The New York Helmsley Hotel

The hotel itself was nice. My girlfriends and I stayed on the 7^th floor, which had clearly been renovated. The sound of drilling in the morning wasn’t fun, especially after a super late night of heavy drinking, but it was tolerable.
My real problem came with the bag check. My girlfriends and I checked our 3 bags so we could walk around the city without trekking them along. The woman who took our bags slapped 3 giant stickers on my patent leather bag. I tried not to think too much of it, and assumed she knew what she was doing. We returned several hours later to retrieve our bags. I handed a short ugly man our claim ticket. He told me to look around the bags they had in the lobby to see if ours were there. ‘um, isn’t that your job?’ I joked. Our bags weren’t there (I looked, with no help from him). ‘Come with me’ he said, so myself and 2 girlfriends followed him onto the elevator. He brought us to the 2^nd floor, and opened a room that was FULL of luggage. ‘Look around for yours’ At this point I was like ‘are you fucking kidding me?! Wtf is our claim ticket for’. The guy just stood at the door, not looking at numbers matching our claim ticket or attempting to help AT ALL. I found our bags. The guy didn’t even verify the numbers at all to make sure they were indeed ours. I went to take the stickers off my bag & they left white effing residue on my black bag! This was the final straw, I was so mad! How are you gonna put a luggage tag via string onto canvas, but slap stickers all over patent leather?! So ridiculous. The icing on the cake was one of my dumbass friends still tipped the guy even though he did nothing for us. Never again!

This hotel is now The Westin New York Grand Central.

Perfectly situated on Forty Second Street in Mid-​Town Manhattan, next to the famous News Building lies the Helmsley Palace which can be summed up in one word: fabulous! If you expect luxury, cleanliness, a wonderful location and terrific amenities those expectations will be met if you stay here and it will begin with the check in process. Let’s face it, if you are providing living accommodations and have the word «palace» as part of your name you had better live up to it, right? This hotel does!
We were lucky enough to be checked in by Mr. Smalls who was professional in appearance, attitude and performance. We had a great conversation and wound up with a great room. At the time we checked in there were three people available to help and they appeared to be a friendly over competent team.
Our room’s actual living area was 18 by 12 and had all the latest amenities including internet (14.95 per twenty four hour period) a standard sized desk, loveseat, separate chair, dresser drawers, 42 inch flat screen LG television separate reading lamps, a large floor lamp, and a separate closet with a full sized ironing board and iron.
We have a thirtieth floor room and our view of the world famous Chrysler Building was spectacular, especially at night. The service was outstanding, the hotel was immaculate and the location cannot be beat. Make sure you visit Docks Oyster Bar which is just around the corner, United Nations Plaza, or one of the many small parks that are just a short walk away like Peter Detmold Park and The Tudor City Greens. If you want to save a dollar, take the subway in to world famous Grand Central Station and walk a block and a half.

Updating to 4 stars. in my previous review I said I would give them another shot and I am glad I did.
Stayed here again using points this time. Definitely further along in the renovations than in March. Soon it will be the Westin Grand Central.
Overall impressions:
— The checkin was fast and efficient with 3 persons working the desk — though I can see if busy it would take a while
— The staff I communicated were all very friendly and helpful
— nice room — not much bigger than last time, but this one is a corner room on a high floor.
Some of the differences observed from last time:
— Room service now available (review written by someone else last month said it wasn’t, well it is). — open for breakfast (7 – 11 am) and dinner (6−10pm)
— Restaurant off lobby is open for breakfast, not for lunch, and I think open for dinner
— minibar in room — with standard high prices
— room has updated furniture, signature heavenly bed, etc
— renovations are still ongoing, though heard none of it in my room. It appears to me they are working on the lower floors now — the front the lobby are clearly being worked on and I heard drill work when in the lobby from above.
I think the days of the $ 144 rate I got before are gone. oh well. But given the improvements they are making, I think I will be back again. Same great location.

GREAT GREAT location. I’ll be honest about this hotel, there is nothing stand about it by any means, but it’s a stone’s throw from grand central, the rooms are nice enough (especially if you are on the higher up floors). You can get a great view of the city from the top floors. No free wi-​fi, the gym is tolerable and they don’t have room service. What does all this mean? Decent per night stay prices (which is I guess has its own perks).

I’m excited this is now a SPG property and looking forward to the new Westin Grand Central avatar. Of course, during this transition, they have a lot to work out.
Check-​in took way too long, there was no room service, doorman was obnoxious and unhelpful finding a cab, and noise factor wasn’t pleasant with construction.

