TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I'd like to know who the manager of this hotel is. He deserves a gold star. He or she has hired right and trained people even better. Everyone here has been very giving, kind and go out of their way to help. The hotel itself is nothing to brag about. My heat broke in my room, the phone wasn't working correctly and it's kind of worn to be honest. But all that doesn't matter when you have people like Roger who is the front desk manager and Jimmy, the bellman. These guys know how to treat customers. Congratulations to all. I look forward to my next day in New York at the Sheridan Times Square Hotel.

We arrived at this hotel on Friday, January 20th at 4pm to check in. There was a very long line and only three people checking people in. After a talk with the manager he claimed that as a “Union House” he could not get more agents to assist with check in. He also said that the same union rules prohibited him from helping. We waited one hour, forty-five minutes to check in. While checking in we were told the credit card machines were not working. We finally got to our room only to find out that our TV and phone also were not working. The lines for the elevator were long all weekend. At a minimum we waited 10 min for an elevator. When it was time to check out it was $5 PER ITEM for the hotel to hold them while we went sight seeing for a couple of hours.

Well I can only command Lazaro from concierge for being an absolute star, he is an asset to this hotel, I reached out to him before our visit to get ideas on what to do on NYE and he rung me and was so accommodating, helpful and we had a great night and stay in a lovely suite at the hotel for myself and my 20 years old son who had lots of his own space, everyone needs to go and see him if they have any requests or need help getting around NY! Unfortunately the same can’t be said for reception staff who were quite abrupt and unhelpful each time we went there and the bell person outside the hotel is a disgrace! We got told to go and ask for a taxi from the hotel to JFK Airport outside the hotel which we did, the gentleman only had to shout taxi, 3 people to JFC, the taxi was already in the road, we got in the waiting taxi and he put his head in the door n said “no tip today then” not sure what the tip would have been for but had no choice I felt and he still had his head in the door so gave him 10 dollars, he didn’t even say thanks very rude and not sure this should be happening! Also another disappointing factor in this hotel is having to pay 5 dollars each to store your baggage even as a paying customer, never had to do this in any hotel I’ve stayed in but unless you paid it you would have had to carry your luggage around with you all day, I think that’s so unnecessary!

I've stayed at this hotel many times prior to COVID, as the location is fantastic. However, my last stay in January 2023 is now my last stay. The bathroom was covered with black mold, see pictures. If black mold is visible externally, just imagime what is behind the walls. The bathroom did not have a fan, no wonder there was mold. The room smelled musty too, terrible pillows.

This property has a long history. In 1991 this hotel was renamed the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. The Towers were part of the Luxury Collection of Sheraton. The property was extensively renovated from 2011 to 2012. The name was changed to Sheraton New York Hotel in 2012 and later The Sheraton Times Square. During the last 10 years the hotel has been severely neglected. The hotel was sold to MCR Hotels in March 2022. Time has not been friendly to this once iconic property which was the flagship hotel of the Sheraton brand. Here it is the good and bad solely based on my stay. As a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite, I probably received better service than non-elite members which is frightening. At the time of reservation, I requested an early check-in of 2PM. I understand that this is based on availability. I also requested a 4PM check-out which is guaranteed to Platinum Elite guests. As instructed, I registered on the app to be notified when my room was ready. My advice is not to rely on that, or you will be waiting long past your check-out date to be notified. After not receiving notification, I decided to try the chat function, which although not accommodating did repeatedly tell me that Check-in time is at 4PM. Even at 4:10PM, I received that same message. So, I proceeded to the property. The line for check in was very long and the non-elite line moved faster than the elite line. However while waiting on line, that long line, I was notified that I had been upgraded to a Club King with lounge access: serving Complimentary breakfast and evening hors d'oeuvres. I should mention that the Club Lounge is still mentioned on the property website and app. However, apparently the Club Lounge, has been (permanently) closed since March 2020, as I was informed by the curt person at the front desk who checked me in. He also gave me incorrect serving hours for the Library Bar and the Hudson Market. Lastly, he did NOT notate my guaranteed 4PM check-out for being a Platinum Elite, and thus it was not registered in the system, I was shut out of my room at 12 noon and since no one ever answers the phone at the front desk, I had the choice of leaving or waiting on that endless line at the front desk to get a late check out. Note as others have mentioned, there is also a $30 daily “destination fee.” It can be applied to the food and beverage outlets in the property and apparently gives you other perks. I have yet to find out what those other perks are 5 days after checking out. This $30 is NOT really $30 because if you eat at the Library Bar (and I advise against it, the food is deplorable,) you are charged a $4.95 service charge (in addition to gratuity) and double taxes on that service charge, so you are getting a F&B credit of about $20. Service charge for room service is $10. So, my King Room with lounge access to a NON-EXISTENT lounge was much cleaner than I remember other rooms being on previous stays in the hotel. Many of the rooms on this “lounge-access” floor were occupied by flight crews. The positive aspects were that the room was decent sized (about 23sqm) for a Manhattan hotel, there were plenty of towels, the room had very good temperature regulation, the shower and water pressure were good. The downsides, in addition to the absence of the Club Lounge, was the absence of complimentary bottled water (as detailed on the website,) the absence of robes (as detailed on the website,) the absence of a minibar/fridge (as detailed on the website, the cabinet is apparently nailed shut,) the linens are not good; perhaps a 50/50 or 60/40 blend, the absence of evening turndown service (as detailed on the website,) the absence of an operational safe (as detailed on the website,) some dirt and paint chips on the floor, and the non-delivery of several personal care items which I had requested three times. This omission required me to make a visit to a local Duane Reade late in the evening. Again, as others have mentioned, no one answers the phone at the front desk. There is always a very long line at the reception desk. High Speed Internet Access might have been considered high speed at the time of the last renovation in 2012, it is not in 2023. As I have mentioned the property refused to honor my guaranteed 4PM check-out as a Bonvoy Platinum member. Just for information, although the website mentions a tub/shower combination, my room only had a shower, which was not an issue for me, but might be for others. Aside from everything I have just mentioned, there are 2 huge reasons why I would NOT return to this property. 1. Although there are hand sanitizing stations located throughout the property, NONE of them ever had hand sanitizer in them and all were flashing red lights indicating that they were out of product. 2. Safety: There is a complete lack of any type of security or restrictions to guest rooms in this property. I entered and exited this property past 11PM and there was no one restricting access to the building or to any guest room floors. No one asked me for any identification or proof that I was a guest in the property. That is very concerning. Anyone can enter the elevators, and anyone can exit on any floor they desire. You do not need a room key to access any of the 51 floors in the building. This isn’t the worst hotel in Manhattan. It is an adequate 3-star hotel which claims to be 4 stars and promises amenities that it does not deliver. The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers (2012) was a four-star hotel when I stayed there, primarily because of the excellent lounge. It's all about expectations and, if your expectations are not very high, and location is important, this property might be fine. It is no longer an upscale property. My advice to the franchise owner is to contact former General Manager Joseph Gelchion to get this property back to its former glory days. Until that time, there are dozens of hotels in around Times Square which deliver their promised amenities. This one really needs some TLC. For me security is a major concern at this establishment. I do find it odd that instead of fixing deficiencies in this property, every critical review receives comments similar apologies from the GM. The sad fact is that this once really nice property has been allowed to deteriorate. As documented on the website the rooms have not been renovated in 10-11 years. The industry standard is 3-4 years. Instead of apologies and excuses, for poor services, action is needed. If you are loyal to Marriott, the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel is lovely.