HotelChatter

Check-In: We arrived at the hotel at 3pm but their check-in time is actually 4pm. So we sat on a comfy leather couch in the lobby and observed the scene for a bit. The scene was largely European and talkative but we were impressed with the bilingual, possibly tri-lingual hotel staffers. And in the end, we didn't have to wait too long. About ten minutes later, a staffer came over to present us with a key for our room 1706.

Room Reaction: In a floor layout we've never seen before, even-numbered rooms are on one end of the hallway and odd-numbered rooms are on the other side. Stepping off the elevator we made a left and walked a few steps to our room. We opened the door with a little bit of hesitation as we expected these rooms to be tiny. True, Flatotel is meant to be a combination of a flat/apartment and a hotel room but we got scared a bit by this website picture.

Fortunately we had a huge room, by NYC standards, that included a bathtub with a view, a chaise/sofa and even a wrap-around terrace (but you had to ask hotel security for the terrace door key.) There was however, a strong cleaning products smell to it. It was almost too much for when we sat at the desk, we felt as if we were huffing furniture polish.

Amenity Madness: The room did not have that many goodies inside. In fact, the room had zero flair at all. The mini-bar, like the walls, was empty, the TV was a chunky old box and we had no idea how to work the clock next to our bed. Also, we can't remember the name of the bathroom toiletries. However, we did like the two robes hanging in the bathroom and the 24-hour room service. We gave the hotel our old "Fry Test"--ordering a side of fries and a Coke--and they were hot, crispy and seasoned. Yum.

Internet Connect: Internet is reportedly free but we used our WiFi card to be safe.

Service: Anyone following us on Twitter last Thursday night probably had a good laugh over the service snafu at this hotel. We realized at 10:30pm that we had forgotten our toothbrush. Thus we headed out to find a Duane Reade but on the way, we stopped at the concierge desk. We told him our dilemma and he said someone would bring us toothpaste.

So we took the elevator back to our room and waited. And waited. After 30 minutes, we called down with our request and the concierge said he would have someone send it up. We said we would rather just come and get it, but he told us that housekeeping had the toiletries, not him. So we waited. And waited. Again.

We made one last call and emphasized that we needed to get up at 4am and would like to go to sleep soon with fresh breath. Finally about 10 minutes after that, a maintenance man showed up with a small box of toothpaste. On the flip side, when we left the hotel at 4:30am to catch a flight out of Newark airport, a bellmen had a taxi waiting in front and helped with our luggage. So service wasn't a total loss here.

Location, Location, Location: The hotel is located on 52nd between 6th and 7th Avenues. It's close to Central Park, Times Square, Broadway and anything else worth seeing or visiting in Midtown. We quite liked it for our Midtown schmoozing purposes.

Bottom Line: The rooms are spacious and the location is great, plus there seemed to be a bit of a nightlife scene in the hotel lobby at the Moda restaurant and bar. We're not so sure we would have paid $345 for this room but at Quikbook's rate of $189 a night, it was a fantastic deal. All in all, it was a pleasant surprise for NYC. Just make sure to bring your own toothpaste.