Quick thoughts on a recent stay:
— staff is a bit off: not sure if the Westin is inheriting some legacy, inferior staff but it’s an issue.
— Renovated rooms are excellent. The only exception is that there’s no way these are Heavanly beds
— Gym is fantastic
— Elevator is a debacle during renovations
I will stay here again when the renovations are complete, but not before then.

Leona is rolling in her grave, as Westin takes over her hotel and as I stayed here for next to nothing on a Priceline deal. Having once said, «only the little people pay taxes,» let her roll away – in a rollaway bed in hell, hopefully.
I’m the price was low because it’s under construction, but a great view of the Empire State Building, a sliver of the east river, the Heavenly bed… I stayed two nights, didn’t interact with the staff much (though friendly when I registered & the maid in the hall was friendly – I was just looking for a room & not service). Under construction, it wouldn’t be good for my business travel, but to extend my visit to NYC for leisure, it was fantastic.

WARNING: Leona Helmsley’s a la grandma decorating motif is finally being put to rest. We’d like to thank Starwood Hotels for putting this decorating nightmare to rest.
This soon-​to-​be Westin Hotel is smartly decorated with it’s chic, minimalist design. Now, I say Westin because it appears that the decorating party had hit up our room on the 15^th floor.
The lobby can be somewhat hectic when this is the designated lodging for a convention or something of that nature. Upon arrival, the hotel lobby was jam-​packed with people anticipating an early check-​in only to drop off their bag with the concierge. The feng shui of the lobby/​concierge/​front desk is somewhat off and can wreak havoc When large groups mix in with the lone traveler.
The rooms are ample and generous for this city. The décor is inviting, minimalist and
handsome. The use of warm, dark wood in the bedroom with polished nickel faucets in the lavatory gives these quarters a timeless feel that blends well with the stunning city view. The large flatscreen television and numerous outlets (including two in the bedside lamp) should please the average tech savy world traveler. The wetbar and the safe were not operable during our stay, but these were easy to overlook.
Now, I’m sure that the construction is going to squeeze a few quacks out of a few ducks. It’s unsightly and loud, but even in a timeless city a little nip, tuck and facelift is required to keep up with Jones’. I believe that these rooms were priced accordingly based on the aforementioned inconvience. I would have anticipated these accomodations to be pricer based on the size of the room alone.
Two small drawbacks:
One: When retriving our small duffle bag from the bellhop, we were instructed to follow him to a room containing numerous other bags… without claimchecks attached. Who’s to say that the Gucci Parada Tom Ford suitcase didn’t belong to moi?
Two: The room felt clean, but I found a long hair in the tub that could have been easily washed away with a quick rinse. I also found a stray hair of similar length on my pillow before turning down my bed. In both cases, I had to question whether or not my pillow case had been changed or if the tub was washed between guests. (Everything else in the bathroom and bedroom was very well managed)
Overall, this is has been a pleasant stay and felt obligated to post based on some of the scathing reviews left previously. I think that once this place looses the Helmsley Hotel title, the positive reviews will start to roll in. Besides, who’d want to be associated with Leona Helmsley?
Write it and they will come.

Walked into a pretty nicely decorated lobby however I was NOT IMPRESSED. The staff was extremely dry and really didn’t seem to care to be of any real assistance.
The heat wasn’t working properly and we were FREEZING at first and it took the engineering guy quite a while (literally HOURS) to get there. He did explain pretty thoroughly how the system was old and that if he changed the temp. for us it would change it for the entire hotel when he finally arrived.
I must say that we did have a corner room and we were pretty high up, so our view was phenomenal!
Back again on the downside, when we got ready to leave, there was a long distance call of about $ 15 charge to our room that we KNOW we did not make… C’mon…Seriously… EVERYONE has cell phones these days, which means EVERYONE has access to free long distance in the palm of their hand! Why on earth would I make a $ 15 call from the room, when I could do it for free on my iPhone… So we told the lady that we did not make the phone call and she insisted that we did. Last time I checked, I have ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to steal a $ 15 phone call! The lady seemed extremely offended and treated us as if we were lying about the phone call. Never again. Maybe when it’s totally converted to the Westin. Hopefully they’ll hire some friendlier associates to work there by then!

They are renovating the hotel to convert it to a Westin. Well that’s all fine and good, but don’t have your guests in the rooms right near the renovations. There was hammering and screws dropping and all sorts of noises in the wall right next to my head at 6:30 am on a Tuesday. I called down to the desk and they apologized and said the manager had gone to speak to the workers and ask them to wait til 9 am. But the noise never stopped. I called again and was told the exact same thing. Still, the noise only got louder.
I understand that renovations have to take place but this was a huge hotel that seemed to have a lot of open rooms, so DONT PUT YOUR GUESTS NEXT TO THE WORK.
Also they have no restaurant, no room service and NO VENDING MACHINE. How does a hotel not serve food at all? We had to walk to the CVS across the street at 1 am to get a snack.
The shower curtain was torn and looked like it might fall off the rod at any moment. My comforter had a huge tear in it. It was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had at a hotel.

