The Empire Hotel

wENT TO AN OPERA AND mET AUDITIONS, SAW A FILM AND SPENT TIME AT THE TIME wARNER

the hotel was very nice by most standards.... though much too dimly lit. not to mention a vodka and orange juice at the bar shouldn't have cost me $14 + a compulsory $11 tip. unfortunately the room was horribly cramped. though facilities were nice. i did not feel comfortable at all.

Hotel location was awesome, just a few blocks from time square, central park and lincoln center. Hotel bed is amazingly comfortable

The hotel lobby was very inviting with two floors of seating. Some private areas to relax and visit with family and friends. Very comfortable ambiance.The staff was friendly and accommodating. The down side, double rooms were very small.

We picked this hotel for its proximity to the metropolitan opera at Lincoln Center. We could walk over and back which eliminated trying to find a taxi late at night. The room was a bit small but the staff was very attentive and helpful. We enjoyed the coffee house on the corner and the two restaurants next door.

We traveled on a package which included flights and hotel stay. Our group was 5 women and were assured that we would have two rooms with 2 large double beds per room and a cot for the fifth person. There was no cot, no possiblilty of securing a cot, as there was no space in the room for a cot even they been an option. The Empire staff made it clear that it does not provide cots. We were traveling to NYC to attend the opening of the opera at Lincoln Center. Location was perfect for that event. Hotel is a perfect location for Lincoln Center and within walking distance wonderful restaurants. Room was very hot an seemed impossible to cool down. Staff was lovely, but [...]needs to be aware that they should not tell clients that accommocations could be made for a third or fifth person. No cots, no couches, nothing....

good, but no drink water supplied

We had booked the deluxe per recommendations of others on travel site reviews. When we checked in (a Thursday night), the staff upgraded us to a suite. It was a big room for NYC. We actually had a king bed plus a sitting area with a desk, sofa, chair and still room for our suitcases. Amazing for NYC hotels. The room was clean and had the usual amenities. The bathroom was a good size and the shower was very nice. I liked the modern feel of everything. The bed was comfy. My only complaint on the room is that I wished it had been a bit cooler. I tried to adjust the AC but it didn't seem to do much.We didn't eat at the restaurant in the hotel, so I can't comment. We did try to go to the roof top bar with pool. We hung out up there...very nice, but I tried to order a drink twice and it never came. The staff up there didn't seem to know what they were doing. That said, all of the staff we interacted with in the hotel were very friendly.We had a decent view from our room on the 6th floor, but we couldn't see the park. No biggie. The hotel is right near Lincoln Center, convenient to Columbus Circle, subway, very close walk to Central Park, good location overall. Easy to get there from Penn Station. 24hr Duane Reade pharmacy and a Starbucks that is open to 1am right around the corner. I would recommend this hotel. We got a decent price [...]. Averaged $350 per night for 4 nights over a holiday weekend. Not bad for the size and location.I never really could figure out where the disco was in the hotel. I think it was the other roof top deck that you can't access from the guest area of the hotel, but every night there was a line outside of the hotel to get in. It wasn't really a bother, and we could never hear loud music in our room. The lobby is loud music at night. We expected more of a "scene" based on reviews and what local friends had told us, but it really was nothing to worry over.

The hotel itself looks great. The room was a bit of a shock when we walked in because its so small but I guess thats New York isn't it? The decor is nice but there's a fine line between being modern and having functionality. The shower has only 1 glass panel to it so although it looks cool you're spraying water out on the floor each time you're using it. There's no ironing board so you have to rely on guest services (+tip) if you need something pressed. There's also no ice machine around so again, you have to rely on guest services (+tip). The rooftop bar is a cool place but the pool is a very small rectangle. Don't get your hopes up about swimming but if you like to look around the city from above and have a few cocktails its great. The location is not bad at all. Central Park is only 2-3 blocks away, you can walk to midtown, and we took a quick cab to lower manhattan which was relatively cheap. There's a subway station 3-4 blocks away near Columbus Circle which can take you anywhere. All in all I would recommend this hotel but would probably try another one the next time I visit to compare.

We had a nice time visiting NYC and this hotel was a great choice. I liked the location and the decor is very chic. It was especially nice to have the rooftop pool and outdoor space to use for lounging around. The only issue we had was that the picture Orbitz uses to show the King Junior Suite is misleading. It appears that you'll have 2 seperate rooms from the picture but in actuality it's one larger room with a bed and a pullout couch. This is called the junior suite. The regular suite is what the picture is of and that has a seperate bedroom where the doors close. We were informed by staff that they don't even sell the regular suite rooms on Orbitz.