The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue

“Not as good as my last stay here but there is still hope.”

I stayed here a year or two ago and remembered it fondly, but this 2nd stay was riddled with issues. However they handled them appropriately (Front Office Manager Isaac), and there’s so much good about this hotel that I most certainly will return. But first off, many thanks to Isaac; he is fantast… more

I stayed here a year or two ago and remembered it fondly, but this 2nd stay was riddled with issues. However they handled them appropriately (Front Office Manager Isaac), and there’s so much good about this hotel that I most certainly will return. But first off, many thanks to Isaac; he is fantastic and the hotel is very lucky to have him I arrived on an early flight into New York City and had a work issue come up as I was approaching the hotel. I was under duress and was going to need to start working immediately to solve the work issue. I knew the room might not be ready and would simply head to a quiet area to set up my laptop and start working. The front desk did in fact state that my room wasn’t ready however would set me up in the business center which was perfectly acceptable. A few minutes later they came and then tried to “upsell” me to a larger room instead of bringing me to the business center as that one was in fact “ready”. I declined as it was just myself traveling and I did not need the extra space- and was already spending nearly 1500 per night. They then escorted me to the business center, however the Wi-Fi set up and access code was confusing so I then had to call them on my cell for assistance to get my computer finally connected. An hour or two later they came with the room key and was able to go up to my room. Traveling all morning and then having the work issue had me a bit frazzled, so when in my room I wasn’t as sharp as usual and didn’t realize that the sound that I could hear every 30 seconds was not a truck driving by outside on the street, or a plane or the subway. I was then gone all day and back in the evening exhausted and then slept horribly and wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t until returning from the office the next day that I then realized the noise was/is a building issue. I called the front desk asking them what the sound could possibly be as I still couldn’t figure it out and they were trying to put me in touch with security which was not where I needed to be directed, this wasn’t a noise situation caused by guest or what not that required security - rather it was a building issue and they just weren’t understanding. The phone in the room is glitchy and would cut off so we got disconnected a couple of times and then at one point I had them on my cell phone and the room phone at the same time and one of the persons got frustrated with me. I then finally realized that I was right next to an elevator shaft that made a loud swishing sound every 30 seconds or so as the elevator wizzed by. I asked them to have a manager call me as soon as possible at which point Isaac called, listened and fixed the problem by (coincidentally) moving me to exactly what they tried to upsell me to the day prior!! This immediately solved the noise problem! It was an “accessible” room however, which I would opt not to get when booking and paying for that specific room type in the future. The other issue was that on my first evening the TV was broken and engineering had to come up twice to fix it. This is just aggravating, however the gentleman was delightful. The water pressure in the showers is the best of any hotel I’ve stayed at in my lifetime, and for me that is a huge plus. The club lounge on the fourth floor is remarkable. It’s comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and the food options that they have exceeded those of any Ritz Carlton club lounge I’ve ever been in. I’ve read lots of reviews here of folks saying they don’t like the beds in this hotel and I don’t disagree; however it isn’t a game changer for me. But I do think they would be better served to replace them with regular or Tempurpedic ones as opposed to what they currently have (a box spring with a thin pad on top). The Location is great- 5th Avenue at 36th, and Ma in Front/Bell Services is as wonderful as he was last time. This is a fantastic hotel with wonderful food, great shower water pressure and a next level staff, and is consistently less costly than other comparable hotels in NYC.

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“Disappointing stay”

Our stay was a mixed bag. Let me start with the positive. The hotel is in a great location and accessible to a lot of things to do. We were here to see a concert at MSG. It only took us about 10 minutes on foot to MSG from the hotel. The valet service is excellent. The guys working the vale… more

Our stay was a mixed bag. Let me start with the positive. The hotel is in a great location and accessible to a lot of things to do. We were here to see a concert at MSG. It only took us about 10 minutes on foot to MSG from the hotel. The valet service is excellent. The guys working the valet are so nice and accommodating. We added the parking to our hotel package. It was $90 without in and out privileges. We had a few drinks at the bar prior to the concert. The bar is cozy and the bartender was fantastic. My cocktail was delicious. We stayed in their superior room. It was a decent size especially considering that it was one of their more basic rooms. We had one of the interior rooms. The view was awful, but it was also extremely quiet. It had a nice walk in closet, a fridge, and coffee maker. The bathroom was also a good size and updated. Now for the not so good. The hallways are rather dingy for a hotel of this caliber. But, the more upsetting part was when I went to pull down the comforter to get into bed, and there was a wad of hair on the sheets. At this point, it was 11 pm and neither of us had the energy to say something. I removed the hair and we went to bed. But, I’m a clean freak and the thought of sleeping on sheets that possibly hadn’t been changed was very disconcerting especially at over $800 a night for this room! Also, the bathroom floor looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned. I mentioned the hair on the sheets as we were checking out. The gentleman was very understanding. He removed the $90 parking fee from our bill and that was appreciated, but the room was the problem and I think that something off the room would have been more apropos. I also don’t think $90 off of a @ $1300 bill for one night quite covers dirty sheets. The other issue was breakfast. They were sorely understaffed and the servers stretched way too thin. Again, when you’re paying $80 for breakfast for two, the food and experience should reflect that. This is not a reflection on the staff who were always friendly and doing their best to accommodate everyone. The hotel management needs to hire more staff and get things in order. You can’t continue to charge these astronomical prices and think that the public is going to accept a subpar experience.

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“Not bad, not great”

Service was excellent. We booked a junior suite with the empire state building view. The room is spacious but due for an update. Feels a tad outdated in the living quarters. The bathroom is beautiful and spacious. The bed is the absolute worst bed I’ve ever slept on. It’s literally a box spring and… more

Service was excellent. We booked a junior suite with the empire state building view. The room is spacious but due for an update. Feels a tad outdated in the living quarters. The bathroom is beautiful and spacious. The bed is the absolute worst bed I’ve ever slept on. It’s literally a box spring and a 2in thin mattress pad. I didn’t have back pain before my stay but I do now. For the price I am most disappointed in the bed and would stay somewhere else when returning to New York specifically because of the bed. In addition when taking into consideration location is a bit on the outskirts and could stay at more prime location hotels for the price and most likely an actual matttess will be provided.

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“missing the Wow”

hotel is missing a WOW Factor. Booked with amex platinum..normally they offer a upgrade or at least a better room, no upgrade available and got worst possible view ..hotel is very expensive for what it is. Staff at breakfast very loud and taking amount themselves..not professional at all. Room serv… more

hotel is missing a WOW Factor. Booked with amex platinum..normally they offer a upgrade or at least a better room, no upgrade available and got worst possible view ..hotel is very expensive for what it is. Staff at breakfast very loud and taking amount themselves..not professional at all. Room service was a frozen pizza and what looked like Campbells chicken soup at 5 star prices--room was ok but not as big as it appears on their website, a tight squeeze. Bathroom for NYC was nice. Concierge was helpful in giving information about Veterans Day parade. One mention to doorman, do not recall his name but was from Tibet, what above and beyond to get a taxi with parade, took us two streets over and waited 20 minutes with us.

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