Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza, HY36 Midtown Manhattan
Previous parts to this trip:
- Introduction: USA, September 2019
- Trip Report: TAP Portugal | Airbus A330 | London Heathrow – Lisbon
- Trip Report: TAP Portugal | Airbus A320 | Lisbon – Geneva
- Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza, Geneva Airport
- Trip Report: Iberia | Airbus A320 | Geneva – Madrid
- Trip Report: Iberia | Airbus A350 | Madrid – New York JFK
- Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza, HY36 Midtown Manhattan
The first hotel I booked for this trip was the Crowne plaza HY36, Midtown Manhattan.
For an overnight stop in New York, I preferably wanted somewhere closer to town. On my previous visit to New York in 2016, I booked a room at the Doubletree just south of Times Square. Having shifted my allegiance to IHG since, I was now after one of their properties. There were plenty of options in the city.
I opted for the Crowne Plaza HY36 as it just about came in budget and was pretty much in the location I was after. Upon arrival, it turned out it was right across the street from the Doubletree I stayed in previously.
Check In
The lobby of the hotel was reasonably small and there were a couple of people waiting to check in ahead of me.
To combat the pre-authorisations I’d be likely to experience on this trip, I had a separate card that had been unused especially for this purpose. When asking if I could pay on one card and put the pre authorisation on another, this caused a bit of confusion. It worked out in my favour however. Without any fuss at all, the check in agent said that he wouldn’t take any pre-authorities and if I did spend anything, I’d just have to pay separately. Well, look at that! Why can’t everywhere have the same policy?!
I was handed a pretzel and a small bottle of water as welcome amenities. This was in addition to either the points or a drink voucher.
The room
I was allocated a room on the tenth floor.
Upon entering, I noticed that this wasn’t your standard room layout. No bathroom as you enter, just a small hallway to the room.On the right hand side, there was a small closet containing an ironing board.
Passing through to the room itself, there was a queen sized bed.
Next to the bed was a selection of power points
Along with the standard Crowne Plaza sleep spray
Also in the room was a small desk area with nearby power points.
On the desk was a coffee machine.
Behind the bedroom was the bathroom. Everything was spotless in here. As you enter, there was a sink with a good amount of space around it.
Next to this was a selection of amenities.
At the end of the bathroom was a toilet and a standalone shower, which is much better than the ankle deep baths that you find in the USA most of the time.
My thoughts
If you’re after somewhere within a 10 minute or so walk from Times Square, the Crowne Plaza HY36 is a very solid choice. As mentioned earlier, I stayed in this area in 2016 and don’t recall the hotel being open at that point. So this is a recently new build I’m led to believe.
As such, everything here is spotless. The bed was comfortable enough and I’d like to say I got a good nights sleep… but jetlag said otherwise. You can’t blame the hotel for that though!
Another thing you cant really blame the hotel for as such is the amount I ended up paying. Manhattan is expensive. As such, this place is pretty much in line with most other hotels in the area price wise. However with the decline in the value of the pound since booking in February to actually staying in September, the nightly rate went from £250/night to just over £310. Ouch.
Further info:
https://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/new-york/nycpc/hoteldetail
