The Hotel Lucerne in New York
 

Did all of the research (tripadvisor, etc) and it seems that the Hotel Lucerne is a good hotel without any real problems. Anyone here stayed there?

Yes. If you do a search here on the name you'll find lots of people have (including me once). Bathrooms marble. There's at least one small room on each floor. Ask for a corner room which are the biggest. They also have one bedroom suites.

No Problems other than the small room possibility (which also doesn't have any view, faces an interior courtyard with views of other rooms).

We had a very nice stay at the Lucerne two years ago. I liked the proximity to Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. We ate often at Nice Matin, which can be entered right from the hotel lobby (and the blood orange martinis are delicious!) Our room, while not huge, was comfortable. It's not close to the theater district, but there is a subway stop nearby. It was not a problem for us to get anywhere we needed to go.

My family and I (total of four people) stayed for a weekend a couple of years back. The Lucerne was clean and fairly priced. We had a small suite, which was ample for all of us. The neighborhood is pleasant, essentially residential, within walking distance of the subway (C train on Central Park West to the east, the 1 train on Broadway to the west), Central Park itself, the Museum of Natural History, and the New-York Historical Society. The hotel is not in the middle of the tourist bustle of midtown, which is either a virtue (and it is just a short trip to essentially everything one might wish to see) or a negative (if you want Broadway and Times Square at your doorstep).

I'm also considering the Lucerne and have a question: I was told that the Lucerne was similar to the Excelsior. I haven't been to the Excelsior lately, but a few years ago I thought it was a little too, shall we say, bohemian? Could anyone compare the Lucerne to the Excelsior?

Not sure what you mean by Bohemian? Gypsies camped in the lobby?

I would never call the Lucerne Bohemian. But if you're looking for a very formal luxury hotel - the Lucerne is not it - but then neither is anything else in NYC at that price.

Also - the upper west side is not very formal/traditional either - it's very diverse, casuale and a real residential neighborhood.

Perhaps you want something much more "upper crusty" - maybe in the east 60's?

Okay, poor choice of words. :)

I lived on the Upper West Side for many years and understand its quirky qualities. What I didn't like about the Excelsior was that it was a bit too quirky: i.e., the service was sporadic and the housekeeping inconsistent.

So my question really is how would you compare the Lucerne to the Excelsior?

I probably shouldn't pitch in here because it's been so long since I stayed there (6 yrs.) but the Lucerne was not at all bohemian. It was elegant. I had a room that had a window (in both bdrm and bath) facing twds. central park (is that east?) and it was really lovely. We needed a large conference type room for a film interview and they hotel was soooo accomodating, letting us use its' top floor reception room. I thought the service (valet, desk, etc.) was very good and the food at their restaurant was really exceptional.

I agree that those interior rooms were a bit small but they were comfy.

The Lucerne was renovated with lots of marble (lobby, bathrooms) so looks quite smart. Only stayed for a night but there didn't seem to be anything quirky about it. I'll also add I think the Excelsior has been dramatically upgraded in the last 5 yrs or so.