Me and Harlem go way back. Aloft Harlem used to be my go to hotel before I started staying more on the lower east side. In fact, a Marriott employee who used to work at Aloft directed me to this brand new, just opened hotel. I was excited to return to uptown and stay in this spot! I wanted to love this hotel. I don’t like giving lackluster reviews and feeling like a Karen. But over two nights, the transgressions just piled up. I’m a Marriott ambassador who stays in hotels about 240 nights a year. I never bring up my status. This might be the first time I actually uttered in frustration, “it’s September and I’ve already spent 27,000 dollars at these hotels, why is this so hard?” Upon checkin, it took almost an hour. This is even more frustrating because my first night was business and my company always sends a spending authorization. Two days in a row I checked with the hotel to see if they had received the authorization. They lost the first one. They mismanaged the second one. I always call or chat ahead to ensure a smooth checkin. It was still a mess when I arrived. The room was a “Central Park view.” I should have known better; I don’t know why I believed this title. I know New York geography better than that. I was looking into a building. Central Park facing or in the direction of Central Park shouldn’t be called central park view. I had changed from the city view to the Central Park view before arrival and I guess I’m glad I did because while they were trying to figure out my reservation they mentioned they had oversold the city view rooms. I will say the black out shades do a great job. The bed was fine. Sheets were a little co****. This hotel costs close to what a Moxy costs, so their sheets should be comparably smooth and comfortable. The bathroom was an absolute joke. Maybe not all the rooms are like mine, but mine may as well not have had a door. As you can see in my photos, the door is for “art.” There is a huge gap where you can see everything! Like probably 12 inches or greater of a gap! Who designed this and thought it was a great idea?! Glad I was alone. The air unit is SUPER loud. Doesn’t bother me as much since we usually have a fan on at home, but it was so loud that when it came on, I had to turn the TV up. It will likely bother some people. And you can hear everything through the walls. Oh, and the toilet clogged twice. And one of the days, the hot water was off all day for repairs, though that’s out of anyone’s control. It’s just giving context to a very un-relaxing stay. Back to the front desk mess—I later noted a destination fee on my bill (I had two separate bills because one night was business and one was personal). I don’t mind destination fees—I’ve had them at many Marriott properties. But I was never informed of this one. I even asked at the restaurant, and they had no idea. I finally went to the desk and asked and they explained I should have been given vouchers for each ni
102 Reviews