Habana Inn

There was loud music outside until 2 or 3 in the morning. The room itself was run-down and very dated, with bathroom tiles coming off the wall. The shower pressure was strong, which was the one good thing, but the drain couldn’t keep up and the tub started filling. The shower head was so low, maybe not even five feet high, that I had to crouch under it. Don’t be fooled by the good reviews and high ratings. I’d avoid this independent flophouse and choose a major chain.

After more than 30 years of renting rooms here, I thought the new owners’ big changes might improve things. It’s worse than I’ve ever seen. We booked a king suite, but it wasn’t clean, and the furniture looked like it came from a garage sale. The price has gone way up, yet the place is still dirty. The sidewalks were stained, and the faux wood floor was so cold I had to keep shoes on. I couldn’t even get Door Dash to bring food to the room, and I’m now worried about our safety and our vehicle. There was no phone in the room, either. To reach the front desk, I had to look up the number and call from my cell, sit through the automated system, press 0, give my name and room number, then ask my question. No iron, ironing board, or blow dryer. The freezer was so frosted over I had to scrape it to fit my soda beside a bag of ice left by the previous guest. The TV wouldn’t connect to the Internet, and there were no HBO or other commercial-free channels.

I had a great time going out to the clubs. The bartender also suggested a really good drink.

The front desk person was as nice as could be and really tried to help, but they didn’t have much to work with. I knew what kind of place I was booking, yet each of the three rooms I was given was bad. The first was dirty, with hair in the tub, sticky carpet, no hot water, and a door that wouldn’t lock. The second also had no hot water, and the shower was just a pipe sticking out of the wall, with no shower head. In the last room, the TV was broken, the window was taped up, the tub had no stopper, and the shower head was dangling. By then I took it as a sign I wasn’t meant to stay. It’s ridiculous to charge $160 a night for so little beyond a spot in the 39th Street District. If you care more about clean rooms and amenities than location, don’t bother.