Only 2 blocks from central park, as well as the natural history museam and the pick up point for the open top tour bus, get the red bus not the yellow one, as the red one runs longer. It takes you to all the central stops for the statue of liberty, ellis island etc, wasnt impressed with the empire state building, a long wait just to look over the city. Clean hotel easy to find, restaurant on site and near by. Staff freindly, room service good to. Buy the city pass to see all the sites, you save a lot of money.

Just read a review by "ruiNruiN" stating there is not subway service nearby to Times Square or Hell's Kitchen. However, there is a subway entrance less than a 2 minute walk up 57th St, for the Columbus Circle/59th Street Station. The entrance is right next to Sur La Table. This station is served by the 1,2,A,B,C and D trains. You can get anywhere in the city from here via subway. IMO, if you are looking for a reasonable hotel and plan on using the subway - this is the place for you. And, if you'd like to walk and explore Central Park, Times Square, Hell's Kitchen, Theater District, Lincoln Center are all within walking distance (depending of course on what you consider to be a 'reasonable' walk). Cold weather, rain, etc, can certainly make walking not much fun.
Our room was on the 8th floor (North Tower A) and I read signs the rooms were going to be renovated, ours appeared to have new carpet, bedding, furnishings and TV. The beds were very comfortable, the room was very large (especially for NYC). We never used the heat or AC so I can't comment on other's complaints about that. The bathroom was clean, fixtures worked well and plenty of water pressure and hot water. Our room was ready early and the front desk was pleasant and quick. Being on the 8th floor, were is some 'city noise' but it was not bothersome. There are so many great places to eat around the hotel, we did not dine there. We would usually get breakfast at Morning Star, Route 66 Cafe or Europan Bakery. For dinner we had excellent meals at Whym, Puttanesca and Kennedy's. All of the food offerings around here are very reasonably priced.
The only reason I didn't rate it 'excellent' is..well, it's still a Holiday Inn - I would say it's an 'excellent' Holiday Inn and a very good++ hotel in general.
We stayed here from 12/22-12/26/12 and had great time in NYC. I would recommend this hotel and would stay here again.

big room for manhattan at very good price, lobby was nice and clean, good big bar area, rooms were older for sure, bathrooms very bad but oh well it was cheap, could not get the air/heat working only stayed one night but fine if your not planning on being in your room for a long time.

Spent a night here after three excruciating nights in a hostel. Felt like a huge breath of fresh air! The check-in process was quick and efficient. I got there early but they were ready to give me a room right away. The room was clean, spacious and well-maintained. Concierge was helpful and knowledgeable. Breakfast in the restaurant was ok. The location, though, is not that great. There's absolutely no subway station nearby with lines that would take you to Times Sq. If you want to go to places in Times Sq or Hell's Kitchen the easiest way to do it is to walk 10 blocks. I'm from Texas so too much walking is incompatible with with life in my book, especially when it's freezing out. Otherwise, this place was great and I would consider staying here again if there's a good deal coming along.