During our most recent visit to New York we stayed at the New York Edition Hotel, located at Madison Square Park in the iconic Metropolitan Life clock tower.
Directly near the hotel you find an outlet of popular dining and shopping concept Eataly as well as the Flatiron building. The Empire State building is just a few blocks away. Sufficient to say there is plenty to see and do in the surrounding area although you do need a taxi to get to Central Park or lower Manhattan.
Straight from JFK I arrived at the front door of the hotel. The staff assisted with my luggage and before I checked in I took a moment to admire the gold covered bar on the ground floor. The lounge and bar have a very cozy atmosphere which makes you feel at home easily.
The building’s footprint is not so large so the New York Edition is very much a boutique hotel and not as grand as some other five star hotels in Manhattan.
We had to wait a while for the elevator that took us up to the 38th floor. In general the elevator system was a bit frustrating as you had no idea what floor the elevators were on and had to select the floor you were going to before being assigned an elevator – in the meantime several other elevators might open their doors but not go to the floor you want to go.
Our room 3810 on the 38th floor was a corner room with a small bedroom and ensuite bathroom. It has a nice boutique style to it with a small dining / work table. A large flatscreen tv is mounted on the wall and there is a large selection of beverages and snacks available from the mini bar.
The hotel being located in a historic building means the rooms have a few small windows that do offer nice views over Manhattan especially on the higher floors. Ask for a room facing West and you might get the perfect Empire State view.
Normally we don’t rate cleanliness in the hotels where we stay is in the luxury segment as we expect all hotel rooms to be perfectly cleaned – and usually this is the case. Sadly this was not the case at the New York Edition as we found several black hairs in the shower. This resulted to some minus points for the room rating below.
Our bathroom only had a large walk in shower and a sink, plenty of towels and a shampoo selection. It is a shame the window in the bathroom is covered with foil so you can’t enjoy the spectacular views from the shower.
Overall the rooms are fairly small but have a nice design and include everything you need. The climate control was very annoying though, very loud and hard to get the right temperature in bed- and bathroom.
Going back down we visited the restaurant, the Clock Tower on the second floor. Breakfast is also served here but first we tried dinner. Boasting about their Michelin chef on the official website our expectations were high. For starters we ordered a beef tartare – tasty and good start. For mains another meat dish: the Rib Eye. Sadly this didn’t meet our expectations, side dishes and sauces arrived ten minutes after the main course and it was far from the best Rib Eye we ever had. First of all they only offered the choice between Medium and well done, where our medium came almost rare. Maybe choosing a smaller cut with better quality would help to cook it to perfection. Service was also a bit slow and unattentive.
The restaurant has a great classic look and feel to it though and the pool table in the lounge is a nice gimmick. Breakfast selection was ok but nothing special. On the day of departure it took more than 15 minutes before they managed to get our luggage from storage.
Overall the New York Edition Hotel scores well on location and the historic building that houses it. It features a cool style and great bar. There are some flaws though; the elevator system is plain frustrating and the loud air conditioning system hurts the in-room comfort. Cleanliness and restaurant (service) could certainly be improved.
