AKA Central Park

The hotel provides well-equipped mini kitchens, spacious suites, and ample parking. Guests appreciate the cleanliness, friendly staff, and convenient location near Central Park and Broadway shows.

Read and judge for yourself. I received an email 2 days before my trip letting me know there would be facade maintenance and to possibly expect noise and obstructed views from 9-5 during my stay. Fine, but, struck me as shady to send the note 2 days before with a 72 hour cancellation policy. I needed to work from the hotel so given this info I might have looked for another place. Day of, my flight lands at 5am, and I head to the hotel to check in. The place is a ghost town. I wait for somebody, anybody, to help, but not only was nobody working the front desk, there was no security or anybody from the hotel FOR OVER AN HOUR before I decided to leave. Who knows when someone showed up eventually. I left after 2 more people came in and we were all flummoxed on what to do. I tried calling the hotel 5x and could see the phone as it was ringing. I leave a voicemail (which was never answered, btw). From the lobby I tried calling the sales line and got through to a person who informed me that since it was the morning of the day after check in (because I booked an extra night to ensure I’d have a spot after arriving early in the morning) they could not alter, cancel, or do anything with my reservation. I was stuck. At this point I was panicked and decided to leave to find a place to crash before important work meetings. Alas, there must have been something going on in the city that evening. I physically had to walk into hotels to inquire about availability because reservation sites don’t let you book for the night before given an early morning check in. I got no after no given hotels were fully booked when thank God a Hilton had an opening. Another hour wandering around New York in the morning after a long flight to find this room. AKA’s General Manager, Lauren Barbot, emailed me later that day to ask when I expected to check in (lol). I explained what happened and guess what? No response. I bumped the email a week later as at this point I never received a call back to my voicemail or response to my email. She never responded and it’s going on 3 weeks. So… good luck if you decide to stay here. Sharing in case my experience is helpful to others deciding. At least the Hilton had several front desk people, a security guard, and I imagine if I called them someone would have picked up or called me back.

Perfect Christmas in New York. Family of 4 enjoyed a terrific holiday. Fantastic location, behind the Plaza Hotel so just a few steps away from Central Park South with useful subway access. Rooms had plenty of space. Comfortable large beds. Good kitchen including coffee maker. Amenities on offer were also great - cinema room, bar, cafe, fitness centre, laundry.