Imperial Court - New York City, USA     

My husband and I stayed here for a week at the end of April. We had spent a good month looking for hotels online, we wanted a room with private bath/shower in a decent location but didnt want to spend a fortune as we planned to be off exploring for much of the day and night. These seem like realistic demands but as we soon disciovered hotels in new york do not come cheap so the imperial court seemed like the best option for us. I booked through thier website. When we arrived on Friday afternoon we were told that the double room we had booked was not available so we would be in a 'deluxe' twin room and on Tuesday we would need to move rooms and would be in a queen room. The first room was pretty small, with a tiny shower room (the closet was bigger!), I think it was called deluxe as there were 2 double beds rather than singles, hovever the sheets and the rest of the room were clean and the beds were comfortable. No signs of any bed bugs which many other of the budget hotels in new york appear to be full of! The room is cleaned & fresh towels every day. On tuesday morning we asked if the new room was ready and were given a key. The new room was much nicer, a lot bigger, a bigger bathroom though the toilet was difficult to negotiate due to a very close wall! There was a bigger kitchenette and 2 closets. Being a suspicious person I thought it was strange thet the room was ready so early so I pulled back the bed sheets and discovered they hadn't been changed, the bed was full of hairs and there was an unpleasant yellow stain in the middle. We asked reception to get the sheets changed and it was done without a problem. We thought it seemed strange that many people seem to live in a 'hotel' then we read in a local paper that the imperial court is one of a growing number of illegal hotels where landlords are trying to force out tennants as they can make much more money from tourists. The hotel is in a good area with plenty of good bars, restaurants & diners nearby. (I recommend shining star diner for breakfast). The subway is on the corner of the next street on you are only 5 stops from times square, or a 20-30min walk. The natural history museum is at the end of the street and is worth a visit, good to do if the weather is bad as its massive and takes a few hours to explore. Central park is also next to the museum. Overall you will have a great time where ever you stay as there is so much to see & do in new york and it is so easy to get around. If you just want a clean & comfy room and arent bothered about other amenities then this hotel is worth a look.

I stayed at the hotel with my daughter and must say that my experience was all in all ver much positive, despite all the bad reviews I read prior to our trip to NYC. The room was clean and big enough, with a spacy closet for all the shopping we did,an iron / ironing board, a safe (no extra charge), and a TV set (over 100 TV programmes). The bathroom, though small, was sufficient to keep us clean and the water from the shower never burnt us (you just need to turn on the cold water faucet first before adjusting the temperature by turning on the hot one). The coffee machine (and small packets of coffee) came in handy in the morning, as did the fridge and the microwave. The staff at the reception was very friendly and helpful. They assisted me, for instance, in checking some important e-mails and sending a fax abroad. They also booked our shuttle service back to the airport. Go for it if you want to stay in a location free of tourists and experience local life. There are many places to have breakfast / dinner at (with real New Yorkers) just round the corner (the best and friendliest being the Europan Caf?), as well as some stores.