My husband and I are going to NYC with another couple in September (we're in our 30's). We have reservations at the Hudson, but we are reconsidering because of the reviews on room size. I hear that Hotel W is a great place to stay, but are all of them good or only certain locations. We are wanting to stay somewhere in the Thtr district, midtown, central park south area. Thanks

I stayed at the W in Seattle and thought it was a very cool hotel and the standard room was great.

I live in NY and haven't stayed at the W. (I have hit the bar at 23rd and Lexington, though.)

With the excpetion of the one on 23rd St., they are all in Midtown.

The one on 39th St. is in the least interesting neighborhood, i.e. having the ability to walk outside and immediately find something to do.

23rd St. is fine except if you want to be close to Times Sq., you'll need to subway or cab it. (Although, it is a short walk to Gramercy Park and the Union Sq.)

The Times Sq. and Lexington location are both fairly centrally located.

I think the W's are great. If room size is an issue, I'd make my decision based on whihc one has the largest standard size room.

I called the W New York. Their rooms are 200 sq. ft. But you may want to check the other W's. They are more expensive, but from what I hear the rooms are much more spacious.

Also, if you have a good, fast internet connection, you can get a virutal tour of all the facilities in the hotel (including the rooms) at the w hotels website.

I live in NY, but have stayed at the W on 39th Street. The room was tiny. There is a new W at Union Square, great location. The best of all the W Hotels. I really like the Hudson too. Have never seen the rooms, but has cool space and very hip. Hope this helps.

We stayed at the W Union Sqaure last Memorial Day. Rooms were nice size. Staff was very helpful. Rates are a little lower. Have not heard many good things about W New York. Since the W concept is a knockoff of Ian Schrager's Hudson, it might be interesting to stay at the original high end, spartan hotel.

We stayed at the W Tuscany last January. The room was quite large, 475 sq. ft and nicely decorated, but the lobby was almost non-existant! Just a small, stark room with a small front desk and a modular sofa with seating for maybe 6 people. At $250/night I was not impressed. We had a drink at the W Union square though and the lobby was big and much more "happening". I would chose that one over the uscany.

We stayed at the Hudson in January. Yes the room is small. We upgraded to a room with a Queen and it still was small but this was not a problem. It is built on a cruise ship model in that you are not going to spend a lot of time in the room but in the public spaces.
We loved the hotel. The rooms were well appointed and imaginitive in their decoration. It was efficiently laid out and we did not notice anything that was missing. It had a curtain instead of a closet door but this was more efficient on space.

The hotel itself is located ideally and the only problem we had was that it is also one of the hot nightspots in town and there were people hanging out everywhere in the lobby (all in their 20s and 30s). We got into the bar just by showing our room key.

My advice is if you are planning on lounging in your room all day, stay somewhere else. If you want a unique and great experience, stay at the Hudson. We will stay there again our next trip to NYC.

Good Luck

ps. I have never stayed at a W so I cannot compare them.

Do NOT stay at Hudson. What a dump! I stayed there in December. As well as 6 other people I worked with. We ALL had problems. First of all, the Hallways are very dark and narrow. Nobody is walking them and being a female I felt quite scared. Second, the phone didn't work correctly. I couldn't get my messages. I called the front desk, they sent a technician up and he couldn't fix the phone. Third, in the process of that, the manager phoned me to ask about my stay and I told him how horrible it has been and he said, well I'm calling because your heater is leaking to the room below. I had the technician working on the phone, the man working on the heater and then the lock man putting in a lock, because they had not put one in that worked! This was a NIGHMARE of a place! Oh and where did I stand when I had FOUR workers in my room? ON the bed, because there was nowhere else to stand. The bathroom? well, I'm 5'3'' and my knees hit the wall when I sat on the toilet! Forget using the shower if you are fat. You WON't fit. My bosses room had wet towels in the tub when he checked in. Then the next day he ate breakfast in there dining room. In his $19 omelet were big broken egg shells and bits from a METAL SCRUB PAD! Next person found syringes in his room. I won't continue, but you are crazy if you stay there.

I stayed at the Hudson last December and had a great time. TINY room yes, but the close quarters and "exhibitionists dream" shower (that big fat me had no problem fitting in) and the condoms in the mini bar had my friend dub it the "sex suite"! I spent most of my time time curled up in front of the huge fireplace in the "Library" or falling off the "log" in the bar anyway. The location is prime and the staff was friendly and helpful during my stay! On the other hand, I hear there's a great spa at the Dubya.

I've stayed for multiple nights at both the Hudson and the W on Lexington, and I would definitely recommend the W. Both hotels have beautifully appointed rooms and both are very hip, but I think the overall experience is better at the W.

The Hudson is the only hotel I've ever felt cramped and uncomfortable in. It's crossed the line between being 'intimate' and just plain tiny. I second the comment about the bathrooms--literally bumped my knees on the wall. The staff was aloof to the point of being annoying, and couldn't perform the most basic business traveler services. There was no robe, one beautiful but very uncomfortable metal chair, and not enough closet space for one person. I can't imagine having 2 people in that room.

I happened to love the W. My room was relatively small, but the bed and the Aveda toiletries and the lovely robe and the great shower and the helpful staff made it an enjoyable stay. I will never stay at the Hudson again, but am going back to the W next month.

Stayed at the Hudson last Fall on business. Stayed there only because my regular favorite was booked due to Subway Series. Was miserable. Bailed after two nights. It's a penitentiary for club kids. Rooms were so small they were non functional. Couldn't actual fit into bathroom. (I'm 6'1") Loction isn't even so great. Avoid. Stay downtown. (Soho Grand is great.) Mayflower is shabby but if you get a suite and a view, you won't feel ripped off.

Stay in the W Union Square area, not midtown. Everyone wants to stay in midtown when they visit but it is tourist hell. Do yourself a favor and stay in a "real" New York neighborhood.

Marlena

Just returned from the Hudson this weekend. I agree the rooms are small; however I'm not sure that my room was one of the smallest ones, simply b/c I noticed that I wasn't crashing into the bed as I walked in, and my bathroom actually had a door, so probably got lucky. Anyways, we ( me and my husband) got a great deal $150, and couldn't complain too much. It is really close to central park, which is what we wanted, subways are everywhere anyways so who cares where you are staying, and it's a nice hip experience when you enter the hotel. But I have to agree, the halls look like a jail--gray with dirty gray carpets; otherwise everything else was pretty clean..Oh and by the way, the Hudson Bar is pretty cool to hang out in a group, which unfortunately we were just us, and felt that we were taking up space so we left after about an hour of people-watching and drinking.