The Lucerne Hotel

Jessie Huang

We had a terrible experience with Hotel Lucerne. We arrived after a long trip with our toddler only to find out that the hotel canceled our 3-night reservation without confirming with us, charged us a 1-night fee, and sold our room to someone else. The day before our trip, we called the hotel to ask about possibility for free cancelation or rescheduling because we had some issues with booking our train tickets. They told us to handle it through Booking.com. I submitted a free cancellation request through the app, which the hotel declined and suggested having booking.com contact them directly. The 3rd party then contacted them and clarified even if we rescheduled the trip to 2 days later, we would still be charged 1 night penalty for the short notice. Given that, we decided to drive there instead of taking the train since the one night fee is $400+ dollars. Note, the 3-day reservation remained active in my app the entire time. When we arrived, the front desk told us our reservation was canceled and “there’s nothing we can do”. They also had charged the 1-night penalty, and sold our room to someone else. Only after I escalated and pushed back they refunded us the 1-night charge. They were fully booked and couldn’t give us any type of rooms for 3-day. Btw, they also don’t handle reservations anymore at the front desk and encouraged us to go to their website(I guess this is the new way of hotel work - cannot reserve rooms for you at the front desk). I did go to their website. It only had one room for one night, nothing for 3 nights. We ended up loading everything back into the car and scrambling to find another hotel last minute - not fun after long driving with a toddler. I can’t comment on the rooms because we never got one, but based on how poorly they communicate and treat guests, I would not recommend this hotel.

燃烧的饺子

It has been years since our last trip to New York. I believe this hotel provides great accommodation. The location is ideal if you like upper west side. It is easy walk to almost every where. The staff is professional and helpful. I reported the water fountain and water was refilled almost immediately. Our room is quiet, clean and large enough. One thing a bit of odd is the water pressure and it makes quite noise when it through the pipe. I will sure stay in this establishment if is available next time in New York.

Mary McDonald

Fantastic place to stay! Location is perfect with lots of food options near by. It's charming at night. The room and service was top notch. The room felt more like a home and less like a cheesy hotel. Good place to stay if you are looking for something with character and charm.

Andrew Westphal

Had a great stay here while in the city for a wedding. The room was comfortable and staff were excellent. First time on the UWS and I will definitely be back. Short walk to American Museum of Natural History and Central Park, or take the subway anywhere else you want to go!

J K

We had a week-long reservation at this hotel, but due to severe weather, Montreal and New York airports were closed one day after another for two consecutive days (July 13–14). All flights were canceled, and we had no choice but to return to Switzerland. Throughout this ordeal, the front desk staff—especially David—was extremely kind and understanding. He reassured us that we wouldn’t be charged for the missed nights and encouraged us to keep in touch. When we finally had to cancel the entire stay, David again promised a full cancellation without fees, asking only for proof of flight cancellation, which we provided. However, we were later contacted by the manager, Edwin Ramos, who said the hotel would charge us for one night. After a detailed discussion, he agreed to refund us fully, which we appreciate. While his initial response was disappointing—especially the comment that “I will investigate and someone would need to be held responsible”—we’re glad that he ultimately chose the path of understanding and customer care. We hope this experience encourages him and the team to continue supporting staff who show empathy and flexibility in exceptional situations. David truly exemplified excellent service, and we hope his approach is valued and encouraged. Thank you again for the final resolution. The gesture meant a lot to our family after such a difficult journey.