Candy Hill Harlem

Ruth and her mother were so friendly and sweet. When I arrived after midnight, Ruth was expecting me with a key. The front door was unlocked, and I could get their attention by knocking on the glass door downstairs. Her mother even offered me a spinach or ham omelet in the morning. Nothing fancy, but it was tasty and nice. I stayed in the queen malka room, which was beautiful, and the place is easy to access, in a nice neighborhood, and cheaper than most hotels. What a gem.

The rooms are cozy and make a nice place to retreat, though probably not the highlight of your trip. The hotel has a distinct pro-black theme, with rooms named after different black entertainers, and a lot of charm. The owner was very kind, too. She called before our trip because of a storm in NY and wanted to make sure things were okay, saying she didn't want to charge us if the weather stopped us from coming. It's near train stations and within walking distance of great restaurants. Just know the rooms are on the second through fourth floors, and the only way up is the stairs.

For $1,000 for five nights, I got a room where the toilet was so close to the sink that it wouldn't flush. There was no toilet paper or hair dryer, and the tub had some kind of wood inside it to stop a leak. Lovely, right? This place really sucks.

The old building creaks, but it does have some charm. The room could've been cleaner, and they wouldn't take credit cards. There wasn't even a sign on the building, so our taxi driver wasn't sure we had reached the right place.