What can I say.

Cheap and central, we decided to go for the triple room (there was only 2 of us) because it was $10 cheaper than twin!?!
they've probably fixed that pricing anomaly now.

the enterance is unmaintained and dingy the reciption hall there was a guy sleeping in the corner, drunk? didn't want to findout.

The woman was bit pissed off with us booking the triple room but hey she did honour the price and our backpacks were taken to our rooms by the porter (is it an american thing? to have a porter even in a dump of a hotel? )

Graffiti in corridor (see the pic), the walls were covered in carpet?!?! possible to hide stains or bullet holes, who knows, let your imagination run wild now :)


anyway
the room was *HUGE* 2 double beds, aircon unit using half the window.

my travel companion freaked out as the window wouldnt secure shut, and since we were on a balcony that (I think) was gave access to all the rooms on the floor.

The bathroom was well stocked with clean towels, covered in marble the place is looking a distant cousin from its possibly glamorous former past.

There was a problem with drainage and I didn't trust place, so flipflops were in order.

Like I said, the beds were HUGE. possible the same size as the entire single room I have here :) plenty of storage space in the very basic walk in cupboard.

The TV had 5-6 channels the rest were badly tuned, but who wants to watch TV instead of exploring the city, didn't really miss it.

I could pickup wireless internet access from the hotel adjacent hilton (I think) and Minto (or something) which is a big hotel opposite.

The takeaway place at the entrance sells reasonably priced food and is open 24/7 like many of the places of its type in NYC.

All in all, great value, not for the faint hearted or luxury traveller, if you want a story to bring back from NYC you might want stay there :)

We booked a room through the hotel website. The impression given was of a reasonably priced budget hotel. Our first impression when we arrived was of rude and very unhelpful staff at the front desk. After the money was snapped out of my hand the key was thrown at me and we went to our room. Imagine our surprise to find someone was already in there. We went down to tell them and had to join a very long queue of people complaining. They gave us another room which had a very dodgy lock. The shower was an absolute disgrace and i would not wash an animal in it for fear they caught something. The website stated panoramic views of times square ,all our view consisted of was a brick wall. All in all a complete disgrace and should be shut down immediately.The only saving was a man called Mr Abdullah who seemed to understand what a dump the place was and tried to help as much as possible. I only hope this person has now got a better job someplace else.

It was all I could afford and it was fine. I didn't encounter any of the problems others wrote about, but did feel a little nervous. I'd agree with the reviewer who wrote it wasn't for the faint of heart. But if you need someplace to sleep in NYC and don't have a lot of money, then it is fine.

Greetings Fellow Travelers!
I just came back from a weekened shopping trip to NYC and chose to stay at the Carter because I wanted to stay in a central area (Times Square) and most importantly... I had a budget of $150.00 per night including tax for my hotel stay. The Carter Hotel fit the bill. I went to their website and found that it was $10.00 cheaper a night then when I had phoned them earlier. I paid $105.00 a night including tax. this meant more money for shopping YEAH!

Here are the Pros: Big bed that was strangely one of the most comfortable beds i have slept on. Strong Powerful water in the shower. Air Conditioning was good for the heat wave that went through the city. Amazing view from the 21st floor.
Concierge was very knowlegable and helped me map out my shopping trip, and also gave me some great coupons to macys and bloomingdales.

Here are the cons: There was no hair dryer in the room and when I went down to the lobby and asked for one.. i had to be put on a waiting list. they called me while i was asleep at 11:00 pm and told me to pick up the hair dryer in the lobby or it would go to another guest!

overall assesment: If you want to stay in a good location and do not have much money to spend and you dont need amenities in the room such as a hair dryer, coffee maker, or iron, then the hotel carter is a great choice. and if the negative reviews are true, then trust me they are taking your advice and they are showing some improvement. they now have Card Keys instead of Metal Keys, and they have marble bathrooms, instead of old tiles. oh, and the elevators are pretty fast and modernized. i did not have to wait a long time to get to and from my 21st floor room.

If you want to stay in a good location and have some extra money to burn, or better yet, an expense account stay elsewhere. but dont forget that you get what you pay for.

I wish you great travels!!