The Empire Hotel

Ali Naibzada

I was really looking forward to this trip and expected a fun NYC stay — unfortunately, this hotel was a huge disappointment from the start. The lobby looks fancy, but service at the door and check-in was not welcoming. When I first entered my room, the curtain fell off immediately, and the seats had burn stains. I tried calling the front desk five times with no answer, and I eventually had to go downstairs to get help. They upgraded us to a different room two floors up, which at first seemed fine — but the problems kept coming. The beds were very small and uncomfortable. I had to share with my mother, and I kept rolling off the bed, barely getting any sleep. The next day, the toilet clogged with literal waste still inside — it was disgusting and took an hour to get cleaned, leaving the entire room smelling horrible. The A/C and the entire room were extremely dusty, triggering my allergies. It was clear that housekeeping does not deep clean, only surface-level tidying. The pool was another disappointment: online photos show a large, relaxing pool with lounge chairs, but in reality, it was a tiny rectangular pool more suited for kids. I swam across it in seconds. I paid $1200 for this stay — money that felt completely wasted. The experience was worth maybe a budget motel price, not this. I’ve stayed in many hotels before, but never one with so many issues back-to-back. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and I honestly believe guests deserve partial refunds rather than just an apology.

Kenzi D

Overall an okay experience but personally won’t stay here again. Location is convenient for sure and the rooftop view is very cool and fun! I didn’t do the bar since I was with a child. Pool is insanely small so I wouldn’t bank on using it. The room definitely needs some work as you can see by the photos. Wallpaper peeling, water damage on ceiling it appears, horrible paint jobs and paint peeling. The hallways are extremely dark. Not sure what’s going on there. I do get that is probably just what comes with the price of the hotel though. Rooms were clean and the staff were friendly. Room was nice and cold even though it was very hot outside. The lobby always did smelled funky too.

Patrick D. Holman

The location of the Empire Hotel is excellent—right in the middle of everything. Unfortunately, the property itself feels very run down. Cleanliness and general upkeep are lacking, and the building shows its age everywhere you look. There are bare lights, mildew in places, bathrooms with unpleasant odors, and an overall lack of attention to detail. The décor has a cool, stylish concept, but it feels like the hotel stopped there without following through. Service is also disappointing: no coffee, no food options, and very little sense of hospitality. On the positive side, they do provide unlimited free bottled water, which is a nice touch. In short, while the location is a strong point, the condition of the hotel and the quality of the service leave a lot to be desired, especially at such a high price.

scott sitner

Seems to be the rooms are of scattered quality based on reviews. I had the smallest room but the interior view was actually a view over Broadway and quite nice. Yeah it’s tiny and could use a refresh but was functional. My ac worked great. Bath had rain shower. And yes was crazy tiny. Room was great for solo like me. No chair so only place to sit is bed. Hallways are stupidly dark like dangerous. Location is amazing. I usually stay midtown and won’t again so much more relaxing being in a neighborhood. Block from park. Less to subway Price was fair I book direct and they noted it Rooftop top bar was fun but I’d make it a drink and app not dinner

Delilah

Was really disappointed with our experience. Location & lobby were the only great things about our stay. Our blinds were broken so couldn’t get any lighting in our room. We walked in to no trash cans at all and empty hand soap. The toilet was ridiculous loud when flushing that it woke up my daughter if I used it in the middle of the night. Despite calling the front desk, the person brought up one small can with no bag for it. He replaced the bath soup but not the hand soup and didn’t bother trying to fix our blinds even though they said they would. We had no extra blankets or pillows. The bathroom had paint peeling and no vent for the steam. Also the elevators were broken half the time so we were waiting extra long for just one to work. Our key cards didn’t work twice and the desk said many people were having issues with them. Finally we went on the roof top deck only to find out we couldn’t sit and lounge unless we were using the restaurant. The way the website made it was like we had access. The host at the restaurant said their restaurant was considered separate from the hotel. The pool was very small and cold. The sun never hit it. There weren’t many seats available by the pool and only 4 or 5 had sun access. Also the pool closed by 7pm. The website is very misleading. I will not be staying here again unfortunately.