W Union Square Hotel

My wife and I stayed for a one-night "get away" using SPG points. We were treated as well as any other guests and even got a complimentary upgrade. The entire staff was friendly and willing to help and nobody showed attitude, they were far above your average Starbucks employee. The hotel is a converted apartment building and still has some of the old "charm" such as tiled floors by the elevators and tiling in the shower. The bathrooms did feel a bit dated, but it adds to the hotel. Our room was spacious with only a single tall window. Heating was a bit strange as it was set to 85 degrees and still felt a bit cold. It wasn't uncomfortable, just odd. You should definitely visit the "Great Room" that has been maintained in the style of the original building. Summary, a great hotel, great staff, wonderful beds, hip bar (although too crowded), and great location.

I have recently spent weekends in New York at The W, Gansevoort and Mercer and have to admit that The W falls far to the bottom of the heap. The room was not ready on time, lobby crowded and our room was worn and dirty. There was actually a person (late night reveler) who slept over night in the lobby on the couch and was still there the next morning at 9 a.m! The dark hallways are just weird. I didnt give it much thought until a weekend at the Gansevoort and boy did they do it right. Clean well appointed rooms and pleasant service, a staff that cant do enough to please.

Recently I've been more and more disappointed with the Westins W chain. Showing their age after five years they are in serious need of an overhaul in attitude and in rooms - especially the W's in New York. I've stayed at three of the four Ws in NY and the Union Square location is by far the best. The rooms are standard W New York and small but shower/bathroom and bed were great. Lobby, restaurant and underbar were crowded and fun. Location is good with plenty to do nearby. There is attitude here but not enough to be obnoxious. Only two negatives and reason this is not a five "circle" review. Hallway on floor with our room had water damage on the carpet. Dark and dim is not meant as an excuse to let things deteriorate (which is what has been happening at the other Ws) - this was the only example of it so not a big deal. Doorman/bellhop are obnoxiously aggressive. I checked in with a roller bag and briefcase and was asked repeatedly if they could carry my bags. Finally, while I was checking in I was asked if I was a guest and when I replied yes I realized that the bellhop had grabbed my bags that were next to me and I was "guided" to my room by the annoying bellhop. I understand "working" for tips but I've never seen anything like it anywhere in the world. It was a small thing so just bring lots of dollar bills. Overall the stay was a good one that I'd recommend. Only other W that this equals is the one in San Diego which is actually probably the best in country.

