Review - Hotel St. James in 45th St. in Manhattan

We spent the weekend in Manhattan last 7 to 10 February, 2014. I am very happy with the choice of hotel this time because it was smack in the center of Manhattan, near major attractions on foot and groceries and deli shops are everywhere.

Hotel St. James is a rustic hotel in the center of Manhattan and has been in operation since 1972. It is located at 109 W. 45th St. between Broadway and 6th Avenues. It is housed in a pre-war 12-storey building. It has 145 guest rooms and has gone through major renovations.




What I like:

• Location! I can sometimes overlook the price of the rooms per night as long as the location is well within the areas where we will usually frequent like Broadway, Times Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Rockefeller and many more. All of which are walking distance from this hotel. There is a nice delicatessen beside the hotel called Cranberry. Nice place to buy your food or dine without breaking the bank.

• Free wi-fi on all floors and you can connect instantly without the need for password.

• The price is very reasonable as I got a good deal from Hotels.com.

• The staff on duty allowed us to check-in even before 11 a.m. and check-in time is not until 3 p.m. That's good customer service for you!

• The customer service is commendable. The folks at the concierge are very accommodating of my queries and courteous too.

• Our room was big for the three of us and it has 2 full double beds.

• My daughter (15 yrs old at the time of check-in) is still considered a child so no extra fee collected and no need for extra bed.

What I don't like:

• The lifts are very slow considering the age of the hotel. We were given a room on the 11th floor and getting there take a while. The waiting time to get in a lift is slow.

• I didn't see any aircondition duct. I may be wrong but I looked everywhere in the room for an a/c duct. We're glad it was winter when we booked our room and the temperature was -8 Celsius on most nights but what if it was summer?  I only saw a small radiator.

• The carpet was not cleaned properly by the housekeeping. The small pieces of paper we left from the previous night were still on the carpet even if the housekeeper already cleaned the room. On the last day of our stay, the housekeeper even left the bundle of small blankets on the fireplace mantle below the tv. Who ever it was who cleaned the room didn't bother taking them out of the room. The 2 long maroon pillows for each bed were found on the side of the dresser and they housekeeping left them there twice. I had to pull them from the side of the dresser next to the bed. I just don't get it why they have to leave the pillows there. 

• The bed was not properly done. It was just fixed but the blankets were not tucked tight like how other housekeepers do in the other hotels we have stayed at before. I find the housekeeping a bit lousy and yet, we left tips inside the envelope they left on the dresser each time we wanted the room cleaned.

• The window blinds didn't go all the way down. It was not the right size for the window.

Room type: Standard double bedroom with two full beds

Meal plan: No meal plan included  in the room rate

Price: US$ 309.99 with taxes for 3 nights (I saved 49% on this booking via Hotels.com)


Nearby attractions:
Times Square
Broadway
The Rockefeller
Grand Central Station
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Central Park (less than a mile and you can take the subway. There is a nearby subway in this hotel.)


Facilities:
24-hour concierge
Business center
Library
Left-luggage facility
Accessible bathroom
Tours/Theater tickets assistance
Limo or town car service assistance
Climate control / air conditioning (but I didn't see this in our room)
Premium TV channels
Hair dryer
Pressing board and iron
Daily housekeeping



My recommendation and rating: (5 stars being the highest)
I considered 2 important factors in my recommendations and rating for this hotel: location and value for money.

I can overlook the issues with the housekeeping because I can always suggest from the management to improve that aspect but location and price per room per night are important factors I consider when booking a hotel. I do see myself booking in the same hotel when we visit New York in the near future.

Yes. I recommend this hotel for families and business travelers. I'm giving it

 

You can find more information about this property by visiting their website.

Disclaimer:
I was not compensated to do this review. My opinion is 100% mine and may vary from yours.

To book this hotel or other hotels in NYC, check out great deals here: Booking.com