The best thing about this hotel is its proximity to Times Square, the theatre district and the fact that it is fairly central in Manhattan. But importantly it is a comfortable and clean hotel.

The lobby area has no natural light and is so dimly lit it feels like you’re walking into a nightclub.

The customer service was average at best. Our travel agent had made an error with our booking with the number of guests and length of stay at this hotel. No fault of the hotel, but despite us producing paperwork showing the correct booking, they seemed reluctant to sort it out and give us a room for two until the manager came in the following morning (we were trying to check in at about 11pm - not sure where they expected us to go). Eventually we had no option but to take the room for one person – a room which could only be described as a shoe-box even for one person (A queen bed and a bathroom), and with a shower-head you have to duck under – and I’m only 5’9”. They said they would send up a fold-away bed but that never came even after a follow up call. After frantic international calls to our travel agent back home, who in-turn called the hotel to sort out the mess, they gave us a room more akin to what we had booked, but we still had to spend two nights in the shoe-box until that room became available.

Upon checking in for that room we were told that room was a “very nice” room. We laughed when we saw it because the room was pretty much status-quo for a hotel room. Comfortable and clean, but nothing luxurious - old rooms which have been refurbished basically. The bathroom was dim, basic and without much bench space to put toiletries which was a bit annoying, and the shower took a long time to heat up. But we were still able to relax and get a good night’s sleep which is probably the most important thing.

In between our change of rooms we had to leave our luggage with reception. When we came back to collect them, they had moved the bags for some reason and they couldn’t locate one of our bags. The guy seemed almost lazy to help us find it. Just as concern was setting in we found it around a corner – and then we tipped him for I don’t know what.

During our stay there was an inflatable rat out the front warning of the Paramount’s supposed bed-bug infestation among other things, but we found no evidence of such a problem in either of the rooms we stayed in.

Breakfast on the mezzanine floor was expensive for not a lot of food which wasn’t that great. There weren’t any tables available so we were forced to have our meal on the sofa and coffee table! But this is New York City and there is no shortage of places to have a good breakfast! So I wouldn’t bother with breakfast in the hotel.

Overall, it was still a good place to stay and well worth considering given its location, and probably one of the cheaper options in that area. The rooms are good apart from a few minor negatives. However for people working in a major area of the hospitality industry, their customer service needs improvement. If you only need to deal with them when checking in & out then you’ll be fine.