The New Yorker – A Wyndham Hotel
Let me start by saying that we thought that taking four children to New York City would be a challenge because it is largely geared towards adult tourists with its 24/7 culture. There are certainly lots of child-friendly activities to be found, but it’s not exactly Disney World! We also had a couple of reasons to feel nervous about accommodation because of a previous experience.
Before children, FunDad and I visited NYC as part of an east coast road trip. On that past trip, we had driven in from Boston, dropped off our hire car and walked to our accommodation close to Times Square. We loved that hotel’s location, which was two minutes’ walk to the hop-on-hop-off bus and all the excitement and activity that is Times Square. What we did not love so much was the size of our room for that stay. Yes, we were close to everything, but to make that happen we had to spend a small fortune to stay in a room the size of a shoebox!
On that 2007 trip, we met up with two friends who arrived a few days before us. They had booked into cheaper accommodation and found it so dirty that they had bought cleaning supplies to improve the situation. That didn’t work, so they moved over to our hotel, forfeiting some of their booking fee at the other hotel. This story made me extra nervous about taking our kids to NYC, because it’s not easy to find alternate accommodation at the last minute for six people (not to mention losing money on a booking), so I knew we’d be stuck with whatever I booked.
Miss Organised is interested in fashion, so NYC was on her list of ‘must visit’ locations for our trip. Despite our tiny hotel room, both FunDad and I had loved the city on our last trip, and thought it would be a great experience for the whole family.
We were going to be two weeks into a four-week holiday when we arrived in NYC. FunDad was keen to take a break from driving and we were coming into the city from Niagara Falls, so we decided to book an Amtrak journey between the two locations. More about that trip in another post, except to say that the train ride ended at Pennsylvania (Penn) Station, so I started looking in that area for accommodation. Here were my search criteria:
*Close to Penn Station for our arrival;
*One room for six people (while we do book two rooms and split the family sometimes, I felt this was important for both safety and price if we could make it happen);
*Walking distance to Times Square, the hop-on-hop-off bus and decent food options, so we weren’t paying for taxis;
*Rated as being clean and professional on review sites.
After trawling accommodation websites, we hit the jackpot with The New Yorker Hotel!
It looked almost too good to be true online. Beautiful art deco elegance located directly across the road from Penn Station. A suite for six which included two double beds and a double sofa bed. A diner downstairs and eateries in the surrounding blocks. One block from the hop-on-hop-off bus, and further down that same block, the Empire State Building. Great reviews. Reasonably priced when compared to other NYC accommodation (it’s an expensive city).
To add more pressure, FunDad’s parents were also coming into NYC while we were there and they decided to book at The New Yorker as well.
On the day of our arrival, our train was coming in just after 10 pm. I know that New York is the city that doesn’t sleep, but walking the streets with four children, two suitcases and hand luggage late at night worried me a bit. We arrived to a quiet Penn Station. When we got up to the street at the corner of 8th Ave and W33rd streets, however, it felt like chaos! It was our first experience with the crush of people in NYC. Thankfully we could see the hotel just one block away and we managed to herd the family and roll our suitcases across with no problems.
The girls loved the novelty of the revolving door of the hotel’s foyer, and the foyer turned out to be just beautiful. I let out a sigh of relief: The reality matched the pictures. We were still somewhat on west coast time, and the girls weren’t too tired, but after a long train ride and not much food, we were keen for a smooth check-in process. Thankfully, the reception and security staff made the process easy and we were soon on our way up in one of the many elevators heading to level 21.
Our room was a wonderfully pleasant surprise! It had a good-sized bedroom with two double beds and an ensuite bathroom (including a shower/tub combo). The main living room contained a double sofa bed, two sitting chairs, a coffee table, a desk and – the best surprise of all – a small kitchenette area along one wall. This room had another small bathroom connected to it with a sink and toilet - life saving for a large family getting ready at the same time! FunDad and I were blown away. We had enough space and everything was beautifully, luxuriously, art deco themed. I didn't get a photo before we opened our suitcases, so I've included a picture of a similar suite from the hotel's website for reference.
We ended up leaving the sofa bed set up the whole time because we still had plenty of space. This meant we didn’t have a couch, but the kids only watched TV on the beds in the bedroom once. After all, you don’t go to NYC to watch TV! We had picnics around the coffee table to eat occasionally and felt like it was very workable for a family of our size.
On our first night, we headed straight downstairs to the Tick Tock Diner, where we were able to get delicious food and milkshakes that arrived quickly and with a smile. We visited the diner more than once and their service was always top notch. It’s super fun with a retro theme and a large menu with options for everyone. Highly recommended!
Photo source: The New Yorker Hotel website
FunDad’s parents said their room was also very spacious, with a whole living area as well as a large bedroom. They didn’t get a kitchenette, so perhaps those rooms are reserved for families.
McDonald’s was right across the road for easy breakfasts and late night snacks after the kids were in bed. We found it totally achievable to walk to Times Square and back more than once. We also walked to the American Girl doll store, to a Broadway show and to the Empire State Building. For other trips, we walked to the hop-on-hop-off bus one block away and used that as a mode of transport. More on activities for kids in NYC another time. Suffice to say, we didn’t feel out of the action down on 8th Ave and felt like the extra space well and truly compensated for the extra walking we had to do.
The hotel concierge has an online service which is extremely responsive and we would highly recommend using it if needed. Be aware that you can’t decline housekeeping too many days in a row or they will demand to check your room anyway. We had this happen to us – our rooms tend to get a bit crowded as we settle in, so we often decline housekeeping unless we feel it’s really needed. Thankfully the staff member checking took one look at our daughters playing with their dolls and eating snacks and left straight away. In some ways, it made us feel even more secure, knowing that housekeeping was on top of everything.
If we had some criticisms, they were these:
1) There were no laundry facilities on site. The hotel laundry service was extremely expensive. Most people probably use the laundromats which can be found on almost every block. We just did hand washing as needed and this was fine for our five-day stay.
2) The rooms only have small bins (trash receptacles) and there didn’t seem to be rubbish chutes around. We took a small bag of rubbish with us to the nearest outside bin whenever we left the hotel to avoid it piling up.
3) Not all windows look out on the city skyline. Ours looked over the atrium of the building. It wasn’t a problem for us as we did sightseeing activities which gave us city views.
4) There is street noise. It’s unavoidable in NYC. The sirens and road work didn’t bother us, but if you or your children are light sleepers, it’s something to be aware of.
5) The walls are thin. This wasn’t a problem until our last night, when someone in the next room was practising singing late into the night. The four family members sleeping in the bedroom didn’t notice it at all, but I was on the sofa bed and it did keep me awake. I could have called reception to have them ask the person to be quiet, but I wouldn’t want to be the reason someone coming into town for a big audition missed out on practice, so I let it be. I chalked it up to another NYC experience! ;-)
SUMMARY:
Accommodation: The New Yorker Hotel
Best features:
Room size, décor, security, location, price, friendly staff, on site diner.
Features lacking:
Laundry facilities, rubbish/trash facilities.
FAVOURITES:
FunDad: Room size
TravelMum: Décor
Miss Organised: Location for everything
Cautious Adventurer: Tick Tock Diner
Easily Pleased & Staunchly Independent:
Proximity to the American Girl doll store
VISIT AGAIN?
Yes, if we were in NYC again, we would stay here.
Photo source: The New Yorker website
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