My spouse and I stayed at the Gansevoort Park Avenue for two
evenings on a Saturday and Sunday night in mid-January 2017. We booked our room
online using their website, which allows you to sign up for an account if you
plan to stay again. Gansevoort operates other properties including a hotel in
the Meatpacking District (where we stayed in July 2017; see our review titled “Hip
and Happening Spot”), as well as in Miami, the Turks and Caicos, and the
Dominican Republic.
As its name implies, the Gansevoort Park Avenue property is
located at the corner of Park Avenue and East 29th Street in the
Midtown East/Murray Hill/NoMad neighborhood, within view of the Empire State
Building. Many shops, bars, and restaurants are located on the streets
surrounding the hotel.
Hotel amenities include a fitness center, spa, business
center, street-level restaurant (called Asellina), and two shops (Lacoste and
the Juice Press). The multi-story atrium
lobby features herringbone floors, black-and-white plaid wingback chairs, and a
gas-lit fireplace (which was popular on the cold and snowy weekend that we
visited). One particularly notable feature is the indoor-outdoor heated
rooftop pool that is open year round. In the wintertime, the tiny indoor area
offers a few snugly arranged comfortable lounge groupings, whereas the outdoor
area offers a bit more room with standard lounge chairs; a pool attendant
provides towel service. The rooftop bar/restaurant called Plunge (which offers
separate street/elevator access in the evenings) occupies nearly the entire top floor of the hotel adjacent
to the pool deck. Party/event space features thousands
of square feet of entertainment spread over three floors, including the Blue Room and the Red Room with
multiple bars, wrap-around open-air terraces, a rooftop sundeck,
and
an al fresco fireplace. Wi-Fi is complimentary throughout the hotel. Some
older hotel reviews indicate that an iPod and docking station are available in each
room, but we did not have one. Nor does the hotel still provide complimentary
rides via a Porsche Panamera. Valet parking is available for a fee (with no
in-and-out privileges), and pets are also permitted for a charge.
The hotel offers nearly 250 rooms and suites. Room types
include superior king (350 square feet), deluxe king or deluxe double (370 square
feet), grand deluxe king with balcony (525 square feet), Gansevoort suite (775 square
feet, with a separate living room, two bathrooms, and balcony), Park Avenue suite
(900 square feet, with a separate living room, two bathrooms, and balcony), and
presidential suite (3800 square feet, featuring two levels, fireplace, terrace,
dining area, and floor-to-ceiling windows). We were assigned Room 616, a Grand
Deluxe King with a balcony that overlooked Park Avenue South. (We could see all
the way north to Grand Central Terminal if we leaned out over the railing.) Our
room was enormous by any standards, but particularly by Manhattan standards. It
contained a king-size bed (with feather pillows and duvet) abutted by two
nightstands, a large working desk with two chairs that could double as a dining
table, a sofa, chair, side table, and coffee table arranged in a seating area (which
was part of the room, not a separate room or separate alcove), and a step-out
balcony (wide enough for several people to stand in a line, but not wide enough
to hold chairs). Near the door to the room was a large closet (with robes, slippers,
iron and ironing board, and electronic safe), a bar alcove (with weighted mini-bar
but no wet bar sink), and the large bathroom (with a long dual vessel sink with
storage on each side and below, an additional storage shelf below the mirror,
toilet, separate soaking tub, and oversize glass shower. Room décor included
colorful patterned bathroom tiles, cobalt pillows and blanket throw, fuchsia
curtains, large windows, and high ceilings.
L’Occitane provides the toiletries (shampoo, conditioner,
bath gel, body lotion, soap), but we did not receive replacements for our
second night or at evening turndown, which meant that the hotel provided just one
set of tiny bottles for two people for our entire stay. We received an evening
turndown only on our first night, but not on the second night. (At our past
stay at the Gansevoort Meatpacking, we received turndowns both nights,
including a filled ice bucket, but we got no ice at this hotel on Park Avenue.)
We did not receive a newspaper on either morning of our stay, although we are
repeat Gansevoort guests. Our most serious problem was that the hotel could not
supply any hot water from late afternoon until about midnight on our first
night due to a broken pipe, which meant that we were unable to shower before
dinner after a day of sightseeing. We informed the desk clerk about our issues at
checkout, but he did nothing more than say he understood. (He could have at
least offered us a complimentary drink at the bar as a gesture of goodwill.)
For the price per night that we paid to stay at the
Gansevoort Park Avenue, we deserved better and more consistent service; being
unable to shower without any amends offered will lead us to choose another
brand next time.
