The Empire Hotel

George Shepherd

My girlfriend and I had a wonderful stay for five days. The room was clean and everything worked. The daily cleaning of the room was perfect. The location is great, next to Lincoln Center and Central Park. We also enjoyed several evenings enjoying the rooftop bar, with great views. The staff were always friendly and professional. It was a great stay, and we look forward to returning.

Grace

One of the worst hotels I ever stayed at. The day we were checking out (check out is at 12PM, this happened around 10:30am) a male staff used a key and OPENED our door while I was naked. No knock, no call, nothing. Thank god my boyfriend has the safety lock on. Why on EARTH are staff entering guest room with female ???? The staff here are not trained in hospitality, most of them weren’t friendly minus one tall gentleman. The first room we got had a bad odor in the bathroom with hair still inside the sink and no way to open the curtains. We had to upgrade to a bigger room for a lot but couldn’t stay in that stinky room that was rusting. Their bathrooms also doesn’t have any way to filter air/the moisture. The pools are never cleaned, hair and debris floating around… there is no coffee here, even a motel 6 has coffee machines…. I legit thought i was at the worst motel in America for the price of a NYC 4 star hotel.

Lisa Dowling

I visit NYC 4-5x/yr. This property is a conveniently located UWS hotel, mere steps from Juilliard & Lincoln Center. Staff is “above & beyond” helpful & customer focused. The lobby is lovely, and WiFi is great! The downside: the rooms are TINY (tinier than most NYC hotels, honestly) but competitively priced for the area. Beds are decently comfortable and my room was clean. There has been an attempt to “update” the plumbing in the bathrooms, and it’s better than before BUT cheap fixtures so I doubt they’ll last long. Charging ports were adequate (located in the lamps) and functional. This property is vintage, and the rooms show their age in spite of paint, etc., to try to freshen them. My biggest issue was the AC—thermostat in my room read 67, and I could not change the fan nor the temp (controlled by the hotel). I FROZE all evening and no extra blankets in the room. The sound of the fan did drown out the city noise, tho—no sound machine needed, lol. The hallways, in contrast, were exceedingly warm. And the elevator is slow & noisy (tho it WAS functional and efficient). My take—I’d stay again if I just need a place to sleep/park my bags while in the city for a short visit. For longer than a night, or traveling with my spouse, I’ll likely hit up the roomier hotel offerings in Midtown or Columbus circle.

Alexandra Schick

The staff were friendly and welcoming, and the lobby is beautiful. However, the hotel is showing its age and the guest floors could use some updating. My room had peeling wallpaper, visible wear, and some stains. The shower also did not work properly—the rainfall shower would only function at the same time as the handheld shower. There is no phone in the room, so if you only have mobile data and need assistance, you'll need to go down to the front desk. The elevators also seemed quite dated, made some concerning noises, and further highlighted the hotel's age. That said, for the price I paid, I felt it was good value overall. I had a nice view, and the location is excellent—it's very easy to walk to many attractions. The pool was quite small and crowded with families when I visited, and the operating hours were very limited.

Bryan

Beautiful lobby, great location, but everything else was a letdown. The AC wasn't working when I checked in and the room was sitting at 77°F. I called the front desk and they said they'd send someone up - that never happened. I ended up calling three more times before they finally moved me to a different room. That whole experience pretty much set the tone for the stay. Every time I needed something, staff would promise to handle it and then just... not. Happened during a power outage, happened when I asked for ice. Also worth mentioning - no streaming on the TV whatsoever. Cable only, no Netflix, no Chromecast, no AirPlay. For what they charge per night that feels pretty inexcusable in 2024. The building itself has real charm and I understand why people book it. But charm only goes so far when you're sweating in your room waiting for a callback that never comes. For the price, I would not book it again.