The Algonquin

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Fodorite Reviews

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  Great Lobby & Bellstaff-Rude Concierge

  All that the Algonquin has going for it comes from the hotel's historical legacies -- the renovated architecture, the legends of the Round Table that the current managers have packaged with a theme park mentality instead of with the subtlety and taste that their previous literary clientele enjoyed at the hotel in its earlier years.
  Thanks to the historical sensitivity of new owners in the 1980's who did the hotels first major renovations, much of the hotel's architecture and style has been restored to period and remains intact. However the current owners have reduced the cosmetic decor to a caricature of the history by putting up wallpaper with "New Yorker" cartoons. Also the white paint in the rooms ruins any sense of the period of the hotel's glory days. The rooms are so small and dated that their charm and appeal only comes from their history, so this aspect has been damaged -- although it could be reversed with new wallpaper.
  The life of the hotel emanates from some of the legendary bellstaff, who have been with the hotel for decades. They are the best in NYC because of their personalities.
  Outside of the bellstaff, the front desk, and housekeeping, service is dicey. The hostesses and waitstaff in the lobby area were inattentive and patronizing. They seemed to focus on the late middle-aged men. This seems to be a hotel for the 55+crowd
  The concierge we encountered in March 2007 was rude, incompetent, and coarse.. She represented the opposite of the legendary Algonquin service and manners
  The rooms and bathrooms are miniscule compared to other hotels of comparable price in NYC. All that this hotel has to offer on a competitive basis is history and service. The management really needs to rethink its full utilization of the hotel's history -- changing its approach from exploitation to respect.
  And they need to retrain the hotel's waitstaff and find a new concierge.

  by JenniM, 3/14/07

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