The Empire Hotel

Lisa Dowling

I visit NYC 4-5x/yr. This property is a conveniently located UWS hotel, mere steps from Juilliard & Lincoln Center. Staff is “above & beyond” helpful & customer focused. The lobby is lovely, and WiFi is great! The downside: the rooms are TINY (tinier than most NYC hotels, honestly) but competitively priced for the area. Beds are decently comfortable and my room was clean. There has been an attempt to “update” the plumbing in the bathrooms, and it’s better than before BUT cheap fixtures so I doubt they’ll last long. Charging ports were adequate (located in the lamps) and functional. This property is vintage, and the rooms show their age in spite of paint, etc., to try to freshen them. My biggest issue was the AC—thermostat in my room read 67, and I could not change the fan nor the temp (controlled by the hotel). I FROZE all evening and no extra blankets in the room. The sound of the fan did drown out the city noise, tho—no sound machine needed, lol. The hallways, in contrast, were exceedingly warm. And the elevator is slow & noisy (tho it WAS functional and efficient). My take—I’d stay again if I just need a place to sleep/park my bags while in the city for a short visit. For longer than a night, or traveling with my spouse, I’ll likely hit up the roomier hotel offerings in Midtown or Columbus circle.

George Shepherd

My girlfriend and I had a wonderful stay for five days. The room was clean and everything worked. The daily cleaning of the room was perfect. The location is great, next to Lincoln Center and Central Park. We also enjoyed several evenings enjoying the rooftop bar, with great views. The staff were always friendly and professional. It was a great stay, and we look forward to returning.

Ra Christoff

I loved it. It’s iconically NYC hotel, even in the rooms you know you’re in NYC and nowhere else. I haven’t been back to NYC in a long time since growing up on the East Coast and I feel like a lot of the complaints are from Bob and Sue Midwest who expect a hotel smack in the middle of 400 year old city with one of the largest densest populations in the world to be as spacious, new, bland and sanitized as their local Days Inn. The interior and walls are full of pattern and personality which was refreshing. Yes the room and bathroom is “small” characteristic of NYC but not unmanageable. You’re able to walk around freely and roll your carryon without touching furniture even open up your suitcase flat without trouble so I don’t get what else is needed. I didn’t hangout after hours or check out any of the other amenities but the pool is just a strip, just long enough to glide from one end to the other, and maybe 4 feet deep which is nice but they do oversell it. They even have pounding dance music like it’s Vegas and sun tanning chairs over twice the width of the pool but with a completely opaque roof cover, so I didn’t really get it. It would be nice if they make the cap more transparent, add more windows, ventilate it more and get rid of the dance music; just sell it for what it is a refreshing relaxing wading pool to take a dip in before 7. The rest rooftop was amazing too, pre 7 it was just a great place to meet with friends and plan your night out. The location is unbeatable especially if you’re going to see a show at the Met. I even got to meet the composers from the show who was also staying there!

Maxwell Magnus

A Deeply Disappointing and Unprofessional Stay — Empire Hotel NYC I checked in around midnight on 7/7 and was placed in a room on the 9th floor with an ADA- accessible bathroom. I requested a standard room without ADA features, and staff showed me two alternative rooms — both worse in condition than the room I already had. Having worked in the hotel industry at the Ritz-Carlton, I was genuinely shocked by the quality of the property; I’ve stayed in Motel 6 locations in better condition than this hotel, which does not match its advertised standard. I was told to check back the next morning. The next morning brought an even more troubling series of events. I had a Do Not Disturb sign on my door and was still woken up by housekeeping, who told me a room was available on the 8th floor with a “Bryant Park view” — which is not possible, as Bryant Park is nowhere near this hotel. I went to the front desk to confirm and was told the room was not actually ready. I returned to my room on the 9th floor, only to be told again by housekeeping that the room was ready, this time citing instructions from her manager. I went back down to the front desk a third time and was again told the room was not ready. I asked the front desk staff to simply confirm with their manager before sending me up and down again, since this was already my third trip. I was told “no” and to “go away.” When I explained that confirming first would save everyone time and spare me from hauling luggage unnecessarily, the staff gave me keys to a room on the 3rd floor — and laughed at me. This was not a matter of an honest mix-up. It was a pattern of miscommunication, dismissiveness, and outright disrespect from front desk staff toward a paying guest. I have contacted Chase Sapphire Reserve, through whom this trip was booked, to formally report both the condition of the hotel and the conduct of its staff. I would not recommend this hotel and would caution other travelers, especially those booking through a premium travel service expecting a corresponding standard of care

Alexandra Schick

The staff were friendly and welcoming, and the lobby is beautiful. However, the hotel is showing its age and the guest floors could use some updating. My room had peeling wallpaper, visible wear, and some stains. The shower also did not work properly—the rainfall shower would only function at the same time as the handheld shower. There is no phone in the room, so if you only have mobile data and need assistance, you'll need to go down to the front desk. The elevators also seemed quite dated, made some concerning noises, and further highlighted the hotel's age. That said, for the price I paid, I felt it was good value overall. I had a nice view, and the location is excellent—it's very easy to walk to many attractions. The pool was quite small and crowded with families when I visited, and the operating hours were very limited.