This is a comparison review of The Element Hotel in New York City (by Westin) and The Sheraton Towers Hotel in New York City
Dale first booked us for four nights at The Element Hotel in NYC. He had not stayed there before during his previous NYC trips but he read that it's a new hotel and we both liked the "green"environmentally friendly concept that the hotel was portraying
Okay, I can see how they're trying to be green with the soap dispensers in the shower (vs individually bottled shampoo/shower gel) and how the shampoos and soaps were eco-friendly. The suites are equipped with a small kitchenette which is nice - but, in our suite (& probably numerous others in that hotel) everything was so compact they put the television in the middle of the room on a tabletop beside the study desk. The tabletop was too narrow for the TV and it is very easy to tip over the TV. It was a stupid set up. Can't you put the TV on a ledge that is wide enough to hold it and preferably have the back of the TV against a wall?
The TV issue was not the make it or break it for me. Nor was the not-so-welcoming check in counter desk. The front lobby is also quite small in comparison to other hotels I have stayed at. The problem with that is that instead of holding their complimentary breakfast at the back part of the lobby, they hold the breakfast at the front part of the lobby. Great. Now you have tons of people trying to grab free breakfast and hence not much room for those lining up to check in or check out or talk to concierge at front desk, and then there's barely enough room to line up for their inefficient elevators.
Elevators. That was where I drew the line.
There appeared to be only one functional elevator out of the three or four in total - to serve 40+ floors. The first time I stepped into the elevator I noticed how old it was - and although the hotel is "new", it's a renovated older building....and the old, smaller elevators make it very obvious. Fine.
Dale & I took the elevators down the first morning during the complimentary breakfast hours. What a mistake. Again, only one elevator seemed to be functioning. And by functioning, I mean moving. We waited a good several minutes for our elevator and we were staying on a top floor. The elevator was already half full when we got in. It stopped on nearly every floor after us. Several floors down, a family of three tried to squeeze in what little room was left. They apologized saying they passed on the 1st elevator that came by because it was too full, and then ended up waiting 20 minutes for this elevator which they didn't want to give up (or else they'd have 30+ flight of stairs to walk and they were with a young child). The problem was the elevator ride going down from there. I was so scared because we were around maximum capacity and the elevator was not running smoothly. It had many jolts. There were a few times the elevator door was suppose to open but it did not. I actually wanted to get out and just walk down the flight of stairs because I was starting to panic a bit but the doors would not open when they were suppose to. And a couple of times the elevator stalled and stopped for a bit. Anyways, I refused to take the elevator back up again and Dale could see how stressed out I was about the situation. It's a safety hazard. I did report the dysfunctional elevator to staff and just the elevator problem in general but I'm not sure what they would/could do about it.
Dale was a real sweetheart and understanding. He immediately called up the more reputable Sheraton Towers Hotel that he usually stays at in New York City and booked us there right away.
Also, complimentary breakfasts are nice. But a note to The Element Hotel: please do not falsely advertise it being a "healthy" breakfast when it is not. With the exception of a couple of apples (which ran out quickly) I did not see anything healthy. I have had a healthier breakfast at the Westin Edmonton last month which did not even advertise their breakfast to be healthy.
So please be aware if you still decide to book with The Element Hotel in NYC. I do not recommend it and would not stay there again.
*****
The Sheraton Towers Hotel New York City is much better than The Element Hotel in NYC.
I missed the small kitchenette in the room that was provided by The Element Hotel but that was it.
First of all, their elevators work efficiently! And they have I believe eight elevators to service 40+ floors: a few of which are designated only for the higher floors, which is really how an elevator system should be for high towers.
The lobby of the Sheraton Towers is much much larger. The only problem during our stay that I want to point out is that for some reason the hotel decided to hold the United Nations meetings in the lobby. WTF?! The large lobby was packed with tons of United Nations volunteers/workers. It was so inconvenient to walk through the lobby and it went on for days - from early morning to very late at night. Why couldn't Sheraton put the volunteers/workers in a conference room or separate meeting room? Ridiculous. But Dale pointed out that during his previous stays with this hotel, they have never had that issue with any meetings held within the main lobby.
Other than that, the club lounge complimentary breakfast and early evening hor d'oeuvres were held in a separate area than the main lobby - which was nice and really how it should be (ah hem The Element hotel NYC). I would say the complimentary breakfast was definitely had healthier options than The Element - again, even though The Sheraton did not tout their breakfast to be healthy while The Element does.
I also liked the location of The Sheraton Towers much more than The Element. The Sheraton Towers within a 10 min walk to Central Park or Times Square. There are a ton of eateries nearby including a local grocer with ready made hot food and sushi (within a 30 second walk). And the immediate vicinity around Sheraton Towers was more appealing in general.
I highly recommend staying at The Sheraton Towers New York City.
Have you been to New York City?
Which hotel would you recommend staying at or not staying at?
Do you have certain hotel chains you prefer to stay at?
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