Note: This is also posted with my reviews over on Yelp.
Overall Impression:
The Doubletree is a decent, functional option, especially if you're looking to avoid the suddenly all too common $700+ hotel night in Manhattan. They try pretty hard to make a strong first impression, but a few things on the follow through somewhat disappointed me.
Highlights / Lowlights:
What was great:
- The greeting. This could irk some people (including me) depending upon your mood upon arrival, but they have a greeter to say hi and guide you to the reception desk. Very Gap-like. And a bit odd since the reception desk is maybe 8 feet from where you meet the greeter. I took it as a nice gesture, though. Once checked in you get a warm cookie. It comes in a bag with a kind of hokey spiel about warm cookies mean warm hospitality or some such. Maybe a little corny, but it surprised me, I'll remember it, and the cookie was pretty good.
- The price. At $385 or so plus tax, it was more than $200 cheaper than many other options we usually try. When you're staying one night and going to be there for ~10 hours, there's almost no sense at all paying the extra $ unless you're a total princess.
What wasn't so great:
- Room service / room amenities. This is one of the two things that knocked Doubletree from being a really good value to being a relatively cheap and functional but disappointing experience. Room service hours are 7a - 10p. That hurts when you check in at 11p and want some coffee at 6a. No dice. Of course you can schlep to a Starbucks, but that isn't especially convenient. What's worse is that there is no in-room coffee set up either. I could deal without the room service if I at least had the option to make my own.
- Random note: They secure their irons to their ironing boards, as if iron theft is a big problem for them. I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or concerned, as they either feel I'm a threat to steal the iron or I'm staying in a hotel full of desperate petty criminals.
Scorecard:
Two Critical Questions
- Would I stay here again?
If I had to. Can't argue with the relative price. Would try to avoid them on trips where I need to get up early due to the unusual difficulty in securing caffeine.
- Was it a good value?
It was okay. If you aren't an early morning coffee freak like me, it might be a terrific value for you.
Essentials:
Bed - Fine, nothing fancy, but comfortable
Bathroom - Fine
Workspace - Pretty good
Amenities:
TV - Okay. Smallish, but flat screen.
The Internets - Good. Wired connection, reliable.
Room Service - Disappointing, limited hours
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