I won this hotel on Priceline so I did not have much say in staying here. While this hotel definitely has its positives, the one huge negative means that I cannot give it place more than two stars.
The positives
1) The hotel is a 5 minute from Grand Central Station and it is very easy to get to any neighbourhood within Manhattan. In addition, there are a ton of stores nearby including two pharmacies that are open 24 hours and three coffee shops on the same block.
2) We got one of the recently renovated rooms by emailing the general manager and it was a pretty nice, if unspectacular, place to sleep. The comfy, king-​sized bed was definitely the best part. However, the view was lacking and the TV was possibly the most annoying piece of technology I have ever used (you have to see it to understand).
The negatives
1) This is the big one. After a night out of drinking, we wanted to sleep in before starting our day. Unfortunately, the hotel decided that they were going to be testing their fire alarm that morning starting at 10 AM and running until noon. I cannot comprehend why you would start testing before your guests have checked out for the day. The beeping would start approximately every 5 minutes and last for about 30 seconds before resuming.
2) The rooms can be noisy even without the fire alarm. The hotel is located in a busy area and the street noise rises up even to the 18^th floor. In addition, there was construction outside our room until around 3 AM and it could easily be heard.
When the renovations are complete, this place may be worth checking out. It was expensive even on Priceline but may be worth it if they can get their act together. However, until they do, I would stay far away.

Hotel round up #2
Ah…LOVE new york, and love staying in the middle of manhattan, and this is the hotel for that.
This is in a great area of New York, with large rooms for NY. It has a lot of potential if it keeps under the same ownership willing to commit to all the renovations. As the other reviews are saying, the best stay will come with a renovated room, so be nice and ask for one without demanding it, the workers know what the rooms look like on which floor, so they understand your frustration if you were booked in an old room.
The difference between the two rooms is night and day. Look at the pictures I put in for day one and day two (same hotel… difference of about 15 floors?)
So that’s the start of how your stay will be depending on the room quality. The staff is amazing in the front, and in the food/​bar area. The housekeeping staff is not so much. I thought I had forgotten something during the room change, and when I asked to go in, they made a big fuss about it, and made me feel uncomfortable, but I could have just been worried about losing that item, clouded judgement or what not.
The area is GREAT! It’s i think midtown, so easy walk to anywhere touristy (times square area). It IS sort of in a heavier business place, but that doesn’t mean there are great food places around. The closest public transit in the GRAND CENTRAL terminal, which is awesome because it’s easier to remember than numbers.
Highly recommend this place.

I got a room here at half the rate of their average asking price (thank you priceline!). Therefore, for the price I paid (~$ 100/​night), I think this place is satisfactory.
Beautiful lobby, super comfy king sized mattress, helpful staff and a great location. And a bonus: super gianormous towels to wrap yourself in after a shower; I don’t know what it is but it was fantastic.
My gripes with the place are minimal and cosmetic mostly. The sink had chips on it, the grip on the shower wasn’t completely clean (it gave me the creeps but what can you do), low water pressure (I was on the 27^th floor though), and a room awkwardly missing appliances (yeah, people have cellphones but what happens if I had wanted to call down to the desk to inquire about overpriced room service?).
If you can snag up a room here through priceline or using their «one room, second 40% off», I’d recommend giving this place a shot.

While I live in the NY Metro area, sometimes the commute out and back in is just not worth doing if you’re ending late and starting early. I’ve known of the Helmsley for years, and was pleasantly surprised to find them in the SPG family while searching for properties in NYC.
The staff care, and they seem to truly try, but some things aren’t there yet. The bellman jumped out to my cab to open the door for me and welcome me. The front desk greeted me warmly, and provided an expeditious check-​in. The rooms are large, comfortable, and well-​soundproofed so that not a peep was heard from 42^nd street below.
My main complaint stems from the room appointments. While my SPG profile preference states feather pillows, when I called down to request them, a property-​wide search was performed by the staff, only to discover that they had no feather pillows in the hotel. There is also no water in the rooms (even for SPG guests). The manager-​on-​duty called me personally to apologize and explained that they are in a transition phase, and I can understand and appreciate that.
I look forward to good things in the future for this hotel, and in the meantime, will stay here again if I need a place in NYC.

