The Westin New York Grand Central

Everything

We stayed at The Westin New York Grand Central for three nights as part of our honeymoon, and it was a wonderful experience from start to finish.

After arriving from Philadelphia by Amtrak, we were excited to begin our time in New York, and the hotel provided the perfect base for our trip. Check-in was warm and efficient, and the member of staff at reception very kindly upgraded our room, which was a lovely surprise for our honeymoon.

Our room on the 40th floor offered spectacular views across the city and was clean, comfortable, and well-equipped with everything we needed for our stay. The hotel itself was ideally located, making it easy to explore all that New York has to offer.

Although we only ate in the restaurant once because we spent most of our time sightseeing, our overall impression of the hotel was extremely positive.

The Westin New York Grand Central made our honeymoon feel even more special, and we would highly recommend it to anyone.

I stayed at this hotel for the first time during two weekends in April for total of four nights in rooms 2605 and 3711. The good part: Both rooms had angled views of Chrysler Building and 3711 also had view of East River. Rooms were quiet, spacious and well lit with comfortable desk space for working. Front desk staff was professional, welcoming and friendly. Alexander was particularly gracious and helpful. Restaurant provided good service and excellent burgers although eggs and potatoes at buffet breakfast were cold all four mornings. Hotel is in great location and if you like to walk, there are the best museums, shopping and restaurants within 1-2 miles.

However, the negatives spoiled this. The two most serious problems were housekeeping and ancient electrical infrastructure in both rooms.

Housekeeping is a huge problem. In room 2605, the refrigerator cabinet was filthy with dust and crumbs all over (see attached photo). In 3711, there was a very obvious stain on toilet tank (see attached photo), easily removed with a wet-wipe but left dirty by housekeeping. I can only assume that there must be many other filthy areas full of bacteria in both rooms.

Housekeepers are poorly trained. On my first morning in 2605, I reached for extra hand towel from linen cart outside my door. Maid shouted from the other end of long hallway “no, no, no” and as she approached, she continued to yell that she would not clean my room if I took the towel. I have traveled all over the world and this is first time I have been yelled at by a hotel maid.

To report this, I tried multiple times that morning to call a manager but was on hold repeatedly. When I finally reached Sam, he assured me that he would report my complaint to housekeeping and have the refrigerator cabinet cleaned. I asked for housekeeping to call me. However, Sam did not show up to see the filth, the fridge cabinet stayed dirty throughout my stay and I never heard from the housekeeping manager.

Electrical infrastructure is another serious problem: There were no functioning USB ports in either room. Bedside lamps and clock radios appear to have USB ports but none worked. Hotel advertises a recent 30 million dollar renovation but they apparently neglected to upgrade the rooms for use of digital devices! Even some of the electrical outlets did not work so I could charge only one device at a time with my adaptor.

More problems: 30 million dollar renovation included poorly designed rain showers. To reach faucet at back end of shower, you must stand directly under the shower head, which sprays you first with freezing cold water and then with burning hot water if you turn the dial too far. And king size beds in both rooms sagged miserably and were very uncomfortable.

So if you decide to stay here, you should bring extra plugs with USB adaptors, Lysol spray and wipes, and your own mattress, if feasible.

From check-in to check out, we had a wonderful stay. Staff were always on hand and happy to help, special shout out to Sandra Rodriguez for going above and beyond making my Daughter's 16th Birthday surprise extra special and to Jose Miguel for welcoming us like family, going out of his way each day to say hello or good night with a huge smile, and making sure we had everything we needed.

Our room was spacious, clean and the beds amazingly comfortable. Location was ideal being a short walk to/from Grand Central Station and Times Square only a little bit further.

I would have no hesitation staying here again and also recommending to others.

I am a Bonvoy Platinum Elite member. Great location, difficult to get upgrades, crowded breakfast with option to get a couple of items from the shop which are good (yogurt parfait, baked goods, health shots, etc.). No executive lounge and stingy on water bottle distribution.
Have to talk to managers to get upgrades on a revisit.

We were delighted with this lovely hotel, clean, spacious comfortable rooms large tv good bathroom and the most comfortable bed! The staff are the best!! approachable helpful and friendly!! The location is excellent conveniently a few blocks out of Times Square and Broadway. Walking distance to Grand Central for exploring the city, Bryant Park not far, and the beautiful Chrysler building is right there. The food, the one time we ate there was excellent!! Grab and go somewhat pricey 10 dollars for a bottle of water, hmm. But overall so glad we chose this hotel. Would recommend.

I wanted to love this hotel, but Westin's seem to be of inconsistent quality now. The location is awesome. The hotel has good bones and friendly staff, but it not not had a renovation in decades. While the lobby is nice and "luxury" standard of Westin, the rooms are worn down, especially the bathrooms. I found even the bedsheets to be thin. This is a great location - I hope Westin invest in a major renovation and better upkeep. It is very expensive and the "Destination" fee does not help. Expect really high prices at the cafe and bar. Maybe this would all have been ok, but the rooms were very very tired.

This hotel is beyond the worst hotel I have ever stayed at. Anything you might need. They dont have. Water? Two nights asking - They ran out of water. In New York City!!! Hair dryer busted. Room service- place an order, never delivered. 700 usd a night and no water, no food, and even the simplest most basic request- non existent or promised and not delivered. Avoid at all costs.