Central Park West Hostel

not what it looks like on pictures. Cancelled the trip, yet still dont have my money back. Nobody is answering the phone. Really dirty. Hair everywhere and smells bad

really dirty

Checked in (8 p.m.) Friday night, Feb 28th. Nice young man at the front desk. I was assigned to room 502. I went to my room and quickly realized there was no wifi available on the 5th fl. Free wifi is what was advertised not, free wifi on 1st floor only. I met my roomate. She didnt have a blanket for her bed. I went downstairs and asked the gentleman (at the front desk) for a blanket. He told me he didnt have any but that he would check in the basement. We never reveived a visit from him. My blanket was ripped throughout, frayed, several holes and seemed to be on its last leg. There were no lockers in the room as was advertised in the pictures. The mattresses were of prison quality. The 5th floor bathroom shown visible blotches of dried urine on the facade. My roomate and I washed up at the sink in our room, only. Ive had all types of horrible experiences staying in NYC hostels and air bnbs...I decided to take everything on the chin. The very next day (Saturday) at 7 p.m. I arrived back at the hostel from work. I greeted the young lady behind the desk. She paused, looked at me and finally decided to say, "hi" in a low and dry tone. I asked her if there is another network for the 5th floor or if there is just no service. She said, "There is no wifi" in a cold tone and with a look on her face that could kill. I thanked her and left. I sat by the elevator (1st fl) to do some things on my phone. I noticed the people she spoke to after me did not receive the same cold tone and demeanor. The lady who asked for a towel, the couple who were seemingly from Europe and the woman who asked about mail. I finished up on my phone and went to my room. The key card didnt work. I returned to the same young woman at the front desk. As before, I observed her being quite human to other guests. She wasnt aloof and cold towards them. As soon as it was my turn to speak to her, she shut down again.

(continued) looked up. I told her my key card was working before but had stopped doing so. I placed it in her hand when she reached for it and still did not give me the courtesy of looking up. I told her the room number, she did what she needed and slapped the key card on the counter...not in my hand as Id done for her. I thanked her. She said nothing. I said, "Or, not" and walked away. I went to my room. 5 minutes later, I returned to sit by the elevator on the 1st floor, I formed a letter about my experience with the hostel (on my phone) and sent it via Central Park Wests website. I noticed the aforementioned young lady saying, "I aint gotta do nothin" to a woman who had some issue with her room and/or credit card. I noticed the aforementioned lady (CPW employee) pick and choose who she wanted to show some very slight modicum of etiquette towards. Her demeanor, lack of professionalism, manner of speaking and overall presentation of herself was deplorable. The next day (yesterday) I gathered my things and formed a note using paper and pen. Between hearing another young lady banging on a door close by yelling out, "You gotta go, you gotta get out," the advertised amenities not being provided, the condition of the room (polar opposite of the online images) and the repugnant energy of the young woman from the night before I'd had it. I am from one of the worst ghettos in this country so not staying in the finest of palaces is something I am quite accustomed to. As stated before, staying in NYC hostels and not having the best experience is common for me. I live in Pennsylvania but work in NYC so I try to roll with the punches. Had the young lady on duty Saturday night been fair in her treatment instead of taking out her internal problems on me, I would have stayed until Monday morning....my original check out time.

The temperature in the room was unbearably hot we had to sleep with the window open and air-con on. After not being able to sleep we asked the staff multiple times to turn the heating down/off and we were ignored resulting in a lake of sleep

Polite staff and the great location.

The staff are absolutely polite and helpful. However, cleanliness was an issue, especially common areas. The elevator was stinking of dog or human poo for two days. Cleaning lady is doing her best, but they are understaffed.

It was dead cheap, the staff were reasonably polite and friendly. 24hr check-in is useful.

You get what you pay for, so don't expect good bedding or complementary anything. The lockers didn't work on the room, so no secure storage.

The location is good (close to subway and with 24/7 services nearby), Central Park, etc... and staff members always nice and helpful, it was always clean and quiet, not a noisy backpackers place... Bathrooms were always clean and not busy, 24 hours reception, clean sheets...

It looks like a pension, and common areas are not necessary accommodating, there´s a kitchen which is OK and some "lounge" area in the basement but I wouldn´t say there were cool places to hang out at... Not too much of a hostel environment...at least not the ones I´m used to, with other travelers with whom to socialize. Understanding NYC it´s an expensive city, this was still not worth it (for the kind of experience I expect in a hostel), I'd rather check other options for the same budget...