Crowne Plaza Hotel United Nations

The hotel was a bit emaciated and dingy, but my real problem with this hotel was the staff. Upon arrival, the doormen were inside, (it was cold), and refused to help me with the bags. There is a young African American male that works the front desk, he was so rude I was laughing. He never helped me with my bags or offered me any assistance with anything my entire stay. I ordered a pizza from across the street, and went down to the lobby to get it. After I paid and tipped the pizza man, he walked up with his hand out and said "Enjoy your pizza", expecting a tip. Dingy rooms, tired, unconcerned staff, marginal location. If you get a great deal, go for it, but do NOT stay here for a special event.

Checked in late on the 27th Dec and found the room a little on the small side but waited till the following morning to ask for a new one. We were offered one on the 16th floor away from the elevators and this was much more acceptable. A larger room albeit with a soft bed. Good size bathroom and plenty of storage space. From the window just had a view of the East river which was a nice change for a NYC hotel room. I will agree about being able to hear the bathroom next door though although it didn't inconvenience us too much. All in all I would stay here again but maybe not at new year as it was a little expensive.

We spent 6 nights after Xmas in this hotel which is located on 42nd ST, 1 block from the United Nations Headquarters and a mere 10mins. walk to Grand Central Station plus another 10mins. walk to Times Square. Easy to catch a taxi as 2nd AVE is a busy road. As there's also a bus stop across the street for busses towards Grand Central/Times Square this hotel is good for bad walkers, too. It's located in a less hectic neighborhood than other hotels but area offers lot of pricy as well as inexpensive restaurants/bars - look for the side streets! It has a nice tiny lobby, two hotel wings and one main restaurant, busy elevators. Our queen size bed corner room was on the 16th floor, according to the front desk agent a quiet room away from the elevators but as this hotel is an older one (ex- Hotel Tudor) the room was very bad soundproofed: we could hear the bathroom from our neighbor's room plus anything that happened in the hallway, siren from pastdriving emergency units. This room was very small and had a low ceiling, our bed was too soft. Beside that it contains everything you'll need for a week: small bathroom with hairdryer&coffee making machine, in-room safe, trouser press, ironing board, mini bar, TV/entertainment system, radio alarm clock, 2 chairs. The housekeeping could have done a better job i.e. when we checked into the room we saw 1 peanut laying on one chair and the whole week it remained there untouched&dust could be seen everywhere. Basically, this room had seen better days and so did our housekeeping maid.

We stayed here from Christmas 12/25/05 to New Year's Day 1/1/06. I'm in my late 30's and my husband is in his 40's. We are both professionals and love to travel. Just so you know who's writing the review. I searched for quite some time for hotels and the prices weren't cheap for this time of year. But I was able to find a package on Travelocity that included the air and hotel (based on what we would have paid for the air separately, the hotel price was about $200/nt including all taxes, etc.) The lobby is small, but who needs a big lobby anyway. The rooms were a decent size, big bathroom, comfy beds. The staff was mostly friendly except for a cranky concierge named Myra. The restaurant was VERY expensive. Went down one morning just for a cup of coffee. With tax and tip it was $8.00! Also we went for the New Year's Day Brunch. It was painfully disorganized. Not all the food promised was out and it was mediocre at best ($45 each). Skip that! But the front desk staff was very nice and even helped up print some emails. The first day we got there one of the handles on our dresser was broken and they quickly fixed it. They were very attentive and we appreciated it. The hotel is in a nice location. Away from the constant chaos of Times Square but close enough to walk. Grand Central Station is a short walk away. There is a very nice wine shop just around the corner (Sussex) and a little further up is Dunkin Donuts (for a cup of coffee under $2). A cab was always easy to catch just outside the front door. Overall, for the price, this hotel is really a good find. We did find some lovely restaurants in the city while we were there and would recommend Chez Jaqueline up by Washington Park - small, quaint, romantic and excellent french food at a VERY reasonable prices ($100 for dinner for two with a nice bottle of wine, two appetizers and tip) and the River Cafe, which costs about 3 times as much as Chez Jaqueline, BUT is one of the most amazing restaurants I've ever been to - first class all the way, it is on the water in Brooklyn across the Brooklyn Bridge (actually just under it) and has the most spectacular views of the Manhattan Skyline at night. The food was incredible - one of the desserts was the Brooklyn Bridge made out of chocolate! I know it's a lot of money, but it's as much as you'd pay for two tickets to a Broadway show and to me, it was more memorable. We did the dinner cruise for New Year's Eve and had a great time - better than crowding in with thousands in Times Square! Of the museums we saw, our favorite was the Guggenheim. Ellis Island and the Empire State Bldg are touristy but both worth the trip. Greenwich Village and Little Italy/Chinatown were the best places to just walk around. Nice pastry shop in Little Italy called La Bella Ferraro where the owner even sang old italian songs for us! Also the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall really is a excellent show.

