We do some weekends in NYC and try a different hotel each time. Here are reviews of two hotels, the Evelyn and the Lex.
Most recently, we stayed at the Evelyn on 27th Street and 5th Avenue. A note that the entrance is very close to the Museum of Sex. Great for a couple’s weekend, but it could be awkward if you’re with your kids and you pass the gift shop window and they spend any amount of time looking in. Of course you can also approach from the other direction, and instead pass Domique Ansel Workshop, an incredible bakery with pastries and croissants from a James Beard-awarded baker.
When you check into the 159-room Art Deco hotel, you’ll likely be offered free bottles of water. They do have expensive water in the room, but you can pick up free bottles at the desk. We also got coupons for a “grab and go” breakfast. More on that later.
The queen bedroom we got was cozy, but not as small as others we’ve stayed in, like the Civilian and Stay Pineapple. The bathroom was adorable with decorative tiles featuring song lyrics and music. They also had full-size Five Wits shampoo, soap and lotion bottles (hooray for sustainability). And heated bathroom floors that were warm automatically (no buttons to press). The shower head was plenty high for tall people. They had one Frette robe on the back of the bathroom door. We could have called down for another, but it would have been nice if it were already there. They had an in-room safe.
They do offer some suites and rooms with two beds, when traveling with the kids.
The hotel had a few amenities we really appreciated. One was the breakfast. They have a Ninepin Cafe just off the lobby. They have other items for purchase, but you can see the offerings below. I tried the egg and cheese sandwich one morning, and the overnight oats the other. Both were good. They have a few tables in the cafe, or you can bring your food to the lovely lobby.
As part of the Triumph Hotels, you can go to wine hour at any of the hotels on Monday through Friday. The location changes each day. Unfortunately we missed this but we’ll pay better attention next time.
You can see the lobby below. From there you can head into the Tusk Bar, which was beautiful. There’s a restaurant on site as well. We had drinks at Tusk Bar one night. While we didn’t use it, they have a 24-hour fitness center.
One of the highlights for us is that Triumph Hotels offers free walking tours every day at different properties. You can go on a tour through a sister hotel, as we did. We went to the Iriquois Hotel on 44th Street for a tour of that street (surprisingly interesting), Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, and Grand Central Station. Having been to these areas multiple times before, we still learned a lot. The tour was conducted by Streetwise. We’ve taken a lot of walking tours, and this one was really good. Streetwise works with a few other hotel chains, and also provides private tours.
Last Thanksgiving weekend, we stayed at the Lex Hotel, which you should not confuse with the Lexington Hotel. The Lex is a “boutique” hotel in the NoMad neighborhood, next to Baruch College. The price was right, which was a clue right there.
The room and hotel were fine, but definitely not one of the nicer places we stayed. It was clean but felt a bit skanky and a step below in quality. The lobby area was dark and the front desk staff was fine but not that friendly. It would not have been hard to decorate the room a little bit to make it look less drab. The long hallway was also odd, drab looking.
The location at 26th and Lexington was also a bit out of the way. That’s on us for choosing it, as we knew it would be a bit less convenient. That said it’s only a few blocks away from the Evelyn, but those few blocks did feel much further.
They offer some rooms with two beds, so this is an option for families.
The bathroom includes ReVolve toiletries.
The highlight for the hotel is the rooftop area. They have adorable seating areas that would be awesome to hang out at in better weather. While we looked around, the weather was too cold when we stayed there. Which is too bad, because there were views and multiple seating areas.
The Lex had a free breakfast in the lobby area. Basically it included cereals, some meh pastries, some fruit and juice/coffee.
