HOTEL REVIEW: Royalton Hotel

Trip Date: December 23-27, 2011
Location: New York City, New York

Beach Junkies Rating: (based of 5 stars)
Location: 5 / Service: 5 / Room: 5 / Ambiance: 5

Royalton Hotel NYC

First Impressions: We arrived at the hotel at 9:30 am after taking the train in from Newark Liberty Airport and walking from New York Penn Station (we will have a separate post of different ways you can commute to and from EWR. There were many different forum posts about this but I thought we would compile all our research into one post).  The one thing you have to remember is that Royalton does NOT have the red door that all the other travel sites show.  As you can see from the picture above, it is a sleek black door framed by beautiful columns supported by a gorgeous overhead with a tonal engraving of its name across it.  This is when you know you have booked at a boutique hotel. 


Location: The hotel is conveniently located on 44th between 5th and 6th avenue.  Steps away from tourist attractions such as Bryant Park, Rockerfeller Center, 5th Avenue, Times Square, Magnolia Bakery, MOMA, FAO Schwartz, Central Park and much much more.  It is close enough to all these locations but you don't get the noise, traffic and overall madness that a Midtown hotel normally gets.  The location is just perfect.

Royalton Hotel Lobby

Once we walked in, we were greeted with what we would call dramatics.  The lobby is just stunning.  This is one of the main reasons why we decided to go with this hotel.  To us, it was classic old New York with the dim lighting, fireplace, deep tones of brown and black leather seating accented with hyde and fur upholstered chairs.  Simply put, it was cozy, classy and sexy.

Sit by the cozy fire in the lobby after a long day

Two of the seating sections on the left was split by a huge fireplace (which came in handy after sitting on top of an open double decker tour bus) and just in front of it on your right hand side is the reception desk.

Check In: Since we arrived pretty early, we knew there was a 90% chance our room wouldn't be ready and we were right.  Royalton has a 12:00 pm check out and 3:00 pm check in.  Most travelers should be acquainted with those times since that is pretty much the standard times at most hotels and resorts.  We were quickly processed and asked for one of our cellphone numbers to notify us if our room would be ready earlier.  We handed off our luggage with the bell boy and off we went to explore NYC.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Room: We were lucky enough to book a King Loft Suite at the Royalton.  Royalton has several room categories and we were probably at one of the bigger ones.  What many people might not know is that hotel rates in NYC during the Christmas Holidays are amazing and this room was also just that.  AMAZING! Once we walked in, we first noticed the extensive bar on our left hand side.  That is where you will find the electronic safe and iPod / iPhone dock.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Straight ahead was the King Size bed with a total of 6 down pillows and the most comfortable duvet we have ever slept with at a hotel.  Instead of night tables, Royalton had designed two tiered ports holes complete with a night light.  We found this most convenient since "A" loves to sleep with a light on and "M" doesn't.  This is where you will also find the phone and remote for the TV.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Beside the bed is an extremely long sofa which was so comfortable to lie on after a day of walking.  We used this to relax, read or just to watch TV. Our room had a view of 44th street which wasn't that spectacular but the interior design of the Royalton actually made us forget there was an outside world.  At the end of the couch is the TV which can be pulled from the wall and you can angle it towards the bed if you wanted to watch TV there.

Royalton King Loft Suite Bathroom

The other stunner of this room was the bathroom.  The Loft King Suite came with a 5ft soaker tub with a rain shower head right in the middle.  The sink (left side of pic) and the vanity (right side of pic) was at either side of the tub.  We have to tell you.  This tub was definitely worth it.  Think about walking the streets of NYC all day during the winter.  This helped wear off the wear and tear of the day and made our transition from day to night a whole lot easier.  The only thing we wished was that there was bubble bath that we were able to use but we just bought some bath balms from the Lush store near Herald Square and we were good to go.  The one thing I loved about this bathroom was how they stored the hair dryer.  It was in a white garment bag, hung on a hook.  Simple and clean.  Robes can also be found in the closet and honestly were the most comfortable robes I have ever worn.  We wanted to buy two for us but forgot to ask how to during our stay.  The bathroom is stocked with Malin + Gotez products which were wonderful as well.

King Loft Suite Desk

Just outside the bathroom was the desk which had an iPad on it.  This is where you can browse Royaltons amenities and services that are available to you during your stay.  You can also use this to browse the internet and help you find directions on how to get to the places you want to go to.  On a side note internet is not included but can be purchased at $10/day for each device.

King Loft Suite fireplace at Royalton Hotel

Last but not least is the bedside fireplace.  Yes.  Bedside fireplace.  We highly recommend getting one when visiting NYC during the winter.  It made our nights so cozy.  Honestly we forgot we were in a hotel when it was lit.  A simple call to the front desk and they will bring up the engineer to bring up the log and light the fire for you.  The log lasts for about 3 hours so please don't call and have them light it when you are going to leave for dinner in an hour or two.  It's just a waste.  There is a glass barrier in front of the fire to protect any embers from flying out.

Thank you Royalton!

On our second day, we got a call from room service telling us that there was a plate of cookies that were being delivered to the room.  To our surprise it was a treat from Forty Four (the hotel restaurant) and it came with a note welcoming us to their property.  A simple gesture that went a LONG way with us.  "M" doesn't like cookies and he loved them.  That's how good they were.

Overall, we truly enjoyed our stay at the hotel.  This was the first time we ever stayed at a Morgans Hotel and it definitely won't be our last.  We are already planning a trip back to NYC and with no question, we want to return and stay at this hotel.  It felt like home for us and the staff is just wonderful.  They made our Christmas the most memorable one and for that, we would like to thank you.

Still not convinced?  See what others think here.