The Roger New York, New York City

Pros

• Subway access 2.5 blocks away
• Free wine hour
• Free newspaper of your choice (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times)
• 24-Hour room service & full service concierge
• Restaurant on premises

Cons

• A daily fee is charged for use of the Internet & gym regardless of whether you use them
• Small bathrooms & closets

Bottom Line

This hotel gets great reviews for service and is centrally located within walking distance of many popular sights and neighborhoods and has easy access to the subway. The rooms are good sized, with comfortable beds, but have some drawbacks, such as bathrooms that are too small and a lack of closet space.

Scene

The lobby seems to be aiming for an old-fashioned vibe with Victorian style seating and carpeting paired with photographs of rock stars on the shelves and modern styled lighting. The different styles and competing patterns seem to clash. However, the room is bright with large windows and has a comfortable feel, even if the decor is busy.

Location

The hotel is in a central location, within a short walk to some sights and has easy access to public transportation, with the 4, 5, 6 subway line a couple of blocks from the hotel. The Roger New York is located five blocks from Madison Square Park, near the NoMad and Flatiron District neighborhoods, though the hotel itself isn’t in a trendy neighborhood. The hotel is also four blocks from Penn Station, making it convenient for those traveling by train. Nearby sights include the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, Union Square and Macy’s famous flagship store, located on 34th Street. New York is a very walkable city and the hotel is centrally located, but for many of the attractions, a taxi or subway would be a good transportation option from this location.

Rooms

The rooms are simply decorated, without any stuffy paintings, although some rooms have photographs of New York City decorating the walls. The rooms are about average size, which is the equivalent to large in New York City. The bathrooms are small and give one a cramped feeling of being in an enclosed space because there is little room to turn around. The hotel tries to make up for this by providing soap from C.O. Bigelow, a drug store in the West Village where Mark Twain used to fill his prescriptions, as well as bathrobes for guests to use. The room closets are small, though all rooms have a large screen plasma television and an iPod docking station. Upgraded rooms come with a slightly larger closet, though the bathroom is still small. An upgrade to a King Executive Room comes with more space and a much larger closet, as well as a full-length mirror and armchair. Terraced rooms are also larger and the terraces have plants and lounge chairs. Overall, The Roger New York has rooms that are comfortable, but the bathrooms and closets are small.

Features

The hotel has the Parlour Lounge and Parlour Bistro, where guests can have a breakfast that includes pastries from Balthazar and bagels from H&H Bagels. There is a gym and Internet access, wine hour, newspaper delivery, shoeshine services, room service, concierge service, laundry and dry cleaning services and a meeting space. While a variety of services are available, some have unexpected charges.

Gym

There is a daily charge for the gym, which is small and doesn’t have many machines. The gym is equipped with all the basics, but isn’t a great set up considering the daily charge.

-Karen Fredrickson