This was my first time in NYC, and I researched and researched before chosing this hotel. I’m glad I did! I had read in other reviews to call and request a renovated room on an upper floor. I booked my stay through Expedia, and called the hotel to make the request. I was transferred once, placed on hold for 10 minutes, and then hung up on. In an effort not to jump to conclusions and get worked up before even arriving in NYC, I decided to nicely email the hotel and explain the situation, while also giving my request. The GM was quick to respond, grant my request, and ask what type of wine I preferred because a bottle would be waiting on me. Sure enough, it was!
Aside from the wonderful customer service of the GM, the check-​in staff and bellhops were friendly, although my interactions with them was limited. We had a corner room with an amazing, amazing view of the Chrysler Building and the UN building. The location was also great – far enough from Times Square to escape it’s madness, yet also close enough to walk it. Subway access was great, too. Also, the hotel is very close to Bryant Park which we ended up spending lots of time in due to its close proximity.
As I mentioned, we did have a renovated room. The bathroom was clean, spacious and of great quality. The king sized bed was also very comfortable.
Great experience. I will be back.

This location is central to everything that you’d want to be part of in NYC, you step outside the front door and you can walk to everything that you want to. Our hotel room had a really great view of the tops of surrounding buildings along with a really amazing view of the Empire State Building. The staff was extremely kind and the lobby in the main entrance was beautiful.
The bedroom that my family and I stayed in was very nice, we had enough space. The only thing that I would recommend would be that there be a coffee maker in the room along with a mini fridge. Ours didn’t have one, could have been the version of the room that we got that night, but I thought it was standard when it’s a 4 star hotel. Either way our stay was very smooth and nice and I would recommend it to other friends that are looking to be in the heart of everything in NYC.

The NY Helmsley is my go-​to hotel, and I travel to NYC a lot.
Yes it’s loaded with tourists and getting a cab from there is a massive pain, but the hotel itself is solid.
First, the rooms are very nicely sized. Love my Carltons and Gansevoorts but these ain’t no tiny rooms. And if you’re lucky enough to get one of the renovated ones you’re even luckier.
Second, the staff are solid. Yeah they won’t go above and beyond for you, but they get stuff done. Unlike other hotels where staff talk nice and do little or stare you up and down like you’re a jerk.
Third, location. I have to be up and downtown and being near the 6 and Grand Central is pretty clutch.
Most importantly, I’m a SPG whore and this fits the bill there nicely.
Sure there are problems. The room service ends too early, the bath tubs generally are a little worn, and did I mention that getting a taxi in rush hour is a nightmare here? Still, you can’t go too wrong here.

I was so excited to stay at a Hemsley Hotel. Got a great deal on Hotwire and grabbed it. I didn’t get to choose the room type and they were out of king beds when I arrived. I accepted the double room. It was functional. A bit outdated and reeked of old cigarette smoke. I called Housekeeping who promised to spray the room. When got in later that night I went into a full blown allergy attack including sneezing, throbbing headache, and stuffy nose. I called the front desk and spoke to the manager, Jody. She offered to change my room which I did. She placed me on a higher floor which was a non smoking floor. Oh, so much better! The rest of my stay was smooth sailing and I felt like a princess.
The room was made up beautifully every day and the maid would ask me what time was convenient for me for housekeeping. It was very comfortable. The gym has a nice amount of treadmills, ellipticals, free weights, and 1 recumbant and 1 upright stationary cycle. The equipment is well maintained and the room is kept clean with fresh towels and cold water.
The location can’t be beat. Right in the center of midtown near shops, restaurants, many subways, busses, the UN, and Grand Central Station. There are 6 elevators in the elevator bank so you never have to wait long regardless of your floor.

I gave up some of my Type A-​ness and let Priceline decide which place I’d book for a quick overnight trip to NYC. NY Helmsley popped up and I’m really glad it did. Sure, parking is super expensive ($ 60 for valet — yikes) but that’s to be expected. As soon as we arrived, the staff welcomed us and were extremely friendly and warm.
As for the room itself, it’s huge by NYC standards. The furniture needed some updating; for example, the cabinet that would hold a tube TV held the ice bucket since their flat screen TVs were on the wall above the desk. But I loved that they use C.O. Bigelow products because they smell oh-​so-​good. And the bed — oh the bed! — was rreeaallllyyy comfortable. More comfortable than the bed in my own home.
I didn’t go to the restaurant or use the internet, but I did get to use their gym. And I fell in love. With their elliptical machine. Their super fancy machine has an ipod cable so you can control your ipod from the touch screen on the machine. Not to mention that you can watch TV on that same screen as well. I watched Shawshank Redemption as I exorcised the stress, food, and cocktail demons out of my system. And praise the good Lord that he had blessed me with a great room in a great location, awesome gym, and bed bug free bed. Hallelujah!