Life Hotel New York

Bad

Exceptional

The entryway is pretty and then the interior is gorgeous. The lobby bar is a beautiful peach orange stone lit from within and the floors, decor and details are so well done. My room was small but really stylish and comfortable. I loved the lighting and the bathroom was big. The bed was extremely comfortable. I honestly can’t say there was anything I didn’t like about the property. The one tiny thing that was not 100% excellent was the included breakfast - I was yelled at by the person handing out the breakfast boxes that I needed to give her some kind of card for the breakfast and coffee and then there were no non-dairy milk options for the coffee and the breakfast box had a piece of untoasted wheat bread with avocado spread on it which wasn’t that great and a bruised apple and some little bowls of berries which were good and a croissant which was good and a little jar of Nutella - so that did not feel like a $75 breakfast experience. But I loved every single other thing about the hotel.

Very good

Pleasant

Rooms were clean. Good location depending on what you are doing. Staff was very friendly.

Exceptional

It was great for the price, but the faucets weren’t fully attached, cold water was hard to come by, and various room appliances and amenities listed when booking were really only on request with limited supply. Staff were quick and no frills, which we appreciated. The bar was alright but a little pricey, but to be fair, it is manhattan. Probably wouldn’t stay at this specific hotel again.

Ideal location - walkable to everything but tucked away. High ceilings in the room & super comfortable beds.

There were no grab bars in the shower No shelf space for clothes Light bulbs in bathroom were dim Only one electrical outlet in the room and that was in the bathroom Elevators were small and dark I would not use this hotel again.

Great stay! Love the unique hotel

Pleasant

Excellent

I highly recommend this hotel. Be sure to eat at ZOI, the onsite restaurant. Everything we had was delicious…especially the short rib soup!

Also the breakfast, never seen something so random, they give you a box of random stuff, no dietary requirements respected, not do you have any choice. Looked more like something they could find rather than a proper breakfast.

There were also three unread messages blinking on the room phone. When I asked the front desk to clear them, I was told they didn’t know how. After asking in person for towels the day we arrived and waiting all day with nothing delivered, I finally called the front desk—only to somehow be connected to another guest’s room. The man who answered said he had been waiting for pillows and commented that the hotel was so cheap because the service was terrible. Unfortunately, that pretty much summed up our experience. The lack of basic amenities and repeated failure to respond to simple requests made the stay incredibly frustrating. Very disappointing, and I would not stay here again.

Well located , friendly staff and clean, inside bar , subway line close

Exceptional

Unfortunately, the room was not clean. We checked in, dropped off our things and left immediately due to plans. We came back later that evening, close to midnight. When we actually had a chance to settle in and look around, we started noticing the problems. There was a dead bug on the bathroom floor, the room floor did not appear to have been properly swept and there were hairs in the tub. Once we pulled back the bedding, the sheets were visibly dirty/stained. By the time we discovered all of this, it was close to 1 am, we were exhausted, and decided to just deal with it for 2 nights. My biggest concern, was the lack of a window in the sleeping area.The room had what appeared like a window but when I opened the paneling it was a cement wall. The only "functional" window was in the bathroom, and when we opened it, there was air-conditioning equipment immediately outside. It made me uncomfortable thinking about what we would do in the event of a fire or another emergency if we couldn't leave through the hallway. The staff was kind and accommodating, and I hate giving a negative review when the people working there were so pleasant. Unfortunately, the cleanliness issues and especially my concerns about the room would make me hesitant to stay there again.

The main downside was the very loud through-wall A/C unit. It was fully functional (no rattles or maintenance issues) but just incredibly loud making it hard to sleep even with earplugs. The fan ran continuously with no auto setting and in a hot NYC summer, it was not possible to sleep with it off. For light sleepers, this may be a dealbreaker. It was for me and for that reason, sadly, we will not be back.