For four wonderful days just before Christmas my girlfriend and I explored a chilly but oh-so-festive New York City. Manhattan in the Holiday season had been bucket list for both of us having grown up watching all those NYC Christmas films on telly each year. We did heaps of shopping, attended an awesome NFL game at Meadowlands, went up the Top of the Rock and took bus tours all over NYC.

When it comes to short, activity-filled trips to somewhere like this, accommodation can make or break the visit. We booked Hotel Metro six months in advance based on its fantastic central location on West 35th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue, and the fact that we got a 30% discount for booking in advance. But what was it like to stay at?

Review: Hotel Metro, NYC

We arrived at Hotel Metro a tad flustered after delayed flights and somewhat confused by what timezone we were in. US Customs had been predictably arduous,  the subway journey from JFK airport had taken a while and we had sizeable bags to carry so you can imagine the state we were in when we rocked up.

What greeted us was a gorgeous art-deco chic entrance complete with a welcoming doorman and one of the best hotel Christmas trees I’ve ever seen. The staff were friendly and even accepted a debit card to place a hold on as we didn’t have a suitable credit card (NYC hotels require this, it takes about ten days to clear).

We had been given a free upgrade to an executive suite on the penthouse floor. Waiting for us in our room was a bottle of champagne, two glasses and a lovely note welcoming us to New York. Our room was huge, complete with a super-comfy double bed, desk, large TV and bathroom with a roomy jacuzzi bath and shower. There were two sinks so we could both get ready at once, and some really nice shower products including conditioner which was ideal after our Icelandic Blue Lagoon experience! We were also treated with a fridge containing free soft drinks, a frankly awesome little coffee maker and an iPod docking station with a radio alarm. I spent most of our time there just chilling on the bed watching NFL coverage on the TV. Coming from Europe, it was great to be somewhere that donates so much media coverage to the sport!

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the best bit of our room was being able to peer out the window (and up!) and see the mighty Empire State Building, lit up blue at the time to celebrate Hannukah. The rooftop balcony provided even better views of it – I can’t think of anywhere better to stay in NYC, to be honest! I don’t think I would ever get tired of that view, especially at night – it was truly stunning. The balcony was complete with outdoor furniture but sadly the bar was closed for winter.

The rest of the hotel was equally classy. There was a well equipped gym on our floor, and the breakfast was in a classy room with books on the walls and great bagels, as well as other standard continental breakfast treats.

The only issue we had during our stay was that the jacuzzi bath had clearly not been used in a while and so spat out dirty water. The guys at reception and the maintenance guy who ran the taps through for us could not have been more helpful and apologetic.

Need to Know

We stayed from 20-23 December 2014

Cost: $696.76 (£453/£151 per night) for Premier Queen room (we got a free upgrade)

We met the Hotel Metro guys at World Travel Market in London a month before our visit. They did not ask us to write a review but this may have contributed to us being upgraded.