Hotel Wolcott, New York City

In sharing the story of our unfortunate ordeal with the Hotel Wolcott sales staff, we hope to save other potential customers (esp. brides-to-be) similar experiences. The bait-and-switch routine that the Hotel Walcott attempted was unprofessional and utterly inexcusable. We are very disappointed that this beautiful hotel is staffed by management with so little business sense. Searching for elements that go into your wedding is much like dating, a lot of "not-in-a-million years", to "almosts" until you somehow magically find one that's just right. Such was the case with the Hotel Walcott. We had stumbled upon it almost completely by accident, but from the moment we stepped into its opulent Beaux-Arts lobby we felt this was "the one". It matched the theme of our wedding, and the glowing reviews from the likes of Citysearch only reinforced our conviction. We contacted the Walcott sales office to book rooms for our 25+ out-of-town guests. The sales agent (Crystal) seemed friendly enough, but tried to sell us on $245/night as the regular price for April 2009. I pointed out that their website as of that day listed $225/night. After checking she apologized and offered us $200/night, roughly a 10% discount over the price on the website, and with a little more prodding came down to $190/night. But my spidey senses were tingly... I felt I was being scammed somehow. I thanked Crystal for her time and told her I'd get back to her. The rate was still a little disappointing, since the Marriott Downtown is a 3.5-star (beautiful) hotel and was offering a similarly competitive rate, while the Wolcott had been crowned City Search's Budget Hotel winner of 2006, and Tourist Hotel for 2007. It seemed odd. Still, we were in love with the place, and even though we had a better rated hotel on the table, we decided to book. My fiancé called back a couple days later and spoke to Crystal and her manager (Paul), and was shocked to be briskly dismissed. Not only were they refusing to give us the quoted rate, they didn't want to accept any wedding blocks, something that should have been brought to our attention in the first place! We were crushed. Seeking a compromise, we offered to guarantee them at least 15 rooms, and would even put our credit card down to reserve. No good, as they reminded us "those were just quotes, not a guarantee." If we wanted our guests to stay at the esteemed Wolcott, they'd have to call in and reserve themselves. We took our business elsewhere.

Stayed 3 nights before NE cruise. Wonderful location, clean, friendly staff - Naomi was particularly helpful. Close to trains, Fifth Ave walk up to Central Park a delight. Coffee, Tea and pastry located in the ornate lobby in AM a nice subtle touch. Would recommend staying here, and will stay here again next time in NYC.

I was there for the 2008 Westminster shows and paid $180/night with discount due to shows (no dogs accepted at hotel) and was very impressed. Room was very clean, large and bright. Staff was very friendly and accomodating. Good location-close to most everything in central Manhatten. Good security and nice to wake up to hot coffee and muffins in lobby area for free. Would definitely stay there again.

Our trip to NYC was a hugh success. Four women friends stayed at the Wolcott. It was fine in accommodations, size and with the location being mid-town it was convenient to both up town and downtown. The continental breakfast in the lobby was a welcome addition and it gave us a head start in our exploration of the Big Apple. The hotel was safe, convenient, and better than we expected. We walked from the train station to the hotel and on the last day we took advantage of the lockers to extend our touring until later in the afternoon. I would recommend this hotel to others and plan to stay there next time I am on a trip to NYC. Two women on the trip were very well traveled and they agreed that it was a good value and it was perfect for our Bon Vivant Reunion.

-The location is really good, only a 5 to 10 minutes walk to the 4-5-6 and B-F-V-D subway stations. -A nice small pub very close to the hotel. -But the bathroom was the smallest one I´ve ever seen. The sink was almost detached from the wall, and the shower only gave hot or cold water. -I went there in June and this was by farest the cheapest hotel by price around. I would go back!

Excellent location, stayed a week and always walked in to a clean room. Walking distance for major shops and time square. People who works at the hotel are very helpful and friendly.

I suppose the old saying, "you get what you pay for" is true at the Wolcott. Cheap hotel, but cheap in every other department as well. If you enjoy the company of cockroaches, then this is the place for you. Too many to count, as a matter of fact. We could also smell a persistent and strong insecticide that apparently had no effect on our many roommates. The smell of fumigation and a dingy basement filled the entire hotel and persisted our whole week long stay. Perhaps it is designed to cover up the smell of the dirty carpets and furniture. Rude staff are the norm, but then again New York is well known for its rudeness. Nevertheless, if you want cheap and central to Manhattan, then here you go. But if your standards include cleanliness, friendliness, and an air conditioner that doesn’t sound like a dump truck running out of gas, pay a few extra bucks and stay somewhere else.

My wife and I just came back from a stay at the Wolcott and the experience was nightmarish. While the Wolcott is affordable financially, that is where the positives end for this historic hotel. First, the concierge is very rude and condescending. She would much rather be on the phone making personal phone calls than provide customer assistance. When she was asked about the theater discounts available, she would ask, "Why do you want to know?". Second, every hotel floor is stuffy with the smell of stale air. Since the Wolcott does NOT have central A/C or heat, they rely on opening windows for their "clean" air to aerate the floors. The temperature in NYC during our stay was in the high 80's so walking in to our hotel floor felt like walking into a sauna. The rooms were equally hot, dreary, and out-dated. Although there were window A/C units in the rooms, there was a note from the management stating that they should not be used during the day because the coils would freeze and prevent the unit from working properly. Third, the decor of the hotel felt like walking back in time to the 1900's when it was opened. Sure the lobby looked "nice", but the carpet was not clean. The floors of the hotel were dark and dreary. Each room, we had to be moved from the 8th floor to the 3rd floor, looked dim. The bed covers appeared to be older than I am while the bathroom could barely contain 1 person. Lastly, and the reason why we will NEVER go back to the Wolcott is because of their LACK OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. It took a day for the front desk to move us from one room to another - even after my wife started having symptoms from her allergic reaction to the room. It took asking the hotel manager if he wanted to be responsible for my wife's physical well being that he finally decided to move us to another room. He showed no empathy for our situation so we did not speak with him the rest of our stay. The hotel cleaning staff seemed friendly, which is to say that they would provide you with what you would ask for (towels, soap, etc) but they would not show you any emotional expression. They seemed like robots! I greeted one of the cleaning staff one morning and she looked at me with a blank expressionless face and continued to push her cart down the hallway. There was only 1 person that knew he meaning of the term CUSTOMER SERVICE, but she seemed to only work a few hours because her shift was always ending when we saw her. She was the only odd one out of the whole "bunch" because she was very polite. It is a shame that this hotel has been praised for its affordability and location that its staff cannot treat their guests with adequate respect. My wife works in the Customer Service field and she was appauled at the lack of respect and Customer Satisfaction showed by the staff towards their guests. We would rather pay a little more and receive the treatment we have grown accustomed to when staying at hotels than EVER going back to this place. We are going to tell EVERYONE we know that when they go to NYC, they need to stay away from the Wolcott.

Went to the Wolcott, had a mouse in the room. Asked for it to be removed only to have it reappear or just another mouse was in the room. Assistant Manager was less than ideal to work with. He was very condescending. We agreed that he would credit the stay but did not. When I received the credit card bill when I went home, I called the hotel to discuss this with him. He said I was mistaken and that he never said he would credit my room. Overall, a terrible experience. Must be other hotels in the area that would not treat guests so shabbily.

Just got back yesterday 03/29/2007. This is a very good value for a trip. Had never been to NYC before and wasn't sure where to stay or what was good. This hotel lived well up to the other reviews. Had no problems at all. It was so conveniently located we kept going back to drop stuff off.