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Searching for lost youth, Dad books Hudson for family

Where: 356 West 58th Street [map], New York, ny, United States, 10019

12/29/2004 at 2:04 PM
Tags: Hotel Hell

[Publisher's Note: A couple errors were made in this story (mostly concerning incorrect assumptions about the number of people in the booking party). As soon as the errors were brought to our attention we removed them. HotelChatter apologizes for not catching these errors sooner.]

[Editor's Note: This story is not under hotel hell because of the hotel experience. Instead, this is the first hotel story we have ever placed in hotel hell because of the GUEST. Yes, it is a two way street out there, and sometimes a hotel is in a helpless situation when trying to accommodate a clueless guest. Our job as hotel mavens is to be realistic about the expectations we set, before booking a hotel, and we don't think this guest did that. Read on and see if you agree.]

Daddy David Handelman, a New York Times scribe, recently toted his family to New York City, and despite having two sub-preteen daughters, booked a suite at the Hudson Hotel. Now we are not saying a family shouldn't stay at the Hudson, or any other hipper-than-thou boutique hotel in NY for that matter, however, said family should not be shocked when the hotel staff doesn't jump through hoops to round up a bunch of board games, children's books, and Elmo videos to accommodate them.

What follows is a series of quotes from the Times piece, followed by our over-the-top commentary, of course.

"'Daddy, everything in this bathroom's white!' Helen said. 'Like the Delano!' My veteran hipster."

We will just let you digest that one on your own, as a warm up, of sorts.

"...a woman in a tank top and sweats approached to see if we wanted anything to drink. After she left, Nancy asked: "Does she work here? She looks like she's wearing pajamas!"

Shocking, a good-looking woman, in skimpy clothes serving you drinks at the Hudson!

"The pay channels also offered four channels of porn - two hetero, one man-man and one bisexual. Nobody's kids are that hip."

What are you doing? We *know* you must have clicked through a couple firewall screens to even see the adult channel selection on the screen...jeez.

"There weren't any crayons, so I ran to the front desk to get a pad and pen."

There weren't any crayons! Are you for real dude? This isn't Chuck E. Cheese! What did you expect? Most people check into the Hudson, and put up with a coffin-sized room, just so they can enjoy the scene at the hotel. You, on the other hand, book a suite at the Hudson for your family of four and bitch about the lack of crayons? Why don't you do us all a favor and put that extra money into a 529 plan and look into family hotels the next time you need a hotel in NY. There are plenty of fun, cool, family friendly hotels in New York with pools and other kid friendly amenities. The Marriott Marquis has glass elevators, these elevators can keep kids entertained for hours on end.

Look, we know you want to experience the hipster locales in NYC, but save them for you next business trip, or the next time you can sneak away for a weekend. Either that, or suck it up, and realize that if you bring a family of four to the Hudson you are going to see scantily clad women, both in books and in the flesh, maybe get questionable looks from the staff and other guests, and have to explain outdoor showers to your 10 year old daughter. There is nothing wrong with a family staying wherever they please, but be prepared to put up with some hiccups if you chose to stay at a place known for its nightlife.

Related Stories:
· Of Course, Families Are Welcome. Oh, You Have Children [NYTimes]
· Hot hotels too cool for kids [NewYorkology]

Hotel Reviews:
Hudson Hotel

2 Comments - Add Yours by markj

Comments

Comments on Searching for lost youth, Dad books Hudson for family

Tor
HotelChatter Member

You didn't read the article (none / 0)

The article, near the beginning, had this passage:

"[T]he woman on [Hudson Hotel]'s toll-free reservations line whom I quizzed about the Hudson practically hugged me over the phone. She started listing neighborhood attractions like the Central Park Zoo, she touted a welcome gift that the concierge gives every child, she said they had a video library and board-game library, baby-sitting for $20 an hour (three-hour minimum), a computer area on the third floor, a pool table in the library bar, a private courtyard park, a fitness center (with adult supervision), and a sky terrace with outdoor showers."

At least the other hotels that the author called were clear that they didn't cater to children. If I am told that a hotel is child friendly, I expect it to be - not for me, but for the other guests. Altough I bring things to keep my son occupied, it is in the restaurant's best interest (remember, they said they were child friendly) to have crayons or something to keep him occupied. I can ignore his piercing cries of boredom or unhappiness a lot better than you can, trust me.

Case in point - Thanksgiving this year. Called David Burke and Donatella to see if they (a) had a table for the T-giving dinner and (b) were child friendly. The answer was yes to both.

No, my child did not fuss at all during dinner, but even though they didn't have crayons, when my son pointed at the glass balloons hanging from the ceiling, the maire d (sp?) brought a blown up latex glove from the kitchen to entertain him.

My point is that you can be either child friendly or not - but if you say that you are, you better make sure you really are. Not all 2 year olds are as well behaved as mine....

BTW - the reference to the Delano was in regards to another trendy hotel that advertised itself as child friendly, and really WAS. There was an article about their stay in last Sunday's NTY travel section.

by Tor on 12/30/2004 at 3:52 PM

markj
HotelChatter

Yeah, read that part, still couldn't get over... (none / 0)

Maybe it is because I have been to the Hudson, but I just could not get over the fact that he thought the Hudson, of all places was going to provide child friendly services. The Hudson provides sub par services to adults, and children alike, and is really best known as a scene hotel.

I do agree that the reservations line lady should have warned the customer, and she seemed to be a bit misleading about the amenities, however, a little web research would have probably revealed the Hudson as a tad different than what he was looking for.

Again, not saying families shouldn't stay at the Hudson, or wherever they want to stay, but you should know what you are in for. Hopefully, now, with all this information out there, the next family that considers staying at the Hudson will think long and hard about whether or not it is the place for them.

As for the Delano, here is a review of the pool scene at the Delano: http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2004/12/12/19144/966

Again, because I have been to the Hudson, and read about it for years, it was really hard for me to imagine someone not knowing that it may not be child friendly.

by markj on 12/30/2004 at 5:58 PM

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