Hi, my wife and I intend to visit New York from Australia for a week in September. Thinking of staying at Essex House on 160 Central Park South. Has anybody stayed there - what are your thoughts ? Is the location central to all the sites in New York ? Can you recommed any other hotels in the same price bracket ?

Hi, I can't help you since I've never been, but we are planning on going in September too. What is your rate/room? We got a parkview king room for $190/night. I've heard good and not so good, but for the price and the level of hotel it is, I took it!

Not sure about the hotel but the location is wonderful. Central Park South is centrally located to a lot of things, Museum Mile, Times Square, subways, MoMA, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, Carnegie Hall, FAO Schwartz, serious upscale shopping, etc.

My husband and I stayed at the Essex House a few years ago and absolutely loved it. The room was very well appointed (a bit on the small side ) and the location can't be beat! I'd stay there again in an instant. Have a great time.

Thanks for all the good information.

Mag where did you find the deal $190 deal for the king size room, it sounds like a very good one. Best I’ve been able to find is about $190 for a queen size with no view directly from the Starwood site.

I tend to agree with you about the hotel – heard good and bad, but the location and price is pretty hard to beat.

Robert,
We got the low rate using the Starwood "best rate guarantee" details at their website.
First, we checked the quickbook.com site to see what they were offering for our dates. They had a parkview king for $219/$209(for the weekend nights, we are staying Thurs.-Sun.). I printed the screen that detailed this info. Then we went to Westin.com and booked the same type of room (parkview king) ONLINE. You must book online through starwood for this deal. Then, within 24 hours you must send in the claim form from starwood.com and the quickbook screen printout, and usually within 2 hours or so they will reply to your claim to let you know if you qualify for the deal. If you do, they will beat the lower price by 10%.
Make sure you have all the info before you reserve at westin.com because you must send in the claim form within 24 hours and they are very particular about the room types matching. I had to try 2 times to get the price match but it was worth it, as I am saving over $150 compared to starwood's best price!
If you have any questions let me know before you reserve anything.
Good luck!
If you don't want to go through the trouble, you can still book through quickbook.com and probably still get a better rate than starwood is offering.

Thanks Mag,

I had a look at quikbook, the starwood site is now matching their price to the cent.

The price for the Essex is still very good compared to the prices of other similar hotels in the area.

Thanks and regards

Rob

You may want to check out the website www.newyork.citysearch.com as it offers traveller's reviews of hotels in NYC. The Essex House has quite a few complaints - esp. about the service.

If you do a search on this site for the Plaza Hotel, you'll find a thread where someone lists the 15 best hotels in NYC. Has some good suggestions for other hotel possibilities.

Enjoy your trip!

used to work for the company that owned the Essex. Stayed there a few times and love this hotel. Make sure you actually get a Park view because some of the rooms have windows that only look across to another wing. The view of Central Park can't be beat. Also great location. Wonderful art deco lobby. I think Dyan Cannon lives in the building.