WE just stayed at this hotel for 7 nights and loved it. We are a small family - two adults and one child aged 5.
When we arrived our room was not ready, but the front desk manager offered to call us on our cellphone as soon as the room was ready. We went to see the Puertorican day parade and returned a few hours later. We had a grand deluxe room with two double beds, which was perfect for us. Our room was located on the 8th floor, overlooking 13th street. When we stepped out on our small balcony we could see the Hudson river.
Okay, it is quite noisy if you keep the windows open at night, but when closed we slept perfectly for all seven nights - the beds where very comfortable.
We also thought that the breakfast (included in our rate) was a joke - at first! But after trying the granola with all the different fresh berries, and the very delicious muffins and croissants we gave in. We had thought about going out for breakfast some of the days but we were actually looking forward to granola with plenty of fresh raspberries and blueberries and lots of other kinds of fresh fruit every morning.
As foreigners (from Denmark) we can't really comment on the crowd. To us, they all seemend very well dressed! But our friend, who is a photographer in New York, says that she thinks it is "too much Time Square". We didn't mind - since we were with a small child we didn't feel like going to the rooftop or the basement bar after all, but enjoyed the people watching from our balcony...
The hotel is not a hotel that you would normally bring a kid to, but we loved the area with all the good restaurants, the pool in the afternoon, the dog spa across the street and the nearby Bleecker Street playground. All the things that our daughter had looked forward to (Natural History Museum, American Girl Place, ToysRus) and the sights that we insisted on showing her (like MoMa) where all easily reached by the nearby subway. Also, the staff were all great and when our daughter had an accident (she fell and hit her head) Tim at the front desk did everything he could to make sure that we went to the best ER and that she was doing fine.
We have some very minor complaints: We had chosed the hotel basically because of the location and the rooftop pool. Our daughter loves to swim and looked forward to it every day. But two of the days of our stay we came back in the afternoon only to find out that the pool area was closed off due to some private event... this is not okay. Also, we asked for a dvd which never came, and had to ask twice for a playstaion (both free of charge, so really we can't complain about not getting the service, but we were told at all times that they would install both dvd and playstation imidiately).
We liked the decor of the restaurant, but weren't too impressed with the lobby and room. We have stayed at some very nice "design hotels" all over the world , but we prefer the European hotels over the American. It seems as if the American lacks something... too cold. But again, those are minor complaints. We were so happy that we didn't stay at a midtown hotel - we loved the area, the overall service and are looking so much forward to coming back.

The best, and the only, good thing with this hotel is the location. Close to the vibrating nightlife, good selection of restaurants and near shopping. 6 months earlier we had visited the hotel’s rooftop bar on a sunny afternoon drinking a ridiculously expensive bottle of champagne in plastic glasses. Somehow we then got a feeling for the place and decided to stay here for our next trip. The reviews we read where mainly positive. But we were misled. Starting from the top of the hotel, this is an area solely for the entertainment of non resident hotel guests. The “hip” crowds have since long moved onto another new nightspot, and we can understand why. The view might be great, but the décor is simple, cheap and run down. The music is disappointing and the overpriced cocktails are not well done. There is a rooftop pool, which was open but covered by a boring plastic shelter. Even when it’s removed it’s not going to look by far as attractive or inviting as the rooftop pool you can see across the street at the Soho House. Where do you sunbath? The terrace offers no other benefits for the hotel guest but the fact you will not have to queue to get into the nightclub. However as hotel guest there are no other privileges, and to our surprise we could not even get a table to sit at unless we opted to pay the minimum bottle charge. Nevertheless, there are plenty of better clubs to visit in the neighbourhood where the money spent will be much more worth it.

Moving down to the accommodation. We stayed in a grand deluxe room which is on a higher floor and has a fantastic view of the Hudson river. The room is small and the decor is simple. We had booked several months in advance asking for a silent room but were put right next to the elevator and we were disturbed by screaming kids in the morning and late night party people in the corridor. We immediately complained to the duty manager but it was left unsolved. Yes they offered us a smaller room with a different view, obviously with no compensation, but on the contrary at same price. A pretty smart try.

The breakfast is a JOKE! Fortunately it was included in the price because I would never have paid for it. A buffet consisting of some dry croissants, yogurt, fresh fruit (which was the only bonus), and regular coffee or tea. As you sit down the waiter gives you a menu to order from, but all this is not included, which, of course, the waiter do not let you know. So I reckon a few peoples have been royally ripped off here.

The over all service is really poor. There is no charm. And the hotel is starting to become rundown. Don’t stay here there are better hotels like 60 Thompson or the Mercer. We stayed 2 of our planned 6 nights here. We regret staying so long.

My husband and I stayed at the Gansevoort for three nights, June 3-6. Our room was not ready when we arrived but the staff was very apologetic and gave us complimentary breakfast coupons for the our entire stay even though we only ended up waiting 30 minutes. Our room was average, showing signs of wear (chipped paint on furniture, etc.). Our toilet was stopped up and the first maintenance person came to our room and made a mess without fixing it. It wasn't fixed until I called the front desk and got loud. It was repaired in 10 minutes (literally) and we had no more trouble with it. Not withstanding the celebrity sightings, the hotel was nice but not on par with the Ritz Carlton or the Regency. At the price we paid I expected better.

We booked a room at this hotel based purely on the amazing reviews on tripadvisor.com. I spent most the weekend wondering if we were actually at the same hotel that most of the people who gave this place GLOWING reviews stayed at.
This hotel is for 20-somethings who want to party. period. The noise is incredible and after spending over 2k to stay for 3 nights, I had to come home and sleep for 18 hours in my own bed to catch up on sleep. This was not because I was out partying at the rooftop bar with all of the bridge and tunnel brides who were in town for bachelorette parties. (The hotel was full of them. Loud and drunk! Staying 4 to a room I am sure. )
The car honking on the street below is just NUTS when the evening begins to wind down at 2:30am and lasts until at least 5 am. A call to the front desk for ear plugs was a no-go. They did not have any. I am guessing that I am not the first person who has had a problem sleeping in this place, but apparently splurging for .50 rubber ear plugs is not chic.
I do have to say that the front desk manager was apolgetic but little good that did me.
Another thing that floored me was having to call down to the front desk to complain, not only about the drum and base and house music coming from rooms on all sides of us, but to complain, as well, about the barking DOG in the room next to us. If your dog is barking in your fancy hotel room 1) he probably does not think coming to NYC to shop and eat is fun or 2) he probably does not think coming to NYC to eat and shop is fun. LEAVE YOUR PETS AT HOME. THIS IS NO PLACE FOR THEM!
As for the compliementary breakfast, I sort of felt like a criminal when I went down to get coffee but did not want to surrender my little card because I was waiting for my boyfriend in the lobby. If you are paying over 500 night for a hotel room, you should not be treated like you are trying to "steal" a cup of coffee.
I can't be totally critical here: the rooms are nice for NYC rooms. More spacious then other "mod" hotels. It just would have been nice if when they constructed this hotel a couple of years back that they would have thought to put exhaust fans in the bathrooms. One trip to the shower and the whole room is fogged up and the bath too humid for anyone else to use to, oh, say, put on makeup. The humidity caused by this has the sheetrock tape coming apart from the wall and the cheap color xerox "art" crinkling in it's Ikea frames. Next time I listen to my travel agent who said "why would you want to stay there?" and stay at the Bryant Park or the Lowell---better for "grown-ups".