Review of the Hotel Beacon New York City

The hotel Beacon is located in Manhattan, 8 miles from La Guardia Airport, on the corner of Broadway and 75th Street. It is over 20 floors and more than 200 spacious and comfortable rooms.
http://www.beaconhotel.com/
2130 Broadway at 75th Street
New York, NY
10023
212-787-1100 (P)
212-724-0839 (F)
Toll free reservations ¨C 800-572-4969

The hotel is centrally located on the upper west side of NYC and is near many NY attractions. It also has everything necessary within walking distance for an extensive hotel stay. There is a supermarket across the street, a Starbucks on the corner of the next street, and a drug store/pharmacy next to the Starbucks. The grocery store is open until 1:30 AM. I am not sure how late the drug store is open, but I believe it is until at least midnight. This is helpful for travelers who arrive later in the evening and need food or other essentials.

Rates

Room Type Rate
Single Rooms $220 - $295
Double Rooms $235 - $325
Suite $295 - $550
Two-bedroom Suite 650.00 & up

Lobby

The lobby is small but elegantly styled. The front desk is off the left as you walk in the front door. To the right is a lovely sitting area with couches and chairs, very comfortable for meeting guests, having a latte and a chat.

Elevator

As you walk up the first set of stairs, the concierge/bellman is the left of the elevators. There are two elevators, both very small, and during our trip, one of them was not working, so it was common to have 7 or 8 people stuffed in to one elevator.

Rooms

The rooms at the Beacon are older but well maintained. I stayed in a double bed room, and it was very spacious with two double beds, a television in a dresser/armoire, and round table and chairs, suitable for computer use or eating. There is also a comfortable second chair in front of them bed, and a kitchenette across from the bathroom. The kitchenette has a refrigerator, sink, microwave, and coffee station. Excellent for the extended stay traveler who does not want to spend every meal eating in a restaurant.

The dïˆr of the room is classic and subtle, with artwork on the walls representing colonial history. The wallpaper is worn but clean and appropriate in design to the rest of the room. There are floral bed spreads and a nice gold shade with crisp sheets and pillowcases in standard hotel white.

The bathroom is a bit small, but it helps to have the extra sink in the kitchenette. The bathroom is stocked with typical hotel amenities such as; shampoo, hair dryer, lotion, conditioner, and regular and facial soap. The packaging is classic and appropriately in line with the dïˆr of the rest of the room.

Food

The hotel does not have its own restaurant, but it does have an adjacent restaurant called Viand that will deliver to the room. Viand is open 24 hours and delivers to the room from 6 am-1:30 am. It serves a variety of tasty items and prices range from $3.95 for soup and desserts to $25.95 for steak with a multitude of choices and prices in between.

Attractions

Centrally located to several of New York¡¯s most popular attractions, You will never be without something to do.

Lincoln Center 10 blocks
American Museum of Natural History 6 blocks
Beacon Theatre 1/2 block
Central Park 3 blocks
Zabar's 5 blocks
Theater District 1 mile
Promenade Theater 1 block
Jacob Javits Convention Center 1 3/4 mile
Columbia University 1 3/4 mile
Julliard School 9 blocks
Manhattan School of Music 2 miles
Fordham University 3/4 mile
ABC World Headquarters 8 blocks
Filene's Basement 4 blocks

Service

The service at the Beacon was, for the most part, quite impressive. I did not handle our check in, but I did need to speak with the front desk a few times for other things and they were always professional and courteous. When there was a problem with the TV remote, they came up within 5 minutes with a new one. And, the housekeepers always said hello when they saw us in the morning, and

Amenities

Meeting rooms for up to 75
Wireless internet in all rooms
Business center with DSL
Direct dial phones with voicemail
Fax service
In room safe
In room movies
Clock radio
Cable TV with over 50 channels
Iron/Ironing board
Hair dryers
Valet service
Laundry room

A few problems

Overall, staying at the hotel Beacon was a positive experience, but there were some issues.

One of the elevators was not working, and because it was 90+ degrees out every day we were there, the elevator rides were stifling and claustrophobic.

The Air conditioning in the room, although it said I had it set to 65, never went below 77. I could also not get it off the auto setting, so it shut off every so often, and usually at a time when I did not want it to shut off.

The beds were very hard. Some people like this, but my back did not appreciate it. I have a hard mattress at home and often sleep on the couch when my back bothers me a lot, but the hotel room didn¡¯t have a couch, so I was stuck. After walking all day, my back was not in the best of shape anyway, so the hard mattress was even worse.

I wanted to charge my breakfast to the room, but the delivery person they sent up did not speak any English, so when I tried to ask about it, he had no idea what I was talking about. Since my parents were taking care of the charges for the trip, I was not expecting to pay for any meals, so I was not prepared.

Bottom Line

The hotel Beacon was the perfect hotel for our four day stay in Manhattan. There were a few issues, but it is rare not to have some concerns in most any hotel. The overall experience was positive, and I would not only come back, but I would recommend the hotel to anyone staying in the city.