{"id":705,"date":"2012-06-11T09:55:58","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T13:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/boardingarea.com\/blogs\/verygoodpoints\/?p=705"},"modified":"2015-03-17T17:19:02","modified_gmt":"2015-03-17T21:19:02","slug":"element","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2012\/06\/11\/element\/","title":{"rendered":"Element by Westin Times Square – Hotel Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking for a close-to-Times-Square hotel, which is not directly in the heart of the hubbub, you\u2019ll love the Element Times Square. \u00a0The hotel, which is located on 39th<\/sup> Street between 8th<\/sup> and 9th<\/sup> Avenue, is conveniently located close to Times Square, the Jacob Javits Convention Center and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.<\/p>\n

The Element by Westin is billed as an eco-friendly brand. I\u2019m not sure what the hotel does beyond the normal recycle bins, placards \u00a0asking guests to reduce water waste by reusing towels, etc\u2026 but I didn\u2019t see \u2013 or learn \u2013 about anything the hotel is doing to make is more eco-friendly. \u00a0The hotel is modern and clean and offers some unique amenities for guests.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Room w\/Kitchenette<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to free breakfast, the hotel offers free wifi through the entire hotel for all guests and a managers reception during the week which includes complimentary heavy hors d\u2019oeuvres, soft drinks and wine\/beer. \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a great way to spend some time with friends, family or complete strangers you\u2019ve just met in the hotel while catching up on the day or planning your next fun adventure.<\/p>\n

The rooms feature kitchenettes \u2013 small refrigerators, a two-burner cooktop, a microwave and mini-dish washer.\u00a0 The cabinets are stocked with dishes, cookware and plenty of glasses.\u00a0 The room also has a coffee-maker and toaster oven.\u00a0\u00a0 In the lobby, there\u2019s a \u201cgourmet pantry\u201d called Restore where you can buy frozen foods, ice cream, drinks \u2013 including wine & beer, and plenty of snacks.\u00a0 The hotel calls the pantry, gourmet, but if you want gourmet just walk around the corner to Dean & Deluca.\u00a0 You\u2019ll pay about the same price you\u2019d pay at the hotel\u2019s Restore Pantry.<\/p>\n

The rooms at the Element are very, very small.\u00a0 The only real negative about the hotel comes from the room.\u00a0 Because of the size and layout, if you\u2019re in the standard room the wall air-conditioning unit sits directly next to the bed and is very, very loud.\u00a0 It always surprises me in this day and age that hotels use wall units in rooms \u2013 they\u2019re such a drawback for me.\u00a0 Because this unit was directly next to the bed, the air blew on me all night and I woke up with a sore throat.\u00a0 In addition, the blinds and blackout shade blew and clanked all night while air conditioner ran.\u00a0 During a New York summer, you just can\u2019t shut the air off at night, so this poses a challenge for someone who wants a quite night sleep.<\/p>\n

I had such a hard time with the air conditioner that I requested to be moved to another room.\u00a0 It took talking to three different people in the hotel, including the final call to a manager, to get moved into a room that they called an upgraded room.\u00a0 The room was just slightly larger and instead of the air conditioner sitting directly next to the bed, it sat closer to the foot of the bed.\u00a0 The noise level was still dreadful.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>

View of Hudson<\/p><\/div>\n

The 40-story hotel offers some unique views of Times Square, the Hudson River and the new Freedom Tower.\u00a0 No matter what side of the hotel you\u2019re on, you\u2019ll have an interesting view.<\/p>\n

The hotel is just a few years old but it\u2019s showing its age in a few areas.\u00a0 The shower (in both of my rooms) had some mildew build-up on the grout between the floor of the shower and the walls of the shower.\u00a0 The sheets and duvet covers have some tears and pulls that have been repaired, but are still visable.\u00a0 The sheets had some rust stains \u2013 and while I know they were cleaned, seeing rust stains on your sheets gives a terrible impression and the duvet just looked warn.\u00a0\u00a0 The hotel room smelled clean and was free of dust. The floors were spotless and the kitchenette was very clean as well.\u00a0 I just wish the hotel paid a little more attention to the details of the bedding and the mildew in the shower.<\/p>\n

The Element is a good, reliable hotel close to the heart of New York City \u2013 Times Square.\u00a0 If you\u2019re looking for a no-frills, laid back hotel with lots of benefits like free breakfast, wifi and a managers reception, you will love the Element \u2013 just be prepared to sleep without the air conditioner or bring ear plugs!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Bed<\/a>

Bed & Closet – Close Quarters<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Air<\/a>

Air Conditioner at foot of bed<\/p><\/div>\n

\"View<\/a>

View of Times Square<\/p><\/div>\n

\"View<\/a>

View of Freedom Tower – the picture doesn’t do it justice!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking for a close-to-Times-Square hotel, which is not directly in the heart of the hubbub, you\u2019ll love the Element Times Square. \u00a0The hotel, which is located on 39th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue, is conveniently located close…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[301,742],"tags":[760,743,745],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nElement by Westin Times Square - Hotel Review - VeryGoodPoints<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/2012\/06\/11\/element\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Element by Westin Times Square - 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