To whom this may concern,

Recently I stayed at the Country Inn and Suites Long Island City location with a business colleague of mine and I am sorry to report that the entire experience was dreadful. Our company is comprised of insurance adjusters who traveled MANY hours to New York to assist the victims affected from Superstorm Sandy.

Immediately at check-in, my colleague and I ran into problems with the staff at the front desk. Specifically, the name on my colleagues Driver's License read Richard as his name, but the staff would not accept his business credit card as the name on the card said Rick. Therefore according to the front desk staff the names did not match and they would not accept. My colleague finally paid with his personal debit card. The next morning I asked another attendant about the same who said that was ridiculous and that she never would have treated us like that.

The attitude and professionalism displayed by the hotel staff at the front entrance was deplorable, however due to thousands being displaced by Sandy, we had nowhere else to go. I think they used that to their advantage or we would have walked right out. Additionally, as many rooms located in and around New York City were being booked, I personally made an additional reservation that would have extended my stay for an additional three (3) days into the weekend. Fortunately, during that time before the weekend, I found another hotel, which was much closer to the disaster area, ultimately allowing me to assist more people as I did not have to make the 4 hour commute. Upon checkout, I was provided an invoice for my stay and verbal agreement from the front desk that they canceling my additional reservation.

In hindsight, I should have requested a cancellation number or asked for a copy of the cancellation reservation because the hotel never did follow up with their agreement and subsequently charged me for an additional 3 days even after I formally checked out of my room. I attempted to contact the hotel manager regarding the same, but to no avail as they never returned my calls.

In closing, I feel taken advantage of and was not even provided the courtesy of having the front desk or Country Inn and Suites management explain why they charged me for a room that I cancelled and did not stay in. This unfortunate event may very well be a "sign of the times" as this particular facility appears to be all about the money, not customer satisfaction. Let this serve as a warning to those traveling long hours or displaced by Superstorm Sandy to not be caught off guard when checking in or out of this hotel.

Our room had good city view with huge bed. If we go again I would take a kettle. There was a coffee maker but not tea making stuff other than microwave. Milk was not provided so went to gas station next door which was very well stocked. Breakfast was a crowded affair if you timed it wrong, but you could take food back to your room. My mother 94 and niece were in an other room they had problems with dirty sheets and lack of bedding which took a long time to sort out due to language problems. Very convenient for subway and a safe area even at night.

The hotel was very close to Manhattan. The station is in 7 minutes walking distance and next 7 minutes by the subway and find yourself in Times Square. The hotel is easily approachable with large luggage. The surrounding area is safe, we felt comfortable even at midnight. Very clean rooms, towel change and housekeeping every day, fridge, LCD TV, etc. Decent breakfast. Very convenient and we felt safe at all times. We stayed in 803 in believe, eight floor facing the Manhattan – photo-like skyview. Return to JFK by subway to be successful in an easy from Queensboro Plaza Station. I can recommend this hotel to anybody who is visiting NY and want to get a cheap, safe, close hotel to Downtown.

This hotel is clean , starting to show wear in areas . Staff was certainly less than friendly and welcoming . We were given a room key , went up to find the door wide open . There was a man preparing to steam clean the room , and this was the room they chose to put us into . He used his radio to let the staff know and the girl came up to show us an alternative room . It was smaller , but when I said that , I was told by the young lady that it was the same . The staff was the main reason this hotel did not get an excellent rating . The room was inset in the corner, and was definitely smaller. The breakfast room had too little seating , and several bins were empty for what seemed long periods . Staff spoke to each other in a non English language, loudly , but spoke to guests very little , and seemed like guests "bothered" them . City view room on top floor was worth the extra money although there is a large building being built that blocks part of the view. The bridge looks fabulous day and night . Several small cafes nearby , and a handy convenience store open 24 /7 next door was great . The elevator makes noise when it stops at each floor , but we were not near it , luckily . The room was clean , shower lacked pressure . Superb value compared to what we paid in MidTown last visit . Subway is a great way to get around , never felt afraid at all . Love N.Y.C. ! Will stay here again, asking for city view room . Lending library in lobby is a terrific idea . I love to read . Fantastic hotel if little thing can be overlooked .