public transportation that takes you all around the place.
- There’s Burger King, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Target, and other stores right next (or very close) to the hotel.
Attractions nearby:
To give proportions of the distance from the places I’ve visited during my stay in Manhattan, here’s approx. time of how much it will take you to get from the hotel to:
- Uniqlo SoHo – 15-20 minutes walk.
- World Trade Center – 40 minute walk
- Empire state building – 1 hour walk / 15 minutes on subway.
- Time Square – 1:05 hour walk / 15-20 minutes on subway.
Parking:
It was a bit challenging to find a parking space, so my entourage returned our rented car while I was in charge of the check-in.
If you travel by car, you should know that there’s no designated parking in the hotel itself. However, you can find parking lots around the area, and probably there’s some sort of an arrangement with the hotel, but it will cost you extra money.
The hotel:
From the outside, the building seems like a typical NYC red brick building. But from the inside, this is a different story.
The hotel is inviting, and everything seems properly maintained, including the building itself, the furniture, and equipment (around the hotel and in my room).
When it comes to the maintenance of the hotel, it seems that the management
and staff are doing their job well. The furniture & devices were in good
condition, noting was broken/loose/out-of-order.
To enter the hotel & use the elevators you need your key card. And if I recall correctly, there’s no access to certain floors because they are rented for government purposes. I guess most people won’t even know or care about that.
Right next to the entrance is the reception, where you can find plenty of magazines, guides & vouchers to various attractions around NYC – And I found it very useful.
The staff was welcoming and very professional during most of my visit, excluding this one time that I asked to change my room (due to a reason that I explained in my video & appears in the “The cons” section below), and received “the face” from a certain employee – But eventually I received a new room…
During this trip, I worked on my computer quite a lot, and enjoyed free & fast WiFi connection that worked well across the hotel.
The lobby floor isn’t that big, but it offers many hidden gems that I adopted during my stay, including:
- Sitting area – There was free water, hot drinks (tea/coffee) & newspapers. Also, there’s a microwave, ATM, TV screen that displays flights arrival/departure.
- 24-hour market – You can purchase from a variety of products & snacks for reasonable prices.
- E-bar – Two Mac computers with internet.
- Open back yard.
Other amenities can be found on the lower lobby floor, and include:
- Retro Bar & Grill – I didn’t spend there too much time, but it seems like a lovely place to grab a bit for a reasonable price, especially during “Happy Hour”. There’s a large screen, so you can watch sport events. You can order from the bar straight to your room as part of the room service.
- Fitness room (gym) – The room is small, but there weren’t any people when I visited there. You’ll be able to do a proper training with the available fitness equipment. Plus, there’s plenty of towels and the latest top magazines.
- Meeting room – It can host up to 35 people, but it was closed so I don’t know what’s going on there.
On a typical floor, there was a vending machine that you can pay with a credit card or using Apple Pay.
My room:
We were 3 people, so we chose a “Double room with two double beds”.
Although the room wasn’t that big, it offered a practical design that made us feel comfortable during our stay. It was decorated with nice pictures and there were several lamps spread across the room.
Since we are talking here about a hotel in NYC, I considered the fact that it is hard to find places that offer reasonable space & value-for-money at the same time. Thus, I appreciate every inch of this room.
The beds & pillows were comfortable & clean, so I managed to have a proper sleep. Though the street next to the hotel was vivid during the day, there weren’t any disturbances from the outside during the day and especially during the night.
Among the things that were in the room & I find worth mentioning are:
- A 32-inch flat-screen TV with cable channels – There were many channels to choose from. Alternately, you can plug an external device (probably it would be your computer) and watch it on TV.
- Air conditioning – The air conditioner worked well & the room was ventilated.
- KEURING espresso machine with several capsules – I already got used to this coffee/machine from previous hotels I visited during this trip across the USA, so I was fine with it. The staff made sure to refill the supply of capsules when needed.
- Iron & ironing board.
- In-room safe.
- Great bath – There’s nothing like taking a bath after a long day of strolling around Manhattan. I enjoyed hot water, strong water pressure, free toiletries, hairdryer, etc..
- Laundry services – I didn’t need it, but it is good to know this service exists.
Our room was cleaned daily in the best possible way, and following the cleaner’s visit, the stock of coffee capsules, soaps & towels was renewed.
The cons:
There was one thing that bothered me and I strongly urge you to be aware of if you consider staying at the Holiday Inn NYC – Lower East Side hotel, is the existence of cellular antennas on the roof of the neighboring building.
Right next to the hotel where Delancey St. & Suffolk St., there’s a building that hosts a Burger King branch. And on the roof of that building are several cellular antennas.
No matter what people will tell you – It is NOT recommended to stay next to those antennas, even if its just for several minutes. So if you’re staying in one of the rooms that are facing those antennas, it can have hazardous implications on your health.
Once I found out that my room is facing those antennas, I immediately approached the hotel’s staff and demanded to change my room.
I don’t blame the staff for the existence of the antennas, but I wish this issue will be brought up to the attention of Holiday Inn’s management, and it won’t be swept under the rug.
Verdict:
Overall, I had a good time during my stay at the Holiday Inn NYC Lower East Side.
I would recommend this hotel if you plan to visit NYC and look for a relatively affordable place, as long as you are aware of what I mentioned above.
FAQ:
Q: Does the hotel offer laundry service?
A: Yes it does.
Booking.com
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