Holiday Inn Express New York - Manhattan West Side by IHG

I’ve stayed here twice for work, and both visits were miserable. The hotel seems to attract rude tourists from Europe who make a lot of noise and don’t consider other guests. They slam doors and yell and laugh in the halls late at night and at 7am. Then people wonder why Americans get called rude and loud around the world. Breakfast starts at 6:30am, but the small dining area is already packed before it opens, with people getting in the staff’s way as they set out food. Once the lights signal breakfast is on, it’s a crush. People don’t line up or leave personal space. They crowd behind you, reach across you, bump into you, and approach the buffet from both sides. I’ve had people push in while I was using the juice dispenser. The “content creators” filming the spread also take up time and space, as if Dannon yogurt cups and powdered egg omelets with Kraft Singles were some rare feast. The rooms are clean, but small, as you’d expect from an economy hotel in Manhattan. The beds are rock hard, and I’m lucky to get three hours of sleep. My company pays, but I’ll refuse to stay here again even if I have to pay for somewhere else myself. I need to be able to function at work.

The rooms were clean and suited our family of four, including two kids under 6, who spent most days out exploring NYC. Breakfast was included, and there are several playgrounds nearby. The neighborhood felt very safe. For the price and location, it’s hard to beat in NYC. I’d definitely stay again if I could get the same rate.

Some of the staff were kind, friendly, and helpful, and the breakfast had a decent variety. But the hotel felt stuffy in places because the ventilation was poor. The elevators were painfully slow. Guests and employees often took the stairs because the waits could reach 15 minutes, and we saw them stop unexpectedly while people were inside, which was worrying. We also saw a supervisor named Camila, or someone with a similar name, treat some team members poorly. She seemed polite and professional to guests, smiling and offering help, but her interactions with certain employees left us with a bad impression. If saving money is your main concern, you could consider this hotel, but expect these hassles. We found the overall stay disappointing enough that we wouldn’t return.

The stay was great overall, but we had a couple of problems. The front desk put us in a room that already had someone in it, and the hotel’s only two elevators couldn’t keep up with the guests. The waits were so long.