What I would have expected for HIE.

If you are looking for something similar to the UK this is not in the same league as most UK ones but we did feel safe here and with many NYC hotels being very expensive this was the best for our budget.

Basic room but with the biggest air conditioning unit strapped to the wall right in front of the window. Unable to see out as the view was obscured so didn’t bother to open the curtains but would have found it claustrophobic if had had to stay in the room during the day. But as we used the room as a base only it didn’t matter.

Staff were happy to look after our cases as we arrived early and on our last day we left them after checking out collecting them at the end of the day to fly home.

We had emailed them before travelling about leaving our cases before and at the end of our stay and they were very quick to respond to us. So it was good to know we could do this before we arrived.

The room was clean but the bathroom door squeaked terribly and had to be propped open to stop it banging. We had a box of race tissues in the bathroom at the start of our stay but with only a few in the box they went quickly and were not replenished.

The room had a coffee machine which took pods. No kettle so we were not able to just boil some water to utilise our pre bought hot chocolate sachets.

Breakfast had a reasonable range of items lots of cakes and a pancake machine. It would have been nice to have had a bowl of freshly cut fruit but we only had a choice of bananas or apples. The hot choice for vegetarians was limited as on offer was a veggie omelette or a cheese omelette. Some baked beans or hash browns would have been nice. Despite this there was enough to eat.

Staff were always pleasant and offered us water each day which was much appreciated. This was one of the things that helped us have an enjoyable stay.

As an extra plus this hotel is situated very close to the local Metro so makes travelling uptown really easy!

We booked this hotel as part of the BA package deal. knowing that it was slightly cheaper than staying in Manhattan itself. But you do need a good hour to get anywhere downtown.
Most of the desk staff were pleasant and friendly, some of the breakfast and cleaners were a bit rude and not forthcoming.
The breakfast is good although as a vegan my options were very limited and I had to bring in my own milk because they said they would not provide vegan milk.

We were in the basement which was a shame as we had no views but the room had been renovated a bit- the bed was incredible! But still the hotel could do with a lick of paint and a refresh.

Overall it was fine for us to just sleep in and then get up and go into the Big City, it very much is a Holiday Inn Express so expect it to be like one!