Affinia Manhattan Gets a C+

Apparently New York hotels and I just don't get along. I booked a room at the Affinia Manhattan Hotel for a last minute business trip to New York (the W's rates were over $700! Yikes).

Here are some of the disaster highlights:
1. Check-In: Upon arrival I was told that my reservation had been cancelled!
2. Room decor: Convalescent home-like...cherry stained & lacquered furniture and art work you wouldn't put out in a yard sale.
3. Business center: An elementary school would be more sophisticated...one computer that could actually take a dvd or cdr.

4. Wake-up Call: Button on the phone didn't actually connect you to anyone who could take wake-up call requests...when I finally did get the request in it was 15 minutes late on delivery...thankfully the street noise woke me up on time.

To be fair, I have to say that the staff was extraordinarily nice and helpful. Whenever there was even the slightest snag they jumped right in to fix the problem. Not a bad place if you are traveling with kids. While it's not fancy, the rooms are huge...small apartments actually and the rates are reasonable (around $280/night). Also, the food in the bar was surprisingly tasty.

It totally could have been worse, I could have been at Dream (see Picky-Chick review).

Affinia Manhattan
371 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10001
212-563-1800