Great location and quiet. Front desk was helpful and pleasant. Room prices were fair. Restaurant and bar were over-priced. Restaurant had good service. Bar had good service during the day but the night bartender was slow and unfriendly. Rooms were very clean and comfortable.

my husband and i stayed at the hotel for 8 nights over thanksgiving and found the hotel to be just perfect! a few blocks from grand central station, a few more to times square! although in a quieter location,(but never far from anything)don't you think you are thankful for that sometimes??!!! the rooms are somewhat small but to be honest they have everything you will need - iron, board, tv, cd player, alarm clock, trouser press, hairdryer...etc... would recommend

I spent a night at this small but decent hotel. The lobby was small and somewhat in need of new lighting. Staffs were not very helpful or friendly but my questions are answered rather promptly. The room is small. There is hardly any space for my luggage and I had to leave it on the floor (between the bed and TV). The room is clean and well maintained. The bathroom is well kept with good lighting. The bed is very comfortable. The plush pillows and luxury comforter adds to the comfort level. There is no view from my room window unless you consider a wall to be a view. I picked this hotel simply based on the price as I was there in NYC during the labour holiday weekend. All hotels was charging way above $250 a night. I paid only $159 per night. No regrets. I would prefer a better location hotel. But I still managed to walk to the 42nd pier for the cruise, MOMA and Empire State Building.

I took my daughter to NY for an 18th birthday present and on arrival at JFK we headed for the reservation desk and were allocated this hotel - I asked for a reasonably priced hotel which was central - and got exactly what I asked for! The rooms were more than adequate - lovely clean and crisp bedding - rich furnishings and a super bathroom - all we needed was a place to wash and sleep (though we didn't do much sleeping!!) which was central to the sights. The hotel is ideally situated for all the sights - we saw everything we wanted to in our four days there although the pace was pretty fast! Apart from the obvious - an absolute must is a visit to The Marriot Marquis Hotel at Times Square - go in there just for the elevator ride up to the top - its awesome - all the floors go flying by - my daughter and I spent about half an hour in the elevator before settling down in the revolving restaurant - this takes about an hour to do one revolution - the coasters are marked with the sights so you know where you are - and for about £10 you get an all-you-can-eat buffet whilst you watch the skyline of NYC go by - fantastic! Also we went in October (autumn) so the queues weren't at all bad. The only time we had to queue was for the Empire State Building and there we queued for about 2 hours. We took a horse and carriage ride around central park (recommended) and our guide told us we had picked the best time to visit New York because the queues were the smallest they ever are - we were able to jump straight into the first of a few carriages in line - the guide told us during other seasons you can expect to wait 4-5 hours for a carriage! Also central park in autumn is awesome - the lovely golden colours, etc. Manhattan is fantastic - very much calmer than I expected - the traffic is quiet and the streets are free from litter - at least it was when we went there. I could go on and on about our trip but as for the hotel - we found it served our needs perfectly. The staff weren't the friendliest people on the planet and the bar area was a bit stuffy and business-like but for a base to rest ones head and shower ones aching bones, it was great - would definitely stay there again and recommend it to anyone.

I stayed at this hotel for three nights whilst in NY on business. First impressions weren't great when the bell boy who met me from the car did not want to take any of my bags for me. I'm not bothered about carrying my own stuff but anywhere else in NY the bell boys almost jump on you if you try to do so! When I got to my tiny room I turned off the a/c because it was too noisy and decided to open a window to get some air. When I raised the blinds I decided against opening the window because I looked out onto three fire escapes and an alley fully of general detritus. No natural light was getting to the window because the room was boxed in. Elsewhere, the handles were falling off the wardrobe and the pump for the shower wanted to come through the wall. This is not a cheap hotel - nowhere in midtown NY is - but you can get far superior hotels for the money elsewhere.

In short: nice rooms, comfortable bed, location reasonable central. Only downside: hall ways are narrow and walls thin, so it can be noisy. This latter depends on the other guests that stay at your floor. Unfortunately, we had some noisy guests across. However, we had a pleasant stay and I can recommend the hotel.