Review: Le Parker Meridien New York

Between the dispute with Starwood over fraudulent room rate reimbursement for award stays, and this property being one of (if not THE) first NYC properties to implement a "resort fee", you can tell where the property owner and hotel management have their priorities.

Nice review, but why didn't you just stay at an airport property, given how little time you had and the expense/hassle of getting to/from midtown for such a short amount of sleep. I guess, unlike most of us, you can just write it off, but it seems like you make your life too complicated sometimes.

I like the Parker Meridien...'s Drybar in the basement. That's the only reason I ever go there! I've never stayed there; I just go to get my hair done. The only advantage to this Drybar is that there's a Blushington (makeup studio) also in the basement, but I don't need to take advantage unless I can't get an appointment at Sephora, where I get free makeup because I have top-tier status!

Obviously, NONE of this applies in any way to you or most of your readers, but for a girl who's in New York all the time for formal events, this is kinda huge.

@ Joe -- Because I had a commitment in the city in the evening, and because I was flying into Kennedy and out of Newark. If I didn't have a commitment and were flying into/out of the same airport, I absolutely would have stayed at an airport hotel.

There isn't zero personality in the room...there's one orange washcloth!

If you didn't also have complaints about insufficient and slow elevators then you got off lucky staying here.

I love this hotel's gym. It's open at 5 AM on weekdays. In fact, this gym and the mid-town Hilton gym are the only two in NYC that have any decent free weights. My client site is moving from Columbus Circle to Gramercy Park area and I am dreading trying to find a new gym.

You neglected to mention the one redeeming thing about the Parker Meridien: the Burger Joint. If you walk to the right of the check in desk along the wall there is a curtain. Go behind it and there is a small restaurant straight out of the 1970s selling awesome burgers, fries and milkshakes. There are formica countertops, graffiti on the walls and an open griddle. It's completely unmarked and unless you knew it was there you'd have know way of guessing (other than the lines that sometime stretch into the lobby of the hotel at lunchtime).

Looks horrible. The biz hotels in Chelsea (HGI, Four Points, et al) have nicer rooms by comparison.

Burger Joint is pretty good, I will agree. Otherwise there's no reason to go anywhere near 57th St. Unless you want a $200,000 watch or the most cramped Whole Foods on the planet.

@Jamie: The Knickerbocker has a decent gym with a nice strength area with decent free weights, too 😉

The only good thing are the best burgers in town - burger joint is in the lobby

You weren't offered a breakfast option because the staff there are embarrassed at the stingy Platinum offering. It is literally a croissant and a coffee/tea from the coffee bar (not the restaurant).
The benefit is dispensed as a $12.50 voucher, which gets you an $8 drink and a $4.50 pastry.
Totally in line with the nickel and diming of the resort fee.

No reason to go anywhere near 57th Street? The area south of Central Park is great, especially if you are attending concerts at Carnegie Hall, City Center, or Lincoln Center, or just wanting to spend some time in the park. I like the Marriott at Broadway and 54th, fantastic views even from the points rooms.

@tara, I guess it's a tourist vs local perspective. Central Park South literally smells like horse crap and I never go anywhere near there. As for Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, I go maybe once every few years at most.

My point was, there are better parts of the city to stay in.

As someone who works on the same block as Parker Meridien/ Park Hyatt, I will (sort of) shoutout Burger Joint, as others on here have mentioned. Its one of those "worst kept secrets" like PDT downtown, so it is VERY crowded most of the time with very limited seating, but can be a redeeming option for those staying in the area.

Its a fun spot if you can fight for a table, especially if you haven't been, but its far from the best in town (despite being a fairly good burger). Aside from the seating issue, they use bland store bought buns and dont do much in the way of toppings... but at least they accept credit cards now (only recently).

I have been staying in the city for the last 8 months or so. I have to say the gym is spectacular . If you are really into fitness this is the place to be . It also has a sauna an steam room . I checked out other hotels on the same price range and none of the gyms come even close to LeParker Meridien. I think the gym is open to no guest via a monthly membership but I hardly saw anybody there after 7pm

There seems to be no relation to Palm Springs at all given the design. Palm Springs is Jonathan Adler over- the-top fab while this looks like an airport Novotel room. I mean, a flat screen above a luggage base? I am more and more distressed over the quality of the hotels in NYC. Even the Four Seasons closed their restaurant for dinner which is bizarre to me.

I've started boycotting them when they started charging the undisclosed (or barely disclosed) mandatory $15 fee, and I don't miss the proper one bit.

Am surprised, and saddened, that Starwood hasn't booted them out.

The penthouse pool with views over Central Park is the best feature of this hotel. Also noteworthy is Norma's, a legendary breakfast and brunch spot, and the bar Knave is very decent too. I think you missed out on the best parts of the hotel since your stay was so short. I've had many great stays there and good success of upgrades with my meagre Gold status.

there's quite a thread on flyertalk about the (lack) of breakfast offered to plats. Sad to see SPG still allowing this.

Thanksgiving??

We are very loyal SPG members usually Gold, sometimes Platinum.
We travel extensively and have stayed at many excellent hotels and lots of good ones, regardless of class, stars, rakings, etc.
This hotel ranks as the second worst hotel stay we have ever had surpassed only by the Barlow Hotel in Hudson New York and only because there were feces leaking into our room at the Barlow.
The horrible service at this hotel exists from the top down.
Avoid it like the plague.

I stayed at Le Parker Meridien way back in 2006 and from the pictures that Ben has posted, the room decor has not changed (i.e. no renovation since then) but still looked as new. Kudos to maintenance.

The location is really the only thing going for this place. The free internet is useless at the gym, which is in the basement. No connection, and no bars on the phone. So I ended up walking in the park every day. (Love the park.) Also if you are a morning person, know that the gym doesn't open until 7am on weekends.

I stayed for one week for business. The front desk refused a package I had paid amost $100 to get delivered to me. No coffee in the room or lobby. Obviously so one has to order room service or go down to the restaurant.