Empire Hotel - New York 40.77139, -73.98241

The 4 of us, my husband and 2 children, age 13 & 10 had a lovely 3 nights here in July. We would definetly go back and stay at the Empire again as it is in a great location. Only downside was the pool - we had read reviews about it being small and it was very small - we didn't use it in the end, but we were out all the time anyway. The rooms are very small - we were on our way to Austin for 18 days so we had quite a lot of luggage and we had to keep moving it to get around the room. However the staff were very helpful and friendly.

This is a really lovely hotel in a great location near Central Park.Even though the rooms are small, they are very comfortable. The Pool is really a plunge pool to cool off in but the sun terrace more than makes up for it. Would definitely go back.

We went to stay at the Empire Hotel for 3 nights with our 2 children ages 13 and 14. We booked a family room and I must say that the room was very small. However, apart from that, we had no problems at all with this hotel, the position was excellent, just a few minutes walk from the main attractions and even closer to the beautiful central park. The overall facilities of the hotel were lovely, however, beware, the swimming pool is more like the size of a large bath!! But the sunbathing on the roof in the middle of New York is good, so if you dont mind a small pool, the ambiance and the area around it make up for it. Generally, we would definatley go back to the Empire Hotel, the service and position are excellent.

Noisiest hotel room I,ve ever stayed in due to ventilation fans outside the window. The fans were the only view.(essential to request a room with a view.) Price Guide to minibar etc only supplied after two days stay. Unable to sort out laundry requirements due to staff not speaking english.Could only cash traveler cheques up to a value of one hundred dollars a day? Door and bar staff friendly and helpful. Good location.

The Empire hotel treats its customer's very well - from the doormen to the reception staff. The rooms are lovely and comfortable - as well as having the best showers in a hotel I have ever been in!

Just a block from central park, this hotel was very conveniently located & easy access to subway and Time Warner complex. The hotel seems to be recently refurbished. We were looked after well, including free morning paper. It didn't seem too noisy given we had a 2nd floor room overlooking broadway.

pros: location. rooms, location, housekeeping, location, decent internet, did i mention location ? cons. cold water. worst lifts ever. front desk. handy access to subway, central park. front desk messed us about 5 or 6 times... 3 hour wait for room, broken keys 3 times. locked safe never open, no late check out. seemed like they were blatantly lying to us to get us out of the way. there is no pool or restaurant but they are coming. 2 of 4 lifts seemed to be permanently broken. the other had a mind of their own. very clean with great housekeeping.

A really lovely looking hotel in an ace location by the Lincoln center and Central park. Public areas were beautifully presented and staff were extremely helpful. Room also looked good but had a few flaws; old loud air conditioning and a sink that looked great but didnt drain well. Changed room which achieved a small imporvement but both are simply part of the design! Overall a good hotel but if you are paying top dollar you could do better.

we stayed at the Empire for 3 nights. The bedroom was a decent size, with a huge bed, that was extremely comfortable. The bathroom was beautifully fitted, if tiny! The bar and reception area are very modern and well designed - bar prices about 3 times that of a bar outside the hotel - be warned! Overall I would recommend this hotel. However if you want to go out around the downtown area at night, as we did, it's a bit of a trek on the subway. Perfect for uptown and midtown sightseeing however.

Very unfriendly, unhelpful staff. Over priced, very small room. No bath tubs. No food at the bar. Had problem with the room's shower, staff refused to help and were downright rude.

The Empire is very plush, lovely bar and reception. Rooms are decent size for NY. It is right next to Columbus Circle so 5th Ave is a max 10 min walk away by Central Park and 2 mins walk from Time Warner Centre with good shops and a huge Whole Foods Market. Great for shopping. I have a feather allergy which caused a problem - alternative pillows, comforter and mattress protectors had to be found. The hotel was totally overheated though and they provided a free continental breakfast. Front desk not great for directions - sent us off incorrectly twice but otherwise the hotel feels decadent and looks wonderful - I recommend it.

Great location really nice hotel my only fault is the noisy air con which kept us awake but we had to have it on as it was so hot in the room!

After going through website after website to try and find a good deal on a NY hotel (had to book the trip quite late) I had pretty much resigned myself to staying at a fairly average hotel. When I stumbled across the Empire I was very pleasantly surprised, on the web it looked great, it had good reviews and was in our price range.... when we arrived we weren't disappointed, it was a great hotel, very cool, very comfortable and with very friendly service - the guys on the door gave us some excellent tips on bars and restaurants. Overall, highly delighted with the Empire.

The room was excellent as was its location next to Avery Fisher Hall. Breakfast was pretty average. Service very good; all the staff were more than willing to help.... There seemed to be a disturbing amount of 'older' people though!

a

Great hotel - especially for a Lincoln Center visit...great bar, great room, comfy bed.....well worth the money.

Nice hotel in a great location. Accommodating staff. Lobby bar was active as was roof top bar. Great shower

The room didn't allow a normal person to walk in a straight line between the bed and the wall. Everything was cramped. The bathroom was the smallest I've ever seen in a hotel: the small toilet made your shoulders push against the sink. I am a tall, 5'7" woman, but had to stand on tiptoes to reach the tissue box. The tiny sink splattered. Yes, they have lovely linens and did their best to make an attractive room, but it showed its origins. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Too much jammed into a tiny space. Old-fashioned below window heater/ac, with chipped paint, noisy. No view--into a well. I slept well enough in a slightly stiff but overall okay bed, but never again...

This guest did not leave a comment.

This guest did not leave a comment.

