At short notice my husband booked this hotel on our flight from LA to NYC.  Steeped in history, this hotel is listed on the register of Historic Hotels of America.  

Address

49 West 32nd St New York 10001,  USA

Date stayed

Friday 25th March for one night

Room Type

Queen room

Price

We paid 254.80 USD through Booking.com which included a 30 USD resort fee per night.  The resort fee included breakfast to the value of 30 USD, use of the internet and bike hire.  Our breakfast came to more than 30 USD so we ended up paying 278.91 USD  (379.83) for our stay including breakfast.  A 75 USD holding deposit per night is also taken at the resort for incidentals and refunded within 5-10 business days after check-out although it could be longer with foreign cards.

Location

In a part of Manhattan known as Koreatown, this hotel is situated amongst an array of Korean restaurants, dessert shops, Karaoke lounges, Asian supermarkets and spa places.  It is 14.5km (9mi) to the nearest airport (LaGuardia) and just a 5 minute walk to Penn station.  In the heart of midtown Manhattan, Martinique is close to the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden and Macy’s.

Check-in/Check-out

• Check in  is  from 4pm
• Check out is until 11am
• 24 hour reception
• Masks are required to be worn in public areas by staff and guests
• ID and credit card required on check-in and a holding deposit is taken for any incidentals.  

Parking

There is no parking on site but self parking is available nearby.

Internet

Free high speed internet is available in rooms and public areas of the hotel.  

Room Features

Our Queen room included:

• 58.5 m2 (192 sq ft) air-conditioned room with comfortable bed and 250 thread count sheets.
• Bedside tables with lamps, phone, alarm clock, and power and USB ports
• Desk with power and USB ports and ergonomic desk chair
• Large Samsung flatscreen TV
• Safe large enough to store small laptop
• Cupboard with iron, ironing board and coathangers
• Cuisinart Tea and coffee maker with a selection of teas and coffees and condiment kit with two disposable wrapped cups.
• Two bottles of water which is supplied for the first night
• A renovated and modern bathroom with hairdryer and amenities by Pure including face bar, body bar, body soap, shampoo, conditioner and moisutiser.

Hotel Facilities

This hotel has the following facilities:

• Luggage storage
• Housekeeping
• Fitness centre
• Business centre
• Restaurant
• Dry cleaning service (at a fee)
• Room service
• Vending machines (drinks and snacks)

Breakfast

Breakfast was served at the hotel’s Early Edition restaurant and the 30 USD resort fee could be used towards the cost which was just as well as the breakfast came to 54.12 USD by the time taxes and a tip had been applied.  And all we had were the ricotta pancakes and nothing to drink. The room soon became crowded, service was slow and I thought the presentation of the food for that price could have been better.  The pancakes tasted just ok but was not worth the money and were not that filling.  The restaurant is open between 6:30am and 10pm.

Things to do in the Area

All the places we saw were on foot and as we turned up at night and checked out the following morning we didn’t have a lot of time for sight seeing. Places we visited whilst staying at Hilton Garden Times Square North included:

• Times Square (10 minute walk)
• Macy’s (15 minute walk) – They were getting ready for their flower show due to open a couple of days later so things were looking very colourful.

For other places we visited when staying in a similar area please see my reviews for Hilton Garden Inn New York Times Square North and Doubletree by Hilton New York Times Square South.

Pros

• Beautiful foyer and mosaic tiling in this grand old hotel
• Modern bathrooms
• Good amount of USB ports in rooms
• Bottled water in room
• Excellent location close to shops and attractions
• Careful attention to COVID safe procedures including mask wearing

Cons

• No mini fridge in room although you can request one
• Expensive compared with other hotels in the area
• Breakfast very overpriced and not that great
• Room felt a bit dark and we didn’t have a good view out the window

Summary

The Martinique is certainly a beautiful building and the mosaic tiled floors are a real work of art.  It is centrally located and close to Penn station which we found convenient.  I liked the extra precautions to COVID safety and appreciated the bottled water in the room which seems harder to find these days.  However I didn’t like how expensive it was to stay here (it was full so we probably paid more for our last minute booking) and I was disappointed with the breakfast.