I must first sat that I CANNOT believe the positive reviews about this hotel. I am truly shocked.. .The dates of our stay were December 28- January 2. We are both hardworking physicians from Maryland, and planned what we had hoped would be a wonderful get-away for our first wedding anniversary. Unfortunately our stay at your hotel was so unpleasant and stressful that this goal was not quite met. I'd like to begin with the fact that although we'd reserved and prepaid for a suite, the room we were initially given was a standard room. When we notified the front desk of the mistake they nonchalantly said that they didn't know how that had happened and actually challenged whether or not we'd really even booked a suite. Thankfully we had our printed confirmation with us, which we refered to. After some time, we were moved to a suite on the third floor. Upon entering the suite I was immediately concerned about the state of the room. Much of the furniture appeared worn, and the sleeping area so small that one had to actually move the drapes out of the way to get into the bed; in sum I was rather surprised by the suite which had been arranged for us by a hotel of this caliber. My biggest concern, however, was the state of the bathroom. There was visible dirt on the shower curtain and on the shades, the corners of the bathroom were dirty, the grout was unclean, and the general appearance was cracked and worn. I knew that there was no possible way that I could have showered in that filthy bathroom and called downstairs to ask if there was any other possible option, even if it meant going back to the previous standard room. At some point thereafter, someone helped to find us another suite (on the third floor). After looking around I conceded that this room was an improvement although I was still very much unimpressed with the suite itself. Further inspection revealed that the bathroom, though a clear improvement, still had dirty grout and caulk (readily apparent given that they are supposed to be white)--those are not even expensive improvements to make! I then found hairs in the shower (clearly not mine since we'd just checked into the room)! I must say that finding someone else's hairs in the bathroom is perhaps the least sanitary thing I have ever observed at a "nicer" hotel. There was no escaping the fact that the standard of cleanliness just didn't coincide with that of a high-end hotel. I'm sorry but if there is that much VISIBLE dirt at the hotel, how much "invisible" filth actually exists?? Just for example, our most recent hotel stays in the past several months have been at the the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, Le Meridien Cancun, the Sofitel New York, and the Fairmont Washington D.C., which we visit often, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, and the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner. I mention this to give you some indication of the standard which we are accustomed to, and although the examples which I named range from 4-5 star hotels, ALL FAR exceed the standard of cleanliness and elegance which we observed at the W Union Square, and sadly, the W is the only one of the group which I plan never to return to. Some of the additional issues which we took note of include the fact that the carpet in the hallway appeared stained and was clearly not vacuumed too frequently as there was visible "debris" on it during our entire stay. The ice machine was broken during the entire stay, but more consequential than that is fact that the ice machine itself was absolutely filthy, with visible mold apparent on the machine. I can't imagine how that doesn't frankly violate health codes, to be honest. We forgot to tip the housekeeping service our first day there in our rush to leave, and returned to find that our room had barely been cleaned, the tables not even wiped despite visible cup ring stains, the floor not vacuumed (noticed the same crumbs in the carpet as before their "cleaning"), the room not dusted (despite the visible dust on the night table and alarm clock, the pillows simply thrown on the bed, and the room temparature turned down to 59 degrees! I actually had to keep my coat on until the room warmed up again. The following days we remebered to leave a tip for housekeeping, and although the room was never really cleaned particularly well (there were two patches of dirt on the tub which we actually started to keep track of, since they were never cleaned off during the entire stay), they did then wipe the cup ring stains and arrange the bed nicely, and no one ever touched our thermostat again! The first night of our stay there wa a bottle of Voss water by the bed, which we drank. It was never replaced, so we had to call for water every day thereafter (a very small point, but just a bit surprising). We were fairly certain that the hallway was not vacuumed at all during our visit and the carpet itself appeared stained. The sleeping area in the suite was so small and the windows so drafty (despite the heavy drapes) that I spent every night in bed being cold (even with turning up the heat). I eventually had to go out and purchase a sweatshirt at Macy's to sleep in, but I still got sick by the end of my stay regardless. There is a strange loud rattling which emerges from either the vent or thermostat periodically all day and all night. The first night I heard it, it actually frightened me out of my sleep (thankfully I got used to it by the end of our stay). The last day we were there we noticed that one of our pillowcases was soiled. The bathroom was so unclean that I sprayed everything down with Lysol daily (purchased at the CVS next door the first day) and wore shower shoes (which I had brought). When we called "whenever, wherever" to request a pair of shower slippers for my husband, they brought him a pair of cotton bedroom slippers, which, incidentally we too small for him to fit even half of his foot in, never mind the fact that they could hardly be worn in the shower. Two days into the stay the TV in the sleeping area developed static on the channels such that one could hardly make out the picture on the screen, but we were too frustrated with our stay at that point to even bother complaining about it. We just watched our TV with static. After ordering room service the first day, we found the food to be rather mediocre, so requested a menu from Olives the following day so that we could order from there (and pick up the food ourselves). Well, we could not seem to get anyone from "whenever, wherever" to facilitate this seemingly simple request. It's not like we were asking them to bring the actual food (although I know other hotels would have been happy to do so); during a stay at the Ritz-Carlton we actually had a staff member insist on going to buy me cough medicine when room service noticed that I was very sick! After a fitful night's sleep, we noticed that the sheet was coming off of the matress, only to realize that the mattress was being covered by a flat sheet, and one that was far too small to keep the mattress covered once you actually get in the bed. The shower door didn't really fit and had to be "shoved" closed, rattling the entire shower structure...that was a bit disconcerting. One worrisome thing which occurred was prior to check-out we went to open our safe using the code which we had used for the whole stay and the safe would not open despite multiple attempts. Finally someone from security had to come up and get into the safe. When we asked how this could happen he had no explanation. It made us worry just how safe our things had been in the "safe" during our stay... I would like to explain that we realize that some of the issues we mentioned were quite minor, or could not realistically be addressed, but many of our problems with the hotel were not only significant ones, but ones which it would be advisble for them to address in order to be fair to their clientele and promote as sanitary environment as possible for all concerned. We ran into no fewer than 3 other guests who had complaints about the hotel during our stay. One couple actually warned us as we were checking in that we were in for an "interesting" stay--little did we know. We submit this letter to you because we think you should be aware, not out of mean-spiritedness or pettiness. We did take note of the fact that the W is a very stylish hotel, perhaps trendy even, and while people will overlook some issues in order to stay in a trendly hotel in Union Square, those who are accustomed to a high standard of elegance, cleanliness, and service will likely be dissatisfied regardless of the stylish aura of the hotel. I would like to mention some of the positives which we noted about the hotel as well. Overall our interaction with the staff was polite, respectful, and appropriate. Both room service and the valet service were among the most prompt we have ever experienced. The concierge was patient, polite and very informative, and returned later to thank him kindly for his assistance. Incidentally, one of the managers gave us a few vouchers for complimentary cocktails after our room switch which we thanked her graciously for, but seemed a fairly inconsequential concession for a hotel of that caliber to make given the circumstances. To behonest, all we truly wanted to do was check out and go to another hotel where we could just relax and enjoy our anniversary, rather than wait for the next thing to go wrong. Prior to leaving we did, however, request to speak with a manager, and notified them that we would be forwarding a letter detailing our issues, but mentioned some of the ones which they should probably address ASAP, like overall cleanliness, the housekeeping issue, and the ice machine. Unfortunately, I must end by stating that we have no intention of returning to the W Union Square. Ultimately it was an overpriced, unpleasant "vacation" for us at a filthy hotel and we were very happy to return home and sleep in our own comfortable bed --KING sized, pillow-top...)!

Let me be straight - I am not a fan of 'boutique' hotels - but had to stay here as New York was packed post Thanksgiving. First - the location - its excellent - very lively around Union Square and a lot to see and do within a short walk. The hotel public areas are well presented and the bar is superb for watching the 'beautiful people' though service varied from seamless to awful. I am not a fan of the dark corridors leading to the rooms - nor the lighting in the rooms. Both my room and my colleagues were VERY dark and the lighting so subtle (seemed like 20 watt bulbs) that we could not read the room menu (itself presented in an annoying strip of plastic format). The room itself was immaculate, well presented and cosy. Olives restaurant was excellent with good service and food though choice was limited. However - it was a nightmare for breakfast with chillout music blasting out. Cool if you are hip - drreadful if you are trying to have a business breakfast. Lastly the staff - like another reviewer I felt I was intruding on their beautiful experience - I found them often distant and indifferent. If you are hip/on holiday - a good hotel - if you are on serious business - (unless it is a .com) you might find it a bit jarring.

Having read many accounts on this website and also the usual travel journals, i decided the W would be the ideal choice for a UK newbie tourist to NYC. As this is a $500 a night hotel, i was expecting a lot for my money, but I dont think we really got it. This hotel seemed more aimed towards the US business market and we couldnt help feeling fairly out of place. The bed was extremely comfortable, but in general the fittings were below par, already looking a little worn. Service was pretty ordinary, food and drink is overpriced even for New York, but I guess the demand to be seen here is quite high. The location was ok but I wouldn't choose to go back to this W hotel in the future.

This hotel was so great. I came to New York with my sister and we had such a great time mostly because of our stay here! The room was so nice, everyhing had a modern feel to it so it seemed as if everything was new. The beds were amazing, it was like sleeping on clouds. The service was great. They have a little bar, lounge area downstairs which is great so you can grab a drink before going out on the town! I definetly recommend this hotel to anyone going into the city. The W hotel was great!

This was about the 6th or 7th time that I have stayed here. After staying at other trendy hotels in NY like the Soho Grand and the Tuscany and staying at luxury properties like the Mandarin and The Lowell I can say I will probably always stay at the W Union Square whenever I am in NY. I have always been upgraded to a large corner room or a suite and the staff have always been topnotch with only one exception in several stays. When this one exception was brought to the managements attention it was handled quickly and in a very professional manner, they comped room service breakfast for both me and my wife for the entire week that we were there. Great location for going uptown, downtown and to Brooklyn with the neighborhood itself having great food and convienences. I always go down to the farmers market on Union Square, get breakfast and bring back to my room with the exception being the time that breakfast was comped. Great rooms, service, food and location, what more can anyone ask for?

The location of the hotel is great -- very close to shopping, restaurants, subway, etc. The room was also a good size for NYC. The big problem we had involved noisy guests. A party arrived around 12 midnight and made significant noise most of the night. This included bellman brining up luggage and knocking on adjacent door. After hours of noise called front desk around 4.30am. Becuase of this I would not stay again at this hotel.

I have stayed at Westin Essexhouse Parkview room and Westin Times Square Executive room... W Union Square is much better than these two hotels. The staff is very kind and very professional and very helpful. The location is just great. The room is incredibly large and clean and modern. The bed and bathroom are much higher than NY standards. I have no idea why people complain. But there's one thing to be aware of. People who hate dogs shouldn't stay. I'm sure you'll see it more than once at your stay. Except that, I will go back to this hotel for sure.