New York Palace Hotel

I have been fortunate enough to stay here several times, on business. This hotel is located near 5th Avenue, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and is right across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral. Most importantly, it is 1-1/2 blocks away from Crumbs Bakery :-). I know, different plug, but I had to mention it, they have the cutest cupcakes.

What I like about this hotel is that they have kept the original portion, built in 1882, and then bult the newer 55-story portion around it. It's nice to me when historical buildings such as these are preserved. Inside the hotel it is old-world style elegance and opulence. It has a warm and cozy feeling. The rooms are quite nice, elegant and warm too.

My experience with the staff has always been pleasant for the most part. The front desk staff tended to be lukewarm - maybe they are tired from the non-stop onslaught of customer service. But everyone else has always been polite, friendly and helpful to me.

When I stayed there, Gossip Girl and many other movies/shows were being filmed, so I'd always see camera crews, stars and trucks all around, which was kind of fun, even though I didn't know who the stars were. :-P

The hotel does not have a pool, which surprised me. Their gym is nice though, overlooking the city, with many workout machines, weights and various related paraphernalia.

The hotel does not carry soy milk either, which also surprised me, since it's a 5-star international hotel. The restaurant downstairs, Istana, located by one of the entryways to the hotel, is quite nice, pleasant, has delicious food and great service. Since they are near the door, and they have events there sometimes, there is always something going on.

If you are not staying there, pop in for a stroll and have a quick visit. It's worth a quick, short jaunt.

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2011 Update - I had to update my review as I was not so enthused with the hotel as I have been in the past. The night I got there, unbeknownst to me, they had shut off the water for maintenance. Now, I cannot fault them for doing repairs, so that does not necessarily fall under a complaint, but it was the start of my stay that continued to be not-so-5-star.

The heater in my room did not work, and I was there in the winter, so it was a touch chilly in the room. They never did fix it so I just wore a lot of clothes. The radio did not work, so I had them repair that. The drain in the tub would not drain, so I was taking a shower in 3 inches of water everyday. Since I was there on business, and was tired from running around and already requesting all the other repairs, I just did not bother requesting the drain be fixed. I lost energy on it.

My towels were changed in weird ways. One day I had no bath mat, fine. The next I did, but none of the washcloths were replaced...OK. The Travel magazine in the room was taken and not replaced, so I was bummed because I was reading an article. I just thought, "Oh, forget it. I'm too tired."

All in all, these are not big issues, but cumulatively they made for a weird stay. Since my company pays for it I am just grateful to be there, but for the money they charge, I think it should have been better, and would definitely be upset if I WERE paying the bill.

So, just wanted to provide two sides to staying at The Palace. No place is perfect, and sometimes...that's just the way it is. ;-)

The price is average to expensive, just depending on how much you usually spend and how well you know New York City. Seems like all good to great accomodations will be around the same as the Palace.

First let me say, the service is the best I have had in years. You get the Ritz-Carlton feeling and bigger rooms. There really isn't a bad room in the house, my favorite while staying there was facing the cathedral. I was able to take some great shots from my window. From my window I could also see Rockefeller Center.

I had central park that was close by.....remember to buy some hot nuts while at the park. My favorite were the almonds.

The staff at the palace were well mannered and very polite, no request seemed to be to big.

If you have any questions, please ask. I really won't stay anywhere else in the city now that I have found the palace.....