Hotel is 1.5 blocks from two subway lines, making all of Manhattan accessible in minutes. Also 1.5 blocks from an entrance to Central Park, which is very convenient for a morning jog. Hotel is situated in a clean section of town without a hint of seediness. Decor was very modern, chic. Linens were very cozy and robes were included. Rainfall shower was luxurious, as were premium amenities. We stayed here with children and would do so again.

The hotel is in a great location and we got a great deal for a two bed junior suite - not eassy to come by in NY. The only problem was a peculiar smell in the room and in the rooftop bar - something up with the pool area perhaps. I would recommend booking a lower floor to avoid damp smell...

This guest did not leave a comment.

We loved the location (right across from Lincoln Center, two blocks from Jazz at Lincoln Center and Dizzy's, and two blocks from Central Park), the staff, the decor and the lobby bar. Booking a standard queen on line was a mistake, but we were able to upgrade to a deluxe king for not too much more after the first night and it was great. Big discovery was that the YMCA (gym and pool)is a block away. As a 4-star, the Empire should have a bigger, better equipped fitness center right inside the hotel. But if you don't mind walking a block, the Y is a great place to spend a few hours working off all the food one eats when in NYC. Highly recommend this hotel...

The hotel has been totally redone. The lobby is glamorous and the bar area is cozy and welcoming. The room was small but nice. It was very quiet.

View was good, room was clean, beds were comfortable, area was safe. The shower was a peculiar half door set up and maybe all New York hotel rooms are this way, lacking drawer space and not much room. TV was terrible.

11th floor room was loud late at night during Friday and Saturday stay because of rooftop bar/club. Also, there was leak from our room ceiling that caused bedding and carpet to get considerably wet.

This guest did not leave a comment.

Amazing location! Very hip and swanky hotel. Great lobby and bar. The room was very small and the bathroom had a good amount of mold in the shower and on the soap dish by the sink.

Overall, we found the staff and service to be friendly. We had a postage sized room with a view and a spacious room with no view. The small room was beautiful, although storage and closet space were non-existent, The view made up for the funky air/heat system. Our spacious room was well-appointed and more functional, however, you can't open the windows without seeing other guests. The location is superb and I would definitely stay here again!

Spent 2 nights the weekend before Thanksgiving. Lobby is spectacular, room was classy and quiet, location is great. I hope to return soon.

Hotel overcharged my card and it took over a month to get my refund. Was given the run around by the accounting department and hotel management whom never returned my calls. Would never stay here again.

Overall, had a nice stay at the Empire. The rooms are small, but the location is good. One thing that seemed odd, they didn't have irons in the rooms, so we had to call down every time we needed one. But in general, had a good stay.

This guest did not leave a comment.

This guest did not leave a comment.

My room was immaculate - duvet sheets for bedspreads made the room shine with cleanliness..... Wonderful.

the "standard" rooms are very "sub standard." They are small rooms that are inward facing (no external view of the NY streets) and are extremely DARK. My first room was on the 1st floor (third floor after lobby and mezzanine floors) was so dark that I could not tell if it was day or night. They told me 90% of the standard rooms are inward facing. Just like most designer hotels, the Empire looks good from the outside but terrible from the inside.

Our stay was good, the hotels only down fall is that it is an older building so it has many loud noises making it difficult to sleep without ear plugs. Other than that I would definitely recommend it and would stay there again.

there is no ventilation in the bathroom, so the room is mildewy. there is a down mattress cover, and the a/c didn't cool very well. if you have allergies you will have a difficult time. the room and decor is beautiful, the hotel is very nice and the location is incredible.

This guest did not leave a comment.

I'm sure that this hotel is better than my experience, but whatever you do don't stay in Room 118. First of all, I was right over construction which the hotel can't help, but then it just went downhill from there. I didn't have a clock radio and when I called for a wake up call they never called. I was awaken at 930 AM on Saturday by someone more or less hammering through my wall. It was so loud in the bathroom that the noise against the tile pierced my ears. I complained and they couldn't do anything until the next day. They moved my room but not until after 5PM. They said they would move my bags. I had to go to a show at night for work and didn't get home until very late. When I woke up the next morning my bags were not in the new room and when I called down to get them because I needed to shower and catch my flight home it took 45 minutes for them to finally bring them up stairs. The hotel itself is pretty good for a NYC hotel having a proper lobby, bar and restaurant but the service was subpar at best. I travel to NYC alot for work and will not be using this hotel again.

This guest did not leave a comment.

I had stayed in this hotel twice before its renovation and had a good experience. This time I had a great experience. The location, of course, is fantastic, but the room was amazing. Only one quirk, it was hard to figure out the fancy shower head. Very helpful, friendly staff. Loved the spa-like atmosphere.

This guest did not leave a comment.

This hotel has got a great energy to it at the bar, its next-door restaurant and roof top bar. Rooms are on the small and cramped side of the equation given the price range (even for New York), but acceptable if you have ear plugs to combat the A/C-heating unit, which noise is amplified because of the small size of the room.

We expected a NY small hotel room and got it. The plumbing fixtures where cheap (hot water really hot, sink drain worked manually with my fingernails (ooh all the goo). Otherwise it was fine. The location can't be beat even though a bit noisy. The club upstairs is wonderful and the staff was pretty nice.

Everything was great! The rooms are small however if your know NYC that is par for these beautiful boutique hotels

This guest did not leave a comment.

This guest did not leave a comment.

Very nice place in even better neighborhood. You can't beat the Upper West Side. A block from Central Park and 2 from Columbus Circle, you are literally directly across the street from the front steps of Lincoln Center. 4 of us stayed in a dual double room. It was a bit cramped, but we were in New York... we weren't exactly spending all our time in the room! The roof top bar/club was a bit too cool for school, but it's New York... what do expect? All in all, a great place to stay.