The Empire Hotel

Ed Price

Great hotel, located on upper west side, near Lincoln Center. The staff here, from doormen, valet, front desk and managers, are very helpful and friendly. The rooms are small, but comfortable and the only issue we had was we couldn't turn the heat up. The view was nice, the housekeeping staff was excellent and we really enjoyed our stay. Pasquale was very helpful when we checked out, and was able to facilitate baggage storage while we walked around for 2 hours before leaving for the airport. The rooftop bar is nice, and is also enclosed in winter. Highly recommended.

Thomas Lucks

Great location for attending The Met. Beyond that, I cannot recommend this hotel. The front desk receptionist gave off a ‘I hate working here vibe.’ No friendly greeting, no chit chat, no smile. The room, number 808, not good. The a/c system was uncontrollable. Could either be on cold (and then after about 20 minutes, the fan started making a loud racket) or hot and steamy (literally eyeglass lens steamy) could not turn it off. (The second pic is the rusty a/c grill.) There were no seating chairs, no dresser, NO coffee pot (huge turn off.) the shower stall had a crack from one end to the other. This was a two night overstay for two and for $1200 I think better room accommodations would be in order. I rate this hotel below The W on Times Square (which was pretty bad itself.) I’ve been to literally 100s of hotels and can honestly say, this stacks up one of the worst.

Fiona Parker

The staff were friendly and helpful. We had a corner suite so plenty of space and a separate bedroom which was great as 4 of us sharing. The sofa bed was big, but pretty awful to sleep on as had a bit dip in the middle. Fortunately we were so exhausted after waking around the city all day, we didn’t notice too much. Our bathroom was very dated and the velour soft furniture quite stained. The iconic neon sign was never lit for our entire 4 nights. Also the rooftop bar is a separate establishment. There are no bathrooms or bar in the lobby. The gym was clean and well equipped. The pool was closed so didn’t get to see, can’t comment. Overall enjoyed our stay and suited our needs.

H

We had a pleasant stay. Staff were incredibly welcoming and service minded, we arrived early and was offered an early check in which was highly appreciated. The hotel is conveniently located and we walked almost everywhere. Make sure to check out the rooftop bar as well. Great views, cocktails and food. The staff there is also incredibly attentive and friendly. The only downside of things would be the rooms. They’re pretty outdated and could really use some work. However for the price you pay, this hotel was great.

Robyn “Robs” Travers-Leacock

I typically don’t leave reviews, but really felt it was necessary to share my feelings on our experience. The staff were wonderful, professional and friendly, however we were really disappointed with the rooms. We found cockroaches in our room two nights in a row which is just dreadful. Secondly, for $400 a night we thought we would have more amenities like water in our fridge, coffee makers and coffee in the rooms, softer bath towels and a newer room. For the price we paid surely coffee and water should be included. The door in the bathroom was eaten up and peeling at the bottom, and the shower curtain was so short that water got all over the floor of the bathroom. Just all around we feel for that price we needed a little more. Also, the heat in the bedroom didn’t work very well, it would work sometimes and other times not. Food at the Empire Rooftop is also very expensively priced. The noise at night is also not great, very noisy both outside and inside the hotel, you can hear your neighbors sneeze! I enjoyed the staff but the rooms weren’t great at all.