Hotel New York

It’s an amazing historic building, once the headquarters of HAL - Holland Amerika Lijn, and you can sense that past in the hall and in the rooms. We spent one night there. Service was great, even though we didn’t have any special requests, and breakfast was nice with a good mix of options.

Rotterdam is a lovely city, and our stay was wonderful. Hotel New York has a classic feel that takes you straight back to the 40ties. Our tower room had a great view, and we enjoyed a blizzard and a good glass of wine.

The hotel has a fabulous location and a fascinating history, but it doesn’t feel like it has been developed well as a 4 star hotel. After looking forward to staying at Hotel New York for years, we found the experience disappointing. It seems unsure what it wants to be. The historic building is interesting, but the bar and restaurant appear to be the main focus, taking the prime spot at the front. They’re busy and noisy, which made it a poor setting for a relaxing birthday dinner. You approach from the rear, where the entrance is tucked into a corner and poorly signposted. There were weeds around the paving, and several steps up to reception make access difficult for anyone with impaired mobility. I couldn’t find this mentioned on the website, and nobody told me when I asked about access before booking. There was no porter, and only one luggage trolley, which wasn’t much use with so many stairs. Many rooms are reached by stairs, and ours had two steps inside. We cut our stay short because getting around was distressing for my Wife, who has impaired mobility. There’s no hotel parking, though there’s an excellent private garage next door. It needs to be booked and cost us 54 Euro for two days. The room itself didn’t meet 4 star standards, with no fridge, no USB charging points, and no power sockets that were easy to reach. The bedside light switches were a long stretch from the bed. The bathroom had been modernised and was very good, but the room could have used the same kind of makeover. Dinner was very good, but the noise and bustle spoiled the meal. It felt more like a city centre bar than a 4 star restaurant. Breakfast was nothing special, and the breakfast staff seemed like they didn’t want to be there. The hotel’s developers should look at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool to see how well an old historic building can be developed. If we hadn’t had such an excellent stay at the Delft WestCord hotel, I’d avoid this company in future.

The building’s historical feel is pleasant, and the view over the river Maas is amazing if you book that side. Rooms are nice and clean, although I found the textured surface at the front of the toilet unpleasant. The bed pillows were horrible for me. At check-in, two young women had a bit of an attitude. They weren’t extremely unfriendly, but came across as bitchy when giving information and answering questions, which isn’t what I’d expect from a hotel like this. Later we got a call asking if we wanted to pay extra for an upgrade, and they asked why we were staying. We said it was our honeymoon, and they took note but didn’t do anything with that. They didn’t have to, but a little extra attention would have been appreciated. Breakfast is expensive but good. Ask the kitchen for an omelette, it was the best one I’ve ever had. Parking costs 35 euros per day. There are plenty of things that could be improved, even though there was a lot that was good.