Another blog post from Mr. Deals….
Typically I’m not one to dive deep into reviews of the hotels I stay in on my work trips. I mean there’s not a whole lot interesting about the various Four Points around NYC and when I can get a decent price on a W or Westin, the experience is generally the same no matter where it is.
Recently, I had the opportunity (really it was all I could find) to stay at the Hotel Americano. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m loyal to Starwood (and I guess now Marriott, maybe?) and only need 2 more Starwood stays to lock in my Platinum status for the year – and then try to figure out what to do next year since the new program is royally screwing me.
The Hotel Americano is located a stone’s throw from the NYC Highline, which is an old elevated subway track that was converted to a pedestrian walking path, loaded with sitting areas, greenery and in some areas some unique vendors. It’s a very cool walk if you are there during nice weather. The hotel itself is what I would call one that attracts the hipster type (not me at all). I definitely didn’t feel cool enough walking into that lobby. And I’ve heard there is a great roof deck, but this dad with 2 kids definitely was going to bed early.
First off, they give you an actual key (more on that another time). I was totally thrown off by that. I wanted my key card. As you’ll see in the video below, it took me about 10 seconds fumbling with that key before I could get in the room. This shouldn’t have been that difficult given that I use a key to get into my house on a daily basis.
Lets talk about the room. Notice anything? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. How am I supposed to get any work done on that desk?!?!
Seriously though, where’s the night stand? How about a lamp next to the bed that’s not floating from the ceiling with no switch in arms reach while I’m in bed.
And if you do figure out which switch belongs to that light, kudos to you, because you probably turned something else on or off in the process of figuring that out. For context, I finally figured out that a couple of those control the shades. That was a 10 minute discovery effort so I could finally get it dark enough in the room to sleep.
Oh and did you notice that there’s 2 phones. That retro looking thing on the desk and no more than 4 feet away one hanging on the wall next to the switches! A little bit of overkill there. I suppose it could be useful for a conference call.
And finally, this was my favorite part. The “do not disturb” door hanging thingy. It was basically a thick piece of felt with no writing on it. You could barely get it off the interior door handle to move it to the exterior. Maybe it was just there for piece of mind, I don’t know.
At the end of the day, this place wasn’t all that bad. The bed was comfortable (even if it was super low on the floor), the room was quiet and they gave me a nice huge glass bottle of Evian when I walked in. If you want to be close to the Highline, or work or pleasure brings you to the far west side of Chelsea in Manhattan, this is a decent option (as long as you are single or a couple – this place is not kid friendly).
Will I stay there again? I don’t know. Probably because I am a sucker for Starwood properties and still need a few more nights for status this year.
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That hotel has always seemed way over priced to me. Hood to hear that you liked it.
Funny review, yet informative! I’ve stayed at this hotel once and had some similar feelings about it. Big overall, it was fine. The best part of my stay here was breakfast in their restaurant. Did you select that as your platinum amenity? Great coffee!
“But overall, ..,,” (typo)
You’re in good company, since every Starwood Platinum is getting royally screwed by Marriott. It’s super weird, really, since the really early stages of consolidation showed so much thought and promise.
As to the review, don’t you know that hipsters don’t need nightstands, since they sleep with their phones in their beds? As to the desk, these selfsame hipsters go to the public area to work and see/be seen, which covers both social and business requirements in one fell swoop.