Need help deciding about NYC Hotel
 

Hello! We are planning a trip to New York in February and are down to choosing between 3 hotels. Would love some opinions of these:

Casablanca Hotel (lots of hype on the #1 spot given by TripAdvisor, but the rooms don't look that great on their candid photos)

Sofitel New York

New York Palace Hotel

All of the above hotels have rates in February around $300 or so per night, which is in our budget. Thanks in advance!

You've picked very well so it's a hard choice. I personally don't think the Casablanca is nearly as nice as the other 2, but they do offer free continental breakfast and free afternoon wine and cheese. The Palace is the most elegant with very dramatic public spaces. If you're planning on seeing a lot of shows, the Casablanca and the Sofitel are closer to the theaters. I'd probably chose either the Palace or the Sofitel.

okay, this is not a very informed reply as I have not stayed at these hotels, but the number one ranking on TA does not mean it is the best or nicest hotel in the city. It is not a quality ranking, it is just the subjective experiences of the posters, and sometimes hotels that are good values rank higher than hotels which are much nicer, no matter the city.

Another thing to keep in mind is that taxes and fees for NYC hotel rooms runs around 15.5%. So if your budget is $300 per night, you'd need to tack on another $45 bringin your room total to $345. So don't know if your budget is before or after taxes but just wanted to point that out.

Thanks to all for your replies. I sometimes get wrapped up in the ratings on hotels (a few years ago, the Paramount was getting all the buzz - we stayed there and were really not impressed), and I agree the #1 rating is not based on luxury, amenities, etc. I guess I just want it all for a great price...

And yes, I'm trying to stay under $350 per night including taxes, so I've been looking at $300 per night.

Thanks again - your help is greatly appreciated.

I don't know about casablanca hotel, but I've been to the other two (Sofitel and Palace) and although both are great hotels the Palace is better (IMHO) Sofitel is nearer theatres but is a 4* superior and Palace is near Saks and st patrick's and is a 5*...if you get the same rate I'd go for the Palace which is usually more expensive and 300$ is an EXCELLENT price!!!

Friends of mine stayed at the Casablance recently. They felt it was a good step down from their usuals like the Michelangelo, Millenium, and the Marriott Marquis, but they wanted to save money. They liked it fine, but would never again take the standard room which was TINY. The next price up was considerably larger. They were able to switch to the larger one the second day for an additional price and were glad they did.

I have stayed at the Palace, requesting and getting a northwest corner room at no additional charge and it was HUGE. Very nice. For the same price, I'd take the Palace over the Casablanca in a heartbeat.

Hi - I can't really help on New York, as I only found your post because I'm looking for a place to stay in NYC myself.

But I have to warn you to ignore Trip Advisor. Many of the reviews are fake. And this is how bad they are.

A couple of years ago, I was going to Glasgow for Dinner at Devonshire Gardens - one of the nicest hotels in the city. I think it's a five star.

But, I read many reviews on Trip Advisor - not just a few, but a lot that claimed a small boutique hotel down the road was a fantastic place to stay. Much nicer than Devonshire Gardens, but at a fraction of the price.

Well, because there was so many reviews, I really thought it must be the place to stay.

We arrived late at night, or I would have looked elsewhere. The so called boutique hotel wasn't a hotel at all. It was some crummy guest house.

This is how bad it was - there wasn't even a real reception. We hung round in the hallway for a while, and we were eventually greeted by a scruffy rastafarian with a cigarette in his mouth.

The place was a complete dump, and nobody on this planet could have been foolish enough to believe it was even in the same league as Devonshire Gardens.

So we had a beautiful meal in lovely surroundings and wound up staying in a dump thanks to Trip Advisor. I would never trust their reviews again.

I agree that you should be careful with TripAdvisor, but I've generally found them very useful and the reviews are generally a good indication. (Particularly, I like to look at their photos!). I usually have a look on Yahoo reviews too, just to check.

There is a hotel in Estes Park which is high up in the rankings, with loads of reviews. Turns out (one of the reviewers gave the game away!) that the owners give out flyers with 'give us a good review on TripAdviser' on them, as they leave. Nothing wrong with that - but it's a bit tacky and it put me off staying at that particular hotel.

I hope the reviews of Affinia Dumont are right!! :)

Just a comment about hotels and tripadvisor...
I stayed last summer at the top rated hotel in Florence on trip advisor and was absolutely delighted in every way with the hotel. Because I was meeting my son in Florence after his college study abroad program, I wound up staying in a single room and then later in a suite that accommodated both of us ~ both rooms were equally impressive for their respective prices.

On Block Island, RI, where I am extremely familiar with almost all the hotels, I have yet to read a review on tripadvisor that was not "right on." The top hotel on the island is consistently described by tripadvisor posters as providing nice accommodations at very expensive prices and the posters usually add that everything is very expensive on the island anyway, all of which is true.

Without disagreeing with the previous posters whose experiences are theirs and theirs alone, I did want to add my own perspective.

I do think New York hotels are in a league all their own. That's why I like to take MetroNorth trains from Connecticut. The last one leaves NYC for New Haven about 1 am... better to take the train to Connecticut and drive hours after that to get home to your own bed than to spend a fortune in New York City just for a night. I don't know what I would do if I lived further away!

Jane

Without getting into a big debate, I 'll just say I'd pay less attention to the numerical "ranking" of hotels (this is totally spurious) on tripadvisor but would certainly look at reviews and very important--"candid travelers photos" which tell an accurate story.

I stayed at the Sofitel this past March and really loved it. I can't compare it with the others, but I can say it's a fantastic place to stay. Our room was large, even by NYC standards, with the most heavenly queen bed I have ever slept in (as a new mom, that bed meant a lot to me:). The bathroom was also large, with a big shower and separate tub and nice sized vanity. I really was amazed at the size of the room. The last NYC hotel we'd stayed in was like a closet.

The location is excellent as well--so close to theaters and many, many restaurants. We were in town for a quick 3 day trip and walked everywhere we wanted to go b/c we were in such a convienant location (granted, we were not trying to see and do everything in the city, which would have required more transportation methods than our feet!).

My husband gave the trip to me as a Christmas gift last year and picked the Sofitel based on tripadvisor reviews. We have generally had good luck with the reviews on tripadvisor but tend to go by what the various people write about the hotels, as opposed to just the ranking. Good luck wtih planning; it sounds like you'll end up with a nice hotel no matter which you go with.

I've stayed at the Casablanca, as well as at the Marriot Marquis. The Marriot had nicer rooms (newer furnishings, better a/c), but impersonal service. The Casablanca had better service and as long as you don't get the smallest room, the room is fine. Plus they had mini-bars, which Marriot didn't, so you could store snacks there. Plus they have the lounge on the second floor with the free breakfast, etc... which is a great place to meet up when you stay with many people. I'd stay there again, and looking at the room rates, I couldn't afford the Marriot.

I'm not related to this hotel in any professional way, but I've had some great experiences recently at the Loews Regency. Plus they have a terrific gym.

I priceline hotels and have gotten some wonderful deals. I have also booked directly after looking places up on the net. NYC has so many hotels that finding one is not that hard. It depends where you want to be, what you want from a hotel and what you want to spend. It is possible to get reasonable rates - under $150 - for a good 4 star hotel in a central location. It just needs a bit of work.