You could say I gave this "chain" another shot because i picked its "sister chain" Hotel 17. Also the price and reviews of both were equal.
But I gave a call to them around early July to inquire about the rates & availability for August. The clerk at the desk seemed overworked and was rude to me. I asked to speak to the manager about his rude tone & lack of help but he just hung up on me. From all the good reviews I believe this place is on a good term basis with its customers.
But for my situation, I must have caught him on a bad day. If there is a management body that reads these reviews, please tell the young man working at the desk on July 11, 2011 that I could not reach you because of the overworked clerk hung up on me.

I hate to pay $200+ a night for a hotel so cheap hotels are always a lure. That said, I also hate finding myself in a dirty room with no air conditioning and often I find it's not worth the savings. Luckily I have no such complaints about Hotel 31.

A shared washroom is always an area of concern but we have no issues there. We found the washrooms were always quiet (we're early risers, 7am-ish) and they seemed to be cleaned frequently. The only thing lacking was maybe in the front desk staff. One guy was very friendly but there were a couple of others who would barely acknowledge us and weren't at all interested in helping us with any questions. I guess I wasn't paying for a helpful concierge so I couldn't expect too much :-)

Basically I liked the location of the hotel and although I can't rave about the room I can say it was clean and neat (if a little dark) and for the price I paid I'd happily stay there again.

Whenever I visit nyc, I use trip advisor to find very affordable places to stay. I read the reviews and then decide if it's a place that i want to try out. I also like to try different places so that I can have a variety to choose from with each visit. This was my first time to stay at Hotel 31 and it will definitely be on my list to choose from in the future. The staff was very friendly and helpful, our room was very clean and comfortable, the location is safe and convenient with subway just block and 1/2 away.. This was my first time to use shared bathroom....It was right by our room, and we never had to wait to go in. New York is not the kind of city where you spend a lot of time in your room, so I was not really concerned about a shared bathroom anyway. I definitely recommend Hotel 31 and will definitely be returning. Soon, i hope!!

Stayed there in January 2010 with friends. Great location, near a subway station, restaurants, markets and stores. Few blocks from the Grand Central Station. Unfortunatelly there was no breakfast. The heat was working, as well as hot water, the safe in the room and cable tv. Good beds. Highly recommended. Would go